BURMA, SHANGHAI, HONG KONG--PART TWO OF ASIAN ODYSSEY 2010
Dec 18th, 2010, 08:24 AM
#242
Eks.. thank you for a wonderful gift! I'll take your report along to HK. I am not sure what section you're referring to..NYT? Fodors? I'll do a search on Fodors firt..Thanks again. I'm looking forward to the rest of your report.Thanks again.
Dec 19th, 2010, 06:34 AM
#245
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Leslie I am surprised because here in NY, we always hear the LA has such great Asian restaurants! HK is certainly THE mecca for Cantonese food. But prices have certainly shot up since my last visits, which were in the 1980s. Then again, as I mentioned, there is wonderful eating to be had at all price points. I was a bit constrained my the fact that my friends were not so keen on the little no-frills places; they are big on atmosphere with food second.
Dec 19th, 2010, 08:30 AM
#246
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Here are short reports of the two meals we had on that first full day in Hong Kong:
LUNG KING HEEN in the Four Seasons Hotel—Dim Sum lunch
Dim sum lunch at Lung King Heen was scrumptious! The setting is understated—glitz of an elegant sort. We began our lunch with a half order (although not stated on the menu, the restaurant will divide portions which is ideal for sampling a good variety of fare) of:
Honey Roasted Pork. Impeccable presentation. Downright, dare I say it again (?) scrumptious! Perhaps a tad less delectable that the one the previous night at Fu Sing, which is now my personal gold standard for Cantonese roast pork but worth the visit all the same.
Dim Sum plates:
Baked roast goose buns—not to be missed. Among the best dishes of the trip!
Baked Abalone Puffs with Diced Chicken (88HKD)—signature dish—superb. ( I did not note the price of any other items)
Chicken with Chestnuts
Shrimp Dumplings
Pot of Chrysanthemum tea (too mild for my taste)
Complimentary osmanthus jelly and egg tarts for dessert
The tab came to 140 HKD, or about $17$US, per person, therefore an outstanding ratio of price to value and a very inexpensive way to sample one of Asia’s most lauded restaurants. Service was impeccable.
HUTONG (Kowloon) —dinner
I had vacillated back and forth about Hutong and finally decided to book a table based on reports of the great view of fireworks over the harbor, and their Northern-Chinese-inflected cuisine. While the dim sum lunch at the Four Seasons had been expensive, it represented excellent value for the price. Hutong was just the oopposite.
We took the Star Ferry from the dock near the Four Seasons, and walked a few blocks to Peking Road, where Hutong is located on the 28th Floor of an office tower in the TsimShaTsui area of Kowloon.
Hutong appears to be a favorite of expat yuppie business types and it was jam packed when we arrived about 7:30pm. We were seated at a window table, which I had requested at the time of booking. (The restaurant can be booked online on their site, where you immediately get an idea of what to expect at the actual restaurant; the “experience is stressed almost as much as the food)
The restaurant is atmospheric and there is a buzz and bustle about the place of a type you might expect to find in a trendy place in NYC’s Meatpacking district, for example). The food is excellent, if overpriced.
http://www.aqua.com.hk/ - /eng/global/hongKong/hutong/concept
This was our dinner; while eating we had an excellent view of the fireworks over the harbor; for this, be sure to request a window table:
Golden Eggplant Stuffed with Minced Prawn (appetizer—128 HKD)
Squid with Golden Scallions (188 HKD)
Crispy Deboned Lamb Ribs (268 HKD). A knockout!
Stir-Fried “jade green” Bamboo Shoots (108 HKD)
Julienned Tofu with Yunnan Ham (118)
With 1 beer, 1 cocktail of vodka and peach juice, and 2 lime sodas, the total was 1400 HKD, or about $60US per person. Very good food; trendy, youthful ambience; beautiful décor. I doubt, however, if I will return.
LUNG KING HEEN in the Four Seasons Hotel—Dim Sum lunch
Dim sum lunch at Lung King Heen was scrumptious! The setting is understated—glitz of an elegant sort. We began our lunch with a half order (although not stated on the menu, the restaurant will divide portions which is ideal for sampling a good variety of fare) of:
Honey Roasted Pork. Impeccable presentation. Downright, dare I say it again (?) scrumptious! Perhaps a tad less delectable that the one the previous night at Fu Sing, which is now my personal gold standard for Cantonese roast pork but worth the visit all the same.
Dim Sum plates:
Baked roast goose buns—not to be missed. Among the best dishes of the trip!
Baked Abalone Puffs with Diced Chicken (88HKD)—signature dish—superb. ( I did not note the price of any other items)
Chicken with Chestnuts
Shrimp Dumplings
Pot of Chrysanthemum tea (too mild for my taste)
Complimentary osmanthus jelly and egg tarts for dessert
The tab came to 140 HKD, or about $17$US, per person, therefore an outstanding ratio of price to value and a very inexpensive way to sample one of Asia’s most lauded restaurants. Service was impeccable.
HUTONG (Kowloon) —dinner
I had vacillated back and forth about Hutong and finally decided to book a table based on reports of the great view of fireworks over the harbor, and their Northern-Chinese-inflected cuisine. While the dim sum lunch at the Four Seasons had been expensive, it represented excellent value for the price. Hutong was just the oopposite.
We took the Star Ferry from the dock near the Four Seasons, and walked a few blocks to Peking Road, where Hutong is located on the 28th Floor of an office tower in the TsimShaTsui area of Kowloon.
Hutong appears to be a favorite of expat yuppie business types and it was jam packed when we arrived about 7:30pm. We were seated at a window table, which I had requested at the time of booking. (The restaurant can be booked online on their site, where you immediately get an idea of what to expect at the actual restaurant; the “experience is stressed almost as much as the food)
The restaurant is atmospheric and there is a buzz and bustle about the place of a type you might expect to find in a trendy place in NYC’s Meatpacking district, for example). The food is excellent, if overpriced.
http://www.aqua.com.hk/ - /eng/global/hongKong/hutong/concept
This was our dinner; while eating we had an excellent view of the fireworks over the harbor; for this, be sure to request a window table:
Golden Eggplant Stuffed with Minced Prawn (appetizer—128 HKD)
Squid with Golden Scallions (188 HKD)
Crispy Deboned Lamb Ribs (268 HKD). A knockout!
Stir-Fried “jade green” Bamboo Shoots (108 HKD)
Julienned Tofu with Yunnan Ham (118)
With 1 beer, 1 cocktail of vodka and peach juice, and 2 lime sodas, the total was 1400 HKD, or about $60US per person. Very good food; trendy, youthful ambience; beautiful décor. I doubt, however, if I will return.
Dec 19th, 2010, 04:33 PM
#247
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Eks, L.A. indeed has great Chinese restaurants (some say better than HK) but they are way over on the other side of town from us where all the Chinese live. Sadly, we rarely venture there.
I liked the lamb ribs at Hutong too, but wasn't impressed with the other dishes. Just so-so at inflated prices, as you suggest. For me, food trumps all. Ambiance is overrated.
I liked the lamb ribs at Hutong too, but wasn't impressed with the other dishes. Just so-so at inflated prices, as you suggest. For me, food trumps all. Ambiance is overrated.
Jan 17th, 2011, 06:30 AM
#248
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Eks, I'm so excited. Husband and I have just decided to do a river cruise from Beijing to Shanghai with time in the two cities before and after the cruise. So I come for my first visit to the Fodors Asia forum and who should I find but you extolling the virtues of food in both cities. My planning work is done already. We'll just follow in your footsteps and then hope we can still fit in the airplane seats for our trip home. I'm so hungry just reading your posts (this one and from the 2007 trip) and I haven't even shown them to Val yet. With his love of Chinese food, and duck especially, he'll be tripping out. Thanks so much for all your hard work planning, traveling and writing about your trips. We'll hang on every word and make note of every dish.
Jan 18th, 2011, 02:36 AM
#249
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Julie I am delighted for you both! I can almost guarantee that the two of you will have a blast in those two cities...I know for certain that you will eat exceptionally well. I am available at all times for discussion! When is the trip? Where did you decide to stay in the two cities, or did you not decide on the hotels yet?
Jan 19th, 2011, 04:25 AM
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Thanks eks. We will be in China from Sept. 28 to Oct. 17. I booked 4 nights before our tour/cruise in Beijing and 4 after in Shanghai. I wanted to stay where you had, definitely looked like superior locations and great hotels but let Val's interest in not switching hotels if we didn't absolutely have to and the good rates offered by our tour company and the ones I found on line influence me into staying put at the tour company hotels--Ritz Carleton Financial Street in Beijing and Westin Bund Center in Shanghai. We're definitely taking your advice and having our hotel shuttle pick us up at the airport. I'll be reading and rereading your reports as we get closer to our dates. Meantime I have returns to Barcelona, Paris and the Dordogne/Auvergne to plan for March, April, and June respectively. Where to next for you?
Feb 15th, 2011, 09:55 AM
#251
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Julie: I just noticed that you had responded and that you will be in Barcelona in March.
I will be there the first week of the month....any chance that your time coincides?
Let me know if you see this, and if you expect to be on the forums in the next few days.
If so, I will begin a thread about eating in Barcelona so we can share notes and I can hear your esteemed opinion! (first night dinner, Sunday, booked at PacoMerlago.)
I will be there the first week of the month....any chance that your time coincides?
Let me know if you see this, and if you expect to be on the forums in the next few days.
If so, I will begin a thread about eating in Barcelona so we can share notes and I can hear your esteemed opinion! (first night dinner, Sunday, booked at PacoMerlago.)
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