Although at yum-cha, I’ve eaten quite a few of those sweet/savoury buns commonly found in parts of Asian for, I hadn’t realised how common they were until I was in Hong Kong in 2008.

I think it was my first day in Hong Kong, and as I wandered around the city – well, in and out of the linked air-conditioned shopping malls – I noticed quite a few shops selling them.

The first thought I had, the moment I first bit into one was, “food doesn’t taste like this”.

They’re sickly sweet. They taste as though they’ve been processed to within an inch of their life. And you just know they can’t be good for you.

Going past my favourite little cake shop in China town for lunch, I decided to give them another try.

I settled on one with peas, corn, and heaven knows what else inside.

Slightly tastier than the ones I remember from Hong Kong. Even slightly less processed. But I’m still sure it can’t have been good for me.

Another memory of that big trip was revisited when I went out for dinner tonight with Edward, the bloke from Sydney who I met in Stockholm.

We shared a room for three or four days, and have gotten together a few times since then.

We enjoyed a drink or six, a terrific meal at The Balkan, and an otherwise lovely Friday night.