Church

Some of you may remember the little story happened in the village recently (see http://ccszeto.blogspot.hk/2013/10/village.html). For sure the story doesn't end there. While Mrs. Ferrars and Dr. Sheppard were dinning and talking about their future, another important discussion was going on somewhere.

It was the church of the village.

*********************
"L, you can't do this to us!" Father Brown found himself almost yelling.

And he had every reason to be excited. As the head of the only church in the village, it is a slap in the face if Satan is hiding somewhere around without his knowing.

But it happened - or that alternative scientist from Munchausen convinced everyone in the village that it had happened.

Curiously, L was remarkably calm. He  said slowly, "Father, we didn't do anything to you. At most we just find another group of expert to come around and see to the spiritual safety of our village."

"I suppose it is the duty of our church to dig out where is Satan hiding? Are you setting up a new church?" Father Brown pushed further.

名物

席走至此，其餘各味頃刻蜂擁而至。椒鹽蝦乃此店名物。有别於一般店子的避風塘式做法，楓林是以中蝦先泡嫰油，再回鑊上味，是以鹹味不重，殼脆可吃而蝦鮮益彰。此物相傳，正統做法是以椒鹽和入味精，以添鮮香。楓林所作，食後卻少有口渴之弊，似乎並未隨俗。

煎封豆腐是另一萬人迷。外脆略焦，内滑而有豆香。釀之蝦膠，不過點綴。淋之豉油，卻有畫龍點睛之效。屢次啖之，水準俱能保持，殊非輕易。

之後枝竹火腩炆虎斑乃濃味食際，素為家母所鍾。其實斑類皮厚肉實而脂肪不多，清蒸殊非上策。以火腩熳煮能添其油潤而增其豐腴，方為烹調王道。此味另一作法是以苦瓜炆，鮮後回甘，是更高層次之吃法。只是壽筵之際，凉瓜實有所諱也。

單尾是清炒芥蘭和瑶柱蛋白炒飯。前者脆嫩清甜，除厨子了得，來貨甚佳也應記一功。而炒飯也顆粒分明，恰如其份。餐後奉送芝麻糊，固是意思意思，不能强求。反而碗中湯圓，雖是即食來貨，倒也軟糯不爛。家人難得相聚，能不甘而啖之？

楓林

家慈慶生，於大圍楓林小館設宴。地點為母親自選，菜式則由區區所定。早前有傳此店放盤，而家母對這裡名菜，每每念念不忘，便擇於秋後壽辰，舉家而至，實為花開堪折直須折之意。

區區於此處大小宴會不下十餘次，多係燒乳鴿或椒鹽蝦作前莱 。這次卻是炸鮮奶先上。平心而論，此味奶略過甜，炸粉亦厚，但仍外脆內嫩，席上各人，無不讚好。回心細想，粤菜館子此品有售者聊聊，也數不出那一間勝過這裡。想來此菜難作，暗忖不知日本天婦羅大師又將如何處理。

再上是香酥鴨，仍是次序顛倒。秋季芋頭正是當做，楓林掌廚者炸功，亦少有能及。上桌時鴨肉香而不靱，皮下脂肪，則盡為芋泥所吸，外層蜂巢脆漿，也是適可而止，陰陽火侯，恰到好處。

此時燒乳鴿方至。老饕常言，上品應囑咐掌厨免斬上桌，以防香氣肉汁流失。然而一人一隻，胃納所限，其他菜餚便不能遍嚐盡慶。此機會成本，亦經濟學初階。余等任由店家鴿斬四件，皮騷肉香，仍是不錯，而人手一件，份量剛好也。

Advertisement

While thinking about what is the best next step of Mr. Wong, I come to realize advertisement could well be the next bubble in the financial market.

My concern is simple: The major chunk of profit of many TV companies comes from advertisement. (I just take the opportunity and through the annual report of #511. Although TVB has tried very hard to broaden the source of its income, earning from advertisement remains an overwhelming importance.) The same is true for all printed media as well as paperless ones. In other words, although Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Ropert Murdoch, Jimmy Lai and Mona Fong may seem doing entirely different kinds of business, they are, in a sense, sharing the same pie.

And, don't be fooled by the success of Google and have the romantic idea that advertisement is the eternal spring that never dries - it's got to be based on solid industry and companies that really do the trade.

Or, to put it in a rather blunt way, a pimp could not make any money if there's no woman under his control.

PS. In the field of medicine, the same is true for anesthetist. What good is there to train up so many of them if the number of surgeon is shrinking?

TV

The hottest news headline on our morning paper is certainly the scandal related to the approval of new TV licence.

I must say the black and white of the case is rather obvious, and I have all my sympathy to a true entrepreneur. Nonetheless, if I were Mr. Wong, I would back off - at least for the time being. As a form of entertainment, we have so many options nowadays; as a business, television is a shrinking pie in the red ocean. Competition for advertisement is fierce and, in this part of the world, depends very much on human factors. What good is their to win an argument (or a judicial review) but lose the customers? True, cutting loss doesn't look good, but one should not fall into the psychological temptation of taking more risk and denying a settlement. 

(Alas, for the last bit, I must admit I am reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow at this moment.)

Remember: It may be painful for Douglas MacArthur to escape from the Philippines in 1942, but that's all for a later glorious return.

And, my dear Mr. Wong, don't hold the romantic idea that all your supporters outside the Central Government Office would become audience of your TV channel (if it does materialize) - many of them will certainly spend their time on playing games on their mobile phone or watching YouTube.

Response

When the dinner was over and the two were sipping their coffee, the hostess decided to start the conversation.

"James, we have a problem here. They are going to take over our place and lock us up!"

"Yes..." The doctor murmured.

"Come on! Say something. What shall we do?"

"What else could you do other than complying with the Gestapo?"

"But what would I become if they show that Satan is hiding in my body?"

"Isn't that the case? Oh, but no, they won't."

"How could you be so sure?"

"Because there is no test insurmountable. Say, in this case, if they want to test whether a hair from your private part would sink in the water, you can always make sure the hair is well greased before testing." The doctor said with a wicked smile.

"Alas, that's deception!"

"May be, or may not," the doctor was not moved, "You know, to treat a square, we use rules. For crooks, we have to cut corners."

Rumor

For a moment L found it impossible to determine whether he was talking to a honest thick-headed scientist or, rather, an ingenious crook. However, in no time he realized he did not have to tell the difference. After all, he was merely hired by the village as the mayor. The political price - if there is such a currency - is just too high to miss a disaster, while his gain of spotting a scoundrel is trivial.

He remembered a friend of his - a malicious nephrologist - told him there's something called protective medicine. Now, L decided to practice protective administration.

He called his subordinates and asked them to follow the order of the alternative scientist.

***********************
Einstein was wrong. There's something faster than light - rumor.

That afternoon, the village was all panic. Everyone was discussing whether L or Y or some higher authority was using the haunted house as an excuse to take over the properties of rich people in the village. They had heard that such kind of thing did happen in Russia and some other places south to Siberia when some delinquent students of Karl Marx took over the country.

That evening, Dorothy, the wife of Mr Ferrars, invited James, her family doctor, to dine at the King's Paddock.

It could well be the last supper before the Paddock was closed and taken over by the Gestapo.

Owner

L remained uneasy, "Professor, would the... er... test on public hair a bit... innovative?"

"The test should actually be very accurate," the alternative scientist said without hesitation, "But you are right. We need to prove its validity. I think the bursary of the village should give me a good sum of money so that I could conduct some experiment in this regard."

L fancied he smelt something, but he decided to probe further, "Em... with this pubic hair test, if we do find a group of people possessed by Satan, what are we going to do with them?"

"We should try to clean up their soul. But, yes, I'm afraid we could do very little. Sophisticated devils are generally resistant to exorcists, and, based on my experience, the evil spirit usually becomes a permanent inhabitant."

"Alas, in that case, what should we do?" The mayor was now fully alarmed.

"We should keep them in the Paddock and treat the house as an asylum. I suggest I should take the full charge of it - I shall send my people there and see to the situation."

"Do you mean... we should make you - instead of Mr Ferrars - the owner of the house?"

Do

L was impressed. He knew that Mr Ferrars had not been feeling well for some time. (But, that shouldn't really come as a surprise. What do you expect from an old man whose diet is nothing but beer and potato chips?)

"Professor, I suppose you are right. What should we do?"

"Brilliant. I am exactly the expert in this kind of matter," Y said eagerly, "First, you should lock up the front door of the King's Paddock so that no one could get in and out of the building. Make sure all people in that house wash their eyes before and after they meet anyone. Em... above all, get a pubic hair from everyone - if it sinks into the water, this person is possessed by Satan!"

"These are really drastic measures. Em... professor, may I ask how does eye-washing help? I suppose Satan is within our soul and does not move from one person to another by looking at each other?"

"Don't be afraid; just believe."

Disaster

L shivered. He opened his eyes wide and tried to take a closer look at the man.

Mid-fifty, slim, half bald, stooping, formally dressed, and a huge pair of glasses. Yes, scholar-like.

“Excuse me, sir,” L cleared his throat and asked, “Did you say something?”

“I said something bad is going to happen,” the stranger said in a matter-of-fact tone, “To be exact, something is going to happen at the King’s Paddock – the elegant house of Mr. Ferrars.”

L opened his eyes even wider – if that’s at all possible. King’s Paddock is the biggest house of the village, and Mr. Ferrars is the symbol of money in this place.

The man obviously saw the surprise on L’s face, “Let me introduce myself. You can call me Professor Y. I am the Professor of Alternative Science at the University of Munchausen, and I have been investigating the happenings at King’s Paddock for quite some time. You know, a few members of the Ferrars’ family fell sick recently, and I could perceive Satan is growing strong in the house... If we do not do something urgently, a disaster is going to happen.”

***********************
Szeto’s notes: For the “true” story of Mr. Ferrars at King’s Paddock, please refer to Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Village

As a daily routine, L strolled down the main street of the village early in the morning.

It was a warm Sunday morning. Most of the shops were not yet open, and the place was exceptionally quiet.

"How peaceful!" L said to himself approvingly.

And he was probably correct. Ten years ago, when he first became the mayor of this village, the place was rather a chaos. But, with all his work and a bit of luck, things were moving in the right direction.

Yes, it is true that there remains many problems. As the morning paper always say, the village is dominated by a few big families; they get the lion's share of the money, and L has very little say on their internal affair. Nonetheless, the village, as a whole, is making money and everyone is better off - more or less. If you make a comparison with other big cities, you will be surprised to learn how well-managed this village is.

***************
While L was immersed in his pleasant day-dream, he found himself standing outside the Town Hall.

To his surprise, he was not alone - there was a middle-age stranger staring intensely at the entrance.

"Omen!" The stranger murmured.

(To be continued.)

Negative

(The discussion goes on.)

"Em... your view may be true, but I suppose there remains a continual improvement in the quality of care, even though it may not be as dramatic as the program first starts?" The nursing officer says.

"No, it's not only not useful; it has a direct and negative effect on the clinical care."

"How could that be?"

"Because they will come and give this and that instructions without being consulted. You see, perfunctory advice doesn't cost them any sweat and blood, but, once given, it becomes a medico-legal obligation of the in-charge doctor to comply and execute whatever being suggested - more investigations and elaborated treatment. Hospital stay is prolonged. Drug cost is increased. And the patient is often not better off!"

Deliverable

Seeing that the nursing officer is at a lost, the consultant explains, "You know, the sequence of the story actually goes like this: Imagine a clinical team has an experience staff, nurse or medical officer, with little hope of promotion. As a result, their team head puts up a new program and bids for an extra budget from the headquarters, which includes setting up a new senior post for promotion - obviously an internal one."

"Alas..." the nursing officer is speechless.

"Yes, a simple and primitive reason," the consultant goes on, "But a program is a program. You need to show that you have done something - or, in the jargon of extraterrestrials, you need some deliverable. For that reason, they are mad for referrals from the beginning, with the aim to build up the number. However, after a year or two, when the new senior post has become a regular one, the enthusiasm - or, in reality, the pressure to justify their existence - disappears, everything is back to square one."

New

(During the consultant ward round of a regional hospital.)

"Dr. X, there is a new service set up by the clinical theology team. They may better help our patients, and we should refer more cases to them," the nursing officer tells the consultant.

"Is that the case? How are they going to help us? Can they take over our patients?" The consultant asks without much interest.

"Their team head said that they will take over appropriate cases, and they really did so on one or two occasions. You know, this clinical theology program is supported by the Resource Allocation Exercise of the headquarters, with the very aim to improve the quality of care of our patients."

The consultant stares at the nursing officer, with an apparent spasm of his forehead muscles. After a moment of silence, he breaks into a big laugh, "You silly girl! That's not how the game is played!"

The nurse has no idea what the senior doctor is getting at.

Price

Although I tend to agree with Michael Sandel and believe money cannot buy everything, we can limit our focus by considering the Hong Kong Stock Exchange a private enterprise and is all for making a profit.

In that case, on the face of it, Alibaba is a big deal, and turning away Jack Ma's offer means missing a chance of making money.

Of course, some would argue although the decision is not a favorable one at this moment, upholding the core value of HKSE may do good to the business in the long run. Very simply, since Hong Kong keep a clean hand and good reputation, more good companies will join in the future and have their stock listed here. In other words, the potential profit from Alibaba that HKSE does not materialize is not lost; it has been converted to some intangible asset.

But, hold on. How could we estimate the value of an intangible asset and compare to the quick cash that we lost? No way. The reality is, by accepting Jack's proposal, HKSE will attract a whole lot more companies with innovative ownership structure (and possibly others with a fancy financial statement or delusional accounting methodology) to do their IPO here. In other words, the intangible asset that we just alluded to may or may not be genuine, and we cannot tell.

The conclusion is, since it is impossible to determine whether the net result is gain or lost, we should make the choice by higher concerns rather than monetary considerations. Or, in layman's term, we should do whatever we feel appropriate and forget about money.

Alibaba

As a amateur investor, a recent financial news that caught my attention is the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group decides not to list its shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Or, probably more close to the reality, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange plans to delcine the company's IPO (Initial Public Offer) application.

The reason is not difficult to understand: Alibaba has a unique partnership structure; Jack Ma, the company's founder, and other senior executives could control the nomination and appointment of the company's board of directors, so much so that ordinary stock holders have practically no say on the running or supervision of the company.

My first response was HKSE made a correct decision. Although declining a gigantic IPO means losing the opportunity of making a big money, it gives a clear message that HKSE is upholding its core value - all shares should have the same right.

But, when I come to think of it, the considerations may not be all that simple.

For example, what is the price of the core value?

Cease

Although VW and I did have a discussion in length on many topics, there is one single comment that I did not have the courage to tell him directly:

What a pity to cease posting his opinion every week.

(The last one appeared by the end of August. See http://vwswong.blogspot.hk/2013/08/talk.html)

Well, yes, I know the reason. But it's a pity all the same.

And, seriously, I thought of stop writing a handful of times. I have my own diary in hard copy. There is no need to worry I forget good things happening on me. But, blog post is different. To begin with, it was a challenge to my own self. (See http://ccszeto.blogspot.hk/2008/12/anniversary.html) But, now, this place has become a window that I could yell and communicate with the rest of the world.

I had the déjà vu feeling of Gregor Samsa.

Notes

(Our discussion continued.)

"Although our distinguished medical officer must be very happy when he sees every student is using his notes, he is not the one to be blamed," I said, "You know, every generation of medical students have their own popular in-house notes. The point is, in the old days, we did not use it to do away with standard textbooks."

VW was silent for a while, and then he said, "Although I agree with your basic idea, it is slightly unfair to blame our students for not reading textbooks."

"Why?"

"You know, ever since our medical school changed the curriculum and adopted the system-based teaching, it is very difficult for our students to find suitable textbooks. For example, if we teach the anatomy, physiology, pathology and clinical aspects of the heart simultaneously, what book should they read?"

"You have a good point there," I nodded, "However, that excuse is not watertight - they could still read good books in their final year!"

Textbook

While my communication with a mysterious friend was unfolding in this site, we held the College's membership examination in my hospital.

I have very little to say about the conduction and running (except the fact that it was exceptionally slow and boring this time). As usual, while waiting for the Earth to turn, I had the gratifying opportunity of discussing various trivial issues with my friend VW.

"You know, it is rather disappointing to see our medical students nowadays - they do not read textbooks any more," my friend began, "All they study is Heyson's Notes!"

"I could understand your frustration. Brilliantly written as it is, the Notes is neither complete nor comprehensive."

"Exactly. And there is no short of good textbooks. Kumar & Clark is easy to follow. Alas, our student's don't even seriously study Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine - although most of them get one in their pocket!"

Poverty

(To my specific audience.)

Second, poverty is not a sin. We cannot choose where we come from, but we can determine what we become.

I remember very well how my parents counted every penny to pass the days when I was a kid, and I am always thankful to Sir Murray MacLehose, who set up a system so that I did not have to pay any school fee for my primary and secondary education. University tuition fee in my days was trivial (HK$3600 for a whole year when I was admitted to the medical school, which gradually rose to HK$9600 when I graduated), and I was fortunate enough to forget about any part time job because I could earn a living from scholarship.

In fact, one of the jokes that my classmates made on me in those days was: We come here to study, but you come for a living.

And, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kevin Hsu (許開文), who set up the scholarship and nurtured me.

Conclusion

I must say I have to draw a conclusion to this little narrative - or reprint of email communication in reality.

My mysterious friend sent me a few more emails after the one you read two days ago, but I made no reply - except keeping my promise and sharing with her the chapter of my notes on heart problem. She was obviously scared (for reasons that I am not totally sure), so much so she made a few more Freudian slips and I learnt a bit more about her background.

And, for that reason, I would have to say something openly - but to a specific audience:

First, I have little prejudice against people from the mainland. All I said was, based on the method of using punctuations, my mysterious friend probably had her elementary education north to Shenzhen River. (My friend TW was slightly more incriminating, but I'm sure she means no harm.) As a matter of fact, my father was a refugee from Guangzhou, and both of my in-laws come from Beijing. They are decent people and I believe they are prototype rather than rare species. After all, gems remain precious in an universe of crooked physics - although their value may be neglected in such a place.

(To be continued.)

Deduction

I tried to consider what information I had in hand.

To begin with, I am fairly certain that this is a girl. The name is feminine, and the wordings used are somewhat dainty. If the number 1992 is not the year of graduation (which I didn't expect so anyway), it should be her year of birth. In that case she should be a third year medical student.

And, if she does not come from my university, it seems most likely she is from our sister medical school across the harbour. Discerning visitors may notice the way that she uses comma and fullstops suggests an elementary education in mainland China. However, residents north to Shenzhen River should not have regular access to Google personal pages.

Other than these, I know practically nothing. Her name does not appear in Facebook. I click on the hyperlink of the sender. It leads to a Google+ site with the name and a photo. There's no other personal detail. As a last attempt, I try searching her picture from the Internet.

To my surprise, there is a number of matched results - mostly from on-line discussion forum of mainland China on pretty school girls.

1992

Dear XX,

Are you a CU student now? Or did you graduate in 1992?

Szeto

************************

(I asked about 1992 because her email address includes this number. A reply came the next day.)

Dear Prof. Szeto

Graduated in 1992 ? Oh, I'm not that old ................
Yep ,I'm a medical student but not under CUHK ,but I did have some friends in CU med school ,and we found this notes was quite useful for us .

I just want to have a try and never expect you will reply me, but I must say this notes is excellent .Dear professor ,will you publish this notes in one day ? I must be the first one to buy it .

Best regards
XX

************************
I must say by then I became curious with whom I was communicating, and I could not resist the temptation of playing Sherlock Holmes.

Communication

(A second comment came shortly afterwards.)

Dear Prof.Szeto

I read your draft in the section of specialty again.

It's excellent !!!!!!!

May I have the honor to read the full edition ?

Best regards
XX

************************
Dear XX,
Please email to me so that I can get back to you.
Szeto

************************
(A reply came almost instantaneously.)

Dear Prof.Szeto

So sorry to bother you !
I can't believe you would reply me .
The notes I found in your study group is excellent, it 's more clear and useful than oxford handbook .I think every medical student should read this notes since year 3.

But so depressed to find many chapters were lost , I just wonder may I have the hornor to read the full edition ?

Best regards
XX

Comment

Recently, I received from someone I don't know a comment to one of my blog entries. Simple as it first seems, the story is not without interesting points.

Let me show you our communication verbatim.

************************
Dear Prof.Szeto

So sorry to bother you.
I read your draft published in the section of specialty on ccszetogroup
(https://XXX )

Wow,I think it's brilliant notes for medical students and doctors,but I'm so depressed to find that many chapters were lost .

So I just wonder will you finish the notes in one day ?

Looking forwards to " CC Szeto notes" !!!

Best regards

XX

************************
The notes that she refers to are a collection of my own reading notes that I compiled every now and then over the years. They are primarily for my personal reference and not meant to be complete. Nonetheless, I put them, along with my lecture PowerPoint, on a web page that I rent from Google, so that students could download if they like. The problem is I did not update my web page for some years, and my new PowerPoint slides are now on our faculty website.

(To be continued.)

Movie

Met CP, one of our cardiologists, after grand round. I was amazed to learn he just finished with a difficult and prolonged resuscitation - for he appeared as calm and casual as ever.

"No big deal," he said lightheartedly, "As a cardiologist, I get used to watch horror movies (恐怖片)."

*************************
On my way home, when I reflected what my friend said, it became clear his analogy has a far-reaching implication.

In short, what kind of movies do doctors watch?

• cardiologist: 恐怖片 
• gastroenterologist: 動作片 
• endocrinologist: 偵探片 
• neurologist: 科幻片 
• intensivist: 災難片
• geriatrician: 文藝片 
• anesthetist: 默片
• pathologist: 卡通片

The list is, of course, incomplete and entirely my biased impression. Don't be too serious.

Sing

I had a dream after dozed off while reading The Happy Prince and The Nightingale and The Rose by Oscar Wilde:

************************
The prince asked the nightingale, "Why do you love to sing?"

"What a strange question," the bird said with a soft voice, "What else could I do?"

"You can talk - you should talk. Come, tell me all about what you saw in Egypt, how people of this city live, and everything about a red rose."

"Your Highness, that's exactly why I do not want to talk. If I have to tell you what I see and what I know - the flood of Nile, the bullet that poor people are biting, and the rose thorn with my blood dripping on - I would rather hum a folk song."

Toast

Besides twice-cooked pork (回鍋肉) and schweinehaxe, another dish of obsession of mine is, or, to say the least, used to be, French toast.

To be specific, I mean the French toast in Hong Kong-style: twice slices of bread with a butter filling, dipped in beaten egg, deep-fried, and then served with a thick slab of butter and topped with syrup. Yes, it is evil, dangerous, harmful, poisonous, and often lethal - but it tastes good. I love it because, although it is merely twice slices of bread, it gives my stomach a sensation of fullness and satisfaction.

You know, for a whole month when I was a house officer of a neonatal intensive care unit, I could only have lunch after 2 PM (the time when the two shifts of nurses did hand-over and there's nobody asking me to do this and that) and, after an entire morning of exertion (and the time of serving regular lunch by the hospital canteen had passed), I always ordered this tasty treat. It gives more than enough calorie, and I would not have to worry about eating until supper. I actually said to myself French toast is good for health: No one ever die of cancer after eating French toast regularly.

They all have heart attack.

Schweinehaxe

Vivian and I dined at Table 18 Bar & Restaurant on my birthday.

It is a restaurant at Kwun Tong that serves multinational cuisine with a touch of German flavor. I suppose that's a compromise between character and marketing.

My wife ordered a mushroom soup - I didn't try and would not make any comment. (The favorite dish of Vivian is tree peony, and I shall not mention what she thinks.)

We shared a small dish of fried clam as our appetizer. Alas... wine, herbs, and tomato sauce; a tasty treat - this is the best you could get from frozen shellfish.

Vivian had an 8 oz rib eye steak, grilled to medium rare, as her main course. Again, I did not try. But, looking at the char marks on the surface and dark-pink flesh inside, the chef does have a good grip on the grill.

The main dish of mine was schweinehaxe - roasted pork knuckle in the traditional Bavarian style, served with sauerkraut and French fries. Since I never fancy sour cabbage, I decided to have a glass of lemon squash to help neutralizing the fat. (Schweinehaxe is a dish of obsession of mine, reasons yet to be defined by psychoanalyst.)

How do I think of the knuckle?

Easy answer: I shall come again - there is no need to go to Murray House at Stanley Bay any further.

榮華川

最近光顧觀塘瑞和街榮華川莱館兩次。此店位於瑞和街圖書館轉角，週末替女兒還書後獨自在此午膳，甚是方便。

初次吃的是回鍋肉客飯。主菜炒得夠味，份量亦不欺場。較之黄大仙詠藜園，是稍有不如，但城中亦少有望其汗背。只是白飯已凉，顯是放得太久，而例湯也平平無奇。（豆乾加豆芽，嗯，素菜也有親子湯。）反而附送的茶香且美觀，甚是不錯。價錢？當然是便宜得令人發笑。

有了初次經驗，第二次便只叫了煎鍋貼和回鍋肉小菜。前者既熱且脆，内裡肉汁充盈。餡料中大概加了孜然類的香草，是為特色。而後者水準亦能保持，份量較前次更大。埋單是貴了一點，仍是非常頰意。

Anju

My recent leisure reading is Anju (暗獸) of Miyabe Miyuki (宮部美幸). In short, this is the second collection of horror stories after Osoroshi (怪談).

(See http://ccszeto.blogspot.hk/2012/09/osoroshi.html)

Contrary to the usual problem that sequels suck, this one is marvellous - arguably better than those we had in the previous collection. The component of horror is much less, and the stories are rich in details and human touch - and that's all the reason. As Sherlock Holmes noted, a substantial proportion of the cases referred to him were not, strictly speaking, crimes (and even fewer were murders), many were interesting because of the psychology and human interaction. For the same reason, not every account that Chikako (近子) heard in the Chamber between Black and White (黒白の間) are supernatural - many have an entirely scientific explanation.

But, as you know, the most horrible happenings in this world are not done by ghost or Satan - Homo sapiens is the expert.