HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 18h"...second-hand refrigerator". Murder of Abby Choi allegedly linked to family dispute over HK$72mn property. 040
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 01/10/2026‘Grave New World’ - a TV soap opera Pure fiction, of course. Nothing to do with this. The story starts in 1940, with Japanese forces invading southern China. A penniless teenager called Cheng flees his home for...biglychee.com‘Grave New World’ - a TV soap operaPure fiction, of course. Nothing to do with this. The story starts in 1940, with Japanese forces invading southern China. A penniless teenager called Cheng flees his home for the... 020
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Where's the SCMP's firewall when you most need it? 261
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026GDP growth depends on imprisoning people who wear T-shirts with slogans on them! Soft resistance reduces productivity! Incitement pushes inflation up! Collusion creates unemployment! 182
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Back in Hong Kong, and straight to a cha chaan teng - with ideas above its station… 2212
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 12/09/2026We say farewell to plucky little Hokkaido. The disaster supplies section in the market (water, canned fish, etc). The pickled plums section. Signage (no, it's not exciting - it's an elderly home). Package design. 240
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Small towns in the hills around Sapporo give me an odd sense of deja vu. Took a while before it clicked: West Virginia. With a dash of Scandinavian warmth-retaining house design. And fewer trailers and overweight people… 182
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Hokkaido has renowned historic buildings - Meiji-era frontier-style and neo-baroque. But not so much for fans of hardcore grotitecture. These two are in Otaru. The fourth is a gorgeously ugly old locomotive, for shunting snow... 093
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Asahikawa. Best boring town in Hokkaido? Morning: shrine with barely a half dozen visitors all year; bad sculpture; deserted streets; cheap onions. Mostly a sense of emptiness and having seen better days (as a lumber hub). Where are the people? 182
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Bears, aggressive crows and killer bees operate in this cemetery... 141
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Retro café in small town in hills. Interesting range of pasta (eg anchovies and 4 types of mushroom). Playing church organ music (Messiaen?) 071
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The Sapporo beer museum. Last visited ca 1991. Now very commercialized (c/w free Asahi brewery tour in Fukuoka run as public service for gaggles of beer-guzzling housewives). But, of course, of great historical and educational value. 0104
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Light dinner of soba and tempura. Maitake mushroom. Genteel backstreet place. Background music: subdued shamisen. 071
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026For a change - Hoa Sen Restaurant. Customers are mainly (loud) Viet migrant workers, plus local ladies keen on pho. Amazing eggplant. Background music: Kenny G. 030
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Sweet Lady Jane Cafe, Sapporo. Highly wrought cakes (coconut, pineapple, almond pictured). But most of all - ACME brand cutlery! 082
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Congratulations, you have a beautiful 2lbs 10oz doll Must-have for budding dentists Still at condescending-to-aborigines stage Seals caught in store room More wonders of Hokkaido University Museum 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Things in a glass case A bear cooling down Fake mammoth (needed hair of 400 horses) The wonders of Hokkaido University Museum... 081
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Hokkaido soup curry. Choices: lamb balls, jerk chicken, oyster; natto, seaweed, saag combos. Reggae (Dennis Brown) playing. 060
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 05/09/2026hongkongfp.com/2026/09/04/h... Coming next: HK mulls historic status for The Bakehouse mediocre egg tarts shop on Staunton Street.hongkongfp.comHK mulls historic status for popular Kennedy Town 'check-in' spotHong Kong is considering granting historic grade status to a picturesque seaside spot along the Kennedy Town waterfront that has surged in popularity among mainland tourists. 031
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 05/09/2026The Freelance jazz bar, Otaru. In dilapidated historic house on hidden patch of wasteland next to abandoned rail line 5 mins walk from downtown. Elderly owner slightly deaf, so Thelonius Monk at full volume. 1101
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Tried everything* on the menu at bum curry & café, Otaku. Japanese take on Indian. They also sell vintage clothes. Ambient jazz in background. Brilliant. Impossible in HK. *Squid, clam keema, chicken, lentil. 020
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026If there's an umbrella hook next to the urinal, this must be Japan... 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Hokkaido. Bear steak, venison bolognese. Meat hunted by restaurant owner. (They also offer sea lion. Yes or no?) 291
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 03/09/2026A sick bag for when you connect to the Internet. Only in Japan... 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 20/08/2026More Hong Kong demographics Some stats from a contributor here. A quarter of Hong Kong’s population is over 65. It’s amazing things are still ticking over. Joel Chan at Numberwang goes into detail…...biglychee.comMore Hong Kong demographicsSome stats from a contributor here. A quarter of Hong Kong’s population is over 65. It’s amazing things are still ticking over. Joel Chan at Numberwang goes into detail… Looking... 0112
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Found while sorting through old papers: SCMP's Harry cartoon on the 10th anniversary of HK's 1997 handover. (Context : govt was pushing patriotic pride while severe inequality was impacting the elderly and unskilled.) 0245
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Pro-govt media against journalists Lingua Sinica examines the links between pro-Beijing media outlets attacking the HK Journalists Association last week… Without evidence, and in remarks that seemed a clear public...biglychee.comPro-govt media against journalistsLingua Sinica examines the links between pro-Beijing media outlets attacking the HK Journalists Association last week… Without evidence, and in remarks that seemed a clear public setup stemming from the... 030
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 11/08/2026In the courts The Court of Appeal allows 11 of the HK47 - convicted of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ over the 2020 pan-dem primary elections - to go to the Court of...biglychee.comIn the courtsThe Court of Appeal allows 11 of the HK47 - convicted of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ over the 2020 pan-dem primary elections - to go to the Court of Final... 010
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 03/08/2026The Economist on ‘NatSec theatre’ and invisible red lines The Economist tries to explain Hong Kong’s obsession with shutting down small bookstores… Evidently the officers in charge of the raid...biglychee.comThe Economist on ‘NatSec theatre’ and invisible red linesThe Economist tries to explain Hong Kong’s obsession with shutting down small bookstores… Evidently the officers in charge of the raid had not expected such a big haul, or they... 193
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 27/07/2026‘Less and less to scrutinize’ HK Labour Rights Monitor looks at how former members of the Hong Kong Police are moving into senior positions elsewhere in the public sector… Since taking office, [ex-cop CE...biglychee.com‘Less and less to scrutinize’HK Labour Rights Monitor looks at how former members of the Hong Kong Police are moving into senior positions elsewhere in the public sector… Since taking office, [ex-cop CE John]... 162
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 23/07/2026Hong Kong thwarts teenage autistic graffiti menace Police staked out a bathroom in order to catch an autistic 18/19-year-old for scrawling ‘seditious words’ on the wall. The guy worked part-time as a...biglychee.comHong Kong thwarts teenage autistic graffiti menacePolice staked out a bathroom in order to catch an autistic 18/19-year-old for scrawling ‘seditious words’ on the wall. The guy worked part-time as a clerk for the Vanuatu consulate…... 020
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Will the wording of the reprimand be copy-and-pasted from the last one? 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Just spotted in (a very crowded) Hunter bookstore, Sham Shui Po... 0111
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Hong Kong making headlines For fans of irony: according to reports, one of the books that allegedly endanger national security is Let Only Red Flowers Bloom by Emily Feng. (English edition published by...biglychee.comHong Kong making headlinesFor fans of irony: according to reports, one of the books that allegedly endanger national security is Let Only Red Flowers Bloom by Emily Feng. (English edition published by hotbed... 0102
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 16/07/2026HK tackles bookseller menace Bookstores Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield are raided by NatSec police… In a statement published on Wednesday night, the government said the five people were suspected of “doing...biglychee.comHK tackles bookseller menaceBookstores Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield are raided by NatSec police… In a statement published on Wednesday night, the government said the five people were suspected of “doing with... 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Bargain of the week: Ishtar beer (never heard of it, made in China). 12% alcohol (what do you DO with it?). HK$2.00 per tall can, T Big C store, TST. Will try. Maybe. 150
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Third-world mass-tourism model rejected By Bangkok officials, at least. Thailand has 463 times the land area of Hong Kong, and a population nearly 10 times bigger - the kingdom has 363 people per...biglychee.comThird-world mass-tourism model rejectedBy Bangkok officials, at least. Thailand has 463 times the land area of Hong Kong, and a population nearly 10 times bigger - the kingdom has 363 people per square... 010
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 02/07/2026HK govt mouthpieces disagree on where to put the hyphen. My advice: “Super Value-Adder” means “excellent at enhancing financial or other worth”; “Super-Value Adder” means “bargain-priced venomous snake in the family Viperidae”. (Not sure which one they mean, but hope this helps.) 050
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Where in the world can you park a 2-ton Alphard illegally with no problem, but get arrested for using an e-bike? 072
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Hunter bookstore gets the NatSec treatment From HKFP… Police said in a statement just after midnight on Thursday that a woman, 33, and a man, 32, were arrested on Wednesday. The pair allegedly displayed and...biglychee.comHunter bookstore gets the NatSec treatmentFrom HKFP… Police said in a statement just after midnight on Thursday that a woman, 33, and a man, 32, were arrested on Wednesday. The pair allegedly displayed and sold... 071
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Any chance of a costs/benefits analysis? RTHK reports… Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law on Tuesday said she is confident the tourism sector could meet the government’s target in accounting for...biglychee.comAny chance of a costs/benefits analysis?RTHK reports… Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law on Tuesday said she is confident the tourism sector could meet the government’s target in accounting for about five percent... 150
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 23/06/2026A cunning solution to low voter turnout The SCMP reports… Hong Kong election authorities have stopped compiling voter turnout data by age and sex, citing a lack of operational need, in a move that has raised...biglychee.comA cunning solution to low voter turnoutThe SCMP reports… Hong Kong election authorities have stopped compiling voter turnout data by age and sex, citing a lack of operational need, in a move that has raised concerns... 020
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Copy editor fails to notice incorrect word order because it didn't look wrong? t.co/WzXP1oakm9 051
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 20/06/2026Stunningly accomplished semi-impressionist paintings of the Hong Kong skyline? Or photos taken from a ferry with a grimy window during recent rain? (At least it’s not AI.) 0103
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 19/06/2026All must have prizes. Peng Chau dragon boat races nearing end... 161
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 18/06/2026How about ‘humbly suggesting’ it? The Court of Final Appeal upholds the law making it illegal to urge people boycott an election in Hong Kong. HKFP reports… Although casting a blank ballot or not...biglychee.comHow about ‘humbly suggesting’ it?The Court of Final Appeal upholds the law making it illegal to urge people boycott an election in Hong Kong. HKFP reports… Although casting a blank ballot or not voting... 010
HK Hemlock @hkbiglychee.bsky.social · 15/06/2026HK 5-Year Plan buzzword count… ‘enhance’ 46 ‘strengthen’ 39 ‘promote’ 38 'hub' 23 🙁 ‘advance’ 19 ‘develop’ 19 (‘development’ 167) ‘accelerate’ 16 ‘deepen’ 16 ‘leverage’ 14 ‘foster’ 13 ‘optimise’ 11 ‘consolidate’ 10 ‘encourage’ 6 0139
