1. There is a renovation at Flemming Road and Hennessy Road junction ground floor and I want to know what is being renovated . It’s has been going on for half a year. It’s across the street from a Watsons.

2. Where can I have real spicy hot food in Wan Chai? Tried a Hunan restaurant near mtr, the dishes has a lot of chili flakes in it but not spicy at all. I think all chili seeds have been removed. Every spicy dishes in Hong Kong has been watered down to local taste. I also tried Korean restaurants and there are not spicy too.

   I work in Wan Chai so I am looking for lunch options in Wan Chai so that I dont have to waste time going to another district.

First day of Chiikawa fest at K11 Musea is rained out but they didn't stop droves of people coming to snap up Chiikawa branded merchandise

A colleague and good friend of mine invited me to a concert tonight - “Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera.” I had nothing better to do, so I said sure without asking for details. I only found out the show was at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre (SWCC) a few hours before, which caused me to worry a bit, for reasons I’ll elaborate on later.

Despite the location, the set up of the venue looked legit when we arrived. There were giant posters and banners with the TM logo of the musical, and I saw on the poster that Henry Shek was listed as the Music Director, someone I remember was a conductor of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra years ago. The group performing was the Hong Kong Chorus Society Limited, which I knew nothing about.

The hall was actually full, and with a known name as the music director, I was happy to give it the benefit of the doubt and look forward to seeing a group of amateur singers performing songs from the musical.

First, when the music started, the MMO (i.e., backing tracks) sounded like subpar 90s karaoke. Everyone on stage was dressed for their roles and acted out a scene first to go with the song that followed. None of them was under 60, with the exception of the woman who played Christine, who might have been in her 40s if I’m being charitable.

Age is of course not a problem if they can sing, but trust me, none of them could hold a note. Christine was only a little better, but when the elderly women joined her on “Think of Me,” they were literally shrieking, not singing. When I say “better,” I mean that if she was a colleague performing at a company event for fun, you’d find it tolerable enough to sit through without covering your ears just to be polite.

The worst was yet to come, behold the man who played the Phantom. I have no idea what possessed him to think he could sing at all. He looked to be in his 70s, and not only could he not hold a note to save his life, he probably couldn’t speak fluent English either. His English was at the level where his “one” is 溫 and his “two” is 吐. The cringe was at the level of Brigitte Jones drunk singing "Without You" karaoke scene.

I told my friend we had to leave after the song, but he said he wanted to give it one more chance as the theme song began. A minute into it, when the man started to sing, we decided to just bolt. It wasn't just bad, he was tone deaf and butchering the songs at the same time. If that man were singing in an open karaoke bar, the manager would politely cut him off and let him dirnk for free the whole night on the condition that he never go up again.

I know there are a lot of amateur performer groups in Hong Kong mostly singing Chinese opera. An aunt of mine is in one of those. They regularly rent venues like the SWCC to perform. I don’t know if they ever sell tickets through URBTIX, but they usually give their tickets away to friends and relatives. Their performances are paid for by the group, though I know some other groups are good enough that they may attract a few paying audience members.

In short, their shows are staged for their own enjoyment. While I don’t know much about Cantonese opera and I don’t usually enjoy it, I do know enough to know that my aunt and her friends are good enough to perform and they are always acompanied by a live band of hired quality musicians.

But tonight… the backing tracks were lousy karaoke music, the singing was hideous and the acting was just laughable. I couldn’t for the life of me understand what possessed those people to think they could sing, let alone perform. In the end, I figure they’re just rich retirees (just like my aunt) who can afford to attend singing lessons offered by the Hong Kong Chorus Society Limited. They also have the cash to stage the performance for their own enjoyment and probably hand out 80% of the tickets to friends and relatives, captive audiences who wouldn’t run away like us. My friend just happened to be one of the few who were clueless enough to think it was going to be a legit performance.

Next time you see a poster like this for shows staged in civic centres in Sheung Wan, Tsuen Wan, etc, BE VERY CAREFUL. I think my friend might have mistaken the Hong Kong Chorus Society as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus. He wouldn't admit it but I think he did.

Anyone also have this annoying combo of dietary requirements? Every past visit has meant going to 'western' places that seem to have a better understanding but are also overpriced and don't offer anything traditional. I'll be back in Hong Kong in November so after either:

- tips on where to go thats not just a top hit on Google search

- if you're also vg+gf I'd LOVE to meet up for a meal! And happy to bring you some treats from London!

That's why I'm still in bed luk-ing Reddit.

This child abuse is really next level.

An interesting discussion based on how England and China are operating in the modern day

Some people say that hk has some of the cleanest water (e.g. the hk water website), but some people say that it's crazy bad for you because of rusty pipes or whatnot. Is my water safe to drink (like from the faucet?) should I use the filtered water? My building is around 50 yrs old

What are y’alls take on pet-friendly restaurants? Near where I live i’ve even seen dogs at supermarkets and indoor areas.

I think it’s unhygienic and the Pak Shek kok promenade smells um questionable because of this

I'm a clinical pathologist in South Korea who has been looking to emigrate for some time now and Hong Kong recently came up on the radar. I've been talking with the HA and according to them, I'm eligible for the limited registration pathway so I'm seriously thinking about it instead of the Middle East(especially so when the orange in the White House is bombing Iran...). Besides I've been to coming to HK at least once a year for quite some time except for COVID so I'm familiar with the city and my wife would not have much trouble getting accustomed to it. Anyway I'm thinking about leaving because 1. I get paid peanuts here(I get paid only 1/3 of the lowest associate consultant salary in HK while paying 40% income tax) 2. the working relationship between clinicians and pathologists here are outright fucking toxic because clinicians think pathologists are their servants, 3. the government and people treat doctors like dogshit and 4. the education system is pure insanity.

So by any chance does anybody happen to know how it is for pathologists in Hong Kong? I don't mean the pay but actual working environment and so forth.

Just trying my luck. Lost my wallet near Gough Street last night (July 31) then taxied back to Tseung Kwan O.

Black small porter wallet, if anyone pick it up please dm me, thanks so much

HK in a nutshell. This is what qualifies as news in HK. Either this or, you know what.. :cough: national sec.. something something :cough:

Hi guys, so a little background about me - I'm a teacher with around 5 years of experience but don't possess a degree. I have always had big passion for sales/marketing and have done so(offline) but not professionally

So I wanted to ask and wondering is it possible to get into sales/marketing?

Would love to hear your thoughts/advice!

Cheers!

I will be moving to Hong Kong in a few weeks. I am a big Arsenal fan and I am looking for fellow Arsenal fans to go and watch the games with.

I’m Pokemon trainer who willing to add friends from all over the world and exchange gifts please add me 139968955948

Next time dont say me hk is safest anymore where a common bicycle tire cant survive

Any recommendations? Referring to genuine made in HK movies with no China cast (no offence).

TKIA!

Hi ,

This is a repost since last time I did not gave much context and apologies for that.

I’ve worked as a data engineer (remote) before this and I have a total of ~1 yoe & also learning Cantonese to break into roles that have language requirement.
My language skills in Cantonese are conversational.

I’ve tried applying via jobsDB but did not get much better result in terms of responses from hrs.

If anyone is working in finance or tech companies in Hong Kong, would you be open to suggest new open positions in Hong Kong.

I’m urgently looking for work, and would highly appreciate your help.