So I was able to visit Hongkong again last December. The last time I was there was in 2012, when I was still an oncology fellow-in-training. It was our section outing (Section of Medical Oncology), and it was memorable because it was my first time ever going out of the country. With me at the time were my hellowship batchmates Eric, Carinez, and Alanis Cornucopia, who were already expert international travellers at that point so I had three travel mentors who made the travel fun and comfortable. While still at the airport Alanis Cornucopia checked my carry-on bag and her eyes widened in terror when she discovered five 5-cc syringes, three ampules of tramadol, and lots of tablets, including morphine. Since we had already checked-in our luggages she told me to get rid of them fast before we reached security. We did clinics at the Cancer Institute that morning before coming to the airport, and a relative of a patient had asked me to donate the excess medications of her recently deceased husband, which included the morphine. As for the tramadol and syringe, I had been having recurrent abdominal pain at that time which I attributed to “phantom gallbladder” after my gallbladder surgery, so I really planned to use them should I get an attack in Hongkong. Phantom Gallbladder, of course, is not a real diagnosis. In panic I asked Alanis Cornucopia what I should do. She told me to go to the bathroom and throw the syringes and ampules in the trash. I was able to get past security without getting attacked by trained airport Belgian Malinois, and survived the entire Hongkong trip without any abdominal pain.
After 12 years I was finally back in Hongkong, and I no longer had the trappings of a junkie scared and fidgeting because of airport security. This time the remarkable thing is that it’s my first time to spend Christmas out of the country. We stayed in Sunny Day Hotel in Mongkok. Sunny Day is remarkable for being the first hotel in the world that I had ever stayed at that doesn’t have towels. They have instead, disposable towels that they replace everyday. It was my first time to use one, and it’s like a giant toilet paper for the entire body.
The first restaurant I looked for was the Charlie Brown Cafe. A quick google search says that it’s, in red letters… permanently closed! This was Charlie Brown cafe back in 2012:
The following morning we looked for the original branch of Kam’s Roast. It is called Kam’s Roast in Megamall, and I think the branch we ate at in Jewel Changi was also Kam’s Roast, but apparently the full name is Kam’s Roast Goose. We were outside the restaurant by 10:30 am, and the line was already long.
We ordered goose and a combination of chicken and roast pork, all of which deserves all the praise it’s getting.
We choose the “lower part” of the goose, which has more fat and tastier, but which is also more expensive. Even as we were gorging ourselves with all of these fried things I imagined all of my coronary arteries getting blocked with plaques which would rupture as soon as I go to the bathroom.
We walked it off at the Avenue of the Stars, but it was blazing hot so we decided to make pa-aircon in Fortum and Mason. We wanted a soft serve ice cream or just cold water, but since we were there we tried whatever they were offering. I had hot tea and a tea-flavored cheesecake. Not the best dessert, or maybe not the best combination, but the view was great.
Here is a close-up of said food. I don’t remember what they’re called, but the tea and the tea cheesecake have the same flavor profile!
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Supposed Former Melancholia Junkie 
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