Is there a more scary sight in a Hong Kong supermarket than a crowd of middle-aged women carefully selecting oranges from the display? They pick them all up, inspect them and then choose the ones they want.
The rest are rejects. I’ve no idea what’s wrong with them, but there’s something wrong with them. Obviously, I don’t want those ones, so what do I do?
20 years in HK tells me never, even under threat of hot pokers or hot discount coupons, buy oranges from a supermarket.
They are all crammed full of nitrogen gas from the shipping and are therefore rotten within the hour.
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The old ladies are probably looking for nice symmetrical oranges for an offering to Wong Tai Sin.
As you’re probably not concerned with the spiritual qualities of the fruit, you can rest assured that that the ‘rejected’ oranges are as ok as any you’ll find in PNS.
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Having relatives whom are those middle aged women that carefully select oranges in supermarkets… I’ll let you in on a little secret: All they are (trying) to pick out with their 6th sense, are oranges where the peel is the thinnest. That’s why their selection appears almost random as such qualities can apply to flawless oranges (through Western eyes) or rather ugly looking ones with whatever surface blemishes. 🙂
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Ordinary Gweilo 
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