Last night, dinner at Tai Ji, the Shanghai place that has opened on the 4th floor about Joe Banana and Bulldog. Tai Ji was formerly in Causeway Bay. I’m told by a friend who works in the area that this is the new Northern Chinese place of choice for local people who work in the area – first because the previous place of choice had too many roaches skittering around and second because that previous place has an all-Northern Chinese staff while Tai Ji has an all-Cantonese staff.

There were three of us and I think we had 8 dishes. This is not a formal place with an expensive (or expansive) menu, but there is an English menu and a wide variety of small dishes. The xiao long bau was about as good as I’ve had anywhere – very thin wrapping, very nice soup inside. Deep fried spare ribs. A prawn dish. A tofu dish. A soup with vegetable dumplings and some chicken and herbs. Dan dan mian. Can’t recall the rest now. All of it tasty, all inexpensive, and a very friendly staff. I will go back.

Today, three movers coming over to sort through the ton of stuff I’ve got and give estimates on the move. I’ve discovered another use for Google Earth – zoomed in on the house I’m moving to so I can show the movers how they get from the carpark area in the village to the front door of the house.

(To answer some of the previous comments on the moving topic, I’m not sure how long it takes to get from there to Central. I don’t work in Central so that’s not an issue for me. I can say that – with no traffic – I can get to Sai Kung town in 5 minutes, my girlfriend’s place in about 10 minutes and my commute to the office should be about 30-40 minutes depending on traffic. Although there are dogs in the village and they do bark when they see strangers, I’ve been there at night and it’s quiet enough. As opposed to right now – I’ve had six months of daily pile drivers from three nearby construction sites.)

Tomorrow is the day that I try acupuncture to see if I can quit smoking, having previously tried hypnosis and the Allan Carr method with no success.

Hongkie Town
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