Golden finds in Hong Kong

When was the last time you looked at a familiar place in a different way? When was the first time you noticed something new in the familiar?

Just when I thought I knew Hong Kong like the back of my hand, I was delighted to stumble upon golden finds I’d never known before.

Cobblestoned streets, zigzagging alleys with quaint art galleries, cafes serving zesty caffeine brews, restaurants as old as 50 to 80 years featuring authentic Cantonese cuisine, hand-rolled dumplings and authentic Macanese egg tart that are piping hot as they are served fresh from the pots and ovens. The sights, sounds and scents of this nostalgic area where curio shops peddling exotic Chinese antiques festoon tree-lined avenues, woodworks stores of sentimental influence as well as designer boutiques with charming chandeliers of Art Deco fervour abound.

For a while, I thought I was in old Shanghai merged with a touch of Greenwich Village in New York and Melrose in California because the place teemed with vintage and avant-garde bustle and creative pizzazz.

It was the scene that merrily greeted us as our limousine from the Hong Kong airport drove to Kau U Fong area, parked on narrow, semi-tilted Aberdeen Street, and at the inn-timate Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, our home away from home for a few days.  At the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, Shanghai Tang fervor is alive because each piece that adorns the walls, ceilings, bedrooms and even bathrooms of this charming boutique hotel is made exclusively for this hip haven.

Judged as “Asia’s Leading Boutique Hotel” by the 16th World Travel Awards, Lan Kwai Fong Hotel is truly a gem-of-a-find. World Travel Awards is described by Wall Street Journal as the “Oscars” of the global travel and tourism industry whereby travel professionals from 183,000 travel organizations in over 160 countries voted for these highly coveted honors. It is also a member of the prestigious World Hotels that boasts Unique Hotels for Unique People.

The immaculate white lobby is embellished with crystal arrangements, sparkling Swarovski butterflies on the wall and hand-painted porcelain chinaware. The property’s 162 lavish rooms and suites offer Asian home-style hospitality that will certainly win your heart.

Lan Kwai Fong marketing executives Agnes Cheng and Benjamin Yip shared with us that they have three properties in this eclectic area, namely, Central Hotel, Lan Kwai Fong and their newest Mercer Hotel, which is more modern in design.  These hotels boast Michelin-starred restaurants. Wi-Fi connections in the rooms and lobby are free of charge and their special blend of Italian coffee is simply divine. Celebrity Cuisine, just named Michelin One Star Restaurant, is Lan Kwai Fong Hotel’s renowned Cantonese restaurant that provides luxury-dining experience. 

Chief chef Cheng Kam Fu is admired by celebrities in town and he is one of the most famous chefs in Hong Kong. With his innovative ideas and dexterous skills, customers can experience traditional cuisine in modern cooking method. Their specialties include Bird’s Nest in Chicken Wings and Famous Celebrity fried rice.

At the Central Hotel, it is worthy to note that many Hong Kong locals in fabulous cars queue up at the Wagyu specialty restaurant where the chef whips up a surprise daily menu. From our hotel, we walked to the nearby Soho district where we danced the night away at the chic Solas Bar where cocktail brews perked up the merry evening. Gracious Janet Quizon, the Filipino assistant manager of Solas Bar, lovingly took care of us and we vowed to visit this vibrant hangout each time we are in Hong Kong.

“Breeze” breakfast at Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, voted as “Best Boutique Hotel in Asia” by the Travel Weekly Asia Industry Award.

Talk about more chefs, another golden find in Hong Kong is the victory of the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines (PAP) at the recently concluded Hong Kong International Culinary Classic held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in close proximity to the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel.

My good friends and Bible study group mates Rita and Buddy Trinidad, who heads PAP, invited me once again to join them at the said competition.  The members made me proud as a Filipino as they reaped medal after medal. The Philippine team, also with my dear friends — chefs James Antolin, Jackie Ang-Po, Penk Ching and 17 equally talented chefs — bagged a record of wins with five golds, two bronzes and a team silver. Every single competitor came out a winner.

Lan Kwai Fong Hotel in Kau U Fong is very near the famous dining and entertainment district of SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong.

The culinary gala held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from May 11 to 14 was brimming with a record number of competitive top professional and apprentice talents from Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, China, and Canada. 

This is how the Pinoy team wowed other competitors big time. PAP’s Peachy Juban, who bagged the gold medal for her beautiful “Buttlefly” wedding cake last year, joyfully reported that crowd favorite for pastry showpiece this year was Cebuano artist extraordinaire Benjie Lanas who bagged the gold for “Joker,” a masterpiece in chocolate etched to such fine detail that it showed not only vein and muscle but also soul and heart. With “Linger,” Rizalino Manas pulled and stretched sugar into a colorful tropical drama of geckos, butterflies and birds-of-paradise for a well-deserved bronze. Bryan Dimayuga, unshakeable as a true-blue Batangueño, went without sleep for at least three days for “Ivory,” an all-white wedding cake resplendent in its highly technical string work that wowed judges to win a gold.

Gorgeous chef Jackie Ang-Po, TV host for True Confections on GMA-7 and owner of Fleur d Lys Patisserie in Quezon City, expertly mentored the two gold winners of the Under 25 Plated Desserts Category: for Clyden San Pedro’s modern lines and precise execution of passion fruit-coconut-mango “Metamorphosis” and the “Kaleidoscope” of chocolate-rose-hazelnut; and Michael Aspiras’ “Corn Field,” a brilliant deconstruction of pop corn into salted caramel in corn panna cotta and “Lemon Garden” with citrus layers that is refreshing in look and taste. In the Chocolate Fragrant Tea Cake category, the gold medal went to Nikki Silverio’s focused live execution of her “Passion Fruit in Earl Grey Mousse.”

With guava as the secret ingredient for the Fantasy Table category, Gen Oliva hauled a bronze when she prepared two desserts that passed the discriminating palate of the judges.

For the Live Bakery, the main pastry event, Bubbles Cruz-Lerias, Maricar Salvador and Roel Vargas prepared 15 different types and shapes of breads plus a bread showpiece within nine hours. Their ingenious and delicious “Ensaymada con Prosciutto,” “Back to The (Ube) Roots,” “Duck in a Box” and “Pili Citrus Twist” won a team silver.

PAP would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to those who have trusted in their vision for a truly united Pastry Alliance of the Philippines: Global Academy, Beryl’s Gourmet, Gourdo’s, Peotraco, Sweetcraft, Fonterra, Great Food Solutions, Unilever Food Solutions, Chocolate World, Premier Events, Crocs, PLDT, RM Boxes, Ferna, ESV, Bakels, La Pavoni, Ajinomoto, Actron Industries, Unideas and Philippine Airlines.

The Harbour View room of the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel is a hedonist’s haven.

At HOFEX, my lovable sister Jaqui Boncan led our precocious group into wonderland as we raced to the different pavilions showcasing the finest wines, cheeses, cured to perfection jamon Serrano and ice cream. We thoroughly sampled the world’s finest food and beverages tasting and evaluating the epicurean delights as though we were the judges in the various competitions.

Another precious find was the discovery of wine ice cream. We found out that in 2006, Mercers Dairy mastered the art of blending ice cream with superb wine to create an incredibly elegant adult dessert with flavors like à la port, cherry merlot, chocolate cabernet, peach white zinfandel, red raspberry chardonnay and the royal white Riesling.

In retrospect, we thank the good Lord for traveling mercies and victories. I may have visited Hong Kong countless times in my life but experiencing such new finds like the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel and beaming with pride for the glorious accolades of the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines, I must say the Crown Jewel has never sparkled as much.

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The World Food Expo or WOFEX 2011, the ultimate food show experience, will be held in the Philippines from August 3 to 6 at the World Trade Center and SMX Convention Center. WOFEX is the home of the 2011 Philippine Culinary Cup, already the most prestigious culinary competition in the country where the best meet to compete. The Philippine Culinary Cup is the qualifying round for the 2012 Asian Pastry Cup in Singapore.)

For more information on Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, log on to www.lankwaifonghotel.com.hk. E-mail the author at mailto:miladay.star@gmail.com.