Oh that really depends on which law you are talking about...Original Post Deleted
Oh that really depends on which law you are talking about...Original Post Deleted
Maybe I should of clarified, I get food poisoning a few times a year (which to me is often). People on this thread assume it's a gastro issue but it's not. Getting it once a week is an indicator that it's a gastro issue, not once every few months.
I was sitting in a Dai pai dong in central years ago during my husband's preassignment trip and as I was waiting for my food, I saw a guy use a chopping knife to saw down a chair leg to even it out, then use the same knife to chop veggies! Needless to say I didn't eat what I ordered.Original Post Deleted
I'm with the OP on this one. Growing up I only ever got sick to the point of vomiting about once every four years (and that's as a kid/teenager!). Lived in Europe for about 7 years and never vomited. I gotten pretty sick in Nepal and a little sick in Cambodia. And in Hong Kong, a few months after coming here I got one of the worst cases I've ever had of a bug/poisoning. Then, 2 years later, I recently got sick again to the point of vomiting. I hate it!
I've been pretty unsure of what could have been the causes of the illness in Hong Kong, and it could just be down to a virus, as we are after all crammed like sardines in here. I thought that after the 2 year mark of my body adjusting, it would be better.... But at the universities where I've worked, there's some pretty poor hygiene practices. I've seen food being placed on plates with bare hands, or hands touching raw eggs and then serving dishes on trays. (I do get the nicest, most serious replies from the manager when I write to report this!) The workers seem pretty miserable and are perhaps very underpaid. One of these uni canteens is run by Maxims, but a Maxims canteen at a swanky bank that I've been to several times tends to have much better (visual) hygiene and remarkably friendlier staff. So I think there must be a correlation between how you treat the staff and what standards you get out of them, to some degree.
I do love eating at the dai pai dong places, and as long as the food is hot and there's some boiling water to clean my utensils I think I'm ok. But it's pretty disgusting to see the rags they use to "clean" the tables... to see how the dishes are handled... and I just won't even look in the kitchens. But like the OP is saying, I think there tends to be hygiene problems in the kitchens all over, it's not at all limited to more local places.
By the way, we once met a guy that works for the food and hygiene department. He made some comment that there's not much they can do, because if they really closed down/fined everyone for all the breaches of the rules, they'd have to close every place down.
But why such resistance to seeing a specialist? If only to eliminate the possibilities.
Like I said, if you think eating out is so hazardous to your health, don't eat out (or eat out less). Otherwise, the only solution is to deal with it. Because there is not much else you can do, is there?
Last edited by Cho-man; 22-02-2015 at 03:37 PM.
You're not. Don't take it too seriously.
Another issue I've had in HK, which is a bit embarrassing to admit, is with bladder inflections, which I never had since I was a small child! And then I've been struck twice with them here. Too many germs, poor hygiene...
By the way, at Sasa, you can be a small little spray bottle (small enough to fit in a pocket) and fill it with rubbing alcohol. I always keep it with me for cleaning surfaces as needed. You can also buy alcohol wipes to keep handy. And I should mention I have seen (albeit only once) a local person cleaning their table with alcohol.
Last edited by Elegiaque; 22-02-2015 at 03:42 PM.