The Quaranzine Playlist #4: Dispatches
Photography My Camera My Rules
Inspired by the music at her favourite locals, DJ Zahra Jamshed (aka Zee Jammin) pays tribute to the Hong Kong restaurant scene — which is needed now more than ever
I’ve watched the world through my Instagram stories as, country by country, friends around the world have shuttered up, stayed home, and tried to adjust to a new way of life. But while this past year has been far from normal, Hong Kong has managed to keep it incredibly close.
Here, while masks and sanitisers became a common sight during the early days of the pandemic, for the best part of the year, we’ve maintained the freedom to move through the city freely, albeit carefully. And despite a 7 million person population, our waves have been relatively small.
But then came July 29, 2020, the day that changed my understanding of the pandemic forever. In the midst of what has been described as the city’s third wave, restaurants were forced to shut for both lunch and dinner. While that may not seem that shocking from an outsider’s perspective, in a city like Hong Kong, the decision had wide-reaching implications.
This city is one that, in many ways, cares for itself. And ultimately, our restaurants function as more than a space to catch up for a meal. For me, they’ve provided a space to set up shop with my laptop and work while my offices have been closed. But they are also often the only places where many of Hong Kong’s poorer residents can take shelter for a few hours, and, in some instances, offer a place for the homeless to rest their heads for the night.
On July 29, pictures of blue collar workers, desperately looking for shelter from the rain and heat during what was later revealed to be the city’s hottest month on record, went viral, throwing the jarring reality of Hong Kong’s wealth disparity into the spotlight. (It’s estimated that one in five people in the city live in poverty.)
The rule was reversed in just 48 hours.
How, in one of the most expensive cities to live in the world, does one stay at home when you don’t have one? How do you stay home when the only jobs you have access to force you expose yourself? If this city can’t care for those most in need, and bridge its incredibly polarising wealth gap, we’ll carry these questions through with us until the end of the pandemic.
While Hong Kong's restaurants have offered a safe space for those in need, they've also offered inspiration for me as a music enthusiast. Here is a playlist that contains songs played in coffee shops and restaurants in my neighbourhood. After spending countless hours sitting at their tables in recent months, I’ve picked up a couple of new tunes, as well as old earworms. It's low-tempo, strong vocals and generally pretty chill — a remedy for these chaotic times.
Zahra Jamshed is Zee Jammin, a Hong Kong based DJ who has called the city her home since 1997. She started mixing in 2018, after her friends surprised her with a piggy bank of cash for her 28th birthday, to put towards buying her first controller.
