I was getting so fed up of being in Shanghai. I love it but sometimes I just need to escape and what better place to escape than Hong Kong. It’s only a few hours away but it’s a different (dare I say, more civilised) world. I had organised some free accommodation near the racecourse and as I usually work by staring at my screen, it really doesn’t matter where I am in the world.
The first day I rushed to Marks and Spencer and feasted my eyes on all the edible food. The prices were prohibitively expensive so I picked up a discounted quiche and some discounted porridge. But I enjoyed looking at all the food and thinking about how nice it would taste if only I could bring myself to spend that much on it.
People must earn a hell of a lot of money to live well in Hong Kong. Everything but everything is expensive. I particularly hate the price in restaurants. In Sh 
anghai I eat out 2 or 3 times a day. In Hong Kong it would be 2 or 3 times a week. I would have to cook at home all the time and that just wouldn’t do at all.
Stanley is one of my favourite places in HK and I enjoyed sitting on the edge of the water staring out to sea, my lungs feasting on the fresh sea air.
As it happened, an old German friend I met in SH was in HK at the same time and we met up for a Thai meal ‘Thai on High’ which was excellent and not too expensive (most importantly).
And I have plans to meet up with another old friend from NJ days, Brett tomorrow for dinner and drinks. It seems everyone is here now. Who can blame them – it’s a fantastic place to be, if you afford it.
Agree! Returning to HK after years in Beijing I had sticker shock on the price of food here. It’s safer than but typically grown in the Mainland.
Since I live in a small flat and don’t enjoy extensive cooking that would smell up the apartment, to keep the food budget down I mostly make salads and smoothies and have a mix of fresh fruit and veg with foreign food available at the supermarket. Typically I eat Chinese food in simple restaurants 3 x/week.