Category: domestic life
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Hong Kong Best Food Box Hill: white people not welcome
The suburb we moved to just over a month ago borders Box Hill, the center of the Chinese community in Melbourne. Box Hill is our local shopping center, and its 3 minutes in the car. I love it: parts of it remind me of Hong Kong: a magically fascinating range of shops you don’t get other places, a big food market selling anything and everything, and a ton of interesting Chinese restaurants.
Since we moved here we’ve been slowly visiting different restaurants…well, and one we’ve been to before and loved: Indochine, a Vietnamese restaurant that offers great food, happy and quick service, at really cheap prices.
Friday night we decided to try Hong Kong Best Food. A sure sign of a good Chinese restaurant is that it’s always full with Chinese people, and this fit the bill.
We had to wait 5 minutes for a table, which was fine, and were seated at around 6:50pm. That’s when the fun began.
The first thing we were asked is whether we wanted chopsticks or not. It’s an odd question given every other Asian restaurant I’ve been to just gives you the chopsticks and if you want a fork you ask for it. We thought nothing of the question then, and it seems innocent enough by itself (despite the fact it presumes we couldn’t use chopsticks)… until what happen next.
So we order and then wait….and wait…and wait. We watch people enter the restaurant, order, and get their food with a wait no longer than 5 minutes, often quicker. People who entered Hong Kong Best Food Box Hill at 7:15pm had eaten and left before we had our food, which finally arrived just after 7:30pm. It probably goes without saying at this point that those entering the restaurant were exclusively Chinese, and we were the only white people in the place.
The food wasn’t good, indeed had we not wanted to make a scene, we could have sent at least one dish back, because the meat was undercooked…which is even more interesting given how long we waited for it.
We paid the bill and left.
My wife, who would normally be the last person in this world to note racism like this said to me that we’d been racially profiled, and that the service was intentional so that we wouldn’t return again. I have to say I 100% agree.
So my Hong Kong Best Food Box Hill Review: probably a great place to dine, as long as you’re not white.
I’ll be investigating the racial discrimination laws this week to see if there is any way to complain as well. I don’t support racism from white people on others, but likewise I don’t support it happening in reverse either, and there can be no other explanation for our treatment by Hong Kong Best Food Box Hill.
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Internode speed test
The interwebs were connected last night (Wednesday) exactly two days after I finally managed to place an order with Internode to get it connected over a Telstra landline (no Naked ADSL for me 🙁 ). They said 5-10 days, so I’m doubly impressed, although it helps a lot that the connection is a Telstra resale connection, because we know Telstra is always quick with their own product.
I’m on a 40gb plan at $109.95 a month, not cheap, (the Telstra resale plans are more expensive) although notably Internode doesn’t count uploads….which is mighty fine. The speed isn’t half bad on the ADSL2+ connection either.
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Winter wonderland
The hail was so persistent for so long it woke me up at about 4:30am. These pictures taken after first light at 7:30am so it had started to melt; at 5am though everything was covered in a thick blanket
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Michael Hill Jewellers FTW
A big shout out to Michael Hill Jewellers.
She who must be obeyed’s rather expensive 1ct diamond ring I gave to her for her 30th birthday (back when I could still afford to buy something like this) lost a diamond last week. They’re replacing the diamond under warranty, and were highly apologetic.
It is insured, but it’s nice to see a company happy to help, even with something so expensive for them to fix.
Michael Hill Jeweller FTW.
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Tasmania
Port Arthur: nice
Tasmanian Devil Park: overpriced
Salamanca Markets: crafty
Getting caught in a snow storm on Mt Wellington: priceless, given Ive only seen snow twice beforePS WordPress iPhone app isn’t half bad either. Pics to follow tomorrow, after Crowded House tonight
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Melbourne Cup tips
My first year in Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup….and I’m not attending. Wife + son home, turns out schools and workplaces make the Melbourne Cup public holiday (yes, it’s a public holiday for a horse race here) into a 4 day long weekend. Maybe next year 🙂
Camberwell is quieter then Easter…and there’s less shops open. The more religiously inclined may want to reflect on that.
Anyhow, an exercise in futility, I haven’t backed a Melbourne Cup winner since Mackybe Diva, and before that it was probably 5 years, but here we go
FTW: 8 Mad Rush
Places: 7 Zipping, 9 Ice Chariot
She who must be obeyed tips: 8 Mad Rush, 11 Littario
The golden child tips: 14 Gallopin
Trifecta I’ve boxed 7 8 9 14. The idea of a horse called Gallopin coming a place appealed to me 🙂
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The sky is falling….in Melbourne
No, not the dollar dropping to 60c, or the auction rate below 50%. No, red dust. Lots of it.
The Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, least Camberwell, Canterbury and Hawthorn, have woken up to find everything covered in red dust. On my car is looks like rain…and it’s a little sticky as well
Not sure if it’s coming from this fire at the Westgate Bridge. If it is, I wonder if it’s toxic or not? what I do know is that there’s a ton of it everywhere.
On a bright note, car wash outlets will have a record week in sales 🙂
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Happiness is a Wagyu Steak
I finally got around to trying Wagyu steak, the famous Japanese corn fed, heavily marbled stake that commands premium prices compared to regular beef.
Tender, sweet without being overboard, mouth watering, and not at all fatty, which considering how marbled the steak is was suprising.
I can say without any question that the piece of Wagyu I consumed last night at Radii was the best piece of steak I’ve had in my entire life.
The questions for me is: was it the steak alone or the cooking method as well, as Radii is regularly rated in the top ten Melbourne Restuarants?
I’m going to have to find some to cook to answer that question, although I’ve never seen it in the shops. Someone must have it somewhere…maybe a trip into town to the Victoria Markets might deliver some.
Naturally it isn’t cheap, but if you’re ever offered the opportunity to try it, don’t think twice about it.
