Wah Lees Emporium.Established 1904.

Hello local or out of town visitors to this lens.If you are visiting our shop again, or for first time visitors in real life, I do recommend coming in on Friday and Saturdays.We have more people on hand those two days.Walk,bicycle,or catch a taxi home if coming on Fridays.Watch out for the clearway that is placed in front of our shop weekdays including the Friday.It has not been an easy road for us to carry on .That starts at 4pm and runs through to 6.30pm.On Saturdays we do not have a Clearway, though you are supposed to put money in the pay and display machine for a ticket to display on your dashboard.On Sundays, there is neither pay or display nor any clearway restriction.We are open from 11am till 5pm shorter hours on Sundays.On statutory holidays we tend to be shut.Bring ID if intending to buy liquor or fireworks.Out of Guy Fawkes time you will need to have a pyrotechnician's licence.During Guy Fawkes you need to be 18 years or over. For million dollar looking weddings get White paper lanterns , Paper parasols,even Chinese Silks,Yes we still sell Silk.Our Address...Wah Lees 220 Hobson Street,Auckland 1010, New Zealand.

Wah Lee has been an experience as much as just commerce based at its best.
We have been blessed with many legendary helpers over the last hundred years,none more so from the 60's to the 80's.
At this stage we are re learning the ropes as those have moved on.

Many people are coming to this lens from the Yellow Pages.Awesome!Thank you very much for visiting,
and I hope you will find some of what you are looking for here.

Wah Lee an Auckland shop,an institution,because we have been stupid when it meant something takes guts to dig a little deeper and then create a real experience to be left to legend.Lots of very good times and services have been imparted here.I think many Gourmets have visited our shop over the years,they are also people whom push the envelope ,and they have been using our ingredients and tools to do it..Much love has been shared.I think there are still wonderful people here, but do not rely on what laurels are left from the great energies that Auckland has had in its people and even architecture.Many of these people have died, and much of the architecture has been lost.My own Mum has passed on on July 12th 2008,she and my Dad George Wah Lee who died in 1985, created a real meeting place for spirited lovely people.Many were just normal if there is such a thing.Middle class perhaps, but also very many creative and perhaps famous people have visited often too. Wah means Peace.Lee means sharpness or Prosperity.Sometimes it is easy to get to feel strong and most rules for certain products means you can easily get officious.Please warn us if we overstep the mark just as officials overstep theirs.

A Hello and welcome for people that may know the shop in New Zealand.

Try our 4Life products of Cardio, Glucoach, and Riovida juice Trifactor plus.Please email me to get a Rita Elkins book about Transfer Factors.It will even target Viruses and some Cancers Hope to serve you well,you diversified bunch of spirits.

The shop is said not to have changed, and looks quite traditional.But this is not entirely correct.Compliance from regulatory authorities keeps you on your toes enough.Certainly there have been many changes.Many of these just help to keep things like they have always been.It seems that those in power cannot leave well alone.As there emerge excellent people in authority whom seem to care and have skills honed by experience and observation...Just after a couple of decades, then someone has to be a new broom and sweep it all clean again and sack all the helpful governmental underpaid and loyal staff.Theoreticians over commonsense and skill indeed.Actually stronger and more intrusive than governmental or,council requirements,are private ones.There is ISO 9002 and HACCP which are to do with food safety.There are also big businesses pushing their weight around.They seem to have ability to take over the news and to get behind governmental policies that you will notice target small businesses.Please do not think that this is right, because there are sometimes benefits like freshness in dealing with smaller enterprises.

There are products here in this Lens similar to what is in our shop.Much of what our shop has been is atmosphere however. So I am trying to put all sorts of interesting things around in this Lens along with some of the products. 

We have interests in people , and there have been demands for  fireworks because really they have so much vitality & colour & best use of gunpowder and support of a Guy Fawkes in that of a good natured letting off of steam through sparks, at the inevitable het-up feelings of the year's governmental bureaucratic intrusions.I personally do not support burning Guys at Guy Fawkes,perhaps incorrectly I sort of support a friendly aspect of the so called Guy himself.

         We have woks and related cooking utensils too.But we have also given out a lot of advice.Sometimes I think we were the first shop with Chinese ingredients to sell cooking books.There was no Martin Yan TV Chinese Chef then, nor were there coloured photos in cook-books, but some of those books inspired some family raising history making expectations of great to be at home again cooking.

      A lot of boring people talk of racial authenticity as regards foods and ingredients.They even put down the open minded and chefs awareness results maligning perhaps use of Miso,Tofu,or sesame paste .If you see or try cooking that is possibly just from one village,one city,one nation,one time in space...then why not celebrate it from one's flash of inspiration.True, it may not jell, it may not be from personal inspiration...fed from trends..there may be too many ingredients used perhaps.But do not think that there is any so called culture that has existed in absolute pitch black isolation.
 

Wah Lee been behind some Cultural Fireworks events in Auckland New Zealand. They  have imported fireworks that ended up being used. We love these, but because people are trying to ban personal lighting and sales, I would be a reluctant supporter of displays.I would rather have personal though safe use.Much lack of safety has been lack of care, or deliberate misuse maybe deliberately because people get their backs up at being told to do what they clearly already know.Also government bungling and attempts to prevent certain dangerous activity have almost been training lessons to teach innocent people how how to misuse safe fireworks. A major thing is people's experiences with animals.I used to recommend locking pets inside, but I would say to mainly do this if they will not be under your care and communication.They may pine and fret if locked away wondering what the heck is going on and why they have been locked inside.But you would have to be the boss,reward them for bravery and good behaviour, and keep an eye on them when lighting fireworks.You should try quieter ones first,and certainly there has been a lot of feedback that even loud ones do not worry their animals.In the police force,obviously their dogs would not be fazed by sudden loud sounds,nor war horses.also dogs can be quite loud themselves.Personally, I have felt that Sirens have been of the wrong tone for some time.What happened to the happy sound of rung bells on Fire Engines?Things seem like the end of the world when you hear the urgent wails of all sorts of services.Hey, there is a happy side to them coming along too Eh? I don't know what their Db level is, but it must be quite high.But anyway, if all exciting things were banned because one or two people don't care for them,well watch out!For snoring can sometimes reach 85-100 decibels! Enough to scare dogs and small horses. Actually,I may be a part of the misinformation and propaganda.I was thinking, that even in fireworks being misused, and this is not always the case, there could even said to be far more accidents and danger from milk that can go off, or plastic chopping boards, that need to be constantly sterilised, or from candles and matches and actually almost anything else than fireworks.I am never going to say fireworks are totally safe, but actually safety may come from exposure to the handling of them.People say they are up in smoke, so why do they keep talking about them?actually the internal benefits to society from fireworks could be seen in sports performance and the economy.The timidity of people frightened of fireworks is not the courage you need for sports or for being an entrepreneur.With the accidents in 2007 being 40% less than in 2006 and 2006 being 40% less than in 2005 it is pathetic that still, one accident gets calls for banning!Actually, with fireworks and the nature of immediate care needed, it is likely that accidents by the dozen are actually being prevented.And where is the teaching in schools, or by the SPCA through Police and Army  animal handlers to give advice on teaching pets not to be so  fearful?It may almost be out of the hands of young ones soon.Often,when fires are reported around Guy Fawkes time,fireworks are initially blamed.How many times has the call been changed to other reasons if fireworks were not involved?At one reported riot of hundreds,a witness told me that there were actually three people involved.Rockets were banned after a boy got one in his eye,but I was told that it was someone that lit it in his room.I wonder how much interest there is in them this year,what with new age restrictions and less days we can sell them on?There are also internet sites reviewing fireworks usually by power, even though backyards are not always up to having that type used there,and also at this stage,lack of neighbourliness is likely to see louder ones cause the whole shebang to be argued about again.Whatever, do not allow fixed seating for people watching, and no babies in prams please.A hose is very good in case shrubs catch fire.And no fireworks near shrubs if they are that sort of firework anyway.

      I have imported many novelty fireworks,to the chagrin of die hard big banger pyros.But to get the evil eye of your wife off you, why not get and enjoy the Large Happy Lamps,the Bird in a Cage,or the use-while-it -is still bright smoke balls?Unhappily, I was not able to get The Tank nor The Dragon this year.I could have, but you really need to get at least a 100 cartons now,and they are very elaborate to make.So we will have to tag on to another overseas large purchaser's ordering,which is how we were able to get them before.
 

If the government and councils are expecting shows to be the way of the future,there will have to be those whom see the value of sky art and some times ground spark art that invigorates.There is something about fireworks, that for those that don't fight the suddenness,the rocket acceleration,the staccato bangers,but let it cleanse themselves internally with the experience that could find healing,find extra powerful inspiration,get a better sense of timing and learn not to turn the place into Hamilton, indeed, learn not to inspire people to snore.Is it money that allows big shows in civilised countries?Or is the understanding and use of big displays a cause of money?
Did you notice that more accidents and  serious ones too, were at shows, in 2007?Also , as for loud fireworks, that is the only type you will get at shows, whereas for home,you have the chance to get  very quiet fireworks.

One event has been for the Fabulous Auckland Lantern Festival.Another Tremendous event that just gets bigger and bigger every year is the Indian Diwali Festival of Lights.

Food and cooking at both these events is just top notch,mind you they are eat on a paper plate and stand in the crowd type restaurants.

It would be great if people would  get inspiration and come into our shop to buy ingredients later, but I suppose that is not going to happen.

I came across a lens on loose leaf teas,and then I got on to a lens for Gong Fu tea.Well this reminded me that our shop has been a big player in our town for teas too.As for Gong Fu tea, I really enjoyed partaking of that in Hong Kong.I do believe it is far better not to sip the tea though.It really is not superheated as in a microwave, so usually I find that I can drink it right down after first breathing out and getting my energies aligned to the drinking.Wow, you feel like a dragon.The steam comes out and your whole body feels warm and warmed as if all the kinks are coming out.

    As to teas, we have sold Not only Chinese teas, but Mu tea, roasted brown rice with Japanese green tea,powdered Japanese tea, and Darjeeling tea.As to Chinese, we really undercharged for our bricks of old Pu Erh Tea.I hear these can sell for enormous prices.Often we would put tea into a tin, and then throw another one on top when it got down.So if somebody liked the tea, my father would have to point out that we would not know exactly what the mixture was.I think often, people just went ahead and bought a few packets to mix something up themselves.Koo Loo tea was our main standby though.I enjoyed a twig tea, which in Japanese hands sells for ten times more(though lovingly roasted first).This twig tea is also used by a chef famous in NZ called Michael James for smoking.It is called Look On Ji.The Look on is hard to get but is very nice too(The leaf version).
 

As we talked to people, sorting out partners was quite a topic, so we ended up looking at Chinese animal sign astrology.Suzanne White took things one step further, and mixed in simultaneous Western Astrology.You will think she has a hidden camera and microphone plus has sneaked in to see your diary.well worth a look and could save a whole life of being with the wrong partner or having children in the wrong year for you.

Music has been looked into with a love of unplugged type single instrument

Chinese music.You can get some i tune music here that you could do Taichi naturally to and/or for massage.Try to get into the music before allowing yourself to get carried into what you do.So you attract the right spirits, maybe consider surrounding yourself with some incense.Try not to mentally order your moves.I don't think that would be very  mood creating.Don't worry if you go into another realm, as you might be just whacked out and your inner voice is telling you to rest and submit.

Energy is what is also matter.It matters that there is energy.

Reiki is a way to send out an ability to lets feel good.

Send a blank email to wahlees@aweber.com  here, you can get some sporadic news or lists of products.