#Hong Kong Borscht

[aphetaliamessages]

What are the countries thankful for?

America: FAACES fam, Tony and Mr. Whale, his Uncle Scotty, his Baby Uncle Sealand, and the Awesome Trio. And Russia's muscles 😤

Canada: For Gilbert, who finally noticed him

England: For all his sons even though they enjoy annoying him. His daughter, Seychelles. His brothers, too, maybe. And "I guess frogs for being tasty."

France: Makeup, cheese, wine, bread, cake, England, the BTT, ~England~, his kiddos, his sister, ghosts, labour unions, pretty dresses, pretty suits, his cat, the Pierres, tsundere compliments from England, love stories, his hair, roses, love songs, frilly curtains—

Russia: Alfie, his sisters, snow, sunshine, nature in general, little fluffy animals, sunflowers, borscht, vodka, and Christmas

Italy: Pasta, his friend Japan, pizza, pasta, nice clothes, siestas, Germany, linguine—that's a pasta, naked siestas, naked Germany, ravioli, his brothers, and cats!

Romano: Tomatoes. And churros 🤔

Spain: Definitely VERY thankful for his Lovito

Germany: Italy. Japan and Gilbert, too. And cake. Not just Italy. Other things as well. Ahem. Like wurst.

Prussia: His brother, his besties, Gilbird (his favourite wingman), Mattie, Mattie's hair, Mattie's ass, Mattie's dick, Mattie's thighs, Mattie in comfy sweaters, Mattie in a crop top, Mattie with no shirt, Mattie with no pants, pancakes, Mattie's pancakes (not a euphemism), Mattie's pancakes (as a euphemism), how excited Mattie gets over hockey, Mattie's singing voice, Mattie's blush, Mattie's smile, aaaand beer

Austria: The familiar scent of his piano, the smell of edelweiss in the summer, orchestral performances on YouTube, and not being invited to Alfred's Thanksgiving party

Hungary: Austria. Austria in a frilly dress. Austria playing piano. Austria eating wurst. Austria in a tight dress. Austria in her bed. Austria—

China: Peace and quiet, Hong Kong speaking Chinese even if it's the wrong one, buffets, Hello Kitty, and Mickey Mouse

and Rommy

Japan: Cherry blossoms, green tea Pocky, Hatsune Miku, anime, dogs, cats, Greece, Germany and Italy, his weird big family, Animal Crossing, America's promise to beat up anyone who bullies him, Ao3 and Pixiv

Hong Kong: Hip hop, when Bàba approves, when Dad disapproves, the word "yo," wearing hats backwards, white boys with puffins (well there's only one), dumplings, and unrestricted internet access!

Send an ask if you want more characters! — Mod England 🎸

[hong-kong-art-man]

THE OLD OLD CHERRY OF HOME: ROMANTIC TSIM SHA TSUI OF HONG KONG IN THE 50S & 60S 

Hong Kong is small. We do not have hometowns. We have ‘home districts’. We miss our home districts. Where we came from is now gone. But, your heart is obsessively held by the beautiful district that you cannot forget.

Let us examine the old old districts of Hong Kong, say around 100 years ago. Western District used to be a nightlife area and is now outdated. Sheung Wan was a Chinese business hot pot and is now in the embarrassing process of gentrification. Central, after years of ruthless demolitions of office buildings, got a Botox face which we could no longer recognise. Wan Chai was a gathering place of seamen and soldiers. It is now eclectic, devoid of any orderly style. Hong Kong’s crown jewel is the most famous tourist area Tsim Sha Tsui, possessing all the histories, diversities, humanities and charms of city, from colonial to modern days.

Tsim Sha Tsui was one of the immediate causes of the notorious Anglo-Chinese War in 1840. In 1839, a villager in Tsim Sha Tsui was beaten to death by a British soldier but the British government declined any responsibility. National hostility of 2 nations began.

The hillocks of Tsim Sha Tsui were inhabited before 1830s, and the place was shaped like a nose running down to the Victoria Harbour. The southwest of Tsim Sha Tsui was a pier with warehouses. There was railway with a clock tower in the opposite southeast. Due to the surrounding large blocks of rock now known as Kowloon Park and Observatory Hill, Tsim Sha Tsui was safely secluded from the ‘poor man’ areas of Jordan. The town centre was divided into 2 parts in the 1940s: south of the main street Nathan Road, where Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday parade later took place in the 1950s, was an area swamped by nice hotels which entertained flocks of English and American tourists. It used to be the shopping paradise full of shops selling jewels, antiques, paintings, embroideries and rattan furniture. Street names were very Chinese such as Canton Road, Peking Road and Hankow Road. There was even a street with a Vietnamese name i.e. Haiphong Road. The north of Nathan Road was a residential area crammed with houses and cream-coloured blocks. The exclusive and opulent hotels there such as Astor Hotel and Grand Hotel attracted tourists as well as bars along Humphreys Avenue and Carnarvon Road. It is sad that all the old hotels and bars now disappeared without leaving a trace. The street names there were nostalgically English such as Cameron Road, Granville Road, Kimberley Road and Austin Avenue.

Simon Wong, a band drummer and now retiree whose family has lived in Tsim Sha Tsui for generations remembered, “I love Tsim Sha Tsui and am proud of it. It was a truly international and outstanding district even during the years when Hong Kong was still backward in the 50s and 60s. Tsim Sha Tsui stood out elegantly. People escaped from Peking, Shanghai, Tianjin, Macau, India, Vietnam and Malaysia and even Russia to Tsim Sha Tsui where it was easier to find a job and there was no discrimination against individuals on the basis of their country, skin colour or ethnic origin. Apart from Chinese, English was the most common language spoken. Most Chinese immigrants did not speak Hong Kong local dialect. Food was fantastic. We had gourmets from every country. The Russians who were refugees in the 1950s got us the borscht, a popular soup from Eastern Europe. I enjoyed the English fish and chips sold in Cornwall Avenue. The top Indian restaurants were in Tsim Sha Tsui and they sold spicy but cheerful curries.”

Simon added, “Tsim Sha Tsui had a lot of tourists, expats and international population. From high class shopping to energetic nightlife, there were many reasons to love this unique and charming district. We also had a highly developed bar culture. Almost every hotel had a bar or lounge. Our band performed in several bars. I still kept the remembrance of the happy moments when we sang and talked in such places.”

Plastic surgery was given to Tsim Sha Tsui in the 80s in order to create a twin along the abandoned railway in the east. The new district was called Tsim Sha Tsui East, an un-inspiring and dull area with a geometrical pattern of office towers. Soon, this pseudo-Tsim Shan Tsui area was tarnished by the expensive, tacky and bad taste ‘Japanese nightclubs’.  Then, gangsters invaded the tract. Tsim Sha Tsui lovers felt lost, hesitant and sad at this sad change.

The affliction of our city is not that romantic beautiful thing ended so soon, but that we are no longer able to create new things which are better enough to replace the old.

Acknowledgement: HKU Library

Russians in Hong Kong

[nightravenesque]

[jennamacaroni]

what were your faves (lets say like, top 3?) of the following in 2021? books, recipes (both savory and dessert), tv shows, films, and fics 😈😬

ha okay i asked for this, didnt i?

books: the push by ashley audrain, great circle by maggie shipstead, detransition baby by torrey peters, and plain bad heroines by emily m danforth

recipes savory: borscht, pozole verde from chicano eats, and this cheese and kimchi rice skillet

recipes dessert: any ice cream i make (hong kong milk tea was a hit), cafe de olla flan, mexican sweet corn cake

tv shows: hacks, sex education, top chef portland

films: the nickelodeon doc on hulu, nomadland, promising young woman

fics: anything and everything hacks by @fleaflofloyd and @nakedmonkey and destruction bc duh

[indieethos]

Director/producer Andrew Hevia on Leave The Bus Through The Broken Window

Director/producer Andrew Hevia on Leave The Bus Through The Broken Window

Used with permission by Andrew Hevia/Leave the Bus, LLC

You’d be forgiven if you sense director Andrew Hevia has a fixation on his own feet. The Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker (not to mention Oscar-winning producer of Moonlight) spends a lot of time pointing his camera at his casual, black Rag and Bone sneakers in his latest movie Leave The Bus Through The Broken Window. It’s an odd…

[vermillioncrown]

what's your favorite soup to make?

i have a top 5 soups to make (which doesn't form a perfect circle in the venn diagram w top 5 soups to ingest), if made to choose absolute favorite it would make the other soups cry and i don't want that

- western chicken soup

necessary: carrots, onions, celery, chicken thighs, salt, pepper, water, oil

fun: dill, parsley, lemongrass, ginger, a carb

starting off with a very simple, cost-efficient boy. mirepoix base (onion, celery, carrots), brown them in oil + salt + black pepper, then throw in bone-in chicken thighs w skin, cover w water, let simmer.

easy to jazz up if you want to get extravagant: give the chicken a bit of browning on the skin and underside first before putting in the mirepoix mix, add dill + fresh parsley + lemongrass + ginger, eat w noodles or rice, get less sad

backstory: from my undergrad crush's roommate, who taught me this for tutoring him in intro to programming (as in i was simping for this guy enough for him to outsource me to tutor his friends). great cook/bartender, horrible coder, hope he found a better major

- bastardized provençal garlic soup

necessary: garlic, sage, olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, water, egg

fun: potatoes, bread

this one has more steps. grab a big tub of pre-peeled garlic from the asian supermarket (or peel it all yourself, you masochist), and some fresh sage.

chop up a shitton of garlic, heat butter/flavorful oil, cook garlic in it, after a few minutes (make sure you have enough oil that you're not crisping the garlic instead) toss sage in. let the sage bring its flavor, then add water. the garlic + sage makes a very umami base that's reminiscent of a nice chicken broth.

because i'm an enemy of the french (according to all my int'l friends), i add diced potatoes so there's substance. be generous w the salt and pepper, potato absorbs a lot of flavor. as things finish boiling, either crush the garlic into paste and mix into the soup or leave it, fish out the sage so you don't eat bitter leaves

finish by serving w raw egg + beaten w olive oil + tempered w soup (it should be a nice, milky soup, not eggdrop), eat w bread.

backstory: "aigo bouido" was mentioned in pkmn x/y, in hotel richissime of lumiose city. a google search later while starving in my apartment, decided "why not"

(speaking of pkmn, i was done from day 1 w xy. paid no attention, got through it against my will (only bc i loved my chespin and wanted an aegislash), and when the big bad said "i will destroy kalos" i wanted to help)

(prissy uni student gary oak was almost enough to make up for my suffering)

- cantonese borscht

expensive bc of the oxtail (you can just use a big cut of roast w/o bone, but holy fuck you are missing out if you don't use oxtail itself)

http://yireservation.com/recipes/cantonese-hong-kong-style-borscht/ <- can't go wrong w this recipe, love things that are just "throw everything into pot and cook"

backstory: i was meh about this in childhood bc i preferred soup bones w lots of marrow. it's a very cha chaan teng (hk-style cafe) flavor, and when i moved across the country w no access to that style of eatery and home, it is the simplest way to capture it

- slavic borscht

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252414/borscht-with-beef/

my added suggestions are: - use canned beets. it will save you time and frustration, and use the beetwater in the can to make your broth - buy the jar 'better than boullion' beef paste + the beetwater to make the broth (also, it's easier to keep and use than canned/carton broth) - let it cool a bit and add salt to taste. salt (judicious use of it) will bring out the other flavors - can eat cold, puree the soup without mushrooms and beef first and add them back in (or without the meat and shrooms)

backstory: the intersection of me playing the ace attorney series obsessively + having a hungarian roommate in undergrad made me mad curious about this pink soup, and she was down to teach me. great for your digestive health. like... really great

- bittermelon pork bone soup

necessary: pork spare ribs, dried or frozen mussels/oysters, dried soybeans, bittermelon, chicken broth, ginger, salt, water

if you hate the fishy stink of mussels and oysters, you can prob substitute w dried shiitake. or if you are a fancy rich bitch, try dried scallop (but at that point why are you doing that? use it to make fried rice!)

rinse the dried soybeans and then soak them for at least an hr.

if the mussels/oysters are dried, also rinse and soak.

chop up pork ribs into smaller chunks. salt it generously, mash around, let sit for 10-20 mins in a pot. boil water at the same time, then pour it over the ribs when it's done salting. turn on the heat and keep it at a boil for about 1-3 mins.

remove from heat, drain the pork into a sieve, use cold water to wash the meat and bones. you want the extra gunk and myoglobin out (it's not blood), use your hands and get in there. let rest.

prep your bittermelon by chopping in half like a loaf of sandwich baguette. use a spoon or knife to dig out the spongy white part, all the way down to the green rind. then chop into smaller sections.

chop a thumb-size knob of ginger, you don't need to remove the skin. slice the knob into actual slices.

start boiling the broth, put the meat and ginger in. reduce to simmer, add the soaked soybeans and sea meat, and then the bittermelon. once it's all cooked through, salt to taste, eat w rice

backstory: it's the chinese kid way to fucking hate bittermelon. and then at some time between the age of 21-30 an internal switch flips and it becomes acceptable. idk i got used to bitter stuff (black coffee, dandelion greens, chicories) so it's actually a refreshing flavor now

[terracyte]

thank you @hi-raethia for tagging me!! ily kai <33

answer 30 questions and tag 20 people

1. name/nickname: hey its me, ya boi, terra (my first ever internet friend called me that after they forgot my actual name and i never looked back <3)

2. gender: female

3. star sign: cancer

4. height: haven’t checked but i cant be taller than 5′3

5. time: 11:52 pm

6. birthday: july 4th (no cake or fireworks, only specialty fried rice)

7. favorite bands/ groups: the score, neoni, neffex, caravan palace

8. favorite solo artist: forrest, takayan, khai dreams, potsu, snail’s house, yeah i have exactly one vibe what about it

9. song stuck in my head: all of them and constantly

10: last movie: finally finished my lotr binge, the return of the king was amazing as always

11. last show: fma:b babyyy

12. when did i create this blog: created maybe 4 years to reblog cool art, i still do that now but recently started sprinkling my own mediocre stuff in there 

13. what do i post: atla art/ writing, and stuff that makes me go :) or :”)

14. last thing i googled: “why are hong kong pineapple buns called that if they have no pineapple” 

15. other blogs: none! this is an all in one :V

16. do i get asks: not too many but i would love to get more! :)

17. why did i choose this url: its based off my initials, i keysmashed until i got something halfway pronounceable and here we are :)

18. following: 200 or so

19. followers: recently hit round 250, i have no idea why but i treasure you all greatly

20: average hours of sleep: 6-7 

21: lucky number: always vibed with 3

22. instruments: piano, clarinet, violin, kalimba, and if i try super hard i can kinda play the harmonica

23. what am i wearing: sweatshirt and sweatpants even though i am never sweating

24. dream job: architect maybe, but thats pretty ambitious huh

25. dream trip: i just wanna move to canada, get me outta here

26:  favorite food: gonna have to say hong kong style borscht

27. nationality: chinese american, or as my family so lovingly puts it, a banana

28. favorite song: can't choose, my music taste is like a roulette wheel

29. last book read: come on now you cant expect me to remember 

30. 3 fictional universes you’d like to live in: atla verse, middle earth (oh to be a hobbit in the shire with no responsibilities but my farm), as long as it isn’t a dystopian young adult novel i will go

i’ll tag @gracedbill @theyweretooyoung @zukosaturtle-duck @marriedzukka @huanism @paintedpatroclus @japanese @haiyah if any of you would like to! dont feel obligated and feel free to ignore :) and anyone else who wants to, please feel free! 

[justfoodsingeneral]

Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup

“With help of pressure cooker, Oxtail Soup (Hong Kong Style Borscht) can be prepared in much less time! This hearty and flavorful tomato-based soup is cooked with oxtail and stew beef, onion, carrot, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage.”

[furryalligator]

(via The original fusion cuisine – think borscht, sizzling steaks, and pineapple buns – has stood the test of time in Hong Kong | South China Morning Post)

[un-jaseur]

more information about borscht has come out and i kind of want to ramble about her for a bit! i’m quite excited about one of my favourite foods becoming an obtainable in-game food soul. 

at this point it appears to be pretty much confirmed that borscht is indeed that mysterious food soul from vodka’s backstory that she ran into during the revolution. in game, borscht appears to represent specifically hong kong borscht, which was created by immigrants fleeing from the soviet union during the revolution and repressions (including russians, ukrainians, belarussians, etc). the ingredients that are floating around borscht are also those commonly used in the hong kong variant - the european one always uses beets, and does not often include tomatoes or carrots, unlike the hong kong equivalent. 

it would thus make sense that borscht claims to be from light kingdom and wears a shirt that is east asian in aesthetics rather than slavic — she escaped the revolution, and is now trying to start a new life in a completely different place. it is unknown whether she did indeed move to light kingdom for a while and then moved on to nevras where her bar is located, or if she immediately went to nevras and is simply using the light kingdom story as a cover-up (especially since it is stated that her mannerisms are clearly very different from people in light kingdom). backstory will shed some light on that, hopefully! 

her lines also allude to her time in the revolution — the ice arena one (”the cold brings back some bad memories. it’s really uncomfortable...”), knockout (“i ended up... just like them...”), and idle 3 (”survival is my greatest hope”). she very clearly remembers the horrors of what happened back then, and it still haunts her a lot. she always asserts that she wants a quiet, peaceful life; even in her pledge line she laments that master attendant isn’t giving her a quiet life, but all she asks for then is protection — she is still scared that the aftermath of the revolution, possibly that the people from the side opposite the one she was on, will still come for her. 

in general she seems to be quite fearful and paranoid, startled by master attendant appearing in her log-in line, and her idle where she mentions that it’s too quiet — like she’s waiting for something to happen, constantly suspicious and on her guard. even in the anniversary event, she was keen on taking care of business and not staying around too long, not getting distracted and seeming quite wary most of the time. working at a failing bar and helping spaghetti with doing whatever it is he is trying to do is clearly not giving her the quiet, peaceful life that she so craves. she is still very much stressed, waiting for echoes of the revolution to come back and bring destruction to her life again. 

curious bit of information that i’m not sure how to interpret — borscht’s interaction 3 line directly parallels vodka’s! borscht’s is “my favourite colour is... well, it’s not red anyways.” while vodka’s is “my favourite colour.. it’s probably red, right?” there are so many symbolic meanings to be assigned to the colour red, including allusions to historical context and the soviet regime (which the backstories seem to be based off of), blood, or even the fact that... borscht wears red? that she claims she dislikes while vodka is the opposite. 

[amwilburn]

Night Owl Cafe

Night Owl HK Cafe

11/26/2019

D5 - All day breakfast combo

Corn beef sandwich & ham & mushroom omelette.

I talk about iCafe being the best overall (but priciest) style Hong Kong cafe we've experienced; but in Hong Kong, most of them are budget friendly along the lines of Fairwood and Cafe de Coral, and there's a certain HK style... really light and fluffy eggs, bread, etc.

This as true to the original style of those HK cafes as I've seen in Vancouver. Nicely toasted sandwich, incredibly fluffy eggs for the omelette; this is truly Hong Kong comfort food. Again, not 5 star dining, but pretty good quality for what it is. 4.25 stars. And for $10.95

B10 - Chicken and Steak sizzling hot plate combo.

This is unusual for a HK style cafe "mix & match meats" dinner in that it doesn't include HK style borscht (or any soup), but it's also $13.55 instead of $19 (you need to add $1 for cold drinks regardless)

The chicken was *so* good (no unrendered fat, no fat / gristle, perfectly crisp skin and juicy, perfectly cooked chicken. So good thay I needed to revise Happy Day Cafe's score slightly downward just because HDC's chicken always let's them down.

The chicken was nearly 5 stars on its own, the cheaper (but a generous portion) minute steak, and the gravy style black pepper rather than the original HK style black pepper sauce hold it back to 4.25 stars.

The iced tea was alright, a touch under sweet; wife's hot milk tea was very creamy.

We will definitely return. No this isn't the highest grade ingredients nor elevated dining, but it's very reasonably priced, perfectly prepared HK comfort food.

8.6/10, 4.25 stars

Menu:

https://www.sirved.com/restaurant/richmond-british_columbia-canada/night-owl-cafe/58870/menus

Night Owl Cafe《貓頭鷹》

8580 Cambie Rd #104, Richmond, BC V6X 4J8

(604) 276-0576

https://maps.app.goo.gl/518hGiETxpbTr3rX6

[vivianboeymalaysia]

港式罗宋汤#### HONG KONG STYLE BORSCHT SOUP

[homechefgary]

Sunday Dinner 週日晚餐 Russian Borscht Soup Blade Steak with Meshed Potato, Butter Mushrooms and Broccolini #homecooking #homemade #homemadedinner #homedinner #homecook #homecookedmeal #homemeal #cooking #cookingidea #food #homechef #dinner #eat #steak #borscht #mashedpotatoes #mushrooms #broccolini #homechefgary (at Hong Kong) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEzDIaUJrRu/?igshid=h4qpjfbpw2vk

[hampala234]

Oxtail Soup - Hong Kong Style Borscht

Warm hearty Hong Kong style Borscht (oxtail soup) with oxtail and stew beef, onion, celery, carrot, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage.

[rfung8]

Comfort Food 💯 . Hong Kong Style Café are the ultimate expression of comfort food . Tasty and accessible, the cuisine features many Western classics reinterpreted for an Asian palate . Most SF Bay Area renditions feature lower quality ingredients and overly sweetened sauces, but I was confident Vancouver would deliver . 📷Beef Brisket Curry with Rice | Russian Borscht Soup | Iced Lemon Tea . The Vancouver Sun named Copa Café the top HK Style Café and the dishes pleased the whole age spectrum . 📍(Copa Café, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦) . #instafood #foodstagram #yelpsf #yelpcanada #eatervancouver #eater #chinesefood #hongkongcafe #comfortfood #curry #icedlemontea #bestfoodfeed #bestfoodsf #topcitybites #vancouvereats #sffoodie #foodie #nomnom #feedfeed #richmondeats #eeeeeats #foodpics #eeeeeats #foodgasm #dailyfoodfeed #foodlover #foodphotography (at Copa Cafe) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Aq_fmlBCW/?igshid=ri56u0ouhida

[lennonhead]

food in Richmond Hong Kong French toast, HK cafe dinner ("borscht", mixed protein meal with beef tenderloin and schnitzel with gravy and mash), mango sago on shaved ice (not that great version despite how fancy it looks), Parker Place food court and beef brisket curry spaghetti (with the greatest milk tea of all these places), hot pot with plum juice