Last two days in Hong Kong… (Part Three)

On the 17th of July 2008, destination for the Cathay Pacific Airways Gourmet and Shopping Tour for Travel Agents and Media was breakfast at a hawker center. Fifty years ago, Dai pai dong or open-air food stalls with foldable tables and chairs were very popular in HK. Today, few are left and some have acquired roofs and they are now called “hawker center”, patronized by locals only. But this was a gourmet tour and we follow tour leader CX GM Eddie Kong; drink the HK-style milk tea (black tea sweetened by evaporated milk) and eating noodles with matching sausages and egg, sunny side-up pa.

After an obligatory inspection of the facilities of Hotel Jen, we headed to The Peak Lookout (121 Peak Road, The Peak, Hong Kong, phone 2849 1000, info@peak lookout.com.hk). If you went by tram to the Peak, you should sit on the right side for a better view; but my companions are all frequent travellers to HK. Main reason to go up is definitely not the view but excuse me, to eat lunch!

The menu is international and we shared several dishes like Thai spring roll, sauté shrimps, roast duck breast and spicy calamari to crème brûlée and the Peak Lookout tiramisu. I glanced at the wine list; nicely stocked and Dom Pérignon (1999) was available at a mere HK$ 2,100. Nice place to visit, wide choice of menu, nice ambiance if you want a spectacular view of Hong Kong, for my ever loyal readers (beginners or seasoned travelers).

 Back to exercising those eyeballs at the Causeway Bay Shopping (never mind those original dvds) and a lot of brisk walking (no wonder those HK residents look so lean!). Dinner was at the Fung Lum Restaurant (45-47, Tseun Nam Road, Taiwai, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, phone 2692 1175, 2691 1484), one of those quaint places that attract customers with their Cantonese dishes, circa 1960s and 1970s.

 We tried those time-tested dishes like Winter melon Soup, Roast Pigeon, Fried tofu with salt and pepper, Braised duck and several others. But one dish was unique in the sense that I have never heard of this ingredient…pomelo peel (?), that white portion between the rind or skin and juice vesicles or “flesh”. It was seasoned with dried shrimp eggs.

For desserts, we went to the Chocolux Bar (57 Peel Street, SOHO, Central, Hong Kong, www.chocoluxcafe.com phone (852) 2858 8760 for chocolate fondue (cost about HK$ 88 for two).

The next day, HK Food Guru Eddie Kong opted for breakfast at the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, (Shop 315 & 401, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong, www.robuchon.hk), phone 2166 9000). Joël Robuchon is a French Chef and restaurateur and serves classic French cuisine in Paris, New York, London etc. In HK, the branch opened last Nov. 28, 2006 and is considered a gourmet destination. There are two shops at the Landmark, 401 and 315; we went to the 401 but somehow redirected to 315 and like a true soldier we followed Eddie. To give you an idea of the products and prices (HK$), these are some of the items for breakfast: croissant (12), apple strudel (15), baguette (20), Le sandwich Parisien au jambon beurre (ham and cheese sandwich, 43), Le tarte au citron (lemon tart, 34) and coffee or tea (35). Expensive gyud this thing called ambiance!

Off to last minute shopping before lunch at the Ten Yoshi (9/F., Henry House, 42Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, phone 2805 7848 www.sushihiro.com.hk) for tempura buffet (16pieces). You select one or two pieces of tempura from a list of 24 types of tempura (prawn, sea urchin, cockle, green asparagus, scallops etc.).

Which would be the best restaurant in our tour? Hard to say since comparing western to eastern cuisine is like comparing apples to peaches. Just look at the dinnerware of western restaurants; so many spoon and forks while in Chinese or Japanese, chopsticks ra! 

And your favourite food columnist always follows one rule with regards to taste… There is no rule on taste, that the preference for one’s food over another is individual.

Lastly, thank you Cathay Pacific Airways for the opportunity to join the Gourmet and Shopping Tour.

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