04-018 Fresh milk vs. Milk drinks

04-018
Fresh milk vs. Milk drinks

Talking about milk, in a city with a population of over 7 million, the total number of dairy farm in Hong Kong is zero. Yes, all milk products you can find in the city are imported. Not even a single drop of milk is produced locally.

Do you like milk?

Image Source: Pixabay

It was not like this. We used to have several dairy farms. Due to the continuous salary rise, tightening of the food regulations, and scarcity of land, dairy farms were moving away from Hong Kong over the previous decades.

These all came to an end in 2008 when the last dairy farm, Hong Ning Dairy revoked their milking license and moved their cattle to China. It is absolutely okay for them to do this. They strived till the end and should not be blamed by anyone.

But instead of telling the truth to the public, this farm chose to lie. They locked up their cattle depot, claiming the new food regulations do not allow visitors milking their cattle anymore. And not only milking, they even not allow the public to walk close. Because there is always a concern among the locals on food safety in mainland China, Hong Ning Milk, claiming to be the last surviving dairy farm in Hong Kong, became the golden boy, until being discovered by the press in 2015.

Hong Ning started becoming suspicious because the wordings printed on their bottles changed from "Fresh Milk" to "Milk Drinks". What the heck is "Milk Drinks"? The term  is used for any milk products that are not 100% milk. Normally, they are made by dissolving milk powder into water, adding additional ingredients such as calcium or favor.

Being heavily criticized, Hong Ning nearly disappeared since then. Only very few shops still sell Hong Ning. No one knows where did their cattle go. Being moved to their new farm in China? Being slaughtered and eaten? Being released into the wild? Or all dead because of disease? It is still a mystery. Hong Ning disappeared completely before the pandemic.

"Vita", "Nestle Dairy Farm", "Trappist" & "Kowloon Dairy" being sold in 7-Eleven

So what about the others? There are still 5 local brands producing milk products, all using imported milk sources. They are the "Trappist Milk", "Kowloon Dairy", "Vita", "Nestle Dairy Farm" and "Farm Milk". The first 4 brands can be found in
most supermarkets and 7-Elevens while "Farm Milk" can be found in city’super, together with the other 4. But watch out! If you do not want to buy those watery milk powder mixture, make sure you can find the word "Fresh Milk" on the packing instead of "Milk Drink" or "Milk Beverage".

"Farm Milk" sold in city’super

Apparently, all products from "Farm Milk" are pure milk while all Vita's are "Milk Drinks". The others 3 sell both.

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02-015 Casino Dice

02-015
Casino Dice

Casino Dice, also called Precision Casino Dice, are standard d6 “right-handed” dice made to be very accurate and fair. They have sharp edges and corners and are usually 19mm in size.

Casino Dice

Regular dice that are used for board games or other purposes are manufactured via the plastic injection molding process, often made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The pips or numbers on the die are a part of the mold. Since the number of pips on each side are different, the center of gravity of the dice is not exactly at the same spot of its geometric center. This affects the fairness in each rolling.

Casino dice are made through a special process that ensures their accuracy and fairness. The pips or numbers on the dice are drilled into the surface, then filled with a paint that has the same density as the plastic. This way, the dice have equal weight on all sides. The center of gravity of the dice would be as close to their geometric center as possible and do not favor any outcome.

Casino dice are machined from a hard plastic called cellulose acetate, which can withstand the impact of throwing and bouncing. They may have a polished or sand finish, making them transparent or translucent, respectively. Their sharp edges and corners make them roll better and prevent tampering. Casino dice are also subject to various security measures, such as serial numbers, cancellation marks, glow spots, key letter spots, and casino logos to prevent cheating or forgery.

As its names suggests, casino dice are used in casinos for games like craps. Being preciously made, casino dice are also more expensive than normal dice. Amazon is selling casino dice at a price of around USD 3 each. With less than 9 dollars, you can get 100 pieces of normal dice.

The set I got from Amazon costed me USD 19.76. It consists of 6 authentic, table-played 19mm dice from Nevada casinos. Same as playing cards, casino dice are also replaced regularly to prevent wear and tear. Old dice were cancelled and sold as souvenir. The dice have a circular cancellation mark on one of the surfaces. This helps dealers identify if any cancelled dice are brought into a game by a cheating player.

US$19.76 for a set of 6 table-played 19mm dice from Nevada casinos

My set of dice is in different colours and from different casinos including Binion’s (1951), Boulder Station (1994), Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (1955), Harveys Lake Tahoe (1944), Peppermill Reno (1971), and The D Las Vegas (1980). Some of the casinos are even older than me! Holding the dice on hand is like owning a part of American history. The set also came with a drawstring-closure, black velvet pouch for storage and safe keeping.

Brillant made casino dice with logo and cancellation mark,
though this casino has some not so brillant history

Casino dice are d6 dice which can be used to play any dice games. But since the dice are from casinos, why don’t we use them to play craps? It is the only casino game that allows gamblers to have physical contact of casino dice.

General Information

Player	1 to 16
Playing Time	20 to 60 mins
Age	10+
Year Released	1125
Designer	(Public Domain)
Publisher
Family	Betting and Bluffing
Score	5.0 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Dice size	19mm precision casino dice
# of dice	2
Faces	6
Details	Casino dice are d6 dice precisely made to be very accurate and fair. They have sharp edges and corners and are usually 19mm in size.  Casino dice come with different colours. They are normally transparent and bear the logo of the casino and a serial number to prevent forgery.

The game play

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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01-032 Table-played playing cards

01-032
Table-played playing cards

I have bought 4 packs of playing cards from Amazon at a cost of USD 12.79. They are not ordinary playing cards. The manufacturer is “Bee”. The cards are printed in USA, in top casino quality. And most importantly, they are used.

Table-played playing cards

On Amazon, a box of 12 pack brand new “Bee” playing cards only costs USD 24.99. Why should I spend more than 3 bucks on a pack of used cards, when a pack of brand new cards would just cost me 2 bucks? The reason is, these cards are the real deal. The cards are real Vegas casino playing cards that actually been used by official dealers at popular Las Vegas casinos.

Cards are printed by the US manufacturer "Bee"

Casinos have to periodically remove playing cards from circulation to prevent gamblers from using marks on them to gain an advantage. Ideally, all playing cards must be replaced at the end of each 8 hours shift. But in practice, the dealers have all the rights to replace the cards whenever they feel necessary, which can be as frequent as half an hour. You can imagine after a day of operation, there would be millions of used playing cards heading to landfill.

The pack is resealed with a label saying
the deck was actually played on casino table

Some casinos collect those used cards, clip the corners or stamp a hole straight through the center of the deck to show that they have already been used in play. This helps to reduce fraud, and it is also a way to show that the pack of cards was used at a genuine table in an official game. Each card receives the same treatment equally, which makes these playing cards useful for gaming outside of their original homes.

Cards are in French suits with jumbo-sized corner index

The used cards, and their boxes, are then sent to local community centers. Inside, people manually sort the 52 cards in order, seal them with a label and resell the cards to the second hand market. Table-played playing cards are not only cards with a story behind. Purchasing them can also help the local community.

Tabled-played playing cards are in French-suit with jumbo-sized index on four corners, allowing a much easier gameplay on casino tables. Cards are for real money business so their qualities are always the topmost. Jokers are removed as there are no rooms for them in the Vegas.

Casino logo is printed on the backside

My packs are from 3 different casinos of Las Vegas – Golden Nugget (1946), Atlantis (1972) and South Point (2005). Two of these casinos are even older than me.

The decks can be used to play any games that do not require a Joker. But as the cards are from casino tables, why don’t we use them to play Blackjack? 

General Information

Player	2 to 10
Playing Time	30 mins
Age	8+
Year Released	1700
Designer	(Public Domain)
Publisher	Bee
Family	Betting and Bluffing, Push your luck
Score	4.7 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Card size	Poker size (63mm x 88mm, 2.5" x 3.5")
Deck size	52 cards
# of suits	4 – diamonds (♦), clubs (♣), hearts (♥) & spades (♠)
Details	For each suit, there are: 1x A 1x 2 1x 3 1x 4 1x 5 1x 6 1x 7 1x 8 1x 9 1x 10 1x J 1x Q 1x K  And there are no Jokers.

Gameplay

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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04-017 Dim Sum

04-017
Dim Sum

I always want to write something about Dim Sum.

Dim Sum, and a pot of Chinese tea

Dim Sum is probably the most well-known Chinese cuisine throughout all nations. There are plenty of information about Dim Sum available on the internet. Wikipedia has a full list of all different kinds of Dim Sum in it, with photos. But I still want to write something about Dim Sum. I want to tell you the local definition of Dim Sum, different kinds of Dim Sums that can be found in Hongkong, how they look like, and how much do they cost.

The meaning of Dim Sum

Let us begin with the meaning of Dim Sum. Literally, Dim Sum means “a piece of heart”. Dim Sums are snacks. They are small in size and difficult to make. Therefore, each piece of Dim Sum is made with “a piece of heart”.

In the old time, Dim Sums are for the emperors or the nobles. They ought to be expensive. In modern day, although price of Dim Sum has dropped to an affordable range, it is still not a cheap food that people would consume in every meal.

Common Hongkong style Dim Sum

Below are common kinds of Dim Sum that you can find in Hongkong. I have been eating these Dim Sums since young. Like many other foods, the shape and taste of Dim Sums change over time. But some of them are still retaining their original shape and taste and has not been changed for decades.

Please note that I am not saying only the dim sums serve in Hongkong are “authentic”. Dim Sums were originated in Canton, but no one owns the copyright of making Dim Sum. Any people can make Dim Sums in their own style. So, if you go to your local Chinese restaurant, you will find the same Dim Sum looks slightly different in your country.

Also, the photos below were taken from different restaurants in different dates. But all photos are taken locally.

Shrimp Dumpling, Siumaai & Steamed meatball

There are around 100 different kinds of Dim Sums available. But the topmost common Dim Sum dishes are always Shrimp dumpling (蝦餃), Siumaai (燒賣) & Steamed meatball (山竹牛肉).

Shrimp dumpling

Siumaai

Steamed meatball

Shrimp dumplings are made with shrimps and bamboo shoots. Their skins are made by very special flour to give a sticky texture. Siumaai is made by minced pork and shrimps. And Steamed meatball is a mixture of beef and pork, although its Chinese name only says beef. All 3 dishes are steam cooked.

Dishes for chicken fanatic

Chicken roll

"Cotton" chicken

Four-treasure chicken roll, or simply Chicken roll (雞扎), “Cotton” chicken (棉花雞) and Phoenix claws (鳳爪), a.k.a. Chicken feet, are the most common chicken dishes. Chicken roll is typically chicken, ham, yam, ocean stick, fish maw, pig skin and Chinese mushroom, all wrapped in a thin slice of tofu skin. “Cotton” chicken is similar except all the ingredients are placed on a dish, not wrapped. The word “cotton” refers to the piece of fish maw, which looks like cotton. Phoenix claws are probably the most horrible dish in the eyes of Westerners. All 3 dishes are steam cooked.

Spareribs and Reticulum beef tripe

Beef tripe and Pheonix claws

Spareribs

Spareribs (排骨) and Reticulum beef tripe (金錢肚) are probably the most traditional Dim Sum dishes. I remembered back in the 80s, I traveled to mainland China with my parents. In a village restaurant in Canton, Spareribs are the only 2 Dim Sums served. The other is Barbeques pork bun. Both ribs and tripes are steam cooked.

Rice noodle rolls

Rice noodle rolls with fillings
The rolls in the photo is barbequed pork

Rice noodle rolls without fillings

Rice noodle rolls (腸粉) are another popular dishes. Rice noodle rolls are almost impossible to make at home, so people eat them in restaurants. There are 2 types, with fillings or without fillings. Fillings are normally prawns, beef, barbequed pork, chicken, or vegetable. You can only choose 1 filling per dish, not a mix. Rice noodle rolls without fillings are normally thinner and served with sweet or chili sauce. Rice noodle rolls with fillings are steam cooked. Rice noodle rolls without fillings can be steam cooked or shallow fried.

If you need some starch

Barbequed pork bun

Sweet cream bun

There is a wide selection of Chinese buns available to fill up your stomach. And the most common ones are definitely Barbequed pork bun (叉燒包) and Sweet cream bun (奶黃包). Chinese buns are not baked but steamed. We don’t use yeasts in making buns. They taste very different from bread. Try, but you may not like.

Where to find Dim Sum in Hongkong and how much?

Traditionally, Dim Sums are only served in Chinese restaurants during breakfast, lunch, and afternoon teatime. Because of their popularity, supermarkets have started selling frozen Dim Sums for home cooking for many years. But normally, frozen Dim Sums are in smaller version and taste a bit different from their originals. In recent years, many roadside Dim Sum takeaway stores appeared in Hongkong, selling the same versions of Dim Sums as in Chinese restaurants.

Depends on the class of the restaurants you visit, a dish of Dim Sum ranges from USD 4 to USD 10. And there is always a 10% service charge added to the bill. The service charge will be 20% during Chinese New Year, 30% on the Chinese New Year day. And they also charge around USD 1 to 2 per person for the Chinese tea.

Dim Sum record card of a local restaurant

Most restaurants serve other Chinese dishes, such as fried rice and noodles, alongside with Dim Sums. Some dishes can be small in size but are not considered as Dim Sums.

Backside of the record card includes other dishes apart from Dim Sums

Roasted belly pork, served together with other Dim Sums
but itself is not a Dim Sum

A pack of frozen Dim Sums from supermarket normally costs USD 3 to 4. And the price of a Dim Sum dish on roadside Dim Sum stores costs USD 2 to 3 only. Their Dim Sums are cooked, hot and can be eaten immediately. That is also why roadside Dim Sum stores are so popular in Hongkong.

Washing the bowls, spoons and chopsticks before eating

Before stop writing, let me also tell you a very common but rather strange practice that we normally do when dining in Chinese restaurants. It is washing the bowls, spoons, and chopsticks with hot tea before eating. The reason is to make sure the eating utensils are clear and soap free. Restaurants also provide us a bigger bowl to hold the dirty water.

Washing chopsticks with tea

In most people’s eyes, this is indeed a very odd practice! An American friend asked me when I was washing the utensils in a Chinese restaurant, “Won’t the staffs feel insulted?” This is a good question. Doing the same in a French restaurant would most likely end up being kicked out! But this is a common practice we do in Chinese restaurants. Don’t worry! We have plenty of Western restaurants in Hongkong. And we only wash the utensils in Chinese restaurants, not anywhere else. And if you don’t want to wash the dish before eating, it is also fine.

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04-016 Demae Itcho

04-016
Demae Itcho

Rice and noodles are the main staple food in Chinese culture. We eat rice and noodles almost every day. Traditionally, rice is the main staple food for southern part of China. While in the north, because of the cooler weather, wheat grows better than rice. Noodles are more popular in the north.

However, rice cooking took more than 40 minutes. Cooking a bowl of noodles only takes 10. Noodles adopt much better than rice in this busy city.

But there is a slight problem on preparing noodles. Cooking noodles has more steps than cooking rice. You need to boil the noodles first, rinse them in cold water and recook it before eating. Also, traditional noodles are made fresh and can only store for a few days. It is not the cooking part but the buying part that bothers most people. Noodles stores inside wet markets are closed after office hours. Office workers can only manage to buy fresh noodles during the weekends. And they have to finish them in a couple of days or else the noodles spoil.

Demae Itcho, served with luncheon meat

Things changed in 1969. Nissin Food created the first bowl of Demae Itcho 出前一丁 in Japan and imported it to Hongkong in the next year. Demae Itcho is not the first instant noodles ever made. But it is the first instant noodles that has a separate packet of the soup powder. Demae Itcho also uses sesame chili oil alongside its soup to create a richer and spicier flavor.

Soon, Demae Itcho became one of the most popular unhealthy foods in the city, thanks to MSG. Parents keep telling their children not to eat too much but continue feeding them Demae Itcho almost every lunch. In 1985, we have our local Demae Itcho factory.

Menu of local restaurant "Canteen" has a Demae Itcho section

Piles of Demae Itcho before cooked

Set C2 on the menu -- Demae Itcho with spiced pork cube and fried egg

Now, the term “Demae Itcho” becomes a local equivalent to instant noodles. Demae Itcho also becomes a part of local culture. Most tea restaurants (Cha Chaan Teng 茶餐廳) in Hongkong have instant noodles on their menus. Many emphasize that their instant noodles are all Demae Itcho, not any other brands. Some serve other brands but provide Demae Itcho as an upgrade option, charging $5 extra per bowl. In order to prove that the instant noodles are really Demae Itcho, they will give you the packet of sesame oil. A sesame oil packet comes with each Demae Itcho pack. It somehow serves as a “Proof of purchase”.

Set C1 on the menu -- Demae Itcho with luncheon meat and fried egg
Note the sesame oil pack "proof of purchase"

My son is a big fan of Demae Itcho

Apart from eating outside, Demae Itcho is always a hot item in supermarket. And it is developed into many different flavors, beef, seafood, curry, etc. Each pack costs around US 40 to 50 cents.

Different flavours of locally produced Demae Itcho

Some shops import Demae Itcho from Japan. Their taste is a bit different from the locals. The noodles are made by wheat grown in Hokkaido and tastes a bit saltier. And instead of just oil, there are sesame grains inside the sesame oil packet. An imported pack costs around US 70 to 80 cents.

Imported Demae Itcho, selling at a much higher price

Nissin also sells macoroni under the Demae Itcho brand

Some smaller shops even sell "industrial grade" Demae Itcho to individuals. "Industrial grade" Demae Itcho is sold to restaurants as a bulk pack and is not intended to be sold separately. It tastes the same as a normal Demae Itcho. But the packet does not have the transparent open window on it. "Industrial grade" Demae Itcho is not necessarily cheaper than normal Demae Itcho. It is just that the shop wants to seek a cheaper source and maximize the profit.

"Industrial grade" Demae Itcho

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