Destination #4: Hong Kong & Macau
Why Hong Kong? Hong Kong is a place to go if you're hungry for food and designer bags. To be honest, before going there, I wasn't exactly that excited. I'm Cantonese. And because of that I can say that my people tend to be loud, blunt and a little scary to outsiders (I remember the first time I visited a bunch of relatives when I was 5 and I cried...) Anyways, I considered this trip another food adventure! And as a Cantonese girl, I was ready to consume the famous HK cuisine!
The first night we got there we made a bee line for Tasty Noodles & Congee. This straightforward name was nothing but honest. My favorite food is century egg rice porridge and this was probably one of the best I've had in a long long time (maybe ever). Our hotel was right next to Victoria Harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui so every night we would look out at the beautiful lights on the skyline. I never realized that Hong Kong was so beautiful! Our second day there we went to Ming Court, a Michelin 2-star rated restaurant (our first ever)! The food there was like high end dim sum (Cantonese breakfast, tapas style). It was good but not mind blowing. However, the desserts were pretty great! We had warm and gooey custard buns and a mango sego pudding. The restaurant is situated in a hotel, which is in a mall so we leisurely window shopped for the rest of the day. Day 2 we went to 2 Michelin 1-star rated restaurants. For lunch we had Kin's Kitchen which was pretty gross. The chicken was oily, the tofu tasted like nothing, and the salty pork was pretty mediocre. It made me realize that Michelin star ratings are bogus. I wrongly assumed that Michelin star ratings indicated the finest culinary masterpieces...but this is not so. The Michelin guide says: 1-star is a "very good restaurant in its category", 2-stars is "excellent cooking, worth a detour", 3-stars is "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey". But, again I don't believe any of it. Our 3rd Michelin star restaurant for dinner that night was called Qi and had Sichuan cuisine. We got mapo tofu, fish and hot pepper and some kind of vegetable. The menu does have a spicy warning, but Cliffton and I usually ignore those (because in the United States "spicy" doesn't phase us). But HK "spicy" is SERIOUS! I actually laughed at the menu beforehand, scoffing at the General Tso's Chicken, and the other "fake" Westernized Chinese foods on there...but the joke was on me. The minute Cliffton and I started eating we were sweating. I felt like my nose was on fire. My eyes were watering. But, don't worry we still ate all of it! Definitely a worthwhile dinner where the Michelin star rating was deserved. We cooled down with my new favorite beverage: Coco's Honey Lemon Juice. It is a MUST TRY if you happen to be in the area, especially with the summer heat. Our last Michelin star restaurant is known as the least expensive Michelin rated restaurant in the world. Tim Ho Wan is a 1-star dim sum place. And it was truly AMAZING!!! It was honestly the best food Cliffton and I ate in HK. The best is their BBQ pork buns which are a mixture of savory pork and the sweetness of a pineapple bun (bo lou bao). I also loved their fluffy Malay cake (which is a light and airy brown sugar dream). There's definitely a lot of other great stuff to try there, but those two are a MUST! Cliffton's personal favorite was the ha cheong (shrimp noodle?) I've heard the lines are long, but Cliffton and I got really lucky BOTH times we went there. I suspect it was because it was during the work week and on off hours (2PM).
As for our more adventurey part of the trip, we made our way up to Victoria's Peak on Day 3. Cliffton and I ambitiously decided to hike up the mountain. I soon realized when we were halfway up that no one hikes up, at least not in the summer. There is actually a Victoria peak look out. You can take a train or bus up to the look out point and use your Octopus card (MTR station card) to go up, or just buy a ticket. It's definitely worth it to go up and see the skyline at night. It's magical. My only regret is that I wish we had made it for the symphony of lights. I'm not sure what time or exactly where it's best to view the light show from, but I know that it is a must do!
On Day 4, our last full day in HK we visited the big Buddha and the village of Ngong Ping. We opted out of hiking up, although I imagine it would be a magnificent climb. We took the cable cars up and it gave us a great view of the mountains. There's actually a pretty extensive trail all the way up. Once we got there we took the stairs up to see the big Buddha up close. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy that day so we had to be quick with our photo taking!
Our Hong Kong trip was overall quite satisfying. I got everything I was looking for. Great food, beautiful views, some light shopping...But at the same time it was not really like anything I excepted it to be. Yes it's a big city, and yes the people can be a tad bit brisk (nowhere as intimidating as I expected), but HK is a city filled with so much vibrancy and unexpected beauty. I think it's safe to say that Cliffton and I loved it!
Cliffton:
After being in Hong Kong 5 days, we headed over to the Macao via a ferry. We were pleasantly surprised how spacious Macao was. It feels like Vegas! Upon arrival to the St Regis, we were ecstatic to hear that we got upgraded into the St Regis suite. Our butler brought us up to our room to show us all the various controls and services they offer. The room was decorated with rose petals alongside some fruits, goodies, and cake congratulating us on our marriage. We were truly impressed with the hotel's hospitality. Within 5 minutes, another butler came by with a bottle of champagne on the house! Adeline took two sips and I finished the rest. I was hammered within the hour. It was a good start to the trip!
The next day we went to Macao's old historic center. It has some pretty interesting architecture. Macao's civilization started off as a small fishing village. In the 15th century, it was colonized by the Portuguese and was transformed into a trade harbor. Like Hong Kong, the Portuguese wanted a safe harbor to protect their trade properties. It was returned to China in 1999 making it the last European colony in Asia. As you can imagine the food here has a blend of Portuguese ingredients. One thing I would highlight is the Portuguese egg tart. For folks that have had the Chinese dim sum egg tart, picture a sweeter, crispier, and a more buttery tart. Yes, it is godsend.
Known as the Las Vegas of the east, of course I would sit down for a couple of blackjack hands. When I figured out the minimum bet here, I was less excited. It was 300 HKD which is about 40 USD. No matter which casino we went to, this was the norm. Now I understand why Macao brought 7 times more revenue than Vegas did last year. With the population's average salary of ~ 180,000 HKD (~23,000 USD) per year, I can't imagine who would gamble for fun. Every table I sat down, people were betting hard and I could not stop wondering if these guys were betting away their monthly paycheck.
The highlight of the trip was definitely The House of Dancing waters. Opened in 2010, this $250 million dollars production includes everything you would imagine seeing in a show from acrobatics, dancing, diving, drag bikes, fountain shows, and of course a love story. At one point, I was convinced that an elephant would come out next. What's cool about it is their high tech pool. Every plot change is accompanied with a new structure coming out from the pool. Without a doubt, this is one of the best shows I've seen. I actually enjoyed it. I usually refuse to see any plays or musicals with Adeline. ;)
Also it is HOTTTTTT there. kthxbye!
