Readers’ Choice Awards 2006
We asked, you voted. Here are the best – and worst – places and phenomena in Hong Kong this year.
Person | Environment | Food & Bev.
Health | Nightlife | Shopping | Others
Person of the Year
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen
>> Our Chief Executive took 28.3 percent of the votes. But based on “write-in” votes, one gets the feeling that Bus Uncle would have won if only his video escapades had taken place earlier. In a year that’s seen the economy go gangbusters and Tsang strong-arming his way to getting $5.2 billion to build new offices at Tamar, it seems he’s well on his way to getting re-elected. But who knows? Psychics might, which is why we checked in with two of them at the New Age Shop. One look at Tsang’s face and Edmond Kwok exclaims, “He’s not only man of this year - even next year still looks good for him. From the face, his nose and especially the eyes, he is clever smart. He knows something that will happen. He knows what he should do and what he shouldn’t do.” And Australian healer and seer Janine Umama added, “He’s quite a dynamic man. He’ll make changes but the people around him won’t be happy with what he does. There are a few things that he’s said that aren’t going to come off.” Might that be a $5.2 billion Tamar bust? Not even a psychic knows.
Scandal Of The Year
Winner: Nancy Kissel
There was no real contest when it came to the scandal of the year. In one corner was that whole Kissel thing, with its strawberry milkshakes, dead husbands wrapped in carpets and Nancy herself pleading about the years of abuse she suffered. In the other corner, we had Annie Pang’s famously overlooked skeleton. Kissel came out on top with nearly 40 percent of your votes, easily beating out Pang (28 percent). Kissel won a grand prize of a life sentence in the Tai Lam Center for Women, a maximum security prison for women which is located in the New Territories. But she’s keeping busy. According to the Correctional Services Industries, Kissel, along with most other inmates, is currently engaged in making government furniture, staff uniforms, hospital linens, litter containers, traffic signs, paving blocks, slabs and curbs. They also bind books, do printing work, do laundry and make envelopes. Together, the inmates produce $462 million worth of products per year. In other words, that buys a lot of milkshakes.
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Symbol of Hong Kong
It’s bigger than an egg tart (which got nearly 16 percent of your votes). It comes in faster than a plastic bag (14.4 percent). It’s more powerful than a wrecking ball (4.6 percent). It’s a SMOG-OBSCURED HARBOR, which demolished the competition for the Symbol of Hong Kong 2006 with nearly 54 percent of your votes. Despite Donald Tsang’s recent assertions that the smog ain’t THAT bad, it’s abundantly clear that you are all sick of it. Why, if this keeps up it may just become our permanent slogan.
Things You Most Want to Go Away: Smog
Smog smothered all others when it comes to things you wish would go away with nearly 54 percent of your votes. Slimming ads (24 percent), fake LV bags (7.2 percent) and Tamar debates (six percent) were left behind in the - cough, cough - dust. But the big question is, when is something going to be done about it? It’s going to take open acknowledgement from our Man of the Year and the sort of aggressive fervor that he used to secure funds for the Tamar offices. In June, there were a whopping 507 high pollution hours in Causeway Bay, 180 in Central and 57 in Mongkok. In January, there were 721 high pollution hours in Causeway Bay, 640 in Central and 608 in Mongkok. Is our smog problem going away? That’s just wishful thinking - and right now, that’s about all that’s happening.
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Best Place for a Caffeine Fix
Starbucks
>> Starbucks narrowly beat out Pacific Coffee for the best cup. But are we shopping smart for our coffee? Caffe latte and caffe mocha may be the most popular orders at Hong Kong’s 64 Starbucks outlets, but the smart money is on the eight-ounce short cappuccino ($21). Simply put, you get more bang for your buck. Although its tall sister (12 ounces, $27) is the most popular size, both sizes contain one shot of espresso, meaning the short cap has a bolder taste - and you pay $6 for four extra ounces of steamed milk and foam. But don’t take it from us: the World Barista Championship defines a traditional cappuccino as a “five- to six-ounce beverage,” which means the shorter the cappuccino, the better.