Lei Ho Hong Kong

This getaway post is looooong overdue. Yikes!!! My bad! After saying Ohayo Tokyo!! It was time to say Lei Ho Hong Kong. My friend is Hong Kong savvy so I turned over the navigation reins to her. Slight issue with our room that reeked of cigarette smoke at Royal Pacific Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui when we checked in, they did move us so it wasn’t a big deal. Now, instead of places, I’ll break this down by the gooood restaurants.

·      Crystal Jade at Gateway Arcade – The first and last meals in HK were eaten here. It was a bit stressful the first time because of the noise. Coming from Tokyo where it’s a lot more quiet, the chatter stressed me and my friend out. I have forgotten how loud the talking can really be here. But Xiao long bao, turnip pastries, la mien, asado siopao, shredded radish cake and the glutinous balls in ginger soup for dessert??? Take me back anytime please!!! Noise and all!!! My glee was evident. 

·      Hai Xian Rou at Times Square – We met up with friends on a business trip for lunch here. My friend and I mustered up all the Mandarin we could remember to do the ordering. Animal pictures were drawn, pictures were pointed at outside the restaurant  - just to get the right food! We did goood! Ha kaw, xiao long bao, soy chicken, asado siopao, hong ma, fried rice and desserts ordered in mulitiples. Of course, all the food was wiped out. The ha kaw and siopao rocked!! It was a hearty lunch complete with entertainment, magic and card tricks courtesy of our lunch date.

·      Sweet Dynasty at Canton Road­ – We always pass this joint on our walks to and from the hotel. Timing is key as it is always jampacked. We took a shot on an early day and the wait wasn’t bad at all. Siomai, shrimp chow fun, the donut like thing wrapped in rice noodles, shrimp/pork dumpling whose Chinese term I always, always forget and taho desserts!!! It was a sweet meal indeed.

·      Prince Restaurant at One Peking – Know Yan of Yan Can Cook? He was there for a business dinner and we happened to share elevators with him! Celebrity sighting!!! We wiped out the in house fried rice, fried eel and their yummy meat platter. This is the only restaurant we ate in that was quiet so we sat back and took our time. We watched the Symphony of Lights and the view of the Hong Kong Island skyline was pretty good from here.

When we weren’t eating, we were going in and out of stores! Muji, Staccato, Life of Circle, Fortress, Anna Sui, Shanghai Tang!!!!, Lane Crawford etc…. Oh SaSa for the kikay in you!!! We must have gone to eight branches! Starbucks is to NY as SaSa is to HK. There’s one at every corner. Speaking of kikayness, our love for Guerlain was born on the plane ride’s duty free shopping magazine to HK, my fault!!! Ha!! I enjoyed Harbour City, 1881 Heritage and Landmark a whole lot because of the stores. Did I tell you I was successful in introducing my friend into the wonderful world of Miu Miu??? We went bonkers at an ampao store and bought Chinese last name ampao envelopes. So, I only had two requests for the Hong Kong leg – to chow great Chinese food and to see a big Buddha. She took me to Ngong Ping for this. The best part was the long climb up the stairs to get to Buddha. I had to say Namaste to the dude up close of course! =) Again, prayers of thanks were said. Both missions accomplished! Yes, we were pushed, stepped on, shoved around in HK but that’s okay. Hong Kong was all about the delicious dimsum, noodles, shark’s fin soup, fried rice and desserts!!!