“Without really thinking about it, we have come to assume that a flushing toilet is one of the basic requirements of an urban setting and one of the symbols of an advanced society.” argues Gonçalo Santos who also points out that “It is not clear that dumping excreta into any convenient body of water is the best way to handle local and global sanitation problems. We assume that flushing and forgetting rid us of the problem, when we have only compounded it by moving it to another place.”
In a talk co-presented by The Hong Kong Anthropological Society and The Hong Kong Museum of History and drawing on historical and anthropological research on the origins and the spread of the flush toilet globally, Gonçalo Santos talks about the rise of modern sewerage systems and their impact on society.
Do Flush Toilets Have Politics? Anthropocenic Reflections When: 7pm, 15 January 2014 Where: Lecture Hall, G/F, Hong Kong Museum of History, 100 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui How Much: Free More info: the talk is in English, more from [email protected]
The Asia Society Hong Kong is holding a food festival on Sunday 12 January, 2014 to explore the cultural significance of food, particularly rice, from a variety of sociocultural anthropological perspectives. Join artists, writers, culinary experts and scholars to explore eating as a social activity which reflects social and personal identity. Using all types of rice – including blue rice – as a starting point, the two-part one day festival will explore food as a conduit bringing cultures together, a collective narrative about place and time, desire, satiety, heritage and changing traditions.
The full day event is split into two sections: a morning panel discussion starting at 10:15am and an afternoon food tasting & cooking demonstrations from 1pm.
The speakers for morning session are:
Tony Cheng, CEO & Founder, Drawing Room Concepts
Sidney Cheung, Chairperson, Department of Anthropology, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Peter Cuong Franklin, Chef/Partner, Chôm Chôm
Rosa Paula “Rochie” Cuevas, Grain Quality and Nutrition Center, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Michael Leung, Founder & Creative Director, HK Honey
Yoshiko Nakano, Associate Professor, Department of Japanese Studies, University of Hong Kong
Daisy Tam, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Creative Writing Hong Kong Baptist University
While the afternoon cooking demonstrations includes:
Rice tasting with IRRI
Asian street food tasting
Seafood Laksa by Andy Cheng, Lobby Chef of The Peninsula Hong Kong
Hainan chicken rice demonstration by Tony Cheng
Shrimp & pork rice paper roll by Peter Cuong Franklin
Hakka tea cake demonstration by Tsoi Yuen Village residents
In a Grain of Rice: Food & Culture for South & Southeast Asia
Where: Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty
How Much: free registration 10am More Information: http://asiasociety.org/hong-kong/events/grain-rice-food-culture-south-southeast-asia-afternoon-session
The Beer Garden at Happy Valley Racecourse is well regarded as Hong Kong Island’s most happening midweek hotspot for international entertainment. For the next three Wednesdays in a row, fans can enjoy Music Rocks the Valley parties on the racenights of 8, 15 and 22 January.
This year’s Music Rocks the Valley parties will welcome world-renowned DJ Ricky Stone, who will be playing the latest sounds on all three Happy Wednesday nights. DJ BZ Li will join Ricky and hit the stage on 22 January.
Adding to the party vibe will be live performances from up-and-coming Welsh singer-songwriter Ben Semmens and his band, plus a team of famous dancers strutting their stuff to the music.
Music Rocks the Valley
When: 6pm-10:30pm, 8, 15, 22 January, 2014 Where: Happy Valley Racecourse How Much: HK$10 (Public Admission) Details: happywednesday.hkjc.com
bc magazine wishes all our readers, advertisers, contributors and supporters a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2014!
A big shout out to Bev and the staff at Zinc for a fun, happy New Year’s Eve party
“Occupy Central with Love and Peace” (OCLP) have commissioned the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong and the Centre for Social Policy Studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to organize a “New Year Civil Referendum”, which looks to encourage members of the general public to express their views on the principles of CE Election. It’s also designed to get the public familiar with the e-voting and raise awareness of the “civil authorization” of future CE Election proposals.
The “New Year Civil Referendum” is scheduled to be held on 1 January (Wednesday) 2014, and the topic of referendum is “Principles of CE Election”, with a total of 3 propositions. The results will be announced at the Civil Human Rights Front’s Post New Year Rally Gathering.
Propositions
Proposition 1: The representativeness of the Chief Executive Nominating Committee should be increased.
Proposition 2: There should not be pre-screening mechanism in the Chief Executive nomination process.
Proposition 3: Chief Executive nomination process should include element of civil nomination.
Voting arrangements
Online voting Voting time: 1 January 2014 01:01 – 18:00
Website: “PopVote” (http://popvote.hk)
Verification information: the HKID number of the voter in full, and a cell phone number for sending SMS
Smartphone Application voting (Smartphone App) Voting time: 1 January 2014 01:01 – 18:00
iOS users: please download the “PopVote” application in the App Store
Android users: please download the “PopVote” application in Google Play
Verification information: the HKID number of the voter in full, and a cell phone number for sending SMS
Polling station Voting time: 1 January 2014 13:00 – 18:30
Location of polling station: Bandstand, Victoria Park, Hong Kong
Verification information: HKID card
For more details and the exact voting process:
www.popvote.hk
http://hkupop.hku.hk/english/release/release1092.html
In the ever-changing nightlife scene that is Hong Kong, few bars – even successful ones – last longer than a few years – yet the iconic Barn II has been serving thirsty customers for almost three decades. The Barn II has evolved and morphed over the years as tastes and drinking habits change – for the last decade it’s been Causeway Bay’s premiere sports bar. Currently the 7000 square foot establishment located on the first floor of Cigna Tower at 47-480 Jaffe Road has 18 TV screens (including a massive 120” main screen) spread around the room so that all customers can comfortably watch the game. The Barn can show up to 10 different sports events/matches at a time, so if your sport isn’t screening ask the staff and they’ll try to oblige. There’s also two dart machines, so step up to the hocky and hit a few bulls-eyes.
The no-smoking law forced many raucous smoke filled upstairs bars to adapt, at Barn 2 it inspired the owners Nelson and Sam to enhance and expand the Barn II’s dining options. A new menu for 2014 launches this month featuring local and international favorites given a Barn 2 twist by the outlets two kitchens – one looking after Chinese dishes, one international. The international menu features several new signature dishes including the Barn 2’s signature burger – which features a 6oz beef patty in a sesame seed bun sitting on a bed of mushrooms, grilled pineapple, bacon (and lots of it). This is topped with cheddar cheese and a fried egg and served with chips, coleslaw and salad.
Barn 2 signature burger
Also new are thick sole fillets dipped in beer batter, deep fried and served upon a mound of fried thick cut potato – fish and chips, simple, tasty and delicious.
Pork Ribs – Barn II
With the festive season fast approaching the Barn II is offering a special three course Christmas and New Year’s menu priced at $288/per person. Starters include mixed seafood chowder, smoked salmon terrine, or chicken liver pate. Among the 6 main course options are Roast British Turkey with all the trimmings (including Brussel spouts, Yorkshire pudding, onion and sage stuffing…); Black Truffle Risotto; Vegetarian Roast with all the trimmings. Dessert offers a choice of Christmas Pudding with bourbon butter and custard, Tiramisu or Cheese and Biscuits. The festive menu is available until 1 January, 2014 and the three course menu with tea or coffee is $288 – half price at lunch time.
Barn 2 fish and chips
Barn 2
1/F 470-484 Jaffe Road,
Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong.
Tel: 2591 0346
The Barn 2 paid for the meals written about in this review.
