Why I feel assaulted by people eating on Hong Kong's streets
Everywhere you go there is the sound of chomping and slurping, moans Stuart Heaver. And don't get him started on cinemas and popcorn
Perhaps the principal advantage of not living in North America, apart from the fact that one is much less likely to be shot, is that there are still some parts of this city where noisily consuming food and drink is considered a taboo.
Sadly, those precious eating-free zones, such as the MTR and public libraries, are becoming few and far between. Almost everywhere else, members of the public can be observed stuffing their mouths with every conceivable type of fast food, smearing the contents over their faces and dripping and dropping residue on the floor.
My enjoyment of the Oscar-winning film was ruined by a large Westerner in the row in front of me, silhouetted against the big screen, rhythmically loading his mouth with handful after handful of popcorn from a container the size of a refuse bin. It was like watching a mechanical digger operating at a landfill site.
The National Theatre movie production of was memorable only for a woman seated next to me covertly transferring small items of confectionary from her handbag to her mouth throughout the entire performance. I was just grateful she had the decency not to grapple with crunchy bags of snacks, or suck up the last remnants of a fizzy drink, at key parts of the plot.
No wonder famous restaurants are closing down when we all prefer to graze our way around the city like phone-tapping bovines.