Hong Kong

After a familiarization tour of Guilin, China (more on that later), I was able to spend a couple of days in HongKong with a couple of friends. Hong Kong is just amazing, isn't it? It reeks of chic and I can't wait to go back to explore more restaurants and pubs.

I was there for only three days so my friend Dax and I made sure we made the most it. Dinner on the first night was at food guru Aun Koh's (chubbyhubby.net) recommended Shui Hu Ju (68 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong, (852) 2869-6927). It is easy to miss because it very elegantly has no English signage; the restaurant's name is spelled out in Chinese characters (which of course I cannot read). Fortunately we did our google search before heading down the hills of Soho (South of Hollywood) so we knew that it was located at #68 Peel and found it pretty quick, thanks to our half-Chinese half-Brit guide Jason Tobin, Dax's indie-actor nephew.

Clueless tourists that we were, we were ready for cheap eats and came in our jeans and rubber shoes. Then we entered to find a very elegant ambiance that catered to the very elegantly dressed crowd. But we were too tired and hungry to move (I had come straight from Macau) and I was personally too curious to back out so we got ourselves seated and ordered away.

The menu read "Fried Bean Thread Sheets with Crab Roe and Salty Egg Yoke".
Lol. Cast your burdens upon me, those who are heavily laden ... for the yoke I will give you is easy ...

Crispy Mutton in Peking Style

Everything we ordered - pricey but superbly delish. Best were chubbyhubby's recommended crispy mutton (Crispy Mutton in Peking Style); the scallops (Wok Fried Scallops in Sweet and Garlic Sauce), which Dax insisted on ordering, with its strong flavor and soft texture; and my carb-loading for the night, Fried Bean Thread Sheets with Crab Roe and Salty Egg Yolk an ingenious pasta-ish dish that I am assuming was high on protein, not that high in carbs.

Oh, when you do visit, don't worry about the napkins, which we initially wondered about (how can they not have table napkins at such a swanky restaurant?!). Each table's got a drawer that keeps napkins, toothpicks, etc. It's a cool touch, getting a bit of snob factor going (as in, I know where the napkins are, dahling.)

To walk off the calories, Jason walked us around Soho and then led us to Lan Kwai Fong where I was excited to find Guinness Draught. Goddd I could fly to Hong Kong just for this. It was fresh, cold, foamy, dark, not too bitter like the bottled ones we get in Manila ... it was just perfect. I had my fix and I wish Jardy, my banker friend who introduced me to this delight (and pretty much educated me on beer and scotch), was there to enjoy it with me. Bought half a dozen bottles to bring home but I had one when I arrived back and it's just not the same =(

We woke up the following day in time for brunch and Jason brought us to my new all time favorite brunch place, The Flying Pan. (Love the pun. #9 Old Bailey St.; 2140 6333) Had the most amazing salmon and egg sandwich. The place reminded me of New York's Sarabeth's, although of course Sarabeth's charm is in a class of its own.

The Flying Pan

After brunch, Dax insisted on visiting the Wishing Tree because he saw a task performed there on the Amazing Race. So we took a train to the Tai Po district to find them blessed trees. Hay nako, the big tree looked like it was hit by Milenyo so instead we made a wish on another tree beside it, which the locals said was also a Wishing Tree (yeah right ... but I paid and made a wish anyways ... sucker), did the ritual and split.

On the way I was just thinking of what to feature for the Valentine's ish of Menu, especially because I couldn't find a consensus on a hot new or classically tried and tested romantic restaurant. My new editor, Pennie, suggested searching for Chinese aphrodisiacs, but my search for that just didn't cut it for me (although in Guilin I did come across some snake penis - did you know that snakes have that?! - our Guilin guide said it has some fountain-of-youth effects).

I really wanted to feature a romantic date place (I love dates, I'm a real sucker for a good date). And on the looong escalator ride that goes up Soho to Elgin to Peel and higher up the hill, I realized that although Hong Kong spells hustle and bustle, a trip to Hong Kong could be pretty damn romantic. Like New York, although there is a tiring and vicious work ethic that may create a tense work environment, the nightlife compensates with the most fab and cutting edge restaurants where flirtation may very easily turn into romance, and if you're lucky, maybe a little more than that. I would totally recommend Hong Kong for couples, more so for young ones (because it's a lot of walking around hip restos and bars, not to mention the tiring hill climb). And if I had a boyoyong now, I would totally fly with him to experience hip Hongkong!

Anyway, to reward ourselves, and solve my writer's dilemma, Dax and I headed to Hongkong's current best restaurant, Opia, the resto of the Philippe Starck-designed boutique hotel Jia. You'll have to read about that in this Sunday's Menu, thank you very much.


The following day we headed home and of course, you're not Pinoy without your last minute mad dash for pasalubong. Dax needed to get his Royce Champagne while I tried out a new Royce product, Royce Potatochip Chocolate. Have you tried this? It tastes weird. I can't make up my mind if I like it or not. The potatochip is exquisite, the chocolate is exquisite - both very well executed - but combined it makes for a weird combination. It's funny because every bite has me thinking, What a weird combination. Yet I keep dipping my hand into the bowl of chips and eating it.

So that was my Hong Kong food trip. Before Hong Kong, I was in Macau. More on that tomorrow, maybe. And before Macau there was Guilin, a fascinating province. Hang on for more stories =)

P.S. At the airport I experienced the most fascinating softdrink, Marble. This is a sucky picture of it (yes, I will invest in a new Canon soon ... I'm still getting used to pulling out a camera in restaurants, what more an slr!) but can you see the marble between the straws? It's sweet, too, it has a bubblegum-like flavor. It's a Japanese product. Di ba nakaka aliw? I brought home the bottle hee hee hee.