Why cant I find KFC in Hong Kong???

Before I begin, I have to say that the view out from my in laws apartment is bloody fantastic! You can see the IFC in the skyline.....and the mountains....

Many of my friends have asked me where to shop in HK, as they have heard of the famous shopping paradise but don’t know where to go. My advice is to pick up a copy of the tourist brochure and map from the HK airport before you come out. HK tourist brochures are different from Singapore tourist brochures.

HK tourist brochures have no advertisements (at least the one I picked), are non biased, and that’s why the recommended places are based purely on merit and historical popularity. The descriptions of the places to go are frank, honest and non exaggerated. For example, if you want to buy electronics, it will tell you some of the places where you can get the cheapest bargains and the largest variety. Not only that, in small print it gives you the tips of what to look out for when you are buying in a local context. eg compatibility of power voltage in HK, and how to bargain in local context…To me this is the most informative and useful tourist guide I have ever seen.

Some interesting things to note about HK. I have always wondered why they call HK the world’s freest economy. I am beginning to agree as I find out more and more about HK. Firstly, you can start almost any kind of business literally in any corner of HK, as long as you can find a place. Haha. Secondly, you can import or export or distribute any kind of product you can think of, as the regulations are not as strict as Singapore’s where you have to wait almost a month before your container of goods get to you. Thirdly, for shopping, almost the whole of Hong Kong is duty free and tax free! Is that why I cant find duty free shops in HK airport? Because the whole country is duty free! Haha! It feels good to kinda think that the government is not getting a cut of whatever you are buying. So that makes it worthwhile to go to HK during their annual sale which is in July/August.

Some other interesting things to note about the food:

I can hardly find a KFC or MC Donalds in HK. My guess is that the food is so good that these 2 giant food companies can barely survive here. Haha. Also HK people don’t really like fried stuff or fast food. They very much prefer their own food and have it steamed or lightly pan fried. They love soups and I attribute the smooth complexion of the ladies there to the food they eat!

On this trip my wife brought me to this wanton noodle shop where the wanton noodle is the best I have ever tasted, even in HK. The beef flank noodle and the pig trotter noodle taste just as good, as the secret is in the noodles. It is a small shop that is always crowded and I even see some adventurous out of place foreigners who manage to find their way there!

Also if you are looking for dried goods, my wife also brought me to this shop where you can find (sinfully) whole sharks fins of different sizes and qualities. They also sell the ‘fa cai’ (hair sea weed) that is so hard to find in Singapore these days. And there are things that I see which I don’t see in Sngapore which I cant describe. Haha . Of course, everything is 30% cheaper than Singapore.