Suggestions for Hong Kong
 

I'm taking a friend to Hong Kong in April. She's never been there before (but has been to many other places in Asia) and it's been years since I was last in Hong Kong.

I'm looking for suggestions for favorite things to do in Hong Kong and favorite restaurants. We're interested in visiting Buddhist temples, seeing little bits of "old" Hong Kong, interesting markets (crafts), and the lovely quiet islands. For restaurants, I'm especially interested in some suggestions for a couple of exquisite lunches. I've read the reviews the the latest Fodors Hong Kong, but would be interested in personal recommendations.

Many thanks for your suggestions!

Kathie,

HK is full of neat things to do - the tourist things are pretty self evident. I realize its blasphemy, but the walking tours in Frommers HK are excellent and I would suggest doing Kowloon and the Western District. Central district is okay during the day, but not great at night as things are closed. Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street) has tons of shops ranging from curios and antiques to down right junk.

Restaurants are plentiful and suggestions would really depend on how adventuresome a diner you are as well as on your budget. Remember that there are a lot of "local" restaurants on the basement level.

Not sure when in April you are going, but be aware that are a couple of large trade fairs in April that drive the hotel rates up during the weeks that the trade fairs run. If you have flexibility in your schedule youll do better on your hotel rates.

Even where you stay really impacts your experience so consider the amount of activity in the area when you chose your hotel.

Dont forget to check out www.discoverhongkong.com for special offers and other information

Thanks for your comments. I already have plane and hotel reservations. I always stay on the Kowloon side.

I'm looking for suggestions for a few upper-range restaurants for really special lunches.

I do know many of the usual "tourist activities" and would be interested in any "special" things that others on this board like.

We're also visiting Hong Kong in April - we've got a 2 night stopover on our way back from Australia. I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't started doing too much 'research' yet, but I'll be checking this forum for good ideas in the next couple of months.

Buy yourself a copy of the Luxe Hong Kong guide. You can order it on the net from www.luxecityguides.com. I bought Bangkok and Bali pre my trips and have never stopped blessing their suggestions. Great for upmarket restaurants, spas, hotels and SHOPPING!

Here would be my choices for upscale lunch or dinner, some with views and great food, some with just great food. All have menus in English.

1. Felix
Continental/fusion, fantastic views, Stark design
The Peninsula Hotel
Salisbury Road, Kowloon
(852) 2366-6251

2. Vong
eclectic fusion, great views
Mandarin Hotel
5 Connaught Road, Central
2825-4028

3. Yu
Chinese seafood with great view,
Intercontinental Hotel
18 Salisbury Road
Kowloon
Ph: (852) 2721-1211

4. M at the Fringe
Fusion Asian/Continental with a twist of nouvelle. artsy ambience. No views. In an interesting area of Central
First floor, South Block, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Tel: 2877 4000. Fax: 2877 0135
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.m-atthefringe.com

5. Talk of the Town (TTot's Asian Bar & Grill)
Asian fusion, modern, younger crowd, great views, small terrace at the bar
Excelsior Hotel
281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
2837 6786

6. Thai Basil
fusion Thai, sleek modern design, no view, in the Pacific Place shopping center so great for in-between shopping
Shop 5, Lower Ground Floor, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway
Tel: 2537 4682

7. Soho Soho
Modern British cuisine. It is very popular for office lunches. In the Soho area (south of Hollywood Road, in this case uphill from Hollywood Road.) Interesting area of antique shops and other shops.
9 Old Bailey Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2147 2618. Fax: 2522 3387.
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.soho.hkdining.com

8. Aqua
Australian international fusion cuisine. A glassed-in street corner restaurant with views of the lively street life in the Lan Kwai Fong/Hollywood Road area.
49 Hollywood Road, Central
Tel: 2545 9889. Fax: 2542 3999.
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.aqua.com.hk

9. The Verandah
International cuisine. In Repulse Bay with great water views, a nice place to stop either before or after a trip to Stanley. The beach at Repulse Bay is beautiful long and curving and there is a temple at the end which is worth a visit, dedicated to the goddess of the sea.
Repulse Bay Hotel,
109 Repulse Bay Road, Repulse Bay
Tel: 2812 2722.

There are shops in the Repulse Bay shopping center where the Verandah is located, as well as more casual restaurants and a nice interior courtyard where you can sit and eat takeaway from the casual restaurants.

10. Ye Shanghai (Pacific Place and Kowloon)
Shanghainese food. Sleek modern design. Very popular with local tai-tais and local professionals. In the Pacific Place shopping center so great for in-between shopping. Has a sister restaurant in Kowloon.
332 Pacific Place Shopping Mall
Tel: 2918 9833

11. China Club
This is a private club, but depending on your hotel, they may be able to get you a table here. Located in the old Bank of China building. Designed and decorated in 1930's colonial Shanghai style. Food is good. Has a good bar. There is a tiny terrace with good views over the city (no tables have views.)

12 . Café Deco
Asian, continental, stunning views, Peak Galleria, the Peak, ask for window seat upstairs if possible
Not really upscale but views are so great and it is a fun place
Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road
Tel: 2849 5111
Website: www.cafedeco.com

13. The Boathouse
Seafood-focused but offers other dishes. Nice sea views from the upper floors, there are outside terraces. In Stanley so it is great for a rest between frenetic bargain hunting. Not really upscale but again food and ambience are so good and views are lovely.
86?88 Stanley Main Street, Stanley
Tel: 2813 4467.

14. Chilli Club
Thai food, no décor, no views, but fantastic Thai food. Not upscale at all, but great food. Good if shopping in the Wanchai/Causeway Bar areas.
1/F, 88 Lockhart Road, Wanchai
TEL: 2527 2872

Cicerone, many thanks for the restaurant recommendations!

A few more Chinese options (this is Hong Kong, after all--do have one Chinese meal at the very least; the rest you can get elsewhere):

Fifty-year-old Yung Kee, 32-40 Wellington St, Central (2523 1624), which won a 2001 Best of the Best award for prawns with mini-crab roe wrapped in tofu skin, but is better known for its barbecued goose with thick plum sauce. More intriguing are the fried toad legs with pepper and salt. HK$200.

Dim Sum (essential to have this in HK): The City Hall Chinese Restaurant, 2/F Lower Block, City Hall Central (2521 1303) won the judges? attention with its deep-fried crispy chicken with garlic sauce, but is best-known for the Cantonese speciality, dim sum?plump and well-crafted har gao (wrapped prawns), siu mai (pork dumplings) and other standards. HK$100.

Dim Sum, G/F 63 Sing Wo Road produces the Rolls-Royce versions in an interior reminiscent of 30s Shanghai. The leong har gao have not merely shrimp, but lobster inside, and the siu mai include shark?s fin?all delicious. HK$150.

Tung Lok Hin, 2/F Oxford House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay (2250 5022) is a a new type of Chinese with the simple, understated modern interior adopted by many Western restaurants. The menu is of Cantonese classics, far plainer than expected, and not smothered by overly syrupy sauces. An attentive sommelier presides over a startlingly sophisticated wine list. HK$400.

The same simple perfection is brought to a pan-Chinese range of dishes at the Grand Hyatt?s One Harbour Road, (try camphor tea smoked duck) which splendidly recaptures the style of eating on a taipan?s terrace, and also offers an as yet unpublicised chef?s table tucked inside what was his office (2588 1234). HK$600. Splended panoramic views from the restaurant, too.

The Peninsula?s Spring Moon (2315 3160) also lets a few visitors go behind the scenes of its Art Deco stained glass and dark wood interior, recently retrofitted to the style of the hotel?s 1928 opening. The roast pigeon with cinnamon is splendid, best taken with one of a choice of 25 teas in extraordinary teapots. HK$600.

The quiet Moon Garden Tea House, 5 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay (2882 6878) can offer 70 teas, including a number of rare specimens, together with demonstrations and explanations in English. There?s no menu, but those who want to eat lightly during the day can sit amongst elaborate traditional Chinese furniture and sample a variety of northern and southern snacks from whatever?s fresh. HK$200.

Chiu Chow dishes from northeast Guangdong are common in Hong Kong. Tung?s Kitchen, 32-34 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (2191 9928), also likes to cook with tea (try sauteed sliced chicken with water chestnut and Saimao tea leaves). Its classic Chiu Chow dish is soya goose meat slices rub in five spice powder. HK$140. (I've heard this place may no longer be open, so call to check.)

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Peter, Thank you so much. Between you and Cicerone, we have our meals mapped out!

Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is fusion cuisine?

Kathie, if you can get a copy of "Travelers Tales: Hong Kong," there are some pieces that suggest interesting explorations beyond the usual tourist things to do. I can't recommend anything personally as I have not been back to HK since I read the book.

Cicerone and Peter: I am copying all those great suggestions for my next trip, whenever that may be! You've made me huuuuungry!

Thanks to Marilyn and Sameera for the book suggestions.

Elaine, Fusion cuisine is a blending (fusion) of eastern and western influences in cooking. It's very popular all along the Pacific Rim. I live in Seattle and there are a lot of Fusion restaurants here. I ate an an interestion (and delicious) fusion place in Hanoi on my last trip.

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for the "best" Peking Duck in Hong Kong?