Hong Kong has always been the land of opportunity for so many and also the place where so many fraudsters, tricksters and six time losers have come to after being found out in their home countries and reinvented themselves into high-profile members of the city’s shee shee air-kissing society.
Hairdressers, club owners, financial consultants- another term for “Unemolyed- financial analysts, property consultants- more wankers- and lower down the ladder, foodies, foodie bloggers- aka freeloaders- personal fitness trainers, self-help gurus- if YOU can’t help yourself, some “guru” can?- and the latest boatload of con artists- chefs from the World’s bankrupt countries.
With this latter lot, it’s mainly fraudsters bilking those with too much money and shit for brains, so it’s kinda alright.
For example, a spate of new restaurants have mushroomed in Kennedy Town and around the Sheung Wan area on Hong Kong side.
Many are investments made by the sons and daughters of Hong Kong’s super-rich as a piece of personal showboating for their friends and a simple money laundering exercise for their parents.
Like the parasites they are, the jungle drums go out amongst the new “Hong Cons” that a new sucker has been born and the queue then forms to open up, let’s say, a Greek or Spanish restaurant.
The introductions are usually made by one of those Hong Kong “celebrity chefs” who acts as a mamasan for a percentage of everything from both parties- and the various suppliers- and pimps a “Hong Con” to young shit-for-brains rich kid as having had their own restaurant in Greece or Barcelona, the “awards” won- printed up hours earlier- etc etc.
The “Hong Con” wears the right clothes, has the right hair, makes the right hand gestures, paints the illusion of grand success and is hired as Executive Chef AND Partner of the restaurant with shares given for free.
Does he know how to cook? As well as anyone hanging down the beach from the Arts Hotel in Barcelona trying to dupe tourists.
Three months later, he hires three staff to do the cooking while going from table to table to see who might be able to “expand his business” as there’s a new sucker born every day.
Lower down the scale are the far less traveled restaurateurs whose knowledge of cuisine from, especially, European countries, has come from looking at photos in recipe books and travel brochures and eating at quasi-European restaurants.
Ole Ole for The best French Haute Cuisine???
And so starts up the Hong Con again with, this time, those who failed to convince the Shiny, Happy Rich Young People to part with their money, having a second-rate option- but, still, a job, a salary and a work visa to bounce from restaurant to restaurant looking for better options.
The end result?
Unless you’ve really traveled beyond Macau, restaurants serving lousy food at outrageous prices and which will get five star reviews in Hong Kong by some foodie who wants to stay in the good books of the restaurant owner for the free drinks.
This is why, give me a bowl of char siu fan- steamed rice and Chinese barbecued pork- and I’m happy as a pig in shit with no need to see and be seen while keeping away from the “dudes”, the duds and all those faking it more than they do on their Facebook pages.
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