828 JoyYou Fest
Su and I are never sufficiently well-informed or sensitive of the financial benefits from our various membership and were unaware of an 828 JoyYou Fest in town until last Saturday 29 August when Su accidentally discovered that JoyYou and Octopus had launched the 828 Fest from 28.8.2026 to 10.9.2026 which involves 130 participating merchants and benefits for customers. We had just finished a wine tasting session at Mercato Gourmet TST. I took the purchases and boarded the MTR back to Mei Foo while Su accidentally stepped into an eatery in close by – Mark’s Noodle – for a quick bite and to while away some time before making her next appointment in Jordan. After she had ordered a bowl of her favourite wanton noodles and confirmed that she had a JoyYou card, she was given an invoice for the purchase at HK$8 which she would settle with her card. The sudden windfall – the normal price was HK$51 – prompted her to call me immediately. I was already on the train and was too lazy to double back for the benefit. I told Su maybe I would do it the next day.
The next day came soon enough. Su wasn’t feeling too well, having come down with influenza apparently and was nursing herself at home. After my normal Sunday Mass routine, I made a separate trip to TST by MTR, arriving Mak’s Noodle at 11 am. I was instantly offered the same discount Su received the previous day. More interestingly, the staff told me that I was their first customer of the day under the $8 deal. I inquired whether I could acquire take-outs or an additional bowl in-house on the same rate and was given a resolute negative answer. The offer was HK$8 for the first 28 bowls of wanton noodles but not anything else and HK$28 for each bowl afterwards on any one of the three days, from 29 to 31 August 2026. Their offers were very specific, though generous. I asked Su whether I should get her a bowl at the full take-out price. She thanked me for the offer and said she would rather come in person later, which she did with me around 3 pm. Ours were the 15th and 16th bowls of the day, the staff told us and invited us in the same breath to return later for another treat. Su’s plan was to get something from Mercato Gourmet first, but on logistics grounds decided to take a bus to KCC for a rest first, which we did. We then walked to Peninsula Hotel for the purchases before landing ourselves at Mak’s Noddle the third time for me on the same day and for Su in two days, arriving shortly after 5 pm. The shop was empty at the time, but we were soon joined by other younger customers including two westerners. So we had the 24th and 25th bowls of the day; implying that between us we had six bowls of wanton noodles at $8 each. What a bargain! Su challenged me to go again on Monday before my trip to Zetland Hall. I was tempted but decided that it was too troublesome to break the journey and to brave the promised foul weather. Earlier, Su had insisted that we used the shop at TST rather than other ones at Tsuen Wan West, or Jordan, or Causeway Bay, noting that TST was a relatively young community with fewer elderly residents, compared with the other districts I had listed. She proved to be correct when our neighbour Stella told her that she had a bowl of the same thing at the Jordon shop for HK$28 around 5 pm on Sunday, though was still very happy about the discount.
The wet weather prompted us to visit a dim sum restaurant at Mei Foo yesterday which was another participating merchant. We arrived shortly after 1 pm and were advised that the quota for the offer of HK$28, for a plate of char-siu which normally was priced at HK$108, had run out and asked us to return during the offer period around 11 am if we were still interested. We returned today indeed shortly after 11 am and took up the offer, though we were not exactly impressed with the food quality. Su took the trouble of speaking to a Manager who replied nonchalantly that that was the food quality one should expect from a JoyYou plate! How honest could one be! Su later wrote on the social media of the potential economic contributions from the silver-hair community in aging districts such as Mei Foo whose residents were not getting younger, which again vindicated her view on using the Mak’s Noodle shop at TST rather than those in other districts.
Su also observed that the Estate Management of MFSC were prone to neglect their vigilance and diligence in their work as the residents became increasingly aged. The elderly community tended to be more tolerant and slow in complaining. Not with Su. She complained like hell to the Estate Management on the damages and inconvenience caused during the current works on the exterior walls of our blocks, which had incapacitated two of our room coolers, for nearly a month by now. Staff of the Estate Management were not used to dealing with articulate residents such as Su; so that the learning curves on both sides were steep.
Meanwhile, we were involved in organizing a trip to Yunnan in November between a group of HKU alumni of the vintage of the Sixties (year of graduation) mostly from North America. I had the benefit of having the advice of Alcuin who was a long-time friend and who was offering his professional assistance pro bono. As with matters concerning silver-hair communities, it was a chore to get a consensus on some issues, but we are trying hard. Meanwhile, life goes on; and tonight we will brave for another Birthday dinner of a very good friend.
