Hong Kong: a feast for all senses (but particularly the stomach)

Posted on 15 February, 2019

The streets of Hong Kong resound with the clash between East and West.

East is wet markets stinking of seafood and loud with the squawk of irate caged chickens. West is rows of global luxury houses pumping fragranced and frosty air onto the street where you will be jostled by a Hong Kong native wearing head-to-toe Gucci and proudly carrying the most lairy “it” bag. Sometimes there are only metres between each sensory experience.

Luckily for Canberrans with a few days up their sleeves, a healthy appetite and a generous credit card balance, Hong Kong remains a fabulously close and culturally rich holiday destination which promises no end of shopping and, for this intrepid reporter, some of the best food in Asia.

What makes Hong Kong stand out is an obsession with eating. It seems your average resident can’t walk 10 metres without stopping to grab something at some quirky street stall, bakery or a dumpling house for a pit stop en route to somewhere specific (lunch, possibly?).

Having a sweet tooth seems a prerequisite of nationality and we witness queues for everything from teeny tiny chocolates moulded into the shapes of cartoon animals (Lucullus Chocolate Café, 4-30 Tai Pa St, Tsuen Wan) to the ubiquitous Mochi ice cream balls (sold on most streets) that look and taste as intriguing as they sound. Given the constant heat and humidity, you can consider these almost medicinal.

Teeny tiny chocolate animals from Lucullus. They didn’t last long.

If you could only spend a week in this noisy, crowded and exhilarating city, here is a run-down on where to eat, stay and play.

EAT

Custard tarts

These are a national obsession and we try quite a few of these deliciously flaky and rich little devils in the interests of research. One place gets a big rap – Sakurashima Bakery (7 Garden Street Mongkok) – and as it is within walking distance of our hotel, we find ourselves there.

For roughly half of the cost of an Aussie cup of coffee we purchase a selection of these eggy morsels. Within seconds they are devoured and even our non-custard tart loving daughter has suddenly seen the light.

Portugese tarts. Don’t stop at 12…

Dumplings

Oh dear Lord, where do I start? You will find dumpling houses with comforting regularity right across the city. Most places are best described as cheap and cheerful—plastic tables and a quick turnover of slurping bodies who don’t mind bumping elbows with the next table.

We found one place worthy of special mention—Dim Dim Sum (7 Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai) which was not as crammed as other places but most importantly served up incredibly refined dumplings and the most slippery and delicious rice noodles. My pick was the mushroom and black truffle dumplings and I may or may not have gone back for seconds. And thirds. OK so we had four serves, but when in Hong Kong…

Something fancier

If you want upmarket dining then book in advance for a table in the dark but thumping underground haven that is Ho Le Fook (1-5 Elgin St, Central). I thought it was a tourist trap-type restaurant that survived on the quirky name. Instead, it pumps out creative and refined dishes that will have your tastebuds quivering (even though it is so dark downstairs your eyeballs may be quivering to try and focus). It’s also a bit loud. I said, it’s a BIT LOUD! But worth it.

We try a Michelin-starred fine diner in Ming Court (within the Cordis Hotel, 555 Shanghai Street Mongkok) which has a menu based on more traditional Chinese cuisine. It’s nice enough but unless you are keen to discover the joys of really traditional food (we’re talking chilled drunken pigeon, giant grouper and sea cucumber) I think you get better value for money with dumplings.

Michelen-starred jelly cubes for desert at Ming Court.

Brunch

And if you are around over a weekend and love food so much you want to see it for miles, we highly recommend the W Hotel’s (1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station) Sunday brunch session. Not cheap at around $135 a head, this is a lunch to save for a special occasion and to fast in advance of. Take your pick from seafood, meats, Asian, western, sweets, cheeses and salads and see how many times you can go back before the room starts spinning due to the fact your glass is constantly topped full of chilled Veuve.

Chilli Mud Crab

If you’re on a budget but still want a superior and instagrammable meal, head over to the Temple Street Markets (right there on Temple Street) and grab yourself some chilli mud crab for under $15 if you can tolerate sitting at a plastic table close to a gutter and don’t mind making eye contact with the live seafood swimming in large tanks beside you.

We may have been sitting in the gutter but the views of the seafood were insane on Temple Street

STAY

We have visited Hong Kong a number of times and have experienced the cheap and pointy end of hotels.

This visit we splurged at The Cordis—formerly the Langham—and took over the Presidential Suite (555 Shanghai St, Mong Kok). The views were simply mind-boggling and I was beside myself to have a kitchen (to ignore) which had a washing machine in it.

We loved having access the executive lounge, which served a dizzying array of hot and cold food, not to mention having a bar to service our thirstiest moments, and it meant we defrayed some of the cost of the hotel in not having to go out and buy all meals and cocktails. Plus, we fed the kids constantly while they burned off energy in the roof-top pool.

The Cordis Hotel’s rooftop pool. Watermelon popsicles all day every day.

At the top end of the scale we have also enjoyed staying at The Peninsula (Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui). It is as beautiful and elegant as you would expect and staff went to every effort to make sure our children were happy and comfortable. I loved that the beds were so high-end that nobody could stay awake once their heads hit the pillow. The Peninsula’s High Tea—between 2 – 6 pm daily—is renowned as a seminal cultural experience. But unless you are staying at the hotel you cannot book a seat and will need to start queuing up to an hour beforehand.

A cheaper stay can be found at the Harbourview (4 Harbour Road Wan Chai) which is still pretty opulent and shares in the signature Hong Kong style of massive light installations and lots of marble. And views.

PLAY

Disneyland

If you have kids, or are just acutely in touch with your inner child, we adored Hong Kong Disneyland (on Lantau Island). You either do or you don’t. But a day of squealing, smiling and shooting around corners on roller coasters was well worth the heat, queues and lack of gourmet food options. We made up for it with double dumplings later that night.

The happiest place in Asia, Hong Kong Disneyland.

Natural Beauty

Another fun family adventure can be had walking the trails around Victoria Peak. It’s paved, shady, and offers some of the best views of the city. Perhaps you may need to replenish your fluids with a Gin and Tonic at The Peak Lookout after the walk.

Play for all ages

Speaking of views, the best adult playground can be found at the Ritz Carlton’s Ozone Bar (International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West null, Tsim Sha Tsui), which is so truly vertiginous that you may need a stiff drink just to summon the courage to look out the window.

At 118 floors high, it offers a perspective on the city that cannot be matched. Drinks are priced just as stratospherically.

A final word on that. We have been visiting Hong Kong for close to two decades and used to find it a perfect and affordable shopping destination. Now the Aussie dollar is not quite the same match for this Chinese economic powerhouse and we felt a little intimidated by some of the prices we were encountering—the $10 latte at the café within the 1881 Heritage shopping centre (2A Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui) is a case in point.

Were it not for the cheap dumplings, you would be paying a comparable price to Australia to eat most meals, and even the designer stores seem more expensive than they are here.

Street life, Hong Kong style.

A cheap thrill can still be gained at any of the outdoor shopping markets that attract tourists by the busload. You don’t even need to buy anything—just enjoy the Canto-pop blaring from each stall as you wade up and down streets filled with everything from jade sculptures to the ubiquitous knock-off Louis Vuitton bags.

Don’t be fooled by the fakes, we saw so many misspelt labels we were in stitches of laughter by the end—who doesn’t want to wear House of Ballengiaga sneakers?

Better you save up and go hard in this glitzy, status-conscious city which offers every thrill. And bring your stretchy pants.