Like a Local - Hong Kong - page 81

Tea Break
When mid-afternoon comes, cha chaan tang (tea cafes) are full of elderly folks debating the
morning's meat prices and stock-market fluctuations. These holes-in-the-wall function as
community focal points for the aged and housewives to swap gossip and commentary.
They're also boltholes for many a stressed office worker.
Late-Night Sweets
After dinner, locals like to head to a dessert shop for sweet soups and other Chinese-style or
fusion desserts, such as black sesame soup, steamed egg pudding, mango pomelo sago, and
durian crêpes.
Steamy Winter
In winter hotpot at a dai pai dong (food stall) or even a restaurant is a soul-warming, con-
vivial experience. Dip slivers of meat, seafood and vegetables in a vat of steaming broth.
Consume and repeat. Your night will be transformed.
Money Matters
Jockey Club
Step into any Jockey Club off-course betting centre (often found in public housing estates,
near markets or transport terminals) on any race day or night, and you'll be assailed by a
maelstrom of emotions as punters struggle to defy the odds. Occasionally you'll hear a
squeal of joy but more often than not, invectives pepper deep sighs of desperation as numer-
als streak across the TV screens every 30 minutes. Outside, high rollers squat on the pave-
ment en masse, heads buried in race cards, in search of the forever elusive winning formula.
Stocks & Shares
Similarly, look out for the hole-in-the-wall brokerage firms on any weekday and you'll find
crowds of (not all small-time) investors deeply engrossed in the live stock-market updates
on the wall-mounted panels.
Local 'hoods
Full-scale gentrification has yet to arrive in these areas but the dictates of urban develop-
ment are already changing their character. Go and soak up their gritty, earthy, neighbourly
vibes before it's too late.