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Home Β» Food Β» Hong Kong – My favourite place in the world

Hong Kong – My favourite place in the world

13/05/2012 by Amanda

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The hazy view from our room

After an hysterical few days of washing, sorting, packing, purchasing bags of calf feed, dog feed, chook feed and organising lists and safety nets for offspring, we finally made it onto our (obscenely early) flight out of Adelaide.  The first leg of our excellent adventure has been a few days in a place we both love to bits – Hong Kong.  Thanks to an urge to splurge and the cost benefits of booking one’s own accommodation on the internet, we decided to lash out on a very flash harbour-view room at the Shangri La Hotel, Kowloon.  I feel like this has given me a double dose of a place that I love so much as, when the humidity and swirling mass of humanity on the streets has left  me sweaty, drained and reaching for gin, I can sit back and enjoy watching the traffic on the busiest harbour in the world.

Hong Kong Island

The Husband is a Hong Kong tragic who couldn’t wait to bring me here in the early days of our marriage and, like him, I fell in love with it immediately.  Of course, a lot has changed here over the intervening years, including the administration, but such a lot remains the same.  The harbour itself grows increasingly smaller as more land is reclaimed from the sea for development,  the streets are so much cleaner now than they were 20 years ago and the beggars have all been hidden from view.  The faces on the streets tell the story of the current economic climate and the Europeans who are not feeling the cash pinch are now outnumbered by the bus-loads of mainland Chinese who are enjoying their current financial advantage.  The harbour itself is as busy as ever and there is still nothing to compare with the 25 cent ride across it on the wonderful Star Ferry.  The only way to improve this ferry ride is to take it on a clear night – the light show on all the skyscrapers is simply magical.  The streets are just as crowded as ever – if slightly less smelly, tailor’s touts and copy-watch sellers still lurk on every corner, our dollar is strong so the bargains are still to be had and the food is still amazing.

Food in waiting – Hong Kong

Not everyone realises there is more to Hong Kong than just shopping and the new cultural centre and Museum of Art is well worth a visit.  For tea-addicts like myself a visit to the Museum of Tea Ware on the island is not to be missed, but to get a look at a completely different aspect of life in this region a day trip to one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands is a must.

Transport central, Cheung Chau

Pak Tai Temple, Cheung Chau

Dried fish, Cheung Chau

Prawns with garlic, Cheung Chau

A $25HK (just over $3AU) ferry ride yesterday took us to the island of Cheung Chau, 45 minutes from Hong Kong Central.  Traditionally a fishing village, Cheung Chau once had more residents living on junks than on land.  These days it is a popular local tourist destination and on weekends the island’s population can double.  There are no cars on the island, but it pays to watch out for the many bicycles as one wanders around the charming, but narrow, laneways.  We mooched around, checking out the beach, the Pak Tai temple – one of the oldest in Hong Kong and displaying a Song Dynasty (960-1279) sword inside – and the local stores and dried fish sellers before tucking into an amazing seafood meal for lunch.  A large plate full of prawns with garlic, the best and freshest salt and pepper squid I’ve ever eaten, fried rice and two 650ml bottles of Heineken beer (in our defense, it was a very hot afternoon) set us back about $30AU.

Pork belly bliss, Jade Garden Restaurant, Kowloon

I celebrated my first childless Mother’s Day for many years with yum cha at the wonderful Jade Garden restaurant.  We had a very traditional yum cha experience the other day on the island at a hugely popular place called Lin Heung.  For the unprepared, Lin Heung can be a little confronting.  It is more crowded than you could believe, with everyone sharing tables; there is no-one to seat you – one just plunges in until a waiter notices you and shoo’s you into a vacant spot.  No-one speaks English and there is no pictorial guide to the food so you simply take your chances.  The more popular trolleys quickly get mobbed as the locals rush to grab their treats and, while our chosen dishes were very tasty, their actual contents remain a total mystery to us – perhaps for the best.  No such mystery at The Jade Garden, though.  A past favorite of ours and every bit as popular as Lin Heung, this is the face of yum cha which is more familiar to Westerners. The white tablecloths, well-trained staff, and high-quality (easily identifiable) dim sum was just the comfortable Mother’s Day treat I was looking for.

For those who enjoy a challenge –

Lin Heung
164 Wellington St.,
Central, Hong Kong

For the more sedate among you –

The Jade Garden
Star House (4th Floor)
3 Salisbury Rd,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

For an amazing overview of eating in Hong Kong, check the food blog out e_ting in Hong Kong – Janice really knows her stuff!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Barbara

    May 13, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    Yum cha in hong Kong. How wonderful.

  2. Ali

    May 13, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    Those garlic prawns look delicious! Have a great trip!

  3. Mim

    May 13, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    This all looks delicious. I’m heading to Hong Kong next month, so it’s great to have some tips. Have a great trip!

  4. The Food Sage

    May 13, 2012 at 8:46 pm

    There was certainly a lot of garlic on them there prawns!
    Can’t believe you are blogging while on holiday … i’ve never managed to pull it off. Admire your drive.
    I had a ball in Hong Kong last November after an interlude of a decade.
    Totally mad/fab place.
    Go get’em girl!

  5. Amanda

    May 14, 2012 at 12:24 am

    Barb – almost everything in Hong Kong is wonderful, in my humble opinion.
    Ali – they were!
    Mim – Check out Janice’s blog for foodie tips. It’s a great resource.
    The Food Sage – complaints have been lodged by my loving spouse, but are like water off a duck’s (Peking?) back.

  6. Sally

    May 14, 2012 at 5:10 am

    I agree with The Food Sage–whenever I travel I lose all interest in getting it down in words, and live to regret it. I’m so glad you’re not like me. On this Mother’s Day, maybe the second without kid, I am doing some armchair traveling right here. It’s a consolation, perhaps a small one, but a consolation nevertheless. Thanks! I look forward to hearing more of your tales. Let the water roll!

  7. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    May 14, 2012 at 6:25 am

    Hehe we went to Lin Heung and it was crazy wonderful. But yes emphasis on the crazy πŸ˜›

  8. InTolerant Chef

    May 14, 2012 at 7:11 am

    Oh how wonderful it all sounds!
    We had Yum cha for mothers day too, but I bet it was but a fading echo of your Hong Kong goodies!

  9. Hotly Spiced

    May 14, 2012 at 10:33 am

    It’s great to break up a long flight with a stop-over in Hong Kong (or so I’ve heard!) That pork belly does look great. I think I would like to go to the tea museum – sounds interesting xx

  10. Mandy - The Complete Cook Book

    May 14, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    What a fabulous adventure Hong Kong must be – doubt I could ever convince my hubby to go there though.
    πŸ™‚ Mandy

  11. Lizzy (Good Things)

    May 14, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    Wow Amanda, Hong Kong… one for my bucket list, that’s for sure. For now, however, I can sit back in my chair and take it all in, thanks to you and your postcards from abroad. Travel well my friend xox

  12. Kate

    May 14, 2012 at 8:44 pm

    I lived in Hong Kong for a year in 1988 and loved it then. I have been back a couple of times since and it always excites me !

  13. Jennifer (Delicieux)

    May 17, 2012 at 8:43 am

    I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but you make it sound amazing. I’m sure I’d love the Museum of Teaware being the tea addict I am. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It’s the next best thing to being able to go along with you.

  14. Johanna

    May 18, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    Wow, this makes me really want to go to Hong Kong! I’ve only flown in to this amazing looking city for a few hours stop over, but must stay and ‘get amongst it!’ Have fun!

  15. Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul

    May 21, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Don’t you just adore the energy in Hong Kong? Enjoy your time Amanda!

Trackbacks

  1. Hidden Hong Kong - the Nan Lian Garden says:
    18/04/2016 at 12:46 am

    […] city. I have previously shared a couple of the peaceful secrets  the region has to offer. Cheung Chau and Tai O are just a ferry ride away from Kowloon, but the surprisingly tranquil Nan Lian Garden is […]

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