A humid day in Hong Kong...

Note: The post below was written in August 2009, when the weather in Hong Kong was scortching and humid.  Apologies for not posting earlier.

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The weather is hot, humid and humid. 34 degrees Celsius for those who care about such details and did I mention it was humid?

What better conditions for a little excursion. Details of the appropriate attire for a humid day:

Shirt: Cotton red and blue over check with button down collar and 3mm thick Mother of Pearl buttons, MTM by my Hong Kong tailor

Shorts: Light cream cotton, Off The Rack (OTR) Blazer

Belt: Canali (not shown)

Shoes: Canali corduroy suede leather slip-ons

Watch: Jaquet Droz Sports Watch

Accessories: Zenith rubber bracelet with SS buckle (yes, Zenith of the El Primero fame) and Oakley canvas sling bag in military green.

I like travelilng on Hong Kong's MTR. It is fast, efficient and clean. Besides, I am too afraid of navigating Hong Kong traffic in a car.

Our destination today is Mong Kok, or "Busy Corner" in Cantonese.

It is past midday and Mong Kok is swarming with people already. Mong Kok is a central location for shopping, particularly if you are after anything electronic, sneakers, Seiko and Casio watches and replica BB weapon systems (guns just do not properly describe the range of what is on offer but that is another post altogether).

But first, we need lunch.

Blanched lettuce with preserved tofu sauce. This one was particularly good as it was made in-house. Its flavour was much more subtle and it wasn't too salty, which industrial grade ones tended to be.

Hand made noodles with beef fried with tomatoes and egg, mushrooms and some veggies in a pork bone broth. The noodles were made using a pasta machine. There were fettucini versions but I opted for the spaghetti one.

In the spirit of the Tarts, I used my watch to help give a perspecitve on scale. The portion served was rather big.

Following lunch, I am off to my intended destination. Mong Kok is neon city at night when the billboards are lit. Besides the merchandise I mentioned previously, other service based offerings are available.

Finally, we've arrived. I was after something specific. About a week ago, I received a telephone call informing me that something I had ordered about three months ago was now available for collection. The ordering system is rather simple. First, prototypes are made. On the basis on the prototypes, orders are taken. Once a specific number of orders are taken production begins and generally in a limited number. Production does not begin until that magic number is achieved, so one can wait for sometime, generally about two to three months.

Another thing that Mong Kok is famous for is its toy stores.

Not just any toys but collectables. However, I wasn't after just mere trinkets but something more substantial.

Something else that I collect is 1/6th scale action figures. Today's purchases were from the recent Terminator Salvation movie.

The loot!

Here they are: John Connor and the T-600. As for opening them, you are kidding aren't you?

G.