07.15.08
Posted in Hong Kong, Money / Banks, Olympics, Uncategorized at 21:50 by Mul
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:
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07.13.08
Posted in Hong Kong, Money / Banks, Olympics at 17:14 by Mul
Hong Kong (via the Bank of China HK) announced its own commemorative Olympic currency on Friday. Beginning next Wednesday, branches of the Bank of China in Hong Kong will be selling four million (just over three million available to the public) commemorative Olympic-themed HKD20 bank notes. Later, the notes will be sold at the HK Olympic equestrian venue. As with the mainland bank notes, the Hong Kong notes feature the bird’s nest stadium and the Beijing Olympic logo. The notes will be sold at a significant mark-up, meaning we will never, ever see these in circulation. There are five different packages of single note or sheets available with super impressive sounding names and auspicious price points:
- Radiant Joy (Single HKD Note) at HKD138 per set (that is a nearly seven time mark-up!);
- Triumphant Spirit (4-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes) at HKD338 per set;
- Brilliant Jubilation (35-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes) at HKD1,388 per set;
- Harmonious Union (a package of one HKD Note and one MOP Note) at HKD268 per set; and
- United Pleasure (a package of 4-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes and 4-in-1 Uncut MOP Notes) at HKD868 per set.
That last name needs to be reconsidered. I’m just sayin’. And just in case you had any funny ideas about choosing auspicious notes, there will be no selection of serial numbers allowed.
Mul NOTES: Curious what MOP stands for? ODB was. MOP = Macau Pataca, the legal tender of our neighbors in the Macau SAR.
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06.25.08
Posted in Food, Hong Kong, McDonald's in China at 23:04 by uncleronald
Many interesting things to cover. First and most imporantly, the Egg McMuffin is available 24 hours a day. It’s option number nine in the photo:
This fantastic option is essentially negated by the lack of coffee refills outside of breakfast hours–which, by the way, last until 11am, instead of 10am as is standard on the mainland.
The coffee is decent, but with so many good coffee shops around, it tastes relatively worse. It is nice to get real half-and-half with one’s coffee, though, instead of the faux half-and-half substitute provided in the mainland.
The sausage here tastes much stronger and better than the sausage patties used in the rest of China. I suppose it’s imported from the U.S., while the China meat is processed domestically.
Will try the pancakes soon….
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Posted in Food, Hong Kong at 22:23 by Mul
Finally, some movement on the elusive Hong Kong Fatburger. A few weeks ago (yes, it took me a little while to get around to taking a photo) they put a wrap on the increasingly frayed construction barrier announcing that renovation was in progress and the shop would be “opening in this summer.” English grammar aside, I interpret this to mean they will open before the end of August. Judging by my recent walk-bys on Queen’s Road East, there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the renovation. Time is running out.
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05.18.08
Posted in Food, Hong Kong, Rumors at 21:12 by Mul
I posted with excitement a few months ago (back in February) about stumbling across a soon-to-be opened Fatburger on Queen’s Road East, across from the Hopewell Centre. This is, or was, to be Fatburger’s first outpost in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Fatburger was originally announced back in November last year.
Here we are, it’s mid-May and … nothing. No change whatsoever. Timeout Hong Kong, which by the way just began publishing in Hong Kong this month, informs that there’s been a snag with government approvals. When will the Fatburger open? No one knows.
SHTig Adds: Wikipedia says the Fatburger is still “upcoming” for Hong Kong. But personally I’m more interested in Wikipedia’s mentions that there is already a Fatburger in the Venetian Macau. Ever been to the Venetian? I don’t know if it’s exactly like the one in Vegas or not, but either way it’s tacky despite its grandeur. A Fatburger there fits in perfectly. Win a bunch of money, celebrate at the Fatburger. Lose your shirt, and hopefully you still have enough dough for a Fatburger.
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02.10.08
Posted in Awesome, Food, Hong Kong at 21:43 by Mul
What better way to inaugurate TFF’s first Hong Kong-related post than this little nugget? I was strolling this evening in Wanchai by the Hopewell Centre on Queen’s Road East and was almost knocked on my behind by the “opening soon” sign on the building across the road. That’s right - Fatburger. Hong Kong has a few solid burger places, among them Triple O’s White Spot (a Canadian chain), but this is something to be excited about. Fatburger ranks up there with In-N-Out. Not sure when it is scheduled to open, but I will be there . . . with a pair of Zubaz to accommodate my soon-to-be expanding waistline.
Update: Shangahiist tells us a second location will open in Causeway Bay and future locations in Beijing and Shanghai.
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