Penny’s Bay diary: fine dining, airline food and surviving the famished in-between hours at Hong Kong’s most exclusive quarantine centre

South China Morning Post managing editor Brian Rhoads recently flew home to the United States to attend a memorial service for his late father. After he had already left, the Hong Kong government moved the US into a new high-risk category, meaning he will spend the first of his three weeks of quarantine at the government’s Penny’s Bay facility. Over the next seven days, he will recount his experience. You can read about Day 3 here.

If someone with a case of Covid-19 escapes the cordon of Hong Kong’s quarantine restrictions into the community, local health authorities are known to dramatically cordon off entire flat blocks and unceremoniously ship scores of potential contacts off to the Penny’s Bay government quarantine centre.

As such, not long after Penny’s Bay opened in 2020, some fearful and intrepid city residents assembled and circulated a list of critical items – from electronics and bath towels to cleansers and children’s toys – to have at the ready for a “go-bag” in case one had the misfortune of falling victim to Hong Kong’s quarantine regime.

First on the list? “Loads and loads and loads of snacks”.

In this further instalment of “news you can use”, I’ll try to provide practical advice surrounding food, including what foodstuffs to stock up on before you depart, and what to expect when you arrive at Penny’s Bay for compulsory quarantine. (As one reader commented on my recent column on what to expect from your room, this is more practical advice, less the “Bridget Jones Diary” of my first two entries).

After four full days in Penny’s Bay, I fully subscribe to “loads of snacks” being the top recommendation for anyone suddenly classified by Hong Kong as being from a high-risk country because of the Omicron variant and therefore forced to spend their first week of quarantine in this Spartan government camp.

Caught off guard myself by Hong Kong’s labelling of the United States as high risk, I responded accordingly, knocked over a Hudson’s convenience shop at Los Angeles airport and loaded up on as many bags of nuts, granola bites and other healthy snacks as I could carry. It is this stash of snacks that has made the stay at Penny’s Bay bearable.

Take heed: Now is no time to experiment. Get tried and true snacks, familiar ones, your go-to brands of roasted nuts or chips. Quarantine is a terrible place to find out that you do not particularly care for, say, “wasabi and soy sauce flavoured” almonds. Resist temptation, stick to what you know and take extreme care when scooping things off the shelf into the basket.

I would give some less-savoury snacks away, but as I cannot leave the room without facing a fine or jail time, I suspect the authorities would prefer items being disposed of to be placed in one of their provided orange bags labelled “clinical waste”.

The first item for business when you arrive in your room is to choose your preferred menu for the entire week – there are Chinese, Western and vegetarian options – take a photo of each side, and send it to the WhatsApp group for meal arrangements.

Do this immediately. Any delay will result in a Russian roulette of cuisine deliveries – the helpful centre staff distributing food in hazmat gear will choose your meal at random on your behalf.

That’s great if you want some spice in your life while in seven days of quarantine, but not so helpful if you have dietary restrictions or specific preferences. There is also an unlisted Indian food menu, a vegetarian one and another featuring meat, but it is not on the pink menu provided so you need to request it through the WhatsApp meals number.

It is worth knowing that Cathay Pacific Catering Services has been providing the meals at Penny’s Bay since May, when the previous provider was sacked after an outbreak of food poisoning. The Cathay-provided food boxes, which arrive punctually in a tray at your window three times a day, are marked clearly with expiry times – instructions to ensure they are eaten or otherwise disposed of in a timely manner.

If you can forgive the rare odd combination of pancakes being served on mashed potatoes, the food is generally decent and edible.

Still, at some point the penny drops when you have an airline caterer providing your food in a confined space you cannot easily leave: You are being served aeroplane food for every meal for seven straight days. (See snacks, above, to break up the monotony).

After snacks, the local Hong Kong survivalists fearing incarceration due to local exposure had a few other choice recommendations: alcohol (hit Duty Free), fresh fruit, UHT milk and chocolate. Some recommendations, including a rice cooker and eggs, were less practical for someone travelling from abroad.

For those dependent on caffeine, and nearly as highly recommended as snacks: coffee, or, for tea drinkers, your favourite tea bags. There is an electric pot for boiling water but no microwave, and signs expressly forbid cooking. Unless you travel with your own grounds, a French press or filter apparatus, stock up on the finest instant single-cup coffee gourmet pouches you can find. These have made the mornings survivable.

As an aside, for the first time in my three quarantines, I was allowed to leave my confines to take part in the Hong Kong election. It was pleasant being able to stretch one’s legs for the 100 or so metres to the election station – staffed by those in the familiar full blue hazmat regalia. This does wonders for morale, so I suggest the authorities consider allowing some kind of exercise period for those craving the outdoors.

On the way back from voting, I found myself humming Food, Glorious Food, from Oliver! but I resisted the urge to break into song lest the other inmates join in and initiate a riot.

Next up: Evergreen survival tips, and preparing for release from quarantine, into quarantine.