HONG KONG: a feast for all senses

HONG KONG

 

Funnily enough, the last 5 days has been the first time this year that I’ve been in any city for that amount of time continuously. A scary thought but exciting at the same time. I’ve been to Hong Kong before, come to think of it, probably 3 times but each time, 2-3 days and mainly in the Kowloon/Mongkok area.

When I hear the words Hong Kong, I think bright lights, lasers, food, partying and shopping. And that is precisely what we did. It was a feast for all senses.

Hong Kong harbour front, right by Ocean Terminal

This time, I did it all in terms of experiencing Hong Kong at all levels. From the dirt cheap, to the exy stratospheric dining, from private cars through to all other modes of transport on offer, I packed in as much as I could. Taxis are relatively cheap (and driving up and down the hills of Hong Kong Island, you become fearful of your life because they are rude to you and won’t take you if they don’t understand where it is you want to go… I really highly recommend getting the streets written out in chinese characters). We jumped on the MTR, which got us from Mongkok to Hong Kong Island very swiftly and avoided the traffic jams and peak hour through the cross-tunnel. 

train station crew!

Ferry to and from HK Island

The ferry across is also a good option, then the trams in Central are so skinny and tall.

skinny trams

 Hong Kong Island, Victoria’s Peak, Tsim Sha Tsui area, obviously Ocean Terminal, Mongkok (goodness me some of that stunk of fish balls or whatever they ate on the streets), the Ladies Markets and Temple St Markets, I covered a lot of ground.

temple st markets, Kowloon.

We had Saturday night antics which involved dining at Peking Garden (Admiralty building in Central, down in the basement level). Seriously good Peking duck! 

Peking Gardens

Then, it was to Azure for the views and divine cocktails, clubs, drinks and across to Dragon-I, ending up along D’Aguilar St. Lets just say the night ended up with straws galore.

straws galore at D26!

The weather at this time of the year is perfect. Much better than last time when I came through in February. That was freezing!  We were pretty savvy with the transportation, taking the double decker to the Peak Tram… due to it being a Sunday, queues were massive so decided against getting the tram up and got a cab instead. Ears popping as we ascended, we saw development of housing as we went up higher and higher. Reaching the top, we had to stop for a brunch of which consisted of a Vietnamese Pho and lemon soda before reaching The Terrace for birds-eye views of Hong Kong. Breathtaking!

Culinary experiences continued. This time, Tim Ho Wan, a dumpling joint, which has been awarded a Michelin star and is actually the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world. Now, the original stall which seated 24-30 people only at a time on Kwong Ha St has actually moved to the other side of Mongkok so we had to catch another cab over to Olympian City (a massive mall) of which we queued up for not too long and were given a table. Don’t expect polite service. This eating business is serious, quick and no bullshit. It’s all about the dumplings. I ordered for our group and we demolished an array of steamed and fried dumplings along with stock-standard tea. Total per head, $6USD. Dynamite!

Din Tai Fung in the Silver Core Building, Canton Rd was on the cards for the next day, walking distance to Ocean Terminal. Even though it is originally a Taiwanese cuisine, it’s bloody brilliant. Another array of dumplings, Szechuan sauces, kan kong, simple fried rice. Total per head here, $25USD. Upping the anti on price but still legit and delish!

Shopping wise, I think we entered IFC Mall about 4 times with visits to the Apple Store along with shopping at every level possible. I managed to avoid the crazy luxury brands this time but was truly baffled at the larger-than-life billboards, LEDs, designer-upon-designer branded stores stacking up next to each other in all districts of Hong Kong.  Dior, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani. One after the next. I didn’t even get to Causeway Bay this time but I didn’t need to, to be exposed to the crazy lights at night. Dior on Canton Rd even had their runway show playing on their LED screens outside. It kicked Times Square right out of the water.

I.T Store shop outfittings! so creative!

The final evening, my friend managed to book us a table by the window on Level 29 of Aqua Roma (1 Peking Rd, above the Dior store block). Voted Hong Kong’s best Italian Restaurant, I had to have a risotto and tomato soup. Simplest of foods but if one can make a simple dish delicious, you know it’ll be damn fine! 

Aqua Restaurant! 

with Jenny and our cucumber martinis

We soaked up the laser show from up above, enjoyed cocktails throughout the night with many accompanying complimentary delicious shots. The powers girls have sometimes J

tomato soup at its best at Aqua Roma. 

Risotto love! yes it looks like a pizza but its risotto!

Hong Kong, you baffle me but at the same time, I love the manic nature you present. I’m definitely back in a months time particularly for the food!

Love and peace,

Van-Anh xx

And for the RIGHT NOW's:

Fav food: seaweed.

Reading: Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell (still…)

Wishlist: Vera Wang Princess Nights fragrance

Current city: Hong Kong

Listening to: Bruno Mars .. yes, iTunes is on random!

Fav clothing item: my Tom's!

Next destination: Nha Trang, Vietnam

Missing: sleep.