Ever Changing....

Hong Kong is a very International Place.  

Yes, the primary population is Chinese,

or more specifically Hong Konganese...  

However, Hong Kong, was until recently under British rule,

and it consists of a series of islands.  

Most of the products that are available are imported.

Usually, from all over Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

However, some U.S. products make their way out here too.

It is actually fun to have such ready access to products from all over,

even if they are ridiculously priced!

If you live downtown there is a part of town that the locals refer to as 'Gwyelo Town'.  

Gwyelo is a derogatory term for foreigners. 

 Means "Ghost or Devil people'....  

The Gwyelo town is kind of like China town in the U.S., but reversed.

Most locals speak English downtown, and you can find most any type of Western food you could want.

(Except REAL Mexican food, although they think they have Mexican, btw)....

Well, we don't live downtown.   

We live where there is very little Western Food.

(However, we do have a Starbucks, McDonald's and a Subway.)

When we are feeling a little home-sick for Western food, we head to Central!

There were a few American types of places that were down there.

One of which was a HUGE 3 story Grocery store, 

with a giant food court that had lots of Western food options, and the best burrito bowls!

Different restaurants and even Ben and Jerry's.  Yum!

Most have been around for years.

In the last few months, there has been a change.

We were told it is political...

It seems that as Hong Kong is transitioning away from British rule and into China's rule,

there has been a strong push to distance Hong Kong from Western influence.

In the last few months, many of our favorite places have been closed down.

Including the giant grocery store, that was always busy.

We asked about why they were closing, and they said it was political, not financial.

The restaurant that we had Thanksgiving at, an American Smokehouse place, is closed.

It had been there for years, and was always busy!!

A few other places that we like also disappeared, but the most shocking,

Ben & Jerry's...   One day it was open, the next it wasn't....

Good sweets are hard to find out here.

Normally, it is challenging finding a particular grocery item that you might like (imported type), such as tortillas.  Usually, when we do find them we try to stock up a bit, in our limited space, because things will just disappear from the shelves for weeks or longer.  It is always a mystery as to what will be available.  

Tonight I am mourning the loss of a few of our 'comfort' food places....

My personal feeling is that if they didn't use MSG the locals were like, Yuck!

It should be interesting to see what the future holds for this country.