You, "broke" out rays of light It's "refract" bro Hurry up! You're stopping the earth from turning I don't want to seem like an idiot These seedy uncle places really suit me Recently there's a foreigner on YouTube that uses fluent Cantonese to talk about Satay Beef Noodles leading to widespread discussion This doesn't suit the taste of Hong Kong people Disappointment soup, disappointment soup The quality of this meat isn't up to scratch Many people thought that he is a born and raised Hongkonger pretending to be a foreigner Actually I'm from Australia and I've only been in Hong Kong for 4 years Originally self-studying Cantonese by watching YouTube and looking up dictionaries he's recently become a YouTuber introducing Hong Kong cuisine through the eyes of a foreigner I'm Brendan "Chong Ka Long" I've seen quite a few interviews of oreigners and the angle is always super positive This places is far from perfect to the point of perhaps being worse than other places but there's some things about this place that I really like things that other people might not have considered 7 Million Ways of Life I'm the most "local non-local", in other words "Tor Dei" (Hong Kong slang for super local, originally used for triad members operating within local communities) Normally when I cook at home I come here to buy vegetables because it's much fresher The vegetables at the supermarket are rubbish Brendan came to Hong Kong 4 years ago to study a Master's degree in Computer Science Born and growing up in Australia, he always had a number of Australian-raised Hong Kong friends around him and it was through them that he learned about Hong Kong and Cantonese That's to say that he grew his roots through his contact with them The shopkeeper just gave me a bunch of shallots for free In Australia when you buy something you're just buying that thing they won't give you anything extra for free so I'm really happy This is used to put up scaffolding, right? You can't eat this, can you? This is sugarcane Excuse me, do you have sweet potato leaves? Is it cheaper if I buy two bunches? I'll get a handful like this Is this OK? Yes, that's fine Sometimes I'll add some oyster sauce You're really good at speaking Chinese so I tell him he's a cleaver guy When I was little I had seen Hong Kong movies Chow Yun Fat, Stephen Chow I think Hong Kong movies of that era have a really cool atmosphere At that time I really didn't understand Cantonese so I had to read subtitles "Triumph In The Skies" There's unforeseen weather, nevertheless we need to leave and fly away I like aeroplanes and on top of that the series is filmed in Australia It's interesting to see so many people in a familar place speaking Cantonese I've learnt European languages before but I really wanted to try to learn an Asian language At the time, in addition to doing Mandarin lessons I self-studied Cantonese out of interest "The Yuppie Fantasia" The interesting thing about "The Yuppie Fantasia" is that it's written in spoken Cantonese A lot of final particles Cantonese final particles really special "Ah", "Lor", "Ga" One of the peculiarities of Chinese is that each character is seperated very clearly and as far as listening is concerned it's relatively easy to understand Other languages, for example, French C'est la vie The sounds are strung together Because he though Traditional Chinese characters are beautiful at the same time as studying Cantonese he also bought a Chinese dictionary to study traditional Chinese characters Even when sending messages in WhatsApp he insists on using Cangjie to write written Cantonese I'm quite nerdy I think Whenever I went travelling I would bring my Chinese dictionary When I had Chinese homework I would deliberately write it in traditional characters From the beginning I didn't want to stay in Australia because I thought it was really boring I wanted to go to different countries and I think Hong Kong is very interesting Furthermore, this isn't the first time that Brendan has used the word "interesting" to describe Hong Kong and the thing that is most satisfying for him is the people here He is the "King of Gelled Hair" with that face it looks like he's gonna pick up a lot of girls So normally he'll cook for you guys? Yes, he's the chef Let's cook some more rice So who usually does the housework? How do you split up the work? Everyone has their own role I might sweep and mop the floor Martin might be responsible for cleaning the kitchen Brendan might clean the table To be honest it's not that straightforward Sometimes there are arguments What do Australians say before a meal? Fu*king eat Do you find this bitter? The sauce is made by aunties on the street I bought it in the market, they make it themselves He follows Hong Kong current affairs closely He also goes on LIHKG (internet forum) I'm not a LIHKG user I only read it, I don't reply I don't like the posts they're very childish It's just a tiny social circle For example Mirror (Hong Kong boy band) he'll go and watch "Good Night Show" by himself The key is that you need to be able to read Chinese There's people out there that can speak fluent Cantonese but can't read Chinese so if you want to search something you can't find it Quite often when I hear people talking about something I'll just go and find out about it myself on the forums A long time ago I was already interested in the topic of "Toxic Guys" (Hong Kong slang for nerdy and romantically unsuccessful young men) The one that I like to watch the most is Ginger Lemon Cola I like the fact that he's really down-to-earth Rock Gor Trial And Error JFFT Pomato 100Most Of course I watch MillMILK (I want to know if to start with you were already interested in the cultures of different countries？） Yes, I am very cultured I am very cultured I'm not kidding I know a lot of quirky facts Because I love reading Wikipedia I was almost fired before because at work I was reading Wikipedia (Do you guys normally go on drives for fun?) Yes, we do We go to different places around the New Territories Because he likes cars This car is very jerky It's really very jerky When you first met Martin did you know that him and his dad keep antique cars or was it afterwards? I kind of knew Did you ever imagine that living in Hong Kong you would go cruising around in antique cars with your friends? No I wouldn't go to these far flung areas very often before Over there is Shenzhen And over there is Yantian Those really short buildings are the Exclusion Zone in Sha Tau Kok ave you ever thought of becoming a tour guide? At the moment there's very few foreign tourists You can take locals Taking locals on a tour is really crazy 你記得記得安好 You remember, remember, to stay safe and sound Just like me who's doing fine It's already getting late 我想臨別一次跟你的擁抱 I want to part with you with a hug Can I get a Truffle Flavoured Tamagoyaki and a Crab Roe Takoyaki please? I'm not an local expert on Kwai Chung Plaza but I'm quite familiar with the area When I go out with some foreign friends drinking my Hong Kong friends ask me what the event is and I'll say it's a "foreign sausage meeting" I describe these foreigners as a "foreign sausage meeting" The "foreign sausage meeting" goes to LKF to drink goes to foreigner bars Locals prefer to play games Beer pong, darts, Morra or Mahjong Argh Well Well ell Argh! &^%$ where are you now? Are you at the minibus stop? Argh &^%$, &^%$ (Do you think you have the temper of a Hongkonger?) No, I'm very calm &^%$ sometimes he doesn't get what I'm saying Australians men are good drinkers Maybe it's because they have a lot of things on their mind and they need to get really drunk to let it out Because Australian men want to be manly they won't talk about things like having a rough patch with their girlfriend They also really like to watch sport Hongkongers can talk about any topic Celebrity gossip hey like to talk about social issues Australians won't talk about thiis topic much I find it really easy to talk about really deep topics with Hongkongers maybe it's because there's so many contradictions in Hong Kong society For instance many Hongkongers are considering emigrating Actually topic of emigration has many different levels Why do you want to emmigrate? What are the differences between the place where you want to emigrate to and Hong Kong? You've already dived into some some really deep topics But these are really standard topics to talk about in Hong Kong On the other hand in Australia you'll normally just talk about renovating your home how much you enjoy having a dog They aren't really keen to express topics like society or your view on the world Why is it that when things are slower you lament the future Future... I only want there to be a possibility one day to live with you and share your surname (Why do you like Dear Jane so much?） I don't know Maybe it's because I like how manly they are We haven't seen for a long time What happened after all? Foreign style The first time I greeted him I spoke to him in English and then he told me not to speak English Speak Cantonese, hahaha And then I was shocked There's some swear word tests you can do I reckon he'd get full marks I remember when I asked him what he does in Hong Kong and he held up his glass and replied loudly "I'm an IT dog" Are you very surprised that a foreigner would integrate this much into the culture? I also asked him how he did it and he said It's because all of his friends are very "MK" (Hong Kong slang for trendy youth that hang around Mongkok) He knows how to play Mahjong He's better than a lot of Hongkongers because those two didn't know how to play Mahjong It's Brendan that taught them how to play Is that true? Yes, it's true That's so unexpected Did you learn by playing video games or by watching YouTube? At the start I read Wikipedia and then I used mobile apps I've been waiting for this tile Who has the White Dragon? Actually he's more local than me There's some some stuff that even most Hongkonger's don't know that he knows He's been to a lot of remote areas in Hong Kong Compared to when he first came to Hong Kong has the way has the he approaches things, thinks about things, talks become faster, and more like a Hongkonger? Or even faster than a Hongkonger? He's always been like this hat's why I think Australia is so boring because everything happens at such a slow pace there So could I say that you found your own pace here? It's possible From speaking fluent Cantonese to even his way of thinking and lifestyle habits, all resemble a local ather that diligently trying to become a Hongkonger his personality was already well matched to Hong Kong including being able to think fast on his feet and having a sense of sarcasm and having a way of talking and thinking that makes people snicker I'm an "IT dog" I previously worked in terrible companies that put a lot of pressure on you whenever you're free for a second the boss will come over straight away and give you a task At the time I was really considering taking up smoking because if you smoke you can take a "ciggie break" The boss of my old company would often stay until 7PM or 8PM but he would frequently schedule a meeting for 6PM just before the end of the workday (so in the end you switched to a foreign company?) Yes Foreign companies will just look at your results Whether or not you can do the work well so the reason I like to make videos is because I don't want to be a wage slave just doing IT I want to do things that I'm interested in Usually if I'm finding things to eat I'll use Facebook Hong Kong Chicken Pot Hong Kong Egg Waffle Concern Group Before when I was filming the Satay Beef Noodles video I very quickly found the Satay Beef Noodles Concern Group I follow different Instagram accounts to look at different topics in Hong Kong I used to like public housing estates so I followed an IG account where there's photos of housing estates or old buildings in Hong Kong For example Before_it_vanish he signs are really pretty 've come to here today to film my Youtube food video Normally I'll go and find different friends to help me film Because I found out that you need multiple angles and if you use a tripod it'll be quite boring I'll check the sound first The reason why people watch my videos isn't because it's shot well The most important thing is you, right? A foreigner speaking Cantonese and eating local food, is very interesting My video titles will use the phrases "Gwai Lo" (Cantonese slang for foreigner), "Australian", "foreigner" because I know this will get people to click and watch it Even though it's stealing clicks but I want to talk about interesting things Today I'm going to compare old-school Hong Kong fusion breakfast with a more modern Hong Kong fusion breakfast Right now I'm at a place in Sai Ying Pun that is more suited to young people's tastes or example they have Coconut Milk Red Bean Frappe Even though I grew up in Sydney the best coffee in Australia is in Melbourne This froth is just right, very smooth This coffee is really good ut it's really a different beast compared to Hong Kong style coffee These mushrooms I don't know if they've been fried to release the flavour Have you ever thought of doing YouTube fulltime? I think there's a lot of pressure because it's very difficult to make money I'm very amateur Take a look at my editing, there's no SFX Why don't you use your identity to create YouTube videos that people other than Hongkongers will watch Because I I dunno but I think supporting Cantonese language entertainment is very important There's fewer and fewer TV shows The entertainment industry is starting to become low quality Even though the stuff I film is kind of rubbish but I hope there'll at least be more stuff about Hong Kong to watch That's my thought I like Hong Kong I like to eat and have fun in Hong Kong so why not go and film it? Are there ever times when your Cantonese is so proficient that you'll forget how to say something in English? No But sometimes I'll accidentally speak Cantonese What would you like to "sik" (eat) today This is quite tasty I'll say in English "This is OK to eat" It's just really strange English So, I used to live in this building just behind me which is like a kind of old-school Hong Kong building It's a bit stilted, hahaha Sorry? Yeah so I used to live on, like, the fourth floor And you have to walk up this narrow stairs to get there "Bok jeun mou fui" means if you put in your utmost effort then you'll have absolutely no regrets Actually this is something they say at The University of Hong Kong (You know about this kind of thing?) Yep, that's right Previously everyone wanted to force Hongkongers to speak English Hongkongers have kept their own language and culture They have their own entertainment and creations that they they use their own culture to make So I really look up to Hongkongers There's so many countries in Europe and they all have their own culture and language but here everyone wants to go down a single path Be it English or Mandarin I think this place has generated so much of it's own culture For example, Hong Kong has "MK culture" I can distinguish between who is "MK" and who is "Kong Girl" (stereotypical materialistic Hong Kong women) and who is "Fake ABC" We don't have these things in Australia Hong Kong has a lot of it's own local culture I think it's very interesting I think "MK" is mainly about fashion Pastel miniskirts coupled with trainers and maybe a tank top is the most commonplace style "ABC" is pretending to be somebody else Fake American accent Hello Hi, Hello Hi Actually there's a group of people in Hong Kong that think that Lan Kwai Fong represents Western culture They want to prove that they aren't a local Hongkonger but instead are "international" They like to make friends with you just because you're a foreigner (So how do you approach these fake ABC's?) I speak Chinese The thing they hate the most is speaking Chinese Seems like they don't have it this time I can see on the menu that they don't have any scalded pork liver We ordered Steamed Fish Head with Soy Sauce and Lemon Chicken They don't have any Prawn Toast either The common topic of discussion for Hongkongers is food Hongkongers attach a great importance to eating many social activities involve going out and eating a meal Let's meet up and have Yum Cha In Australia a lot of the time you'll just go to a bar Wow, this is great Really smooth The flesh is really tender Is this better than Kam Hing? You can't compare the two they're different styles There's enough Wok Hei (cooking term referring to flavour caused by stir-frying using a wok) If he wants to be a picky eater he can be when he comes out to eat with me I'll always take him to out to eat delicious stuff Pork kidney He really likes to eat innards and fat Things that foreigners normally won't eat I can't handle chicken testicles I'm scared because there's some juice inside it What? Everyone calls me "Sister Fa" Because your glasses really look like Sister Fa's Did you deliberately choose that style because of her? Of course not 即是 I mean is it Sister Fa that copied your style? Is there a main reason that even though there's so many other places to choose from you chose Hong Kong? I just find this place is interesting It's just like some people that have been dating and they don't know why but they know the person is just right for them They go and marry and she isn't as pretty as before maybe they're in their 60's or 70's lots of wrinkles, really ugly but nevertheless you've been together for so many years When you live somewhere or get to know a place over a long period of time you start to cherish the place Even though I think Hong Kong is getting worse every year it's not as good as before But it's very hard to say goodbye The chorus is coming again: Do you know the contradictions are only because of loving you deeply? Who would of expected that at this moment after hugging, we would quarrel You lit the sky with fireworks for me, and left scars Painful experiences, the future, forget about it all Your high note's aren't bad Old Ghost Your falsetto isn't bad Falsetto is OK Your Falsetto is very false There's one one time that was really funny we got drunk together and he was standing on the road almost passed out and he treated it like it was his own home and suddenly started taking his pants off, %^&$ Who? No, no I didn't You did This didn't happen at all The funniest thing is that I would of expected in this situation foreigners would say fu*k But he said &*^% He said it very naturally
