OSAS - OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME

For years Dora used to be jealous of my being able to fall sleep, almost anywhere, anytime ... 'Ray is so lucky, I wish I can do that'.  What she does not know is I was suffering, unknowingly, from OSAS which I only recently discovered.  The Mayo Clinic Web Doctor identifies the following as symptoms; sleepless twists and turns, toilet frequency, dry throat, easily irritated, tired during the day and, believe it or not, no sex drive.  That was me alright.

Apparently OSAS is under ENT and my specialist's first recommendation was a  'Diagnostic Sleep Study' in which I was wired for a 7-hour period.  To make a long story short, the Study showed 'severe features of OSAS, up to 65.8 disturbances per hour' or in laymen terms ... I stopped breathing almost every minute of every hour in my sleep, the worst recorded duration was 63 seconds or more than 1-minute.

I needed immediate medical attention and a CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Sleep Device was ordered.  Quite incredibly the disturbances were reduced dramatically from 60+ per hour to less then 10 now since I started using it.  I am a new man!

BTW doesn't the picture reminds one of Anthony Hopkins in 'Silence of the Lamb'?  My New Yorker brother-in-law had an even more graphic caption 'Silence of the Lamb Chop'.  Why? My doctor said excess body fat is the main culprit here, yes, guilty as charged.

MORNING LIBATION ETIQUETTE

Do you know Cappuccino is not supposed to be drank after 1030am as it is a breakfast and morning refreshment?  Do you know it is never to be served piping hot, as we like to order it in Hong Kong, but rather lukewarm so one can gulp it down and move on?  It is one of these etiquette lessons from our A&K Guide when we orient ourselves to the culture, or rather subculture, as the typical non-accidental tourist.

Speaking of orientation we were met at Milan Airport by a 'Guardian Angel' from A&K who is 'accessible 24-7 for the entire duration of our trip'.  We thought it was a marketing ploy until we needed help on the trip, including medical assistance, when we discovered how useful this service is.      

PECK

I am told that every foodie should make the pilgrimage to this sacred spot in Milan, a stone throw away from the Duomo. We did, but I am afraid the only thing that impressed us was the price tag, on almost all things. We were lucky that the Euro was low (under HK$10) but still we wonder how people can afford to shop there regularly. Perhaps that is why the place was not at all busy.  I picked a luxury item, a plain vanilla lobster salad ... yes, chunks of tail and whole claws in a mayo-like dressing with tiny dots of black truffle ... at E200 or HK$2,000 a kilo. Hello?  I am a low-brow when it comes to wines, and I know zilch about Italian wines so the cellar was a quick walk through. We then had tea upstairs ... 1 Espresso, 1 Tea with Lemon, 1 Torte, 1 Pastry for E30 ... thank you very much.

Peck is of course much better than CitySuper but it is a far cry from the Food Hall @ Harrods in London!  

DUOMO @ MILAN

Dora and I have been to a few places together but never traveled extensively in Italy. We decided to do that this year with Abercrombie & Kent, our first private tour experience. It was rather a costly proposition but as we get older ... hauling luggage in airports or train stations, rental cars even with GPS, asking for directions in a foreign tongue, reading tourist guides & maps with imperfect eyesight ... are hassles we can do without. Our girls said 'we are spoiled' or 'losing the adventure spirit' but we were not deterred.

The 18-day journey covered Milan, Verona, Venice, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, Chianti, Modena and then back to Milan.  At our first stop we stayed at the Star Rosa Grand (the red roof at the back of the picture on the right hand side) ... 3 glorious days of acclimatization, of walking and of course eating.  The Duomo has to be one of the finest in Europe, no wonder Napoleon wanted to be crowned here as Emperor of Italy, 208 years ago in 1805.          

CATHAY PACIFIC C-CLASS

In my efforts to de-link from CX we redeemed what is left of our miles for 2 round trip C-class tickets to Milan. We have not been flying CX much and have since been unceremoniously downgraded from Diamond to Green or the bottom rink, so much for customer loyalty.

Airlines keep redesigning C-Class seats, where they probably make the most $ and this is the current configuration on CX. While it provides privacy which I am sure is welcome, especially by business travelers like me who dislikes 'small talks on planes' ... a favorite past time for American frequent flyers which used to drive me up the wall.  These CX seats are perfect as one can hide, and does not have to speak to anyone if one does not want to. The flip side is if one travels with company it is bad news because the divider in the middle makes it impossible. Then again, if you and your partner are not on good terms, or had a fight before you board, this would be God's gift.  Imagine being left totally alone, hours after hours on a long haul, what more can one ask for?

GIANDO

Which restaurant in town carries this view, overlooking the 'Gates of Victoria Harbor'?  Giando!  Opened less than a year ago, it is located at The Fleet Arcade in Wan Chai, across the street from the APA.  A bit of nostalgia if you walk around, remembering the area as the hot bed of international naval traffic during the Vietnam War when Hong Kong was the #1 R&R location to many sailors, soldiers and marines who did not mind spending $ as it could well be, literally, their last hurrah.

Aside from picking a great venue, Giando also picked an interesting menu of mostly southern Italian recipes, inter-spaced with the classics. Not unlike many new eateries, creativity seems to be characteristic of the starters, while the mains almost never offer surprises. Face it, between meat, poultry and fish how creative can one be? My recommendation is to exhaust their starters, then order the very well done thin crusted pizzas, and ask for the check!  Good wine selections, matching the rustic style of the menu, and more importantly, reasonably priced.  Do a recce first, try their $258 luncheon to enjoy the day view, as shown, even though the night scene is outstanding.  Valet parking right in front in the evenings, very convenient.

Sergio Pusterla, the Manager hails from a town near Milan, a very friendly man who loves Hong Kong.

GIANDO : 1F The Fleet Arcade at Fenwick Pier @ 2511 8912 (www.giandorestaurant.com)  

BULL SHEET

No, I did not spell it wrong even though it may remind you of my dialect.  It is indeed ... BULL SHEET ... the official monthly publication of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.  This is a 40+ pages monthly event, complete with society news, recipes, BBQ tips, new members list - a geographic spread from all over America, chat section, and editorials under BBQ Confidential.  Of course there are also advertisements galore, where to get what so you have the perfect BBQ in your backyard .... reads like a thesaurus.  

Say all you want about the declining economy, about unemployment, about making ends meet and you ask yourself, what is wrong with this picture?  Yes ... 'Only in America' ... as we love to say.  

I WISH .....

These two words have caused a lot of misery in my life lately.  Saying 'I wish' either openly or quietly denotes that circumstances have come to a dead end, that alternatives are exhausted and, more often than not, the 'wish' has become 'mission impossible'.  Here are a few examples that are applicable to my 'I Wish List'.  

*  I wish I am 135 pounds ... I am 175 now

*  I wish I could go to the gym more ... I have not been in weeks, due to travels

*  I wish the dynamics in my family could be more balanced ... it is not

*  I wish everyone around me could be happier so I can be happy too ... they are not

*  I wish I have kept up with the TangCanCook Blog ... I have not

On the Blog I have been delinquent, again.  The last entry was December 28th 2012 or 4 months ago, to the date which is a real shame. I blogged very little of my Istanbul sojourn to learn Mezze in October 2012. Since the new year I have been to Myanmar and Italy, 3-weeks each, but have blogged zilch.  I have received messages, polite as well as rude ones, as to what happened.  The irony is 'nothing has happened' since my write-up on the delicious Shanghainese drunken crab.

I am now taking blogging off the 'I Wish List' and will start writing again ... I owe myself, watch this space.         

CRAB AU NATUREL NINGBO

Sitting on the Board of a listed company with manufacturing facilities in Ningbo has opened breath taking new horizons, not only on the fiduciary duties of an INED, but on the food front.

I am madly in love with the rustic country style cooking of native Ningbo, and the attached could well be the epitome.  Crabs in the neighboring rivers and lakes are ever so sweet, and there must be hundreds of ways literally to prepare them.  My favorite is the 'au naturel' ie using Chinese wine, soya source, vinegar & sugar .. period .. and fresh crabs, preferably in season, are cured in this simple concoction, then served.  The taste is captivating, is mouth watering, is additive and yes, it is evil.  While this is common place at most eateries in Ningbo it does not fetch the same following in Hong Kong.  To start with we should be suspect of where they are sourced and how they are made, unless they come from reputable venues like the Shanghai Fraternal Association in Central or, better yet, home made as the one I just had for lunch.  Good bye, lobster & crab sashimi!        

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

"I did not say that I do not have illegal structures ...."

This has to be the most talked about phrase today (Dec 11th 2012) in both Cantonese & English, across the soil of the HKSAR.  I am truly amazed!  Mind you, not by the author of the statement who obviously lost even more grounds and respect from his subjects, but by the depth of the English language.

Double Negative, as I was taught by the late Mr Kwong Sum Wood aka "Kwong Lo" who was feared but revered by all when we were at St Paul's Co-Educational College.  A Cambridge graduate, I believe with 1st Class Honors, he taught us the rudimentary of the language.  Notably ... in English there are Rules & Exceptions, but always be mindful that there are more exceptions than rules.  Then there is the Double Negatives, and his stern command still rings, after almost 50 years.  "Do not even bother to try unless you are absolutely sure how to use it!"  

I wonder where our Fearless Leader went to secondary school?