The “Travel Genie”, still in Hong Kong, takes an evening tour of a market and can’t resist the temptation of haggling at sunglasses stall.
Unlike in Europe, haggling is part of the culture of an Asian or African market, where you can sit for hours haggling over a carpet or statuette, drinking tea, simply taking an interest in the people.
It’s a way of interacting with the inhabitants of a country, getting to know their way of life, and not just a way of getting “some poor merchant” to lower his prices, as you may have read.
By the way, do you know the origin of what Kim Hyun Joong stuffed into his mouth in a single bite?
They are “egg flans” from the house BAKEHOUSE by Swiss pastry chef Grégoire Michaud, based in Hong Kong, where it has opened 7 stores and employs 300 people.
The flour is imported directly from Moulin de Suire in France (Cocorico 🐔🐓).
If we’re indulging ourselves, can we say that Kim Hyun Joong ate French food in Hong Kong?
Yes and no. Because the little flan cake are in fact traditionally called “pastéis de nata” and the original, super-top-secret recipe is Portuguese.
However, as the Portuguese squatted on the island next door, Macao, until not so long ago, one wonders whether the famous recipe wasn’t brought along with all the Asian spices that passed the Cape of Good Hope, arriving in Europe in the holds of 16th-century caravels?🤔
Yes, we’re straying from the subject, but that’s just because we wanted to bring Kim Hyun Joong a little closer to us… 😔
In any case, it’s a very pleasant episode to watch, which teaches us a few things and also takes us on a bit of a journey.