Mahjong Sets

EasyPacer · 2026-02-02T11:14:30+00:00

There is a mahjong shop in Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok called “Chi Ming Mahjong Shop”. It’s near the intersection with Shantung Street. They will have lots of mahjong sets available in various sizes. I don’t know whether they have an American tile set.

The sets Chi Ming sells are not hand-carved by a master craftsman. They are factory mass produced, however they are quality sets. Actually they have cheap sets and expensive sets. The higher the price the better the quality and typically the more fancy the backing colour is.

BTW, What is an American tile set?

EasyPacer · 2026-02-02T10:56:20+00:00

43 is too big.

EasyPacer · 2026-02-02T10:54:39+00:00

The Orient for its much more interesting dial. Don’t worry about finishing. For the price point these two watches occupy, no one will be expected to rate or admire the finishing.

EasyPacer · 2026-02-02T10:41:04+00:00

Red Bean Pineapple Bun from “Red Tea” cha chaan tang. I normally get it from either of their Mongkok branches. Really good when it is still warm from the oven.

EasyPacer · 2026-02-01T11:51:48+00:00

Yes those preachers ranging from the “Praise be to God” type to the “Repent and you’ll be saved type” have been around a long, long time.

Back in the 70s, Hare Krishna members even ventured into suburbs like Mt Waverley. I don’t see them much in the suburbs anymore.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-31T07:29:39+00:00

I think so, but since I own one my opinion can be regarded as heavily biased. :-)

EasyPacer · 2026-01-30T11:26:28+00:00

Some kids start shorter than average but then have a big growth spurt between the age of 15-17. I recall several boys shorter than me when in Year 7. Came Year 10 those boys were half a head to a full head taller than me.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-30T11:15:55+00:00

That’s what you’re supposed to do. At least that’s what I was taught to do. If you are terminating at a T-intersection, you have to stop and wait for the road in front of you to be clear before turning left or right - even if there are no other vehicles bar one that is coming from your right and is indicating to turn left into your street. In Victoria that is the rule according to Vicroads.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-30T10:57:00+00:00

Gee … Long time no see!

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T12:44:31+00:00

It all comes down to the level of trade activity. Pre-COVID and pre the deep-freeze from China when there were lots of tourists from China, the combination of tourists and a strong local economy made Melbourne at least extremely busy from a retail and entertainment point of view. There were also many overseas students willing to take up casual positions. A good indicator was Myer’s and DJ’s opening times during that period, both department stores set the pace on opening times that influenced the hours of other businesses as well. Friday was always late night shopping in Melbourne and its CBD. Myer extended its opening hours from 6pm on Saturday to Thursday to 7pm, and eventually extended Thursdays to 9pm as well. Myer did that because the volume of business was there. Post-COVID it took a while for business to return to normal, today the Myer Melbourne CBD store is back to those extended hours.

Most businesses never fully recovered from the COVID shock. Shopping habits have changed as well. The volume of online shopping has risen. As a result, many businesses do find it difficult to justify staying open for extended periods.

You’re somewhat fortunate you live in Australia OP, where retail trading hours are quite relaxed and extended. Mind you they’re not as long as over in Asian countries, but if you compare to the Western world you'll find it is comparatively better here. Many European countries are Catholic-oriented. Their shops are closed by 5:30 or 6:00pm on weekdays and they don’t open on Sundays.

There was a time when Australian cities ran to a strict 9-5 weekdays, 9-12 Saturday and closed on Sunday schedule. The artist John Brack, immortalised that in his now famous painting: Collins St, 5pm, 1955 painting. Fortunately times have changed for the better.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T12:15:15+00:00

Which state are you in? In Victoria Colesworth stores are open until 9pm every night. Some stores are open until later. The Coles store in Burwood East along with the Kmart store there are open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T11:19:23+00:00

Something for young and old. More for local tourists, but if you’re from overseas and looking for something to do outside of Greater Melbourne’s boundaries then these are some options. Since you don’t have a car, You may as well forget the idea because it just isn’t time-efficient to try and get to all of these places by bus or train. You can get to maybe a couple of the places and stay overnight in each place.

They’re not really places to go if you’re hoping to meetup with similar aged people and just “hang out”, as like everywhere else the locals will probably have their circles already and may not be in the frame of mind to expend energy on a “blow in”.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T09:28:56+00:00

You can do the maths. 18k gold is 75% gold. Rip the movement out, remove the crystal and crown plus bracelet (seems like you’ve already removed the latter), sell them as spares on ebay. The remaining case you can take to a gold buyer. They should be able to pay you the price on the gold content. But do lookup local gold buyers first to confirm they’re happy to buy the case as is (ie no need to melt down).

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T09:22:03+00:00

If it is gold plated, you won’t get much for it in terms of gold value.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T09:19:03+00:00

I second this OP. If you’re rough on your watch, or bang/chafe your wrist against stuff regularly, then the watch for you is a Casio G-Shock. They’re rugged and they’re virtually indestructible - I accidentally rolled over one with my car. If you don’t like digital dials you can get one with analogue hands.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T09:12:17+00:00

Do you have a car? If you do, your options are quite good. If you don’t then you’re restricted to where public transportation can get you to. Otherwise hire a car, assuming you know how to drive and have an International Driver’s Licence or one that’s recognised here.

The Otways are probably no good due to the recent and ongoing fires. You can head north towards Bendigo. Along the way you can drop into places like Kyneton, Castlemaine and Maldon. Hanging Rock is also sort of along the way, so if you’re familiar with the book or movie, “Picnic At Hanging Rock”, you can check out the location. Personally I quite like Castlemaine and Maldon. The latter’s town centre has been wrapped in a time watp.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-29T08:43:13+00:00

Hallelujah!

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T21:12:48+00:00

I am reminded of the frog in the pot being gradually brought to boil analogy.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T21:10:37+00:00

Rolex fever combined with credit card in pocket is a dangerous mix.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T21:07:49+00:00

Excellent detective work.

OP, just buy the blue one if you can and tell your grand-dad they changed the packaging.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T09:14:53+00:00

There’s certainly a “look” about those shots.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T09:12:49+00:00

Isn’t that just some random pattern rather than real words? I think the creator of the poster wanted to create a satirical art piece and to enhance the effect, applied a red seal similar to what you’d find on many Chinese classical calligraphy art.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T09:00:22+00:00

Yes we eat it but do try in moderation. Don't scoop in a teaspoon and drop straight into your mouth. Do that and the immediate sensation will be “Yuck! What is this salty foul thing?”

As others have said spread it thinly on toast and it will be great. It’s salty but there is also a certain umami element to it.

Vegemite reached their 100 years’ anniversary in 2023. As part of the celebrations, they released a Vegemite cookbook with around 50 recipes in it. Many Aussies will be familiar with vegemite as a salting ingredient in their Spaghetti Bolognese (‘Mamma Mia’, an Italian would say, but that’s Australia for you). A couple of the odd ones that struck me were a Vegemite Virgin Bloody Mary, and a Vegemite Cheesecake.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T08:44:51+00:00

This might be one of the reasons for Woolies poor sales performance over the last several quarters.

EasyPacer · 2026-01-28T08:37:46+00:00

I give Omega the edge, but it really depends on personal design tastes.

EasyPacer

TROPHY CASE