Fancy Seeing You Here.

The economy here appears to be rockin'. This is probably why some of the most unlikely US investors have brought their shoppes to Hong Kong Town. In my entirely non-scientific observations, American companies are doing pretty well here.

1. Oh Thank Heaven....
For 7-11. They are everywhere. Residential neighborhoods, snooty shopping areas, but mostly in the subway stations. A popular hangout after school, one can typically find hoards of hungry teenagers in school uniforms around 3:30. This observation was not wasted on a group of panting American boys yesterday, as they tried to make their dreams of having an Asian girlfriend come true.

2. KO? OK?
Circle K enjoys a lesser popularity among the teenaged populace, probably because of its lack of slurpees. This makes Circle K a good alternative for picking up your newspaper and coke around 3:30.

3. Bud-da-da-da-da...I'm tolerating it.
I doubt it will astonish anyone that Mc Donalds is doing alright here. They are found everywhere in Hong Kong except inside the most premiere and exclusive shopping centers. Not because Mc Donald's can't afford these locations, but simply because these centers can't afford to lose business by having a Mc Donalds next to an Escada, Dior, Fendi, Prada, Tiffany's, Chanel, or Seibu. That being said, you can pick yourself up a burger and fries just about anywhere else. But be warned, fair American. Their chicken sandwiches are not the simple patty of white meat on a bun. I think they soak the chicken in soy sauce for months before serving it to you, thus making an already bad alternative to food even worse. I will, however, give Mc Donald's some credit for being the only purveyor of ice cream (albiet not Ben and Jerry's quality) that I can readily afford.

4. Asians Like Huts, Right?
...was the phrase uttered by Pizza Hut's marketing guru just before introducing the corn and carrot pizza. Pizza Huts are flourishing here. I cannot walk up a subway escalator without some pompous advertisement telling me "NOW YOU CAN ENJOY PIZZA HUT MORE OFTEN!!!" and showing me a corn covered cheesy bread. *shudder*

5. The Girl Gets Around
Mrs. Fields is probably the most evil thing to happen to Hong Kong since the PRC. You can smell it from around the corner, and already you're starting to drool. Unlike Pizza Hut, Mrs. Fields doesn't advertise that I can enjoy her cookies more often. Whyyy? Because she knows she's good, dangit, and she can charge whatever she wants to, knowing I'll buy it. Fun fact from law school: Mrs. Fields is in 52 countries around the world selling her quality controlled delectable discs in one of two sizes. The United States and Australia get the huge size cookie and everywhere else gets a normal sized cookie, because other countries just don't seem to have our sweet tooth. Teeth? Anyhow, one of the best days in law school was when the Mrs. Field's General Counsel came to talk to us and gave us piles and piles of free cookies. Sigh.

6. Not so much.
Believe it or not, I haven't seen an abundance of Starbucks around. I have probably spotted 3 in this vast, densely populated city. That says a lot when you compare it to pathetic little downtown Salem which somehow supports two Starbucks on the same street. When people drink coffee, they seem more inclined to do so at the Pacific Coffee Co. I had never before heard of it.