I was told that this may be the last generation that will keep the shop open, and after the owner retires, the shop will be closed. I mean, it's sad and all that, and I know I'll sound like an asshole, but other people will step up, and it's not like it's the only place that does these kinds of dessert.
Speaking of conservation, though, Hong Kong has a funny way of doing it. Take the Pawn, for example, an early 20th century building that has been converted into a restaurant that caters mostly to expats. Er...how does that exactly integrate historic buildings into the community? Oh wait, I forgot, it now caters to the most important part of Hong Kong society. Oops, my bad.
Also, I just don't really understand why we're so focussed on conserving colonial buildings. If those fuckers have no use, burn them down! We should be focussing on conserving real local culture! But I guess colonial mentality dictates that local culture isn't worth preserving. The root sources of the loss of traditions are colonization and Western cultural hegemony so you have to counteract that first before you can make any real headway.
My comments will seem kind of unfocussed, that that's because I'm really ambivalent about the conservation movement. I realize I'm not contributing much here, and that's because the middle ground is such a difficult place to find, but it's better than being a mouth-foaming conservationist. Incidentally, you notice that those people are inevitably ones who are really detached from their cultures? Conservationists always seem to be the people who never kind of fit in their own communities, so they go around preserving things in other people's communities. THE IRONY.
Alright, I'm done. I need to get back to my loving-kindness meditation, ignore all this Ai Wei Wei bullshit (nice to see Westerners getting involved in something that is none of their business again, and also nice to see opportunists using this as a chance for self-promotion and kiss ass to Western media) and pop a painkiller or two.
We ordered almond, walnut and sesame soups. I like the walnut one the best. You might remember that I wrote about the walnut stuff in my wedding banquet entry.
We got them plain (HKD20 each), but you can add on egg yolk and other stuff. 源記甜品專家 is on Centre Street in Sai Ying Pun.
