Escalators, terrible Thai, entering the Fong

My restaurant review radar must be malfunctioning because I had a terrible dining experience tonight. Where, the magazine that is found in hotels worldwide had a decent blurb about Soho Spice and their website looked good, so I made a last-minute reservation for a late dinner. I took the Midlevels Escalator up to it and walked into a dark narrow room. I opted for a table at the back which turned out to be open to the sky above, with a view not of the stars, but of laundry and air conditioners from the surrounding flats.

My first disappointment was noticing the menu was different from the outdated Where review and the online version. Where were the dishes that I wanted, soft shell crab in rice paper rolls, grilled lamb salad and pumpkin custard? I ended up getting a mango juice and deep-fried soft shell crab in chickpea batter. Blech. Watery, canned juice and a greasy bland crustacean. I suppose it was my own fault for not ordering anything with vegetables but halfway through the crab, I was sick of it.

Thinking I would make it up with some fruit for dessert, my first choice was the blood orange jelly with tropical fruit and mango sauce, but they didn't have it. When I asked about the selection of ice creams, the waiter told me, "Chocolate and vanilla."

You've never seen me pay a bill so fast.

I took the escalator all the way up to the top then walked back down. The whole area is quite grungy, dimly lit in places and difficult to navigate, maybe it's nicer during the day. I made my way over to D'Aguilar Street while pushing my way through a crowd of soccer fans. As there is a large contingent of Canadians in Hong Kong, and because it's an excuse to have a party, Lan Kwai Fong was celebrating Canada Day early. There were Canadian flags hanging, people wearing white cowboy hats, flag tattoos, stickers with witty sayings like "Hockey: better than sex" and "Kiss me, I'm Canadian" and even dancers in the street (the women wearing cutoff T-shirts, the men in cowboy hats and hockey sticks).

At your service

It seems all I write about is food but I'm here for another week so there's lots of time for sightseeing later. Went to Causeway Bay again, this time, to Farm House Restaurant in the AIA Plaza. When I motioned with one finger to the girl at the front desk, she took me over to the elevator, pushed the button for the next floor then walkie-talkied my impending arrival to someone upstairs. Huh.

The doors opened directly into the dining area and a hostess took me to my seat and asked me a question. It took me two tries to realize she was asking for my surname. For the rest of the evening, the staff addressed me as "Mr. Fung"! I explained to the head waiter that I couldn't read the menu but that I had heard of one of their specialties, stuffed chicken wings. We decided on that, as well as a bowl of soup so that I would have room for dessert.

After I placed my order, two dishes of appetizers magically appeared, along with a pot of tea. My cup was refilled the entire night by the super-attentive staff, and I purposely poured my own even when it wasn't empty so that they wouldn't keep coming over. The waiters were really quite good: when I coughed (something I do when I feel self-conscious) into my napkin, a box of Kleenex was quietly brought over. When I asked for more water to dilute the tea, a brand new pot and teacup replaced the ones on the table. This level of service makes me a bit uncomfortable but I'm glad there are places that know how to treat customers well.

The chicken wing was very crispy, with deep mahogany skin, the meat a bit dry and chewy. They served it with two sauces, including an XO sauce made by the chef and sold by the restaurant. As I was eating, someone brought the soup in a lidded ceramic bowl. No sooner had I removed the lid than it was whisked away by a waitress. I could feel them trying to anticipate my every move so it was a bit of a game to keep them waiting, heh.

Before dessert, the head waiter offered me a plate of fruit jellies. I'm pretty sure he said they contained bird's nest but it was hard to tell. I decided on the almond milk in papaya, a delicious infusion made with ground almonds. The papaya wasn't very fragrant nor sweet, but it made a fine container for the milk. An all-round good experience, highly recommended.

I ran back to the Sogo department store (14 floors!) to check out the food hall in the basement before closing. Impressive: three chocolatiers (Leonidas, Godiva, Lucullus), prepared food stalls, fine tea vendors, grocery with many imported items, bakeries, liquor store and more.

If only I had a kitchen.

Big bird

My taxi driver this morning missed a turn and then actually turned off the meter while he doubled back. Is this normal? There's also a sign inside the cabin that welcomes passengers to suggest a route to the driver.

Tonight I got a ride all the way out to Sham Tseng, a coastal area whose name means "deep well". On the trip over, I could see the magnificent bridges connecting Lantau Island to the rest of Hong Kong. My checklist of restaurants included going to Yung Kee for roast goose, but my uncle's friends said that it's mostly geared towards tourists whereas Yue Kee was popular with locals.

You would definitely have to live in the area to find this restaurant that's right next to the side of a mountain via a winding single-lane side street. Dinner was just so-so, everyone lamented, and included: roast goose with crispy skin, deep fried "white rice" fish in spicy batter, greens with fermented tofu, beef cubes stir fried with red pepper and mango, eggplant and ground pork, stir fried intestines with sweet pickled vegetable and squid in soy sauce. All the dishes were drowning in oil.

The practice of rinsing out ceramic cups, spoons and bowls with hot water or tea is something that we occasionally do in Canada if the place seems grungy, but here in Hong Kong, even the restaurants expect you to do it. They provide big bowls for you to discard the waste water.

MTV Asia: music videos are a lot more fun when you don't understand the lyrics.

I got a lift back to the Tsuen Wan MTR station, and ducked into an adjacent mall. One snack vendor was selling dried fruit (kiwi slices!) and nuts, jerkies and other bite-sized munchies, an impressive array. No photo, as I've been hesitant about taking pictures seeing as how many shopkeepers have waved me off recently.

Maybe I should play the innocent English-speaking tourist card more often.

Noise, pork bellies, pages

You can't escape beeps and rings if you take public transit. At the East Tsim Sha Tsui KCR station, there is a soft old-fashioned telephone ringing sound that I keep mistaking for my cellphone. I have no idea what it is. As the doors are about to close on the subways, a rapid electronic tone signals that your arm is about to be crushed. All of the surface crosswalks sound a beep slowly when you shouldn't cross, and then switch to a rapid pulse when it's safe to do so. No pleasant chirping or ding-dongs.

As if that weren't enough, every stop on the MTR or KCR is announced, in three languages and the voice helpfully tells you which side the doors will open on. Further warnings caution you not to fall in the substantial gap between platform and car. Televisions in the trains broadcast the news during rush hour; there is even a quiet car that spares you this intrusion. Then there's the constant cellphone ringtones...

Tonight, we went to a Hakka restaurant in Causeway Bay. It was decent, but not spectacular and we were quite rushed. Among the plates:

• pig ears
  
• chicken feet (cold, crunchy skin, not so tasty)
  
• steamed chicken
  
• deep fried large intestine (it smelled like ammonia to put it mildly)
  
• stewed small intestines
  
• sweet potato shoots with garlic (apparently, the greens from when the sweet potatoes sit around too long and sprout)
  
• winter melon soup (served in the melon itself)
  
• deep fried tofu
  
• deep fried duck with taro (one of my favourites)
  
• braised pork belly with sweet preserved mustard vegetable (mui choy) (delicious)
  

I've had the last two dishes before several times; I didn't know they were Hakka specialties.

Since we were disappointed with the dessert offering, my uncle and his wife took me to the nearby Yee Shun Milk Company for a steamed milk pudding with ginger. The pudding is a very silky custard, but not set with gelatin or egg whites. Absolutely wonderful.

Typhoon Signal No. 1 was hoisted today according to signs outside several malls. I don't really know what that means, but I do know that if No. 8 is raised, everyone is supposed to get back to their hotel as fast as they can and hope for the best.

I dropped by Times Square tonight, a towering structure with 9 floors of retail and offices above. In a bookstore called Page One, I was extremely impressed by the depth of their selection. Mirvish Books on Art in Toronto has books on design, but I've never seen coffee table books about product packaging and DVD case design there! I picked up a great cookbook on dim sum which may finally allow me to make my own egg custard tarts.

Beyond basil

After picking up my laundry after work, I checked out Kee Wah Bakery on Hankow Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. They sell a variety of Chinese cookies, cakes and pastries. Some interesting finds included black sesame egg rolls and wife cakes. Must go back and sample more.

I hate to be hypocritical, but everyone smells sweaty, it's gross.

Every night at 20:00, there is a multimedia show with buildings on both sides of the harbour contributing lasers, lights and synchronized music. It's not everyday that you see skyscrapers "dance". I took the Star Ferry over to Pacific Place, a mall in Admiralty, to check Thai Basil Café Bar out. The reviews I read were mixed, calling it innovative but overpriced. As I did a walk-by, I could see that it was one of those trendy and hip places where the food is often secondary. Then again, it was in the basement of a mall, not exactly a place to see or be seen. Hunger prevailed and I went inside.

The vast menu offers a far different take on Thai food than I've had in Toronto. The ingredients, combinations and presentations sounded creative and fresh. There wasn't any dish like "Thai green curry (choice of chicken, beef or shrimp)". I started with a salad that had green mango and papaya with stingray. The dressing was sharp and pungent: the chef didn't hold back on the vinegar, fish sauce or chilis. I found the fruit to be limp and flavourless, and the Weetabix-like crispy-chewy fish garnish was annoying to eat.

My main, fried rice with chicken and lobster, arrived covered in a thin lacy omelette. As you cut it open, the aroma of pineapple and fish sauce is released. The egg net also serves to keep the dish warm. This wasn't that bad of a dish, but it got boring after a while. More pineapple please!

The desserts sounded so tempting that I ordered one even though I was pretty full. The cassava pudding sat in a shallow dish filled with a white liquid that was strongly flavoured with taro. I could have just sipped that alone. Atop the pudding was a caramel disc which held a scoop of pecan ice cream. The honeycomb garnish was superfluous, as every component oozed sweetness. By far the best part of the meal.

I had a nice chat with the waitress afterwards who told me the chef really likes to come up with interesting presentations like a chocolate cake that comes with a cute biscuit in the shape of a cat. She described a beef salad that is arranged like a Jenga tower; if it falls over during transport, the waitresses have to take it back into the kitchen for reassembly. While a bit overpriced, I think the idea of modern Thai cuisine is fantastic and wish I could sample more of their menu.

All in the family, Stanley, table sharing

My uncle took me to Fung Shing Restaurant in North Point this morning. My grandfather opened this restaurant and now there are several in Hong Kong with the same name (but not family-run). I was hoping to erase the memory of yesterday's dim sum experience and I wasn't disappointed. We had flaky pastries filled with BBQ pork, har gow, siu mai, fried rice noodles (cheung fun), beef balls and daan tart. Everything was a step above what I've had in Toronto. I found out what happens when you're sharing a table and one party is finished before the other: they roll up half the tablecloth and set the places on a half-rolled fresh tablecloth.

Before heading to Stanley, we dropped by my uncle's neighbourhood in Tai Koo. Inside the big mall there, a rink was filled with kids learning to skate. I don't think I've ever seen handrails on the boards before, but it's a sensible idea. After a short break at his apartment, we took a bus to Stanley, a village town with a nice beach and lots of history. The outdoor market there is actually air-conditioned and sells lots of kitschy clothing, paintings and other souvenirs. My uncle said that a lot of these items can be had for a fraction of the price in nearby Shenzhen, China.

The most striking building in Stanley is Murray House. All kinds of interesting restaurants were inside: from a German beer hall, to a Spanish cafe to a mini-chef school for kids.

On the ride back, we took a minibus to Chai Wan. I casually mentioned to my uncle that I had never taken one before and had heard the stories of fluctuating fares and reckless driving. He reassured me by pointing out the large LCD speedometer prominently displayed at the front which beeps loudly when the driver exceeds the limit. When the side door suddenly flew open while we were in motion, I clung a little more tightly to my seat.

Dinner was in Shau Kei Wan at a beef noodle restaurant. The brisket was very tender, but the noodles were way too salty.

Tourist traps, Big Buddha

I fell into a tourist trap this morning. Hard. All of the guidebooks mention that Luk Yu Teahouse is something not to be missed, so after crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry, I climbed the steep roads of Central in search of breakfast. My first warning sign was the guy opening the door. A dim sum place with a doorman!? One of the guides said to go upstairs where the regulars sit, so up I went. There was nothing charming or quaint about the room. Sure it was old-fashioned but I didn't see a lot of ornate decoration or old paintings or other knick-knacks. It was full of wide-eyed tourists who undoubtedly read the same reviews I did. Three, badly prepared plates of dim sum cost me $105HKD.

Just around the next corner was another stop on my checklist, Tai Cheong Bakery, for egg tarts. The shop was a lot smaller and rundown than I imagined, considering that this new location is less than a year old. Of course, retail rents in Hong Kong are around $200,000HKD per month. Before I could eat my warm-from-the-oven pastries, I dropped them on the ground. They were still in their bag, but they had crumbled into an unsightly mess, so no photos. The tarts were amazing. I hope to make it back before I leave.

After a whirlwind dash to the 43rd floor of the Bank of China Tower, I met up with my uncle to head to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. The bus ride from Tung Chung station is nausea-inducing: windy, steep roads with sudden stops to let oncoming traffic pass. Once there, the giant bronze statue is something to behold. You can't help but be in awe as you look upwards while climbing the steps. The Buddha sits on a building that houses a museum that contains calligraphy, paintings and even a "relic", a piece of Buddha's body.

Even out here, there are cellphone antennas on the hillside.

The Po Lin Monastery nearby serves up vegetarian meals including some dim sum sweets which we ate in a nearby shaded area. We were lucky that the weather was sunny and clear. The hilltop is often shrouded in fog and unlucky tourists on a fixed schedule often miss out.

Markets

Continuing my string of sleepless nights, I woke up extra early this morning to go to Prince Edward. H5N1 didn't even cross my mind as I read signs warning about the dangers of feeding feral pigeons. I'm glad I didn't bring sandals. The Yuen Po Street Bird Garden was just getting started with a few old men and women feeding birds live crickets (with chopsticks!). I didn't really know what to expect, more birds maybe, but it was a bit of a letdown.

Over at the Flower Market, I saw some incredibly beautiful flowers selling for very little money. This is a wholesale clearinghouse; fresh blooms cost much more elsewhere in the city. I couldn't overcome the feeling of grunginess as I walked through these streets, maybe it was all the water running everywhere.

The school year goes until mid-July. Kids two weeks off for Chinese New Year though.

At night, after dropping my laundry off ($18HKD for 6 pounds, washed, dried and folded! Yes, they weigh it), I went to Lok Yuen King of Beef Ball to sample some fish noodles. They're actually made from flour and fish, and rolled or extruded into noodles. I had to ask for the English menu, as I couldn't even figure out how to say cuttlefish in Cantonese (it's "ink-fish"). Table sharing is common here; it seems mannerless to not even acknowledge the people eating food with you.

Later, I walked through Ladies' Market. It's hard to describe it, other than to say it's really big and garish. Bright flourescent lights and vendors selling all manner of cheap clothes with savvy tourists haggling over everything. I also dropped by the Temple Street Night Market, but they all kind of seem the same to me. On the walk back to the MTR station, I saw several old women selling discounted sex toys.

You can truly find anything and everything here.

Accents, Americans and aviaries

Breakfast is averaging around $15HKD and lunch is $18HKD at the company Sodexho-operated canteen. So I decided to splurge on dinner. Big time. Felix is a swanky restaurant in the ultra luxe Peninsula Hotel. Acting on a tip from Frommer's, I called to inquire about the special early prix fixe dinner. I was told that I needed to order before 19:00 and that I could only have the table for an hour. That seemed very rushed but there wasn't much I could do.

After racing home from work and changing into "smart casual" (no short pants or sandals I was told), I walked over to the hotel. There's a separate elevator that takes you to the 28th floor where the restaurant is. As I walked down the hall to the dining room, the hostess greeted me by name (I would have burst out laughing had she actually said "We've been expecting you") and led me to a table by a window facing Hong Kong Island. One of my waitresses had a charming British-inflected accent and gave me the choice of still or sparkling water and further flustered me by asking the brand I wanted (I chose Vitell).

After making my selection from the early dinner menu, a small basket of breads arrived. There were mini batards with a nice crispy crust and soft interior, slightly sweet sesame rolls and a cracker-like cheesy (?) flatbread. My first course was a salad with delicious contrasts: the pancetta and blue cheese provided concentrated bursts of saltiness, while the warmed dressing helped bring out the flavour of the surprisingly good tomatoes. If I had to offer one complaint it would be that thinly sliced onions and frisee are really hard to eat with a fork.

For my main, I had the seafood stew with gnocchi which also had a nice contrast of flavours and textures. The dish contained fish (overcooked), mussels, shrimp (perfect), chorizo (too salty) and gnocchi (pillowy soft). As I was snapping photos of my meal and the room's interior, the couple next to me, retired Americans on vacation in Asia, started up a conversation. Among our topics were computer security (the line of work I'm in) and the technology-savvy woman surprised me by asking whether dynamic IPs helped protect you from attackers!

For dessert, I had a chocolate and banana tart. It had an ample amount of banana, but the ganache wasn't as warm as I would have liked. The praline topping was slightly salty which worked really well. Tea, served with two teapots and a strainer, was accompanied by a plate of two chocolates, one containing a giant macadamia nut, the other with a truffle centre.

As the evening progressed, the restaurant began to fill up. I kept looking at the clock, but I needn't have worried as I left at 20:30 without anyone quietly informing me that they needed the table. Felix was certainly an experience: the ambience, service and food were top-notch and gave good value for the money. I highly recommend a meal here.

Especially if it's on the company tab.

At night, I wandered into Kowloon Park with hopes of seeing the Sculpture Garden or the aviary or the banyan tree. I gave up after walking around in darkness for an hour but managed to take some long exposure shots.

Buns, bench seats and a bus trip

Doughnuts are nowhere to be found. There are Starbucks here (of course), but I haven't looked to see what they sell to accompany your coffee.

Against the recommendation of a co-worker, I took a bus to Wonderful Worlds of Whampoa. You couldn't come up with a more awkward name or a more bizarre concept: there are towers of apartments interspersed with themed retail buildings like Home World, Treasure World and Fashion World. Smack dab in the middle is a giant concrete ship that you can walk inside. The only thing worth visiting is the Gourmet Place, three floors of restaurants. I had read about Wing Lai Yuen and the northern-style food they serve and I wasn't disappointed. The wait staff kindly gave me recommendations when I couldn't read the Chinese-only menu. My table was set up against a wall with a bench in front of it, not very comfortable. However, the food made up for it. The dan dan noodles were handmade, very thin with just a bit of chew. The well-balanced sauce/soup had bits of roasted peanut, ground pork, Sichuan preserved vegetable and sesame. No slick layer of oil to be found. A favourite of mine is green onion pancake but their version is unlike any I've ever had. The whole thing is flaky and crumbles at the touch of a chopstick, not the burnt, chewy rounds that I'm used to in Toronto. Bring cash.

Subway here does not mean "electric railway that operates underground": they call that the MTR. Subway means "a pedestrian walkway that takes you underneath a street to get to the other side". This bit of knowledge should not be learned after walking for half an hour trying to figure out where the stops are on the circular bus route (hint: not where you got off).

Technology, a megameal and romance

95% of people aged 15-59 have mobile phones in Hong Kong, the highest penetration rate in Asia. A single Ethernet cable or a wireless adapter gives me access to my e-mail and the Web; it's hard to tell I'm not at home. Commuters can buy Octopus, a contactless debit card that can be used on all the buses, subways, trains and fast food places; you just put it near the reader (it can even stay in your wallet or purse). I'm not a gadget freak by any stretch of the imagination, but all this technology will be missed when I go home.

My uncle invited me to dinner again tonight, this time at the Kiangsu and Chekiang Residents Association Restaurant, members only. We had a private room at the back and dined on Shanghainese food. There were a few more dishes than this, here's what I remember:

• stewed beef tendon
  
• crispy eel in honey sauce (fabulously crunchy and sweet)
  
• spring rolls
  
• drunken chicken
  
• soy sauce soft-boiled eggs (creamy, almost orange yolk)
  
• gluten
  
• bean curd rolls with mushrooms
  
• smoked duck with crispy skin served with sweet buns in shell-like shapes
  
• deep fried fish battered in salted duck egg yolk and green onions (very interesting)
  
• vegeterian stew with fermented tofu
  
• braised napa cabbage with Yunnan (?) ham
  
• stir fried rice cakes
  
• cold sesame noodles with shredded chicken and cucumber
  
• spinach dumplings
  
• soup dumplings (siu lung bao)
  
• other steamed buns I only stared at
  
• fried egg pancake filled with red bean paste
  
• sesame and red bean rolls
  
• assorted slices of melon
  

Spec-tac-ular. Despite the quantity, I wasn't rolling over groaning, as is ofteh the case with heavy and greasy Cantonese food.

In fact, I had enough balance to explore the area around my hotel. The Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong's Walk of Fame, complete with handprints of famous movie and music celebs. The best reason to take a stroll here is to check out Central at night and be transfixed by the sheer number of buildings that are on the island.

And to watch young teens making out to corny love songs of the last two decades.

Fast food, left and right, cleanliness and kimchee

There's no breakfast included with my room so I stopped by Uptown Plaza in Tai Po Market this morning. Inside, I found a Café de Coral, a fast food chain (incidentally, they also run Manchu Wok in North America). I had to resort to pointing at the menu; the cashier still tripped me up by asking how I wanted my eggs, whether I wanted toast or congee, and the kind of tea I wanted. My meal consisted of two wieners (the menu said sausage) in BBQ sauce, fried eggs, toast and tea made with evaporated milk.

Although I can get by quite reasonably in Cantonese, my vocabularly isn't as large as I thought. People in Hong Kong don't address me in English for obvious reasons; in fact, I haven't spoken it very much since I arrived. Even the people in the office where I am working have been speaking to me in Chinese. I like the fact that I can play "English-speaking tourist" when I need to, but I can't really pretend to be a local.

Corollaries of driving on the left include reversed windshield wipers, having to look the opposite way when crossing roads (there are helpful signs on the road that tell you which way to look) and reversed escalators, staircases and walkways. This takes some getting used to.

There is a huge emphasis on cleanliness and environmental consciousness here. In the office where I'm working, a sign by the entrance informs you that the escalator handrails are sanitized hourly. In the bathroom, faucet handles and paper towel dispenser handles are also cleaned several times a day. Inside a washroom stall, a sign apologizes for the poor quality of the toilet paper but thanks you for understanding that we all have to make sacrifices for the good of the planet. A notice on the water cooler encourages you to bring your own reusable mug. Announcements in the train station warn about the dangers of live poultry. Signs in the airport tell women to go for cervical smear tests. Some escalators are put out of service in the evening to conserve electricity. The KCR train cars are spotless, thanks to prohibitions on spitting, eating and drinking inside them.

At the same time, many department stores leave their doors wide open (or have no visible doors at all). I can't fathom how people can have a cigarette outside: the combination of the stifling heat and smoke is nauseating. Toronto has largely gone smoke-free in public places, so I am surprised when anyone lights up indoors. Face masks are not uncommon.

I hear Bus Uncle references all over the place.

After work tonight, I Googled for restaurants in the area and wandered out from Exit C2 of the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. This is a neighbourhood filled with little shops and restaurants bathed in the glow of their neon signs. Koreatown seemed a bit sketchy and dark but there were plenty of people around. It's not like Bloor and Christie in Toronto, just a few restaurants and stores.

As it was nearing 21:00, I finally decided on Chang Won, a Korean-owned and operated restaurant according to the review on the window. There were no tables free, so I joined a family of four who were having Korean BBQ (as was everyone else). After placing my order, the waiter brought a wide variety of panchan which I should have grazed on, but it was tasty. This left me with little room for the main course I requested, a crispy pancake filled with green onions, squid and chili peppers served with a vinegar-soy-chili dipping sauce.

I walked back along Nathan Road, which in years past, was known as the Golden Mile. Indeed there are lots of fancy international clothing and jewelery stores along this street, dozens of cellphone and electronics retailers but also many shady vendors. I poked my head into the entrance of the infamous Chungking Mansions. I was a bit disappointed no one waved flyers in my face advertising cheap Indian food.