Lingo Fracas Erupts Again

agnes b. just wants to sell tarts, not create controversy over its menus

Hong Kong people are becoming more and more sensitive to the presence of mainlanders and language recently became a hot topic.

It was discovered that the popular agnes b. Cafe LPG chain has its menus printed in simplified Chinese characters and Hong Kongers got extremely upset about it.

The cafe apologized on its Facebook page yesterday after many users on an internet forum complained about the "invasion of simplified Chinese" at its new branch in Tseung Kwan O's PopCorn mall.

While the cafe said management would replace the wall menus at all of its branches, the company had been using simplified Chinese since 2008.

Did it really take four years for people to notice?

"The Times Square branch -- one of the first shops we had -- only offered English menus as we received complaints. So we have also included simplified Chinese characters at every branch since then," a company spokeswoman said.

"In light of the complaints, we will replace all our wall menus to include only English and traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese will be listed alongside the two languages in the printed menus," she said.

Hopefully this will calm down the public, as agnes b. is very popular with trendy young people.

But in reality, many companies like banks have lots of advertising in simplified Chinese, specifically aimed at potential mainland clients.

So what about the rest of us?

It's the non-Chinese who are really losing out even more these days; 15 years after the handover, those who can't read Chinese are getting the shorter end of the stick when it comes to billboard advertising and promotional emails are always in Chinese, English second.

Regardless, this latest incident shows the controversy over mainlanders in Hong Kong has not gone away.

Instead it's still like embers flickering in the background that can spark into flames at any time...

Creating History in Burma

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the people's conscience

We are still waiting to hear the results from yesterday's elections in Burma, but are optimistic the National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Aung San Suu Kyi will win the vast majority of the seats it was contending for.

It is incredible that after almost 15 years of house arrest Suu Kyi is running for a seat in the Lower House of Parliament as the official opposition.

The NLD is projecting winning 43 of the 44 seats, which will be a major victory, but is only a drop in the bucket compared to the total 664 seats in the Lower and Upper houses, State and Regional assemblies.

Nevertheless if Suu Kyi wins in her constituency, it will finally legitimize her voice and the ruling military junta will have to at least listen to her as she is the conscience of the people.

There are lots of expectations heaped on the 66 year old; the people believe she will help the country get out of poverty, but does she really have the solution? She may have the encouraging words and beliefs, but does she have a pragmatic economic plan?

In any event just the elections themselves are a historic moment in the country's history and today she declared outside the NLD headquarters in Rangoon:

"It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country," she said. "We hope this is the beginning of a new era.

"We hope that all other parties that took part in the elections will be in a position to cooperate with us to create a genuinely democratic atmosphere in our nation."

Another aspect of this election is that many NLD candidates vying for the seats are young and inexperienced; they will be looking to Suu Kyi to carry the party.

Living under house arrest was a challenge. But now leading a party and representing the people in Parliament will be another.

We hope she is up to the monumental task as the nation is depending on her to voice their grievances and provide solutions.

We wish the Lady good luck in her and Burma's next chapter.

Picture of the Day: Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung memorial concert poster

It's hard to believe but it's been nine years since artist Leslie Cheung jumped to his death from the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central...

Earlier in the afternoon I saw some women on the MTR carrying bouquets of flowers with signs on them that were addressed to (哥哥 ("Goh-goh") or older brother.

It wasn't until around dinner time when I passed by Chater Garden next to the old Legislative Council building did I see a giant white stage set up and this sign: "I am what I am", a concert remembering the singer and actor and remembered today was the anniversary of his death.

Passing by Chater Garden where the concert was held tonight

Those women were probably putting those flowers next to the Mandarin to pay their respects to Cheung.

Meanwhile the memorial concert not only focused on his music, but also his movies and other television work.

His fans still miss him dearly after all this time... not only does it reveal his affect on others, but also that he was a consummate artist who is yet to be eclipsed.

Decadent Afternoon

The Lobby is bustling with customers having afternoon tea

This afternoon I did a touristy thing and had afternoon tea at The Peninsula with a friend from out of town.

We were debating about when to get there as the hotel doesn't take reservations so we decided to play it safe by lining up at 1:30pm.

Started on the bottom tier with raisin scones

This turned out to be the right call because while my friend arrived before I did, there was already a long queue behind her and she was probably the fifth or sixth party in line. There was a massive line out the lobby for the more than two hours we were there.

In any event time passed by quickly as we chatted in line and soon afterwards we got a table on the side closer to the musicians above us.

Pretty much everything's just as I remembered, the silver teapots, navy blue and yellow plates, and of course the three-tier afternoon tea set -- but the price was definitely different -- at a total of HK$580 ($74.68) for two including 10 percent service charge.

Since when did the price get jacked up that high?

Nevertheless we munched on the scones speckled with raisins and smothered them with clotted cream and strawberry jam; then we sampled a variety of sandwiches, cucumber and dill, ground ham, turkey and cheese on pretzel bread, smoked salmon roll, and mini sun-dried tomato tart.

A selection of savoury sandwiches and tarts

We were also given a small pina colada mousse before we sampled the top layer of desserts. This mousse was very light and did have the pina colada taste minus the booze. Then we tried the sweets consisting of a small slice of chocolate marble bread, a little nutty tart, moist chocolate cube, a coconut mousse cake topped with raspberry jelly and chocolate and pistachio macaroons.

Considering The Peninsula churns out these tea sets everyday for hundreds of visitors everyday, it's quite amazing the standard is consistent. The afternoon tea isn't absolutely delish, but it isn't inedible either.

We've come to soak up the colonial ambience, take in the quartet playing in the background and while away our Sunday afternoon in decadent surroundings.

A selection of desserts on the top tier

A fun and sinful perk -- good to indulge in once in a while.

Lobby, The Peninsula Hong Kong
Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
2920 2888
www.peninsula.com