Li Lu (李录/李錄), Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett

A very interesting article about Li Lu (李录/李錄) and Berkshire Hathaway/Warren Buffett because of who is quoted (Munger) and where it is published (WSJ). I don’t know Li Lu‘s investment style/insights at all, with BYD one and only major successful investment deal (with BRK has a hand in spotlighting), I don’t have enough information to decide how much of the BRK portfolio should Mr. Li be responsible for? I also want to hear more about the “team approach” idea. Fund managers responsible for regions or business areas?

Here is the WSJ article for the record (with emphasis added). (also see this 2009 entry)

BUSINESSJULY 30, 2010
From Tiananmen Square to Possible Buffett Successor
By SUSAN PULLIAM

Twenty-one years ago, Li Lu was a student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests. Now a hedge-fund manager, he is in line to become a successor to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Mr. Li, 44 years old, has emerged as a leading candidate to run a chunk of Berkshire’s $100 billion portfolio, stemming from a close friendship with Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s 86-year-old vice chairman. In an interview, Mr. Munger revealed that Mr. Li was likely to become one of the top Berkshire investment officials. “In my mind, it’s a foregone conclusion,” Mr. Munger said.

The job of filling Mr. Buffett’s shoes is among the most high-profile succession stories in modern corporate history. Mr. Buffett, who will turn 80 in a month, says he has no current plans to step down and will likely split his job after he leaves the company into separate CEO and investing functions. Mr. Li’s emergence as a contender to oversee Berkshire investments is the first time a name has been identified to fill the investment part of Mr. Buffett’s legendary role.

The development illustrates that Berkshire is moving toward putting in place—possibly sooner than investors anticipated—certain aspects of its succession plan.

The Chinese-American investor already has made money for Berkshire: He introduced Mr. Munger to BYD Co., a Chinese battery and auto maker, and Berkshire invested. Since 2008, Berkshire’s BYD stake has surged more than six-fold, generating profit of about $1.2 billion, Mr. Buffett says. Mr. Li’s hedge funds have garnered an annualized compound return of 26.4% since 1998, compared to 2.25% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index during the same period.

Mr. Li’s ascent on Wall Street has been no less dramatic. He spent his childhood shuttling between foster families after his mother and father were sent to labor camps during the Cultural Revolution. After the Tiananmen Square protest, he escaped to France and came to the U.S. Investors in his hedge fund have included a group of senior U.S. business executives and the musician Sting, who calls Mr. Li “hardworking and clever.”

Mr. Li’s investing strategy represents a significant shift for Mr. Buffett: Mr. Li invests chiefly in high-technology companies in Asia. Mr. Buffett typically has ignored investments in industries he says he doesn’t understand.

Mr. Buffett says Berkshire’s top investing job could be filled by two or more managers who would be on equal footing and divide up responsibility for managing Berkshire’s $100 billion portfolio. David Sokol, chairman of Berkshire unit MidAmerican Energy Holdings, is considered top contender for CEO. Mr. Sokol, 53, joined MidAmerican in 1991 and is known for his tireless work ethic.

In an interview, Mr. Buffett declines to comment directly on succession plans. But he doesn’t rule out bringing in an investment manager such as Mr. Li while still at Berkshire’s helm.

“I like the idea of bringing on other investment managers while I’m still here,” Mr. Buffett says. He says he doesn’t preclude making a move this year, though he adds that there is no “goal” to bring on an additional manager that quickly either. Mr. Buffett says he envisions a team approach in which the Berkshire investment officials would be “paid as a group” from one pot, he says. “I don’t want them to compete.”

Mr. Li fits the bill in some important ways, Mr. Buffett says. “You want someone” who “can think about problems that haven’t yet existed before,” he says.

Getting Into Med School Without Hard Sciences

Interesting. For the record. Emphasis added.

July 29, 2010
Getting Into Med School Without Hard Sciences
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
For generations of pre-med students, three things have been as certain as death and taxes: organic chemistry, physics and the Medical College Admission Test, known by its dread-inducing acronym, the MCAT.

So it came as a total shock to Elizabeth Adler when she discovered, through a singer in her favorite a cappella group at Brown University, that one of the nation’s top medical schools admits a small number of students every year who have skipped all three requirements.

Until then, despite being the daughter of a physician, she said, “I was kind of thinking medical school was not the right track for me.”

Ms. Adler became one of the lucky few in one of the best kept secrets in the cutthroat world of medical school admissions, the Humanities and Medicine Program at the Mount Sinai medical school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The program promises slots to about 35 undergraduates a year if they study humanities or social sciences instead of the traditional pre-medical school curriculum and maintain a 3.5 grade-point average.

For decades, the medical profession has debated whether pre-med courses and admission tests produce doctors who know their alkyl halides but lack the sense of mission and interpersonal skills to become well-rounded, caring, inquisitive healers.

That debate is being rekindled by a study published on Thursday in Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Conducted by the Mount Sinai program’s founder, Dr. Nathan Kase, and the medical school’s dean for medical education, Dr. David Muller, the peer-reviewed study compared outcomes for 85 students in the Humanities and Medicine Program with those of 606 traditionally prepared classmates from the graduating classes of 2004 through 2009, and found that their academic performance in medical school was equivalent.

“There’s no question,” Dr. Kase said.

色彩聯想 (colour association) – 兩週一聚 第四十三期

Taking colour association (色彩聯想) as a topic, the first thing come to my mind are the “brands” that tried/try to “own” a colour. Here are some examples.

Green by Greenpeace or environmental causes.

Pink by breast cancer foundations.

Blue (Big Blue) by IBM.

Orange by a revolution and a mobile operator.

Yellow by a politician and her revolution. And even I have been using the exact same yellow in my website, something I haven’t talked about much.

Of course, sometimes the colour instead of the ideas behind the colour can become a loaded-baggage like someone being branded “green“, which is why Kevin Roberts has suggested changing from Green to True Blue.

For other writers’ articles, see 2weeks 1gathering.

P.S. Some years ago, possibly after a random chat with my dad, I started to think about colours in reference to the Pantone colour matching system. In hindsight, I think that was a very “business-oriented” and scientific way of thinking about colour.

四年

Today, July 29th, 2010, is exactly four years after I published my first online entry on July 29th, 2006. I’ve done some navel-gazing when I posted my 2,001th and 3,000th post.

The following is an edited version of my reply to some friends today. My friends want to start an online publication to continue sharing their ideas and passion for democracy in China and Hong Kong (some months ago they stopped publication of their monthly free community newspaper).

Over the last four years, I have published over 3,000 posts. Some are shorter posts, some took me days and over months to plan and execute. Some are my personal comments. Some are simply things I find interesting. I’ve written about Science & Technologies. I’ve done many many interviews (audio or video). Some entries include video reports of provincial and federal ministers. This year, I even reported on Prime minister Harper’s visits to Calgary (twice). I have interviewed successful businessmen in Canada and I have interviewed Oscar winning director plus up and coming directors. I’ve even written food review because I love food.

I am not trying to brag, my effort over the last four years have allowed my site to gain enough “online reputation” and now for certain subjects/keywords, search engines (including Google) have put my work up on page one of their search results page. So people find my work via Google.

As I mentioned, I don’t have time to be part of your project, there are many things I need to do. But I will try to share my insight if and when I have time.

It took me over 1,000 entries (probably close to 2,000) for me to feel that I am getting the hang of what is good and what my “style” is. So I say before you have published at least 100 entries don’t make snap judgement too quickly. You are still learning. And I still consider myself learning by doing.

I think there are a lot more to be learn about online publishing for us all. And at the end of the day, we are as good as our content. If there are continue good content, then people will find you.

P.S. I almost forgot today is the fourth year anniversary of the first publication of my blog so I want to thank my friends for indirectly reminding me of the anniversary.

Why the census matters just about everywhere

For the record.

Why the census matters just about everywhere

Everything from businesses to delivery of social services to be effected by scrapping long-form census

John Lorinc and Tavia Grant
From Saturday’s Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Jul. 23, 2010 10:33PM EDT

Few Canadians would think about the mandatory long-form census when they’re ordering a no-foam latte at Starbucks, but Grant Kosowan knows there’s a double shot of census data in that morning beverage.

A Calgary-based location scout with Orange National Retail Group, Mr. Kosowan crunches census data in search of demographic sweet spots for expansion-minded clients such as Starbucks.

“We spend an enormous amount of money purchasing that information on behalf of clients so we can do research, so they know where to position themselves,” said Mr. Kosowan, director of Orange’s Prairie division. Losing the long-form data, he said, “will impact our business, I can tell you that.”

His work shows how census data, rather than being the preserve of statisticians and policy wonks, is embedded in daily life. It drives everything from corporate fundraising drives in Toronto to the deployment of B.C. lunch programs for school kids; and from the layout of suburban subdivisions to the prescriptions of think tanks of every ideological bent.

The implications are even wider, says prominent demographer David Foot. He notes the structure of the census surveys form the basis of much of Statistics Canada’s other analyses, including vital labour force measures such as the unemployment rate. His criticism of the government’s plan is pointed: “I find it a little disturbing that the Industry Minister doesn’t seem to understand that knowledge is essential in the knowledge economy.”

Some executives say census information isn’t essential because their companies can acquire strategic commercial information through their own surveys and focus groups. Perhaps for that reason, some of Canada’s leading business groups – the Canadian Bankers Association, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives – have chosen to sit out the census fight.

Others are speaking out. Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, which represents 33,000 businesses, said he has canvassed members and they are worried about the proposed changes. Restaurants use information from the long form to help determine where to locate and how to target their marketing. “There’s concern – over how abrupt the decision was, how it was made, and what the backup plan is if [a voluntary long-form] doesn’t work,” Mr. Whyte said. “This is not research that should be gambled with.”

Home builders and condo developers say they increasingly turn to market research firms run by economists who pore over census long-form data so they know who potential buyers are, the distances they’re willing to travel between home and work, how many bedrooms those customers want, even the optimal location of the neighbourhood parkette.

Jim Ritchie, a senior vice-president at Tridel Corporation, a Greater Toronto builder, says the company uses census trends to do its long-term strategic planning. A few years ago, the firm’s market research team noticed that singles and childless couples were increasingly settling in Toronto’s downtown west end, a scrap of demographic reconnaissance that led to the development of “Rev,” a 305-unit condo project now under construction.

“It was census data that drew us into [the King West] area,” Mr. Ritchie said. “To us, it’s a very useful business tool. We wouldn’t support something that would diminish the accuracy.”

For other business people, census information turns out to be an unexpectedly effective fundraising tool.

Procter & Gamble president Tim Penner recalls how United Way of Greater Toronto officials began to scrutinize trends in Toronto census data a few years back and discovered, to their surprise, poverty had quietly migrated from the downtown to the immigrant-heavy postwar suburbs. That revelation lay at the heart of the UWGT’s 2004 study, Poverty by Postal Code.

When Mr. Penner went out to drum up donations on behalf of the UWGT (he chaired the 2007 campaign), he was able to “tell a story” to other corporate leaders and wealthy benefactors about the changing face of poverty in Canada’s biggest city. “The research studies that the United Way have done have been absolutely pivotal in engaging donors in what needs to be done to help the city,” he said. “This data has been the difference maker, and it would be a shame to turn back the clock.”

Municipal economic development offices from Halifax to Victoria all publish local census data to help businesses looking to invest. City planners also monitor census patterns so they can make decisions about local services.

In the 1980s, for instance, such data revealed a rising number of low-income families and immigrants settling in St. James Town, a dense cluster of Toronto apartments originally targeted for young singles. In the mid-1990s, that insight prompted the city to develop a new library, recreation facilities and childcare spaces to serve a fast-growing neighbourhood of 15,000 people.

Census data such as mother tongue and family income also allows provincial education officials to target resources for services such as B.C.’s breakfast programs for schoolchildren and English-as-a-second language instruction in Ontario cities with large numbers of newcomers. In Penticton, B.C., two elementary schools receive extra funds for a hot-lunch program thanks to census tract data that reveals which neighbourhoods have relatively high concentrations of poor families, says Okanagan-Skaha School District trustee Connie Denesiuk.

In an ironic twist, the Fraser Institute – one of the education system’s fiercest critics and the only public-policy think tank to back the government’s decision to make the long form voluntary – relied on census data in preparing its latest “report card” on Canada’s public schools.

An independent mind has always characterized Sheikh

For the record. Sad to see a principled public servant resigned when it should have been Industry Minister @TonyClement_MP

An independent mind has always characterized Sheikh
Chief statistician’s quitting unusual, but some say he had no choice
Tavia Grant
From Friday’s Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Jul. 23, 2010 12:25AM EDT

Munir Sheikh navigated his career as a public servant through eight prime ministers over the course of nearly four decades. A string of successively more senior positions led him to oversee a $100-billion tax-reduction policy and help craft the 2005 budget. One former colleague described him as the best economist in the federal government.

In the end though, it was a questionnaire that toppled the 62-year-old.

It’s a stunning turn for a man who dedicated his working life to public service. Dr. Sheikh’s Wednesday night resignation as Statistics Canada’s chief statistician over the census is all the more remarkable because of its rarity. In a world where loyalty is king, bureaucrats of his standing do not tend to quit over differences of opinion.

He did. In doing so, he displayed qualities that have emerged through his 38-year career: stubbornness and independence of mind.

Indeed, debate was an intrinsic part of the daily fare at the Sheikh household in Pakistan, where the 10 siblings would tussle over economics, society, politics and culture.

That intellectual wrestling left the family’s second-youngest son, Munir, well prepared for the rigours of public service. It also honed his skills as an independent thinker, willing, to a point of stubbornness, to defend his arguments.

“He is a very strong individual and he holds his ground. If he believes he’s right, he’s right,” says his brother, Shamim Sheikh, a University of Toronto civil engineering professor. “Debate within the family environment is part of our fabric.”

Independence is at the core of extraordinary developments in Ottawa, which saw Dr. Sheikh resign from one of the world’s most respected statistical agencies. In doing so, he stood up for what economists, professors, city planners and historians have said for weeks: One cannot substitute the mandatory long-form census for a voluntary one.

The resignation came a day after Industry Minister Tony Clement said the agency is not independent and reports directly to a minister. Statistics Canada has long prided itself on its independence, and Dr. Sheikh himself has said on the agency’s website that it works “neutrally and objectively, without interference or influence from any groups or individuals.”

While the resignation has won Dr. Sheikh praise for the courage of his convictions, in the end, many are saying he was left with little choice.

“He was put in such a hard place – either stand up and defend the government, in which case he’d lose all credibility as a chief statistician … or the alternative” to leave, said David Green, economics professor at the University of British Columbia.

On June 16, 2008, he became the country’s tenth chief statistician of Canada, replacing the popular Ivan Fellegi, who had held the post for 22 years. In interviews since the appointment, Dr. Sheikh said he wanted to bolster research on labour markets and productivity.

In the two years of his tenure at Statscan, when the world was collapsing into recession, he became known for his razor-sharp mind and forthright criticisms. As budgets got squeezed, the man who describes himself as frugal forced departments to set clearer priorities. He tilted the agency’s emphasis towards economics, and away from the social surveys that his predecessor had favoured. And he told staff to stop the flowery language and fancy headlines in reports and stick to the facts.

The shift didn’t always make him popular. But stressed staff, who won’t speak on the record due to fears of losing their jobs, say many are now mourning his departure.

Dr. Sheikh himself is not commenting. His brother says he was noticeably brighter Thursday, after weeks of worry and preoccupation.

Beyond the agency, opinions flowed freely. “I think it’s a tragedy he’s resigned,” said Don McLeish, president of the Statistical Society of Canada. “I think it was the only way he could say anything.”

Munir Sheikh, Canada’s chief statistician, resigns to protect integrity of 2011 Census

For the record.

Globe editorial – Federal statistical folly in full view

The resignation of Munir Sheikh, Canada’s chief statistician, represents the loss of a respected public servant, and a further blow to the credibility of a venerable agency.

The folly of the federal government’s decision to change the census has been exposed, and at a steep price. The resignation of Munir Sheikh, Canada’s chief statistician and the head of Statistics Canada, represents the loss of a respected public servant, and a further blow to the credibility of a venerable agency.

In announcing his resignation, Mr. Sheikh spoke to “a technical statistical issue,” specifically “whether a voluntary survey can become a substitute for a mandatory census.”

With three words – “It can not” – Mr. Sheikh spoke volumes.

The resignation of an official of deputy-minister rank, as Mr. Sheikh was, on a matter of policy or principle, is extraordinary and rare. Deputies are, despite their non-partisan status, political actors; they must navigate the whims of the government of the day, advising it on how best to carry out its agenda, while upholding the interests of their department or agency, and the demands of good public policy.

In the Privy Council Office, Mr. Sheikh led cost-cutting exercises for the entire government; he is no shrinking violet in the face of a tough challenge. By resigning, he essentially stated that the government’s extreme, unreasonable demands on the census simply could not be reconciled with his other professional responsibilities.

The federal government’s attempts to justify the elimination of the long-form census questionnaire fail to achieve the standard of what Canadians should expect of their elected officials: It continues to trot out silly claims (“We do not believe Canadians should be forced, under threat of fines, jail, or both, to divulge extensive private and personal information”) that have no relation with the actual price for not responding to the census.

It put Mr. Sheikh in an untenable position, with Industry Minister Tony Clement implying that Statistics Canada supported the change.

And in recent days, the rhetoric has become baffling: the government has invoked the fact that a tiny mischievous minority list “Jedi Knight” as their religion as a reason to get rid of the questionnaire.

The whole exercise has belittled everyone involved.

As with so many political scandals, big and small, the aftermath has obscured the original decision and its rationale. The rationale proved to be groundless, while the aftermath has thrown a vital public institution, Statistics Canada, into turmoil.

But the original decision remains: As a result, the foundational, authoritative data that underlies most public opinion and public policy analysis research in Canada is gone.

Good government is about leadership – focusing the population on the important challenges of the future, not distracting them with sideshows – and management: inspiring an organization to do the best work of which it is capable.

On this matter, the government is failing the tests of both strong leadership and good management.

The Men Who Ended Goldman’s War

For the record.

The Men Who Ended Goldman’s War – By LOUISE STORY – July 16, 2010 New York Times

LAST Wednesday at around 3 p.m., the Securities and Exchange Commission and Goldman Sachs settled an epic, seismic battle — one waged over whether the storied investment bank defrauded investors in a transaction that regulators said Goldman had built to self-destruct.

The final terms of the settlement were hashed out over the telephone. On one end, Gregory K. Palm, Goldman’s general counsel, agreed to the exact language his bank would use in statements about the settlement. As one of the longest-serving executives of the bank and a Goldman shareholder, Mr. Palm also had his own reputation and his personal fortune on the line.

On the other end, the S.E.C.’s director of enforcement, Robert Khuzami, was joined by his old friend and deputy, Lorin Reisner. Mr. Khuzami, a former in-house counsel at Deutsche Bank, was well-versed in the inner workings of Wall Street deal-making.

In the end, Goldman decided to steer clear of a protracted and damaging trial by paying a $550 million penalty, which the S.E.C. went out of its way to describe as the largest ever against a Wall Street firm. Goldman acknowledged that its marketing materials for the deal in question, known as Abacus, were lacking, and it agreed to greater disclosure around such transactions in the future — a concession that affects the entire financial community and could eat into some of the lush profits firms earn on complex deals engineered in the shadows.

For all of the lawyers on the phone, a court trial would have been a career-capping event. The case centered on Abacus,

Apple iPhone 4 vs Consumer Reports

For the record.

Post-Mortem: No Hair Shirt for Steve Jobs - By DAVID CARR – July 18, 2010 (New York Times)

By now, most people know what happens when your fingers come in contact with the lower left-hand corner of the iPhone 4 — are you there? — but it took the touch of an old-line, nontech tester of technology to get Apple to admit as much.

When Steve Jobs took the stage on Friday to defend the iPhone 4 against criticism that it had reception problems, he made his feelings about the press abundantly, peevishly clear.

“This has been blown so out of proportion that it’s incredible. It’s fun to have a story, but it’s not fun to be on the other side,” he told reporters.

Even as he apologized and acknowledged that there was indeed a problem, he was joined by Scott Forstall, a senior vice president at Apple, who attacked an article in The New York Times that blamed an interaction with the phone’s software as “patently false,” and then Mr. Jobs went on to call a Bloomberg article that suggested the company knew about the problem last year a “total crock.”

In general, he suggested that media organizations were just making blood sport of a company that had sold three million handsets in just three weeks: “I guess it’s just human nature, when you see someone get successful you just want to tear it down.”

Anybody who expected Steve Jobs to wear a hair shirt when he took the stage was bound to be disappointed. That the company responded at all is a testament to the power of at least one part of the press. When he got to the heart of what the company was going to do about the controversy, he cited Consumer Reports saying, “The bumper solves the signal strength problem” and its suggested remedy of free cases for all. “O.K., let’s give everybody a case,” Mr. Jobs said.

The iPhone’s antenna problems might have remained a dust-up between Apple fanboys and skeptical bloggers except that Consumer Reports — that stolid, old-media tester of everything from flooring to steam mops for the last 74 years — came out with a report detailing the issue and concluding that “due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.”

How did Consumer Reports make Apple blink?

七月專題: 仲夏聯想101

花美，人樂，花甜，蜂嗡。

鄰貓遊蕩，泳女剪草，惡蚊亂叮。

*******

其他網友的七月專題: 仲夏聯想101。

*******

This is a video of the naughty Cat!

香港歡迎您的$$$$$

“… 去信港區人大代表，託他們向內地相關部門反映。” Are HK government and HKTA so useless now that the most effective way is to get “港區人大代表” involved ?

零團費問題交人大反映 – 2010年07月18日

【本報訊】為挽救業界聲譽，旅遊業議會昨日舉行集思會，但為時僅一個多小時，近百名業界代表包括導遊和旅行社到場，最終決定將「零團費」問題交港區人大代表向內地反映，並推出新口號表示業界有決心改善問題。有立法會議員認為議會的做法猶如政府的「起錨騷」，對改善業界問題根本幫助不大。

謝偉俊：喊口號冇用

議會指由於內地來港零團費的問題影響越來越深，決定首次去信港區人大代表，託他們向內地相關部門反映。主席胡兆英指，業界會推出新口號「香港歡迎您！以誠待人優質服務」，希望挽回旅客信心。此外，議會鼓勵旅行社和商舖在導遊和職員開工前，向他們發放溫馨提示重申遵守專業操守。

立法會旅遊界議員謝偉俊指，只喊口號和提示作用不大，「就好似政府個起錨咁冇乜作用」。他指業界要挽回旅客信心的首要工作是重新檢視所有導遊的資格，若發現有問題或有劏客情況，應立即作出懲處；其次是檢討導遊的薪酬制度，解決他們過份依賴佣金的情況。

Sushi Kai Calgary – All you can taste buffet review

To attract people to its new Kensington area to try its food, Sushi Kai Calgary created an “All you can taste buffet” (note: it is still an “All you can eat buffet“). The food at Sushi Kai’s old Chinatown location were reasonably good so I decided to give the new location’s buffet a try and review them at the same time.

Deep fried shrimp (3/10) & oyster (8/10):

The batter for the deep fried shrimp wasn’t the fluffy tempura batter I had expected so I was disappointed. But the deep fried oysters used a lighter tempura batter which I liked more and it was quite tasty. Unfortunately, when I ordered some more deep fried oysters later, the chef (or a different chef?) decided to use different batter which I didn’t like at all.

Second batch of deep fried oysters (3/10) (they looked and tasted different from the first batch):

Sushi (8/10):

The presentation and taste of the first dish of sushi were pretty good. I particularly like the Mackerel and BBQ Eel (which were warmed up by the chef).

Now, what I can’t understand is why the second batch looked and tasted different? You can’t see it but the BBQ Eel were cold (the chef should have warmed them up like the first batch) and the Mackerel didn’t have the cuts and burn-marks like the first batch (see following photo).

Consistent presentation and taste of food over different days (let alone on the same night) should be a minimum requirement of any self-respecting restaurant. Most customers won’t go back after a bad food experience at a new restaurant.

Hand cone & Sushi Rolls –

Toro hand cone (7/10), mango paradise (8.5/10):

Naraku roll (7/10):

Deep fried shrimp roll (Age sushi) (1/10):

The novelty factor of the deep fried shrimp roll ended badly after the first bite. Bad job in deep frying the shrimp roll. The Naraku roll was ok, not something I would order again. I enjoyed the Mango Paradise rolls and did order it again and still enjoyed it the second time. Other restaurant uses a thin slice of real mango but I found the mango sauce was an cheaper but still ok substitute. The Toro hand cone was ok, the distribution of the toro was a bit uneven as there were no fish left in the last bite.

Deep fried squid legs (6.5/10)

The two same sauces are used here. And the chef might have forgot to add a tiny little bit of salt to the dish.

Mixed veg tempura (7/10)

I’ve had better tempura, they were ok.

Steak & Chicken (1/10 & 3/10)

The steak was so tough and chewy, Sushi Kai needs to buy a slightly better cut of beef or prepare them better. The chicken was barely ok as I can cook better chicken than this.

Octopus balls (7/10)

For someone who likes octopus balls (essentially a ball of starch with a tiny bit of octopus in the middle), it was ok so I leave it as a 7/10. For me, I never like it and this one hasn’t changed my mind.

Grill squid (8/10)

Other than the sauces (more on this later), the grill squid was tasty.

Sauces

Sushi Kai seems to sprinkle the same two sauces on most of their dishes. Why? They should really spend a little bit of time to create appropriate sauces for each dish. There is no point in using the same sauces over and over and over again as it shows a serious lack of love of food.

Presentation & plates

Except the first dish, every other dishes were put on a cheap round glass plate. Why? Food presentation should be pleasing to the eyes and the big round plates do take up way too much space on the table. And have I said they look ugly?!

Final Comments

I want to give this restaurant another chance but given some of the poorly made dishes (simple stuff like beef, chicken) and the inconsistency of the food (the first vs the second batch of sushi), I don’t know if I will give it another chance.

P.S. Website

These days, every restaurant should have a proper website. And failing that, a simple basic site with basic information, including the hours of operation, should be posted. (note the word “Hours” is on the site but without the actual hours of operation).

港女導遊(金凱國際旅遊) 惡行片段熱爆全國

蘋果日報 20100716 強迫旅客購物　否則冇飯食冇酒店住 港女導遊惡行片段熱爆全國

我覺得如果香港旅遊協會真的想解決這”超低團費但強迫購物”的問題，旅協仍然有方法。例如向所有來港的內地旅客，提供簡易的舉報及收集証據方法，後而控告及取消旅行社的牌照，可能是可行方法之一。

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For the record, Is 旅遊業議會主席胡兆康 really think like this? Does he think it is a one person problem? The 港女導遊 was the final straw the broke the camel’s back, she was a tiny tip of the iceberg that sunk HK. 香港是個”購物天堂”has not been true for Chinese tourists for a long time (ever?).

胡兆康斥女導遊 累死香港

2010年07月16日 (06:30 pm)

就一名香港女導遊強迫內地遊客購物事件，旅遊業議會主席胡兆康表示，議會得悉事件後已立即跟進。

胡兆康強調，不容許再有類似事件發生，以免影響香港旅遊業的形象。他又斥該名女導遊一個人的操守問題，影響了全香港人。

金凱插爆「惡死」女導遊 強調永不錄用

2010年07月16日 (05:53 pm)

就一名香港女導遊強迫內地遊客購物事件，金凱國際旅遊副總經理崔錦銘承認，該名女導遊以自由形式幫他們公司帶團。

崔錦銘又說，對整件事件十分遺憾，並對該女導遊十分失望。他又指公司經過開會商討後，決定以後不會再錄用該名女導遊。[K: It is so easy to blame one "bad apple" and claim innocent. Her "mistake" is to be caught on camera.]

另外，崔錦銘又指為向受影響的內地遊客表示歉意，會免費請他們再到香港旅遊。

金凱指女導遊 一直避接電話
2010年07月16日 (05:58 pm)
金凱國際旅遊副總經理崔錦銘公開交代「惡死」女導遊事件，承認該名李姓女導遊當時是以自由人身份幫他們公司帶團，強調事發後曾多次聯絡她，但對方一直未有接聽電話。

崔錦銘表示，願意接受旅遊業議會的調查，並會向當局呈交報告，如果發現公司有違規，願意接受處分。

誰為蘋果日報「辟邪」？

在蘋果日報讀到這「新聞」。

萬寧妹妹成長寫真書展辟邪
2010年07月16日

【香港書展 2010之童星篇】下周三開幕的香港書展，主辦單位貿發局為淨化場地及風氣，拒絕一眾推出寫真的 o靚模入場辦簽名會，不過年僅五歲的廣告界新星「萬寧妹妹」王允祈，卻完全符合大會條件，人見人愛的她推出成長印記《我有少少鍾意咗佢》，勢必在一眾 o靚模寫真中掀起另類搶購潮，以小小手臂一人之力為書展「辟邪」。

讀到這樣的「新聞」，令我想到誰為蘋果日報自身「辟邪」呢？經常拍和刊登女星露底、露事業線、露點、露毛的蘋果日報又有誰為它「辟邪」呢？

英語有”People Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones”，不客氣一點”Those f-ing reporters at Apple Daily, who make a living selling sex, should at least have the honesty not to be two-faced duplicitous “reporters”". Selling sex is a business and no one accuses Playboy and Penthouse as “two-faced duplicitous”.

萬寧妹妹成長寫真書展辟邪? Huh?!!! 誰為蘋果日報「辟邪」？

Mini-donuts & Deli Manjoo – Fun Food @ 2010 Calgary Stampede

Food at funfair should always look great and smell good to attract people to buy them (often at outrageous prices)! Mini-donuts & Deli Manjoo are two of the fun food I saw at the 2010 Calgary Stampede. Have a look of this video showing how mini-donuts & Deli Manjoo are made and judge for yourself if they are fun and makes you want to buy and try them.

滿分中學生

Hong Kong media are obsessed with public exams and those obtained top grades. Here is how Toronto Star reports on a student with perfect 100 per cent in eight Grade 12 subjects, “Ace earns perfect report card. How did she do it?“

世界杯之吻 – Spanish Goalie Iker Casillas & reporter girlfriend Sara Carbonero’s World Cup Kiss

After the controversy behind Spain’s lost to Switzerland in its opening match and the question “How did you muck that up?” by her girl friend Sara Carbonero, it is nice to see a lovely and emotional ending ”Spanish Goalie Celebrates World Cup Win in Romantic Fashion“.

Here is a video of Iker Casillas kissing Sara Carbonero (with subtitle). Check it out before it is removed.

Hail storm destroys roof on University of Calgary greenhouse

Heart breaking sight of hail storm destroys roof on University of Calgary greenhouse. [HT King Huang]