Why is that it is only Westerners walk around outdoors (as in away from their house, so this also includes MTR stations) eating apples?  I've noticed that it's something that only Westerners do and I don't recall ever seeing a Chinese person do it.  I notice them walk down the street or get on the MTR biting onto an apple and it's only recently crossed my mind that its only Westerners that do it.  Now I use the term loosely since I've not researched into whether its just British or Americans that do it so don't want to make too many assumptions.  They seem to just spontaneously pick up an apple to eat on the way to work or while they head off down town to do some shopping.  I think I've seen Chinese people do it but only when walking around their yard and not down the street.

I'm not saying that its a dangerous or stupid thing to do and that people shouldn't do it; just that I don't think I've seen a Chinese person do it, only westerners.  What do you guys think and have you noticed this too?

[ Last edited by  cantgetenough at 10-12-2008 00:19 ]

two things:

I think its something to do with HK people thinking apples and things are 'dirty' and thus they must be washed and cleaned throughly before consumption, the usual BS family afair in HK when you go have dinner at somebody's house is to bring fruit or cake or some other crap...

At which they wash it carefully then slice it for people to share....

I don't know a single chinese person (bar all the BBCs and such like) who will drink water straight from the tap.... or eat an apple just picked off a tree (I live near a huge apple tree).


But this is just my probably flawed theory of course..


EDIT

Also that HK people seem to have their phones permanantly attached to their ear, and in the other hand hold their wallet/octpuss card which leaves no free hands to eat with...

[ Last edited by  Kennichi at 9-12-2008 16:25 ]

Well you could quite easily wash the apple before you take it out with you so I don't think its that.  

I trust the tap water in the UK generally, or at least the water that comes out of the tap at home.  In HK, I have tried drinking tap water and it just tastes odd and not something I would trust.  With hygiene standards being what they are in HK unlike the UK, I'll probably never drink water straight from the tap again since I did it once without thinking.

[ Last edited by  cantgetenough at 10-12-2008 00:32 ]

Damn! Someone finally noticed!

CGE, the truth is that we Westerners all love to eat apples when walking about the city going about our business. But this behavior is absolutely forbidden in ALL western countries. In fact, this is one of the few things that both the Bible and the Koran have in common - once must never eat an apple in the presence of strangers - there are no exceptions, no mitigating circumstances. But we love eating apples in crowds so much that many of us have moved to Asia just so we can do this without being arrested and bringing shame to ourselves and our loved ones. Now that you know the truth, I beg of you, please keep this to yourself; if it should become public knowledge, lives could be ruined!!

(Did you ever notice that we can also walk and chew gum at the same time - well, not all of us, but certainly a majority.)

Well noticed bro.........

Come to think of it quite true....?

Only thing i really see locals eat on the move is chinese buns with bag around to catch the crumbs......

& another thing is pick their nose quite freely and openly.....not discreetly..

i cant recall seeing any one eating an apple... but i see many ppl eating the stank tofu, octopus legs, curry balls, and all those other nasty things in hk...

Think mars missed the point with the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden

westerner like eating apples and hk has many visable fruit markets!

chinese people queue up to buy fruit drinks

You forgot to mention ultra short and not-so-pretty filipino girls.

CGE,  those are deep thoughts bro.

"western people" or gwailos, if you'll pardon the term, are a bit more health conscious...so they prefer eating apples on the street than gnawing on mystery meat on a stick.  

they have an uncanny tolerance for eating things raw and unpeeled.  the HK'ers will peel the skin off just about any fruit they eat....even  grapes and peaches...whereas gwailos will just rub the apple on the shirt sleeve and munch without needing to wash with soap, pat dry, peel, core, and arrange in a nice pattern on a dish and have it served to them by their mommies.  I've come across gwaipors that will eat a kiwi unpeeled and munch on a nice big red bell pepper which is kinda cool.

excellent observation!

i love eating apples or bananas on the go.  they make a good snack and way healthier than a greasy or sweet pastry that locals tend to eat for breakfast.  i must admit that i get some stares when i eat an apple in public.  my local gf always ask why i like eating fruit on the go.

westerners eat a lot more fruit compared to Asians....Asians eat a lot more vegetables...

even when Asians eat fruit they always have it peeled....not me thou....i love peaches, pears....etc..

I'm just not an apple person..

Well those can eat big huge cooking apples to cover up their faces then

I think Chinese people just tend to eat some fruit after a meal rather than as snacks throughout the day.  But still with more and more fruit desert places popping up around HK, this is becoming less of the case.

Here are my observations on this fruit topic... don't want to generalize but I have noticed that fruit eaters from families of Chinese descent tend to peel, slice and share large apples and oranges. While westerns like whole personal size fruits. Therefore it would be inconvenient to carry around sliced fruit.

It all boils down to different habits of different cultures. The Chinese are just as crazy about fruits as their Western counterparts but prefer to enjoy them in a relaxed environment like at the dinner table after a meal or around the TV in the evening. Fruits are more a dessert than a snack to the Chinese. This is where the role of the Chinese wife comes in. They are responsible for the peeling and the slicing while the hubby and the children wait at the coffee table watching TV.

Spoken like a true Chinese male!  

u gotta remember Hong Kong .. is similar to New York.. i go to New York seldomly.. because i work in the video game industry.. so i go everywhere.. and believe me.. in new york 95 perecnt ppl eat apples, or fruits while walking, taking the subway.. etc... we do wash our fruits too.. dont ever eat unwashed fruits in HK... trust me.. i got sick.. bleh...

Maybe the question that CGE should be raising is why ASIANS don't walk around the streets munching on an apple?  As this is the original fast food!  It is easy to transport, comes in its own protestective wrapper and doesn't usually make a mess when eaten.  Vote 1 - Apple.  BTW, there have been quite a few WG's on the site called Apple - so there must be something going for them!

Hk people walk around the streets, eating curry fish balls, smelly beancurd, tako balls, chinese sausages, fried calamari.. etc..
anything but apples..
that will look too uncool..