Technology, a megameal and romance

95% of people aged 15-59 have mobile phones in Hong Kong, the highest penetration rate in Asia. A single Ethernet cable or a wireless adapter gives me access to my e-mail and the Web; it's hard to tell I'm not at home. Commuters can buy Octopus, a contactless debit card that can be used on all the buses, subways, trains and fast food places; you just put it near the reader (it can even stay in your wallet or purse). I'm not a gadget freak by any stretch of the imagination, but all this technology will be missed when I go home.

My uncle invited me to dinner again tonight, this time at the Kiangsu and Chekiang Residents Association Restaurant, members only. We had a private room at the back and dined on Shanghainese food. There were a few more dishes than this, here's what I remember:

• stewed beef tendon
  
• crispy eel in honey sauce (fabulously crunchy and sweet)
  
• spring rolls
  
• drunken chicken
  
• soy sauce soft-boiled eggs (creamy, almost orange yolk)
  
• gluten
  
• bean curd rolls with mushrooms
  
• smoked duck with crispy skin served with sweet buns in shell-like shapes
  
• deep fried fish battered in salted duck egg yolk and green onions (very interesting)
  
• vegeterian stew with fermented tofu
  
• braised napa cabbage with Yunnan (?) ham
  
• stir fried rice cakes
  
• cold sesame noodles with shredded chicken and cucumber
  
• spinach dumplings
  
• soup dumplings (siu lung bao)
  
• other steamed buns I only stared at
  
• fried egg pancake filled with red bean paste
  
• sesame and red bean rolls
  
• assorted slices of melon
  

Spec-tac-ular. Despite the quantity, I wasn't rolling over groaning, as is ofteh the case with heavy and greasy Cantonese food.

In fact, I had enough balance to explore the area around my hotel. The Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong's Walk of Fame, complete with handprints of famous movie and music celebs. The best reason to take a stroll here is to check out Central at night and be transfixed by the sheer number of buildings that are on the island.

And to watch young teens making out to corny love songs of the last two decades.