I continue my 2009 island hopping tour today, but not quite what you might think. I found myself on some different islands after my trip with Murray. Hong Kong (with a taste of the Philippines, and a dash of Macau).
It was so incredibly amazing, I can barely describe it. Hong Kong has the best of everything I could ask for as a traveller. The wonders of Asia with just the right amount of international, especially British influence. Everything seemed to be so extra civilized and posh. I don't think I had one disappointing meal and wanted to showcase them all, but I chose nine of my best. Get ready mes amies - you might want to make sure your boss is on lunch.
#1 McDonald's- Delivered to your door.
I had the great pleasure of visiting my dear friend Pea while she was working abroad in Hong Kong. Remember, sleeping on couches, no shame, great locations...would you say no? I hadn't been in Asia for more than 2 hours when I found myself sitting in her apartment, waiting for the delivery guy. This is civilized. And look, they have corn in a cup and spicy chicken wings! I think I may have appeared to be a bit of a food snob before, but I don't think I am. Hey, I can keep it real and inhale a Filet-O-Fish with the best of them. And fuck, it was DELIVERED. Who would refuse?
#2 Afternoon Tea, The Peninsula hotel, Kowloon. Perhaps indulging in this tradition is snobby, but I don't care. I love little cucumber sandwiches, scones with devon cream and fruit preserve...and who could ignore the petite fours and little chocolate goodies on the top?! Look at how cute everything is! Don't pretend, you like it too. Now I have had the luxury of experiencing many afternoon teas in many different cities, and this by far, was the best. Maybe part of it was watching the actual hotel guests stroll (or maybe it was sauntering) through somehow made me feel more posh. I could have sworn I saw little flower girls precede the guests, making a path out of cash for them to walk on. It made even a poor, little couch-surfing girl like me, feel like a million bucks.
#3 Street food I love Asia because it has the nerve to expect you to eat food that is made on the street. How dare us silly North Americans cage our food in boxes called restaurants? How dare we think it can only be limited to funnel cakes and corn dogs at carnival/rodeo midways? Sheesh. Where there is electricity and pedestrians, there is food in Hong Kong. And you have to eat it IN the street where you bought it, damn it! Now pick a meat on a stick already! We chose many from this stand - the usual curried fish balls, marinated squid (as pictured here), etc. But the top one was a mystery - it was white when we pointed to it, but the lady magically dunked it in a deep fryer and it was presented to us in all its crispy on the outside, molten-lava hot on the inside gloriousness. We're not entirely sure what it was, but it was filled with some sort of crab and scallop mixture. Divine.
#4 Sushi at Koi. This'll probably be as close in proximity to Japan as I'll be until I find someone who lives in Tokyo and has enough space for guests. Hong Kong had not disappointed me yet, so why not have a little sushi? It was very fresh and the presentation was great. The ambiance was quaint and there seemed to be a lot of Japanese patrons, so we were maybe doing something right, right?
#5 Taiwanese/Shanghainese lunch at Din Tai Fung. There were little amusing laminated cards at each table which gave you detailed and cartoon instructions on how to eat a xiao long bao (steamed pork dumplings). I asked for a copy of the instructions to take home to my North American friends. Strangely, they refused. As if I'd go and copy the thing and open my own resto! I should have known better and just took a pic of the card. But now they were watching us. Damn. Well, there seems to be many locations worldwide, even one in California, so I'm sure you'll be able to see for yourself what I wanted to bring home.
I've had many xiao long bao, but I have never met a steamed mashed taro bun. Where have you been all my life, my love? At first sight, you're thinking they are going to be bland and boring. Au contraire! Somehow they have sweetened the taro just enough and the texture of the bun is a perfect fluffiness. If it weren't for the fact that we were already stuffed full of goodness, I would have ordered another six, for myself.
That's enough for now. Get back to work. Go check your FB. Tweet about how hungry you are.
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