Food Adventures

My food adventures today started once I got off the bus on the way home. I usually take a green minibus to Central then take the MTR home. I can pretty much take any bus going out of HKU, but I prefer to take the 28 minibus, because it's very slightly cheaper and it's fast. Getting home later is actually a relief for me because I get to miss the large rush hour crowds.

Remember this pic?

Today I took the 22 minibus, which drops me off at a different spot in Central. This is the first thing I saw when I got off. [edit] You can see the Emporio Armani sign in the reflection off of the store's window.

It's a place that sells...salads. I was wondering how this place can stay alive in Hong Kong, but then again it is right in the middle of a trendy upper scale business district/shopping area where Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Brooks Brothers, Coach and every other imaginable luxury brand name is. I'm sure they can manage to get their fair share of trendy health conscious consumers. I like the sign, it's made up of salad bowls. It says 'New York - Hong Kong', such is my cynical nature that I thought that this was a clever marketing ploy, but after checking out their website and an article in NY Mag it appears to really be founded in New York. Not sure many other places/franchises boast being set up in Hong Kong second after being started in a different place. It'll be interesting to see how long this place lasts in Hong Kong's tough real estate market, although I'm pretty sure the markups on salads are pretty high.

Speaking of lasting in a tough real estate market...The local Jollibee's, a Filipino fast food chain specializing in fried chicken, has been around for ages. I can remember them from my early childhood so they must have been around for about 20 years. They have a great strategic position right outside one of the Central MTR station exit. On Sundays Filipino domestic helpers get a day off and so Central/Causeway Bay/any public park becomes their place of refuge. A Filipino friend of mine from the States was shocked to find so many domestic workers in Central on a Sunday, they pretty much take over the parks there. It's a big contrast to the crowds of office workers, bankers and other suits that roam the area on the weekdays. The Jollibee's, in addition to being right outside the MTR station, is near a building where there are many Filipino goods shops too, making the place even more strategic. Every time you leave this MTR exit you can smell the heavenly fried chicken. I want to try their chicken, but I haven't had the chance yet.

More fast food back home after the MTR, you probably know the Japanese Mos Burger chain from the branches that they also have in Kaohsiung. They have special burgers around every month or so. Past ones have been a shrimp burger and a pork katsu burger. They also had an anniversary burger, which looked pretty plain but it was pretty cheap and looked yummy enough. The special now though is octopus burger. Only 19 dollars too (US$2.44), if I was more into octupuses I would try it. Mmmmmm...

More octopuses are on the way to increase/decrease your appetite! After my dinner of course. I love me some curry and Japanese style hamburger steak. Plus I got my veggies for the day.

Japanese seem to like to wrap things in omelets. Key example below, takoyaki wrapped in omelet, looks like overkill. Maybe I'll try it if I ever need to gain weight?

Here are the workers doing their best to make the best fresh takoyaki (it's kind of hard to slack when everyone sees you). I wonder how many octopuses this stall consumes every day...

That's it for today's food adventures. Be sure to check in for more foodings and random thoughts.