Author: simon

Covid Test Needed to Enter Bars & Clubs

From today you will need a negative RAT test to enter local bars and clubs.

“Patrons are required to present proof of a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) result obtained within 24 hours before entering bars, pubs, clubs or nightclubs from June 16 to 29” announced Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan.

According to the government announcement, customers will need to show a photo of the RAT device with their name, testing date and time written on it as proof of taking the test – before they can enter.

Local illustrator surrealhk perfectly captures the new rule.

1672 – Yuli Riswati: Domestic Worker and Citizen Journalist

https://youtu.be/pNTykPfp0fU

“If I can do something small to help Hong Kong people and Indonesians to put the truth in front of them to see, then it’s worth it.”

Yuli Riswati worked in Hong Kong as a domestic helper and on her days off covered news and events for Indonesians in Hong Kong on Migran Pos –  a website she launched with her friends.

“Suddenly, not only was my connection with the outside world severed the connection between my name and myself was gone. My existence as a human instantly turned into a string of numbers. 1672.”

After a month in detention, Yuli was deported by Hong Kong Immigration in 2019 – even though she had a valid work visa and her employers were happy with her work.

yuli riswati -1672

Cod-licious – The Chippy, Granville Food Square, TST

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away… Ok, it was Chater Garden in 2015 – but today in twenty twenty-two it feels like a different time and place – an Englishman frustrated at the quality of fish and chips found locally imported a complete fish and chip shop, The Chippy, from Derby.

A bit extreme perhaps, but the massive queues and smiling faces at the Best of British pop-up event proved he wasn’t the only frustrated Hong Kong diner yearning for quality fish and chips. At the end of the week-long festival, the Englishman said he hoped to open a permanent version of The Chippy soon…

Is ‘seven years’ soon? I’m not sure, but the newly opened ‘The Chippy’ in Tsim Sha Tsui certainly scratches an itch. Crispy battered succulent Icelandic cod served on a bed of hot chips – simply delicious!

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220611-The-Chippy-Tsim-Sha-Tsui/i-2jDK4tR

And yes you will want to Instagram your beautiful-looking meal, but do it quickly so you can enjoy the freshly prepared meal hot. There are two sizes of cod; the Signature a 10-12oz fillet ($188) and a regular (5-6oz fillet, $108) served in a “Cod Save the Queen” Chippy Box full of plump English chips.

The Granville Food Square location seats around 60 and as well as fish the menu includes battered jumbo sausages, Pukka pies, mushy peas, curry sauce and proper gravy – all imported from Derby. Cold beer and drinks are also available in the food court and delivery options will be added soon.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220611-The-Chippy-Tsim-Sha-Tsui/i-hDBL8vQ

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220611-The-Chippy-Tsim-Sha-Tsui/i-3dpSj6t

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220611-The-Chippy-Tsim-Sha-Tsui/i-WFPxHN3

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220611-The-Chippy-Tsim-Sha-Tsui/i-CfZRmwJ

The Chippy – Tsim Sha Tsui
Granville Food Square, 46-48 Granville Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Tel:
Opening Hours: 11am til late

Picnic at Tamar Park – 3rd Anniversary

Deported lawyer Samuel Bickett has published an article about what he witnessed and photographed when the Hong Kong Police attacked a peaceful anti-extradition law protest on 12 June, 2019.

June 12, 2019: What I witnessed on the Hong Kong protest movement’s first violent day

Hong Kong’s protest movement is often referred to abroad as a democracy movement. It is true that universal suffrage was, and is, one of Hongkongers’ goals. But democracy was never the primary focus of the 2019 protests. After initial protests against an onerous bill that would have allowed Hongkongers to be extradited to the Chinese Mainland, attention shifted to police brutality and justice for its victims. Of the five demands made by the protesters, three were related to police and prosecutorial abuses, and all three initially stemmed from a single day of violence: June 12, 2019.

Sunday is the third anniversary of that day. Known in Hong Kong simply as 612 (luk-yat-yi in Cantonese), that afternoon the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council (or LegCo) was planning to force through the deeply unpopular extradition bill. In response, Hongkongers staged a general strike and organized a protest in front of the LegCo Building. The demonstration was authorized and largely peaceful, but police soon rushed in with batons and shields, and shot tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds into the crowd. Protesters were arrested, and countless people were injured. The police declared the event a riot, despite the fact that they instigated the violence themselves.

I was at the demonstration that day. This is what I witnessed…

Read the rest of the article here https://samuelbickett.substack.com/

image and text: Samuel Bickett

This is my Home – John Laudon

https://youtu.be/xettFl87smw

This is my Home

Music and lyrics by John Laudon
Backing vocals by Michael Luk and Renee Chan
Video edited by [email protected]

People mountain, people sea
soaring towers and crowded streets
from the harbour to the mountain peaks
This is a city truly unique

I have lived here since eighty-five
through the sunshine, and through hard times
but it holds me, like a love that’s torn
that will stand strong through every storm

Chorus:
I’ve climbed the mountains
I’ve walked these streets
this town this village that never sleeps
So many faces both young and old
This fragrant harbour
this is my home

This is a city that’s a sea of lights
it still shines on through the darkest night
just like a candle an eternal flame
I know this city has called my name

Chorus:
I’ve climbed the mountains
I’ve walked these streets
this town this village that never sleeps
So many faces both young and old
This fragrant harbour
this is my home

Bridge: We’re filled with hopes and dreams
to live our lives in joy and peace
I will stay here I will not go
Because I’m proud to call this place my home
This is my home

Chorus:
I’ve climbed the mountains
I’ve walked these streets
this town this village that never sleeps
So many faces both young and old
This fragrant harbour
this is my home

through the good times, and through the pain,
through the sunshine and through the rain
this is the home where we belong
And I have faith we will stand strong
Yes I have faith in my Hong Kong

Vegetarian Fish and Chips at Chip In

Recently Chip In a local social conscious fish and chip chain sent bc an invite to try their new vegetarian fish and chips. Intrigued, a Saturday afternoon visit to their branch in The Vantage at Hung Hom was arranged.

In all honesty, we weren’t expecting much, if you want to eat fish (or meat) then, at the moment, nothing matches the real thing for flavour or texture.
And the same is true with ‘vegetarian’ fish, in a direct comparison – really there is no comparison – to cod the beautiful flaky white pieces of cod are delicious. And ‘fish and chips’ is really cod and chips, nothing else is better battered and deep-fried to a golden hue.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220514-Vegetarian-Fish-Chips-Chip-In/i-TGRrx9D

That said if you don’t try to compare it to the real thing, the vegetarian soy product is not that bad. It has a reasonable texture and flavour, if a little salty, and it holds the batter well.

And for dessert, there are Chip In’s unique deep-fried Oreo cookies, sweet chewy and delicious!

If your vegetarian friends have been keeping you away from your local fish and chip shop, then invite them along to Chip In in Sai Kung or Hung Hom and everyone will be happy.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20220514-Vegetarian-Fish-Chips-Chip-In/i-FfZLKf5

Chip In:  Sai Kung
Shop 11, G/F, 9 King Man Street,
Sai Kung, Hong Kong.
Tel: 6418 6575
Opening Hours: 11am – 7:30pm

Chip In: Hung Hom
Unit 28, G/F The Vantage, 63 Ma Tau Wai Road,
Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
Tel: 9452 3373
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm

Tian’anmen Square Vigil – 4 June, 2022

Today we honour and remember those who died in and around Tian’anmen Square in 1989.

We take time to light a candle in their memory! Not to make a political statement but because honouring and remembering those who have died is an important and integral part of Hong Kong, Chinese and yes English culture.

That some would threaten violence towards those who wish to remember the dead says far more about them than us… What next, will Ching Ming Festival be banned as well?

HKPPA News Photo of the Year: The Pillar of Shame

The Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA) has announced the winner of its annual “Focus on the Frontline” photo competition.

The 2021 winner is HK01‘s Liu Ngan Hung for his photo “The Pillar of Shame” depicting workers removing the Pillar of Shame from HKU. The statue remembers those murdered when the People’s Liberation Army opened fire on democracy protesters in Tian’anmen Square on 4 June 1989.

The “Focus On The Frontline” photo contest began in 1993 and has become one of the most prestigious awards for local photojournalists. Through the competition, the HKPPA looks for photographs that are important to Hong Kong’s history and which combine the elements of art and journalism.

Commenting on the winner “The jury thinks ‘The Pillar of Shame’ reflects the Hong Kong people’s sustained concern over June 4th, which is also a yearning and worries for the country’s democratisation. As workers removed the pillar in the twilight, it symbolises the freedoms of thought and expression once cherished in Hong Kong being dispossessed. The lighting condition and framing of the photograph gives it a baroque aesthetic, bringing tension to the work. The posture of workers lowering their heads to avoid being photographed and the darkness that envelopes the action are metaphorical, constructing a meaning that is more than the sum of all the visual elements in the image.”

Ming Pao’s Lam Oi Yee image of people drinking on a street, metres away from a fatal car accident came second in the Spot News category.

Lam Oi Yee