how to know when it's time to go home

during my last night in HK, i decided to get a ton of japanese snacks from the store that carries mostly meiji (as in the makers of that yummy koala cookie thing with the chocolate inside) items.

i bought enough stuff to get me three coupons with japanese instructions on how to join a contest or find out if you've won a prize. good thing the chinese saleslady was a big help. big help. i think she was this close to having a nervous breakdown. after the communication struggle (where are subtitles when you need them?), i figured out that I won 200 HKD worth of japanese food at some restaurant. gave that to my HK-based friend because i was leaving the next day anyway.

i also won -- and as a certified junkie, this was even better than the gift certificates -- crab chips! a huge bag of it.

so back at the hotel room, i realized that due to laziness and lack of funds, the crab junk was going to be my dinner. after putting the first chip in my mouth, i was surprised to find out that my much-awaited prize was, in effect, ... KIREI.

(if you do not know kirei, shame on you.)

eating the kirei-wannabe made me homesick (like i wasn't homesick for the entire duration of the HK trip?) so after making sure i wasn't dressed as a hooker, i went down to the hotel bar to avail of my complimentary drink (which i almost completely forgot about).

i ordered a glass of white wine (because i am a boring, uncreative creature) and it arrived with a bowl of something indistinguishable in the dim lights of the bar. after putting the first indistinguishable something in my mouth, i was surprised to find out that my much-awaited free bar snack was, in effect, ... OISHI.

(if you do not know oishi, you should have stopped reading since the kirei anecdote.)

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how to know when it's time to go home. when homegrown junkfood follows you to far-off (if you consider hong kong "far-off") lands and unexpected situations.

barbeque clover, here i come.