72 Hours in Hong Kong

We decided to take our international trip early this year, hoping to catch some of the Lunar New Year activities in different parts of Asia. We started with Hong Kong, moved onto Tokyo, Japan and ended in Taipei, Taiwan.

Out of all the places I've visited, there is no other city in the world that feels more like home than Hong Kong with its familiar foods, culture and language. The first two times I visited the city, once with friends and once with my family, we didn't do any food research. We just showed up and let our eyes, noses and the locals lead the way to the next yummy meal. I became very familiar with Hong Kong street food and never knew, or rather, never paid attention to the more refined side of Hong Kong cuisine.

During this trip, I was able to experience the city from the "i heart yummy" perspective -from seeking out the best egg tarts in Hong Kong to chasing after Michelin-starred wontons noodles and dim sum, this trip opened my eyes to all the yummy HK food I have yet to explore.

Highlights

Food

Hong Kong and Macau Michelin Guide - The Hong Kong and Macau Michelin guide has a rather interesting history. In 2009, consumers rallied against the guide, claiming it was rather elitist and not a true reflection of local HK flavors and tastes. Three-starred restaurants included Caprice, Lung King Heen and Joel Robuchon's Galera a Robuchon in Macau. These three are considered "hotel restaurants," reflecting HK's school of thought that acclaimed chefs don't work in stand-alone restaurants as they do in other countries. With all the criticism and bad publicity, the subsequent 2010 Michelin guide took a completely different direction, awarding stars to cheaper local eats where meals can cost less than $6 USD, making Hong Kong home of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. Among them was the dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan and Ho Hung Kee noodle house which we were fortunate enough to dine at during this trip.

Local Eats

Hong Kong Egg Waffles (Gai daan tsai) - Hopefully you've seen and tried these addicting egg waffles before. You can find them in Los Angeles at various Tasty Garden outposts along with some stand-alone boba places like The Wishing Tree in Monterey Park. In Hong Kong, these stands are a dime a dozen and can be found pretty much on every street corner. In fact, I love these egg waffles so much, I invested in the Williams Sonoma egg waffle pan but truth be told, it's not quite the same as ordering one from a Hong Kong street vendor.

There is an article from CNN that highlights some of the better egg waffles in Hong Kong - unfortunately, I didn't see this article until now so we will definitely be using this list on our next HK trip.


Cafe de Coral - Consider this the Denny's of Hong Kong. You can find these everywhere as well. If nothing else, my nostalgia for their milk tea and roast duck with rice keeps me coming back. In fact, I even convinced myself they would serve the roast duck for breakfast and dragged Ray here early one morning at 7AM. Unfortunately, they only served the breakfast menu so we had to settle for a ham and cheese sandwich, porridge and fried turnip cakes.


Cafe de Coral Breakfast: Iced milk tea, fried turnip cakes, thousand year preserved egg and pork congee


Hoi Tin Tong Herbal Shop - Turtle Jelly (Gui Ling Gao) - The Chinese are notorious for their herbal teas and desserts. This one is a particular favorite of mine and does NOT contain turtle shell, despite the name. It's similar to a black grass jelly but with a more bitter taste from the addition of Chinese herbs. Turtle jelly is marketed for good skin complexion, improving circulation, relief from itching and kidney restoration. The jelly itself is not sweet and the dish is served with a jar of honey for you to to pour on top and adjust to your desired sweetness. Hoi Tin Tong is a popular herbal shop and can be found all over the city as well. We noticed that people like to just stop in, grab a seat, eat a bowl of turtle jelly and then quickly leave - in and out of the shop in 10 minutes or less.

Hotel and Transportation


When visiting Hong Kong, there are usually two options to consider for housing: on the Hong Kong/Causeway Bay side or the Kowloon/Mongkok side. I've stayed in both areas before - the Hong Kong side is definitely more for the businessmen and young professionals. Lan Kwai Fong, the Hollywood/Sunset Strip of Hong Kong is in this area with tons of bars and clubs for those wanting to check out the night life. Victoria's Peak is also on this side of town. The Hong Kong side is home to all the big fancy hotels with their Michelin-starred restaurants like The Four Seasons.



We choose to stay at the new Hotel Icon on the Kowloon/Mongkok side - definitely more families in this area but in my opinion, more things to do and see, including the Ladies Market where street vendors sell lots of knick knacks for cheap. The hotel is super nice and modern - similar to the W Hotel. It is a nice 15 minute walk from the Avenue of the Stars. My only qualm is the subway station wasn't as convenient to get to. Make sure whatever hotel you are staying at, there is an MTR station within walking distance. The Hong Kong subway station is easy to maneuver and get around - you won't get lost.

Things to do and see:

Mongkok Ladies Market - lots of stalls selling cheap knick-knacks, from purses and bags to scrapbooking stamps and iPhone cases.


Mongkok Goldfish Street (Tung Choi Street) - A popular street full of aquariums and goldfish stores.


Mongkok Flower Market - Similar to LA's flower district; all the shops were selling New Year's flowers and kumquat trees.


Other Hong Kong attractions: HK Disneyland, Victoria's Peak, Avenue of the Stars, Repulse Bay, Ocean Park (like Sea World)