10.289
21 (Mon) October 2019
Bacon-Scallop Rolls
3.0
at the Ministry of Health
-Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand-
with meeting participants
Mission to New Zealand, Day 3.
In Wellington. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and National Ethics Advisory Committee, I’ll be coordinating the proceedings of the Second Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting for National Ethics/Bioethics Committees, Tuesday to Wednesday. I coordinated the first AP-NEC meeting two years ago in Seoul (see 8.292 Grilled Lamb).
LUNCH
Spent the day on final prep for the meeting, which opens tomorrow.
Lunch with WHO colleagues at Seoul House, a Korean restaurant located a few blocks from the hotel.
The bibimbap was fine.
And so, Wellington becomes the 35th city outside of Korea where I’ve had Korean food in a restaurant (see KOREAN ABROAD).
DINNER
Informal reception hosted by the Ministry of Health.
Out of respect for local customs, every meal and tea break throughout the proceedings will start with karakia mō te kai (blessing the food).
The food was excellent, if skimpy – in fairness to our gracious hosts, the spread was only meant to comprise light refreshments.
SNACK
Afterwards, CY and I went into town for a proper meal. We were disappointed to learn that establishments in Wellington, even in the bustling Cuba Street district, shut down for the night when business is slow, and that business on Mondays slows around 2100. By the time we got there at 2130, most places were already cleaning up.
