Hey y'all. Sorry its been a while without an update but we've actually been socializing like normal human beings for the last week or so. I know, its been hard to believe for us, too; fortunately we still have friendship muscles to flex and people to work it out with.
We spent a too short 4.5 days in Hong Kong and totally dug it. Not to be a giant nerdhole, but one of the things that makes it so amazingly amazingal is the transportation. The octopus card is like a Metrocard on acid/steroids (more creative/powerful) and makes navigating the city and seeing a huge amount of crap in a short amount of time extremely easy.
The whole system is integrated (Mayor B, take note), so you can use it in stores and stuff but also on every single type of transportation. For me and Ed this included: Airport Express train, subway, Tram down the Peak, ferries to and from Hong Kong Island, a bus to Stanley, and a street car across the island. Just swipey swipey and you're cruising across the river in an old school boat for, like, thirty cents.
Our absolute most favorite aspect of Hong Kong, though, was the food. Not just the local stuff, but the availability of high quality international food. We've often remarked on this trip that its no wonder we grow tired of the food in a particular place when in New York we never cooked and the East Village was lousy with options. We rarely ate from the same region twice in a week. Since a typical week at home was: Indian, Burgers, Sushi, Thai, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Mexican, it was hard for us to make the transition to: Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings), McDonald's, Chinese (Szechuan), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Dumplings). Hong Kong reminded us of home in a lot of ways, more than any in the luxury of choice.
Our first evening, we had Cantonese. It was good quality and variety, but we both prefer the spicier flavors from Southern China. On Friday we kicked off the day with Starbucks because we could finally have ice in our iced coffee (this makes a bigger difference than I ever would have thought, incidentally). For lunch we went to a yuppie soup & sandwich place on the peak for brie & ham, and for dinner I had a lovely Italian meal with a former colleague and Ed hit a fancy Japanese-fusion joint. The next day I was jonesing for American breakfast, so we went to the Flying Pan in Central. The amount of food we ordered was nothing short of an abomination. If I could have wrapped my Benedict in one of the pancakes, covered it in syrup and eaten it like a taco, I would have. That's how delicious. That afternoon we had Boddington's & Guiness in the harbor, and met a friend for Szechuan dinner. On Sunday we started with famous/fantastic/local joint Dim Sum which was exponentially better than any of the dim sum we've had in NYC. Also, it was super tight quarters and gave me the opportunity to spill hot tea all over myself, because we didn't stand out enough already. That afternoon we headed to Stanley to see the market and the beach and the beautiful people. We snacked on British-y chips with garlic mayo and white wine from New Zealand. For dinner, Hong Kong's specialty roast meats, followed by top notch gelato. Our final day went: Bagels, Indian, Mexican.
We left Hong Kong happily rubbing our stomachs and promising to fast in Japan. Its not really working out that well. Shocker.
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2 comments:
I find your talk of food, specifically, pancake wrapped eggs benedict, mildly discomfiting to my diet. I will now spend the rest of my day wanting it. Thanks a lot, Rodney.
Wait until you see the pancake orgy we participated in yesterday in Tokyo. I almost (almost) couldn't eat lunch. I actually feel a little sick just thinking about it. And also, me want pancakes.
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