They promised end of 2008 and sure enough, with a few days to spare, the Wuhan Yangtze Tunnel is finally open.  Started in 2004, this massive project is, in fact, the first tunnel under the Yangtze River and cost RMB1.7-2.0 billion (about USD250-300 million) depending on your sources.  Though this tunnel is the first, it won’t be the last as other sous-Yangtze tunnels are in process in both Shanghai and Nanjing.

I remain skeptical that this four-lane marvel (pictures make it look like two) will truly relieve the traffic burden in Wuhan.  One article claims travel time is reduced from 30 to 7 minutes.  It’s a neat engineering feat, but I’m not convinved that Wuhan couldn’t use the cash for other more pressing projects.  Like the horseracing track.

Ever since Michelin announced they were adding Hong Kong and Macau (as a unit) to their expanding list of restaurant-reviewed cities, the burning question was “what will the Frenchies make of Cantonese food?”  The answer?  Quite mixed.  They have a lot of homework to do before the next edition. From the day the guide was published, they definitely got mouths flapping debating the guide.  But they also seriously undermined their credibility by doling out stars to several question mark eateries.  Here’s the complete list of starred restaurants:

Three Stars:

• Lung King Heen
• Robuchon a Galera

Two Stars:

• Amber
• Bo Innovation
• Caprice
• L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
• Shang Palace
• Summer Palace
• T’ang Court
• Tim’s Kitchen

One Star:

• Fook Lam Moon (Wan Chai)
• Forum
• Hutong (What the F?  Seriously.  What the F.)
• Lei Garden (IFC) (Again, what the F?)
• Lei Garden (TST) (Ditto)
• Ming Court
• Petrus
• Pierre
• Regal Palace
• Shanghai Garden (I’m not going to pull punches.  Flat out bribe.)
• The Golden Leaf
• The Square (I’m in between either “What the F” or “Flat out bribe.”)
• Tim’s Kitchen
• Yung Kee
• Imperial Court
• The Eight
• Tung Yee Heen
• Ying

Points for:

• Bilingual – Nice to see them at least make the effort of having the guide in both English and Chinese.
• No stars for Nobu and Spoon.  They avoided giving recognition to two of the most over-hyped places (both basically high-end chains) that serve very mediocre food.  Good on Michelin.

Points against:

• One star each for Hutong and The Square.  Are they mad?  Did money change hands?
• Not enough Japanese restaurants.  Sushi Hiro doesn’t even get mentioned?
• Serious mis-steps with the Bib Gourmand.  This was where the Michelin Guide should have really shined in Hong Kong.  Hong Kong is a veritable treasure trove of cheap no-frills places that serve outstanding eats.  And they flag up Cafe Siam?  Lian at IFC?  That place is gar-bage.  Crystal Jade?  1/5 Nuevo on Star Street?  I’m sorry, but not even close.  This is where the criticism of no (or not enough) Chinese judges is truly vindicated.  Chinese judges would’ve been much more on-the-ball with finding better spots to highlight with the Bib Gourmand than the chain restaurants at high end malls that got their plaudits.  Where’s Lan Fong Yuen for milk tea and other Cantonese diner specialities?  No place serves Bib Gourmand worthy roast meats?  No hidden treasures at any of the da pai dangs at the wet markets?

If the point of a guide like Michelin is to get people talking and debating where to eat and who serves the best this and that, then mission accomplished.  If the point was to become a guide locals use and respect, well, try again next year.

I stuck my head into the not-yet-opened Hong Kong Fatburger this afternoon and had a brief chat with some obvious non-locals with an authoritative look who informed that the shop should open by Saturday November 8th.  The inside of the shop has really filled out and it looks basically finished.

Calendar circled, fasting begun.

UPDATE: Given that the shop is now open, the Drudge-style siren has been removed.

First Bear Stearns going out of business.  Then Lehman Brothers going bankrupt.  AIG is teetering.  Even Iceland is in trouble.  I’m not going to lie to you – those hurt.  But this news from today is end-of-days-book-of-Revelations hurt.

Hong Kong’s Krispy Kreme franchisee announced plans to enter liquidation and immediately close five of their seven stores.  The two remaining locations at the airport will remain open for the time being, at least until creditors meet on November 12.  After that, it’s not looking good.

Does this situation not scream for government intervention?

I know that Nator and I will hold close the memories of eating several Original Glazed while sipping some surprisingly decent coffee at the Mong Kok location.

It’s not all bleak for Krispy Kreme in Greater China.  Earlier this month, the mothership in America announced plans to open 35 stores in mainland China over the next five years.  Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin are first with, hopefully, others cities to follow (Wuhan?).  Fortunately, Krispy Kreme awarded the franchise to Korea’s Lotte Group (the franchisee in Korea and Japan), rather than the bozos that ran Krispy Kreme Hong Kong into the ground.

Two new exciting developments at the hopefully soon-to-be-opened Wan Chai Fatburger.  As shown above, they are finally trying to hire staff.  This being their first Hong Kong shop, who knows how far in advance they are hiring employees, but it can’t be long.  The second equally encouraging sign is they are finally taking the front facade off the building.  See the action shot below and before you complain about the bluriness please stop to consider the madd photo skillz it took to get a semi-focused picture as my cab flew by on Queen’s Road East.   It won’t be long now.

UPDATE:  Here’s another photo at night showing the front street-facing side of the restaurant and demonstrating just how tantalizingly close we are to the end of Fatwatch™.

Here we are, less than two days from the start of October and still no Hong Kong Fatburger.  Good thing Omega didn’t put together a Fatburger Countdown Clock à la the Olympic Clock in Tiananmen Square.  As previously reported, the sign still says “opening in this summer” but summer is officially over and still no Fatburger.  Can we continue to wait patiently for America’s Best Burger (according to the trusted readers of the Aurora Sentinel and Highlands Ranch Herald)?

Yes, we can.  At least a little while longer.  Especially with a slightly-more-than-spitting-distance Fatburger located in Macau able to tide us over for a few more months.

I visited said Macau Fatburger slightly more than a month ago and, let me tell you something: it delivered.  And how.  The burgers (pictured below) were terrific.  A delicate balance of meat, bun, lettuce, tomato and grease.  Nothing lost in translation here.  The fries were another story.  Give the fat fries a miss.  The skinny fries are a solid B, but not worth a special trip.  The atmosphere?  C, C+ at best.  The shop is neither free-standing or self-enclosed.  It’s part of a large food court in The Venetian Casino and easy to miss.  Most of the staff were unable to provide directions and had never heard of the Fatburger.  I know – completely F’d up.

As for an update on the Hong Kong Fatburger progress?  Here’s a small one.  Despite the prevalent view that nothing is happening behind the construction facade, I can personally confirm that progress is being made.  Slow progress.  Last weekend I ventured over to the site on Queen’s Road East and peeked behind the facade and saw about ten construction workers busy inside.  It was hard to tell exactly how far from finished they are, but they have a long way to go. The inside is completely unfinished with nothing resembling a kitchen, grill, counter or seats.  Still, a sign outside indicates they are hiring, which can only be positive.

From heartbreaking to predictable. The Telegraph (among many others) is reporting yet another Olympic Ceremony faux pas.

It turns out that the 56 children “from” China’s official 56 different minority ethnic groups that brought the Chinese national flag into the stadium were, in fact, all ethnic Hans wearing minority costumes. According to the official guide to the ceremony:

“56 children from 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the Chinese national flag, representing the 56 ethnic groups”

Not so fast.  By “from”, they really meant “wearing ethnic costumes”.  It’s bad enough that they have to token-ize the ethnic groups with these official uniforms (sorry, costumes), but they didn’t even bother to use children actually from the ethnic groups to represent them.  That’s a more benign interpretation.  What if they actually considered and then rejected using actual members of the minority ethnic groups?

I guess it was all a bit too perfect. Following the news that the Opening Ceremony footprint fireworks were faked, it is now being reported (also here and here) that the cute little pixie, Lin Miaoke, who sang Ode to the Motherland at the Opening Ceremony was lip-syncing. And it wasn’t as though Lin was lip-syncing her own performance. No, that would at least be defensible. Apparently the girl who actually sang the song, Yang Peiyi, was judged to be too much of an ugly duckling to represent China at the opening ceremony. Chubby with crooked teeth. The horror. Can you believe a first-grader has crooked teeth? What? She doesn’t have a perfect figure? I am aghast.

Judged by whom, you ask? A member of the politburo. Absolute madness.

Faking the footprints – fine. No harm, no foul. If you ask me, they still looked really cool. You can even make the argument that it was safer to fake them rather than release fireworks in every neighborhood directly south of the Bird’s Nest.

What’s the argument here? According to one idiot, the musical director of the ceremony, it was done “in the national interest” and “considering the overseas image” of China. Please, tell me, someone, what is the national interest in this boneheaded move? Also, it really burns me that they’re trying to pin this one on foreigners, even indirectly.

What about the singer that “won the heart of a nation“? Shortly after the ceremony, Lin Miaoke’s father Lin Hui had said “it is too early for Miaoke to be part of the world of entertainment.”

I have a feeling we don’t have to worry about that now.

UPDATE: The New York Times has picked up the story.

UPDATE #2: Even Dlisted is covering the story.

Actually the opposite of chaos. Peaceful and orderly lines started forming late Monday night at the Bank of China Tower (full of mostly senior citizens by my count) eager to purchase either the Brilliant Jubliation or United Pleasure set. Or perhaps one of each.

Although the HKD20 commemorative bank notes were originally scheduled for release on Wednesday, the bank started early registration on Tuesday for “purchase passes” allowing holders to return on Wednesday (or later) to purchase the notes. There were at least two separate lines at the main branch on Garden Road, one of them (pictured above) extending from the front of the building all the way to Pacific Place several blocks away. I don’t have Park Service-quality crowd estimation skills, but I would guess there were at least a few thousand people in line.

Here’s another photo in the back of the building:

I have been at the edge of my seating waiting for this announcement. BOCOG (which, I am certain I am not first to suggest sounds like a Bond villain organization plotting world domination) has announced the official hairstyles and make-up of the Olympic medal presenters. The hairstyles and make-up are intended to be “compatible with the concept of sports, while still reflecting the spirit of Chinese youth.” Please, someone, explain what that means. For hairstyles to be compatible with sports, do they need to be aerodynamic? Wouldn’t a shaved head be more appropriate? I guess the hairstyle with the Olympic ring headband seems compatible enough. To me, the only hairstyle compatible with sports and the Olympics is this one. Or maybe this one. One last one.

Mul NOTES: Sure enough, Google informs that The New York Times has made a similar crack about BOCOG. Great minds and all that.