Sweet and sour pork instead of duck.

There are white, or Haxen currywurst - Canton-diet, however, is frowned upon: A Badischer toy dealer brings the Chinese since 1984, German cuisine close. Now he tries to Hong Kong, the world economic crisis auszusitzen.

 

Maybe very well that he now runs two parallel, thinks Peter Seeger. What crazy times. What particularly insecure times! Particularly, he opened the newspaper and that he has actually already spoiled the day. Slump in exports by 21.8 percent compared to last year, reports the Wall Street Journal "- the worst figure since 1958:" It is believed that Hong Kong's economy, which already is in recession, in 2009 a further three percentage is shrinking. " Long the global crisis has reached Asia.

Toy dealer Peter Seeger takes a sip from his powerful Schneider Weissbier. Crisis makes thirsty. Next door sits a Bayer before his second Hellen, and back in the corner to beat a couple of Chinese pork belly with Knuckles, with pork, full. Fortunately Peter Seeger heard the pub. Business with Barbie, Godzilla and Tamagotchi will not run particularly well at present. In the port of Hong Kong, the stacked containers, and all projections suggest that as soon nothing will change.

In September 1984 he was the second leg the "Biergarten" (8 Hanoi Road, Kowloon) opened at the mouth of the Perlflusses established. Hong Kong, he obviously knew a long time, since the early seventies. Finally, it was here all the toys produced by the children in the affluent West the time expelled - "Made in Hong Kong" was the hallmark of excellence for the global Plastikkram, Seeger and deserved not bad on the boom.

A place for German Gemütlichkeit

In this glittering metropolis to live in that entrepreneurs from the province of Baden sometime well imagine, and because he was not alone. With the growing Far East business came more and more German entrepreneurs to Hong Kong - "6000 will become holders of a Hong Kong ID card," says Seeger. Daytime scheffelten she had money and made important statements, and after service they are closing longed after Eisbein and Haxe, Weissbier, dumplings and sauerkraut and wanted not only Chinese Tsingtao beer drinking and eating sweet and sour duck.

LAST EXIT ...

In the South Seas, the Caribbean or the Pacific? Reaching the Cape of Good Hope or to Koh Lanta? In the Moloch of Bangkok or Beijing? German emigrants make their dream of a new life true.

What drives them? What do they want in the distance? Issues facing Asia-blogs correspondent Thilo Thielke in his column "Last Exit ..." after it.

"A place for German comfort in this frantic, vibrant city to create - a look that would be an idea", thought Seeger, and made the "Biergarten - German Pub and Restaurant" on. "Home far away from home" should be his slogan. The business would grumble.

By the act of entrepreneurs with more toys, finally Seeger was not in the main professional restaurateur. But times changed, and changed with Hong Kong. Gradually, more and more factories have relocated their headquarters to China, the Hong Kong 1997, to be returned. So Hong Kong lost its role as a bridgehead of the United Kingdom and its significance as a low-cost producer. Instead, the city developed the first commercial, later became a banking center. And Seeger was now no more than asking buyers of toys, but as an intermediary between the big chains like Toys' R 'Us and the Chinese toy manufacturers.

Of the Hong Kong Chinese, he can learn a lot, Seeger says: "As the industry in the late eighties in Hong Kong collapsed, all had expected that it is a blow to millions of unemployed people would give - but what happened? The people saddled by - to waiters or taxi drivers - the shift went smoothly. The huge factory buildings were converted into warehouses. " For career success was compounded when Seeger's personal happiness. He married a Taiwan and was once again father.

"Chinese are world champions in learning"

But how will the future look like? Currently, all the characters to a storm. And Hong Kong, it seems, is a bottleneck between China and the United States with most of the global economic crisis. "The main buyers were the Chinese but so far the Americans," says Seeger and admits: "It looks bad out, 2009 can already write off." And clearly, the impact on the restaurant said: "Less business means less business means less customers."

Seeger remains an optimist. "Asia is the crisis more effectively than the rest of the world," he believes "the people here react faster, the best production facilities are here, people work harder, and Chinese are the world champions in learning."

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In the past 20 years, hardly even a worker can turn out one days. Quite the contrary: "They are all glad and happy when they work longer, and the shop is going well - then they can also earn more." Even when he moved to the economic conditions in Hong Kong thinks he go into raptures: "Maximum tax rate 15 percent, and import duties on beer and wine were abolished completely."

Only the high office rents are a problem. Nowhere in the world, they are higher than in the seven-million-inhabitant metropolis. More than 145 euros per square meter should be hinblättern, in Tokyo, it is only slightly more than 132 euros, and the London West End is in comparison to Hong Kong after just cheap: Because we will pay "only" 116 euros. Of course, the impact on prices. For the pork with sauerkraut and mashed potato takes Seeger 145 Hong Kong dollars (the currency is the U.S. dollar) - which makes up nearly 15 euros. And half a liter of beer (Bitburger) costs outside of happy hour about seven euros.

"Our currywurst is the best in town"

No wonder that in the neighborhood Italian restaurants, such as mushroom. Hardly any food is cheaper than the Italian - "clear that a pizzeria a higher profit margin than a German, or rather, a French restaurant." Of this, that the guests continue to come in his beer garden, is still convinced Seeger: "The German cuisine is better than its reputation, and our currywurst is the best in the city."

Will he eventually come back to Germany? Seeger, it can not be ruled out. Even now he is five or six times a year in the vicinity of Karlsruhe. His two daughters from first marriage are now themselves become parents. Seeger is grandfather. His wife also wants some of the world. "You should never say never," says Seeger. Maybe one day he makes a China restaurant in southern Germany on.