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我的雙城故事

October 03, 2021 by George Chen in Hong Kong, Taiwan

今年身邊陸陸續續有不少朋友離開,各有各的原因,有些出國讀書,有些舉家移民,有些因為不言而喻的原因離開了生活了很多年的香港。

在香港常駐五年之久的倪伯嘉博士是其中一位離開的人。倪主任就其職務而言,其實就是台灣經濟部駐香港的首席代表。事實上倪主任過去幾年也一直熱心港台兩地的經貿聯繫,小到幫台灣美食小店解決一些貌似微小但且重要的疑難雜症,大到幫香港的品牌落戶台灣,促進港台兩地經濟「雙循環」,真可謂事無巨細,盡心盡力。

去年疫情爆發前,倪主任曾和我商量,是否能在我們辦公室舉辦一場「台灣美食節」,把台灣的一些知名美食品牌帶給我們的同事和業界同仁,此外也可以找一些香港的餐廳一起來聯誼⋯⋯我們都覺得這是很好的主意,沒想到後來受疫情影響,再後來倪主任不得不離開香港,這件事情也終究成為我心中的一個遺憾。

倪主任喜歡畫畫,他覺得油畫創作是一種可以令他靜下來的好辦法。我也曾想過什麼時候可以跟倪主任學畫畫,因為我的工作說實話也是太繁忙,壓力巨大,真的也要找一些辦法來抒發。很可惜,還沒趕上和倪主任一起畫畫,他已經不得不返台了。

臨走前,倪主任給他這幾年在香港結識的好朋友們紛紛寄上以他的油畫為封面的明信片。倪主任知道我是香港國泰航空(Cathay Pacific)的超級粉絲,我也和他提過當年英國路透社(Reuters)攝影記者曾經拍攝過一張非常經典的國泰班機在香港舊啟德機場降落的照片,於是倪主任便以這張經典照片作為創作靈感,還很“頑皮”地將原本的國泰班機在他最終的油畫作品中替換成代表台灣的中華航空(China Airlines),考慮到他的工作背景,這樣的創作當然是妙不可言。

倪主任在給我的告白明信片上寫道,香港和台灣的關係是全世界任何一個地方都無法比擬的,無論是人與人的連結,還是文化交流等等。我非常認同,也正因此我一直覺得自己非常幸運可以在有生之年為港台關係做小小貢獻。問一下身邊的香港人,有誰不認識幾個在台灣的朋友,反之亦然,這樣的情感連結真的可以說是價值連城。

寫這篇散文的時候,我已經破紀錄超過550多天沒有飛去台灣了,甚至有些擔心自己對信義區的街道印象都開始有些模糊了。

很想很想再去光點台北(那是舊的美國駐中華民國大使官邸)坐坐,下午的時候可以安靜地喝一杯咖啡。很想很想再去誠品松菸逛逛,在那裡看書感覺就是和在香港很不一樣。很想很想晚上吃完飯可以在文華東方附近散散步,順便買一杯珍珠奶茶。很想很想在台灣吃火鍋,很想很想在台灣的很多朋友們,很想很想⋯⋯

這場奇怪的疫情給我們帶來的影響恐怕不僅僅是公共衛生層面那麼簡單。二戰後的世界之所以可以重建互信,推動經貿,甚至加速全球化進程,這些都同人與人之間的交往和連結不無關係。就算我們再愛香港,如果還要一兩年甚至更長時間才得以重新自由飛行,恐怕很多人,包括我自己,都會很容易變成井底之蛙。

人的一生,最難能可貴的無非是“境界”兩字,留在自己的小圈子裡,只能把自己的“境界”越做越小了。

留下來的人,會想念。離開的人,也會想念。海內存知己,天涯若比鄰,無論此時此刻大家身處何地,希望明天都會更好。

(完)

October 03, 2021 /George Chen
Hong Kong, Taiwan, 香港, 台灣, Taipei, 台北
Hong Kong, Taiwan
File photo

File photo

The 140th Anniversary of Lu Xun

September 27, 2021 by George Chen in China

The West has George Orwell. We have Lu Xun (魯迅), one of the greatest writers in Asia in the 20th century.

In early 1927, Lu was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature, for the short story The True Story of Ah Q (阿Q正傳), despite a poor English translation and annotations that were nearly double the size of the text. However, Lu declined to be nominated due partly to the domestic political environment and Lu’s deep disappointment in the Chinese society at that time.

One of my favourite lines from Lu’s works is “Do not break out in silence, perish in silence” (不在沈默中爆發,就在沈默中滅亡). Late Communist leader of China Mao Zedong (毛澤東) — himself a big fan of Lu’s writings — once said had Lu survived until the 1950s, he would "either have gone silent or gone to prison.”

This year marks the 140th anniversary of Lu, born on September 25, 1881 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, the Qing Dynasty of China.

September 27, 2021 /George Chen
China, 中國
China
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Farm to Table, A Hong Kong Story

September 18, 2021 by George Chen in Hong Kong
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“Farm to table” has been a popular culinary concept and trend in Europe for many years. Will it also work in Hong Kong?

The answer is yes.

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In Europe, “farm to table” has been a sort of movement. Essentially, “farm to table” means harnessing the produce and livestock of locally grown farmers and ranchers; to put it simply, buying local. “Most produce loses its nutrients within 24 hours of harvesting.” For places like Hong Kong which is not really well known for agricultural development at all, the traditional way for “farm to table” could be like a Mission Impossible to implement, not to mention how to scale up on city wide.

But Interval Farmacy, located inside the Cyberport (數碼港) shopping mall, feels just like a new experiment of “farm to table”; it is also a culinary adventure of plant-based food for the local communities of Hong Kong, aka “Asia’s food paradise” to many.

I first thought it was a vegetarian restaurant and I was wrong. One of many highlights of the restaurant is its custom-built wood fire oven from Naples for making pizzas. It also has an asador-style grill for meats and vegetables.

The restaurant has cooperated with Farmacy, a Hong Kong home-grown startup, to provide seasonal “micro greens” — what you see is also what you can eat and you can eat the greens fast, fresh, and delicious of course.

Farmacy’s mission is to “hand-pick the freshest, premium quality, green produce to perfect your culinary process.” It claims to be the first “Agri Prop” tech company in China and Asia that builds “decentralized smart mobile solutions” in store farms in highly urbanized cities, just like Hong Kong.

Want to have a short escape from the city centre? Interval Farmacy sounds like a good option for weekend brunch. Plus, here “farm to table” means even less than 24 hours.

September 18, 2021 /George Chen
WhatGeorgeEats, Hong Kong, 香港
Hong Kong
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The Private Kitchen in Happy Valley

September 12, 2021 by George Chen in Happy Valley, Hong Kong
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This is already my 4th month of living in Happy Valley and I keep exploring the happy and delicious neighbourhood.

You may know The Chairman (大班樓) in Central, which used to be one of my favourite local Cantonese restaurants. Unfortunately The Chairman suddenly became too famous for me to get a table (yes, you need to wait until Q1 2022) after it won the Michelin fame. Never mind. I found my new favourite, the Tasting Court (天一閣) in Happy Valley. The founder and chef of Tasting Court was one of the co-founders of The Chairman, hence my favourite crab steamed in 15-years Shaoxing Huadiao wine (十五年紹興花雕) is an iconic course at Tasting Court too.

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You have to make advanced booking for Tasting Court, which is more like a private kitchen than just another restaurant for the public. Tasting Court hides inside an ordinary apartment building on Wong Nai Chung Rd, facing the Racecourse. You probably will miss it when you walk by if you don’t pay enough attention to its small board showing the restaurant name. Low profile is its attitude.

Other signature dishes include fragrant chicken oil and flat rice noodles and smoked Chinese pork (aka cha siu), pomelo skin and jujube and coconut milk pudding and etc. In fact, you don’t need to remember those items. Everyday the restaurant has its own and the only menu for you. Just come, sit, and enjoy the food.

Address: 1/F, Bonny View House, 63-65 Wong Nai Chung Rd, Happy Valley

September 12, 2021 /George Chen
WhatGeorgeEats, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, 跑馬地, 香港
Happy Valley, Hong Kong
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Shanghai-style Pork Mooncake

August 25, 2021 by George Chen in Hong Kong, Shanghai, China
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The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner and that means it’s time to eat some mooncake. My favourite? What about Shanghai-style pork mooncake (上海鮮肉月餅)?

Hand-filled and formed, the Shanghai-style mooncakes offer a departure from traditional versions around town; made from flour, lard and maltose, they’re characterised by a flaky and buttery short-crust pastry and filled by ground pork.

Where to buy perhaps the most authentic Shanghai-style pork mooncake in Hong Kong? You can order at Michelin-famous restaurant Liu Yuan Pavilion (留園雅敘) in Wan Chai, which is well known for its Shanghainese cuisine. Liu Yuan’s super fans include Shanghai-born Hong Kong influencer and food critic Benny Li.

Usually you need to grab those annual limited edition pork mooncake quickly before they are all sold out. Fortunately my colleague got me a box already, and now I just need to brew a pot of green tea to go with the uniquely delicious pork mooncake.

Life is not too bad in Hong Kong!

August 25, 2021 /George Chen
WhatGeorgeEats, Shanghai, China, 上海, Hong Kong, 香港, Wan Chai, 灣仔
Hong Kong, Shanghai, China
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