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With reckless zooming vehicles, crammed streets flooded with pedestrians scrurrying in a hurry; to loud noises from buses and street vendors yelling at the top of their lungs, "Hustle and bustle" didn't even BEGIN to describe the city of Hong Kong.
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"Frantic" and "excitable" would probably give a better perspective to the whole picture. Flickering lights from towering highrises and thousands of neon signs protruding into the main streets from the sidewalks, brightly lit the entire city into a breathtakingly beautiful scene. It was my favorite time of day to venture out into the City of Hong Kong.
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Sidewalks along the main streets of Kowloon were often painfully swarmed with people on weekends; making it almost impossible to walk in a straight line. There was human traffic moving towards me in almost every direction. For a couple of minutes upon arrival; I felt lost; overwhelmed....and out of place. Despite being a full grown Chinese kid from a Cantonese speaking family; I surprisingly had a bigger problem with communication than I had expected. Everything was written in Chinese..and everyone spoke to me in Cantonese... I felt a little silly struggling to reply with my almost retarded command of my native language. *laughs* Our Cantonese language in Malaysia deferred slightly from what everyone in Hong kong spoke, but adding English in between sentences for more complicated descriptions helped along the way. I was tickled by the local Chinese accent which often went by a certain tune. Almost sung like a song. *giggle* - those who have "Hong-kie" friends are probably aware of the 'tune' I'm referring to :P
We spent our nights in the Kowloon Hotel in Tsim Tsa tsui directly behind the prestigious Peninsula Hotel which is famous for star studded crowds.
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My parents and I had a
shopping spree in expensive international brand names located around The Peninsula's lobby and snuck in for a drink at its luxurious and classy cafe. The interior architecture and plaster molding above its columns and ceilings were delicate, detailed and absolutely magnificent. I had a cocktail eggnog...which
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wasn't too bad at all~
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This wasn't my first visit to Hongkong, but I didn't remember Hong Kong the way I experienced it this time around.
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I was only about 14 the last time I was here; and didn't have much of an eye for detail or a passion for adventure and travel. I saw alot more; absorbed more culture and had a chance to give it's cuisine another go.
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5-6 years ago; I never knew how to appreciate Chinese cuisine the way I do now. I didn't remember having had 'good' food of any sort. I was probably desperate for a burger/fast food outlet at that age *naughty grin*. With a new taste for ingenious culinary creations; I was really looking forward to this opportunity.
I was impressed. I was literally blown away by Hong Kong's local cuisine. From when I began appreciating flavors and having an interest in food; I don't think I've ever had Chinese/Cantonese cuisine the way I experienced it here in Hong Kong. I'm not sure if it was just the restaurants we happened to luckily "bump" ourselves into randomly; but I was truly impressed. It was a different level of satisfaction. Different from our Malaysian Chinese food; but superb nonetheless. Chinese Take-out stores in Sydney should be ashamed of themselves *grin* The prices of seafood and most famous delicacies were a little steep. But I guess you can't really expect good quality and cheap food bang right in the city center~What you pay for is what you get. Good food had "good" price tags.
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From seafood to simple noodles and congee...we were often swept off our feet. I came across a couple of disappointing dishes along the way. But I didn't let a couple of bad eggs ruin the show.
I would strongly recommend all lovers of Chinese cuisine to visit this spectacularly impressive city filled with so much good food. My advice would be; look out for places where the locals dine, get in line for a piece of whatever the vendor is selling..the good stuff is often at the end of that ridiculously long queue!
I wish I had more time. Hong kong had so much to offer...and I had so little time to rummage in deeper. The sights and sounds were fascinating. The shopping was ridiculously good; we must have picked the right season for a weekend shopping 'quickie'~ Everything was on SALE!!
I'll definitely be back again..to check out those tiny lanes I peeked into, those desserts I was too full to eat and occasional flashy signboards I didn't have the time to explore. I've had a taste, and the city has left me longing for more!~
*drawbacks: Noise and Air pollution....OMG *GASP*....the density of the city doesn't really help the situation much. Grow more TREES residents of Hong Kong! *cheeky grin*
5 comments:
Hi Su-Yin :)
I've been reading your blog for 2 months now and it is fantastic!
I check back every day for more recipes etc! keep up the great work
hey girl!
I was in hk too; just about a week ago! I totally agree with you about the pollution; hopefully you didn't get sick. take care; looking forward to more of your food posts :D
panda
mary: aww thanks so much for the kind words :) I hope to be blogging more often soon...don't have any working kitchens at the moment (im still holiday-ing in singapore) hehe XOXO thanks again!!
panda:did u enjoy HOngkong? I didnt get sick ...was just having difficulty breathing! hehehe///you're sweet :) LOL
hi there! I just read your HK entry. I just got back from HK too last week. Love the weather. The first time I went to HK, it was all fastfood for me. We were too scared to try the unfamiliar restos. But this time around, I was able to enjoy the local cuisine. And I had a huge dose of milk tea. Yum! You should have made a side trip to Macau where the pace is much slower and the streets are more colorful. And a lot less polluted :)
I agree with you. I lived in HK for 3 yrs and find that their cuisine is mou dak teng. Esp their private kitchens...
If you go again, I must introduce you to the restaurants..
Mong
SAHM to Megan(7.5) and Macy(4)
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