Tuesday & Wednesday 8/9 August 2023

Sometimes we are a little competitive in my family. Dave started counting the countries he has visited quite a few years ago, and the kids and I have since followed suit. Dave topped the 100-mark earlier this year, Will comes in 2nd at 54, and I’m bringing up a close third at 52.

Not satisfied with just stopping over in Hong Kong on our way to the UK, we couldn’t resist the temptation to pop into China while we were close by. We have been to China before, but still thought it would be fun, and so caught the train to Lo Wu, which is on the border, about an hour on the train from central Hong Kong.

Shenzen short term visas are available on arrival, which involved having photos taken in a photo booth; completing some paperwork; paying RMB 248 (A$40), and waiting until the visa was approved and attached to a free page in our passports. The full process took about an hour and a half, which was then about as long as we spent in Shenzen, a large Chinese city (17.56 million in 2020) just inside the border. We popped into a bank and withdrew some cash, wandered around a small market, found a place for some lunch, then walked back to the border crossing.

Lunch was fabulous, I enjoyed a bowl of thin rice noodles in a tasty clear broth, served with slices of duck and goose; and a plate of green vegetables, sauteed with a generous amount of garlic! Dave was very happy with his bowl of hot chips. Total bill = less than $A10

The train ride back was simple, and after a short rest we glammed ourselves up a little and took an Uber to the Icon Hotel, where we had booked dinner at the Michelin-recommended Cantonese fine diner “Above and Beyond’.

Dinner was incredible, as was the view, with the highlight for me their signature Wok-fried Lobster with Egg White and Black Truffles. The dish was amazing, so much so I am struggling to find the words to describe it, except to say if I had to have it every meal for the rest of my life, I would not complain!

After dinner, we headed back towards the hotel, stopping in at the neighbouring Peninsula Hotel for dessert and tea. I’m not sure the surroundings justify the nearly $100 price (pot of tea each and shared a dessert of creme brulee), but it is such beautiful surroundings within the super-luxury, nearly 100-year-old hotel, oozing old world charm. Movie fans will recall the 1955 Clark Gable and Susan Hayward film, Soldier of Fortune, and the 1974 James Bond epic, Man with the Golden Gun, both had scenes filmed in the Peninsula Hotel.

Day 2 in Hong Kong involved food, and more food!

We started the day by checking out of the hotel and leaving our bags at reception, then wandering the close-by streets to find something for breakfast. Not a lot was open, but we did manage to find a small chain restaurant, that was cheap and crowded. Dave ate scrambled eggs and ham, I had a bowl of macaroni in broth, with shaved chicken and ham. Nothing too flash, but I did like their motto in large letters on the wall of: “To eat is human, to eat well is divine”.

I also tried a ‘pineapple bun’, which was probably a mistake, because we had a big day of eating planned, but it was super delicious, warm and fresh from the oven.

Already feeling full, we thought walking would be a good idea to try to build an appetite for our Hong Kong Secret Food Tour, which began at 11am. The meeting place was at Tin Hau station, on Hong Kong Island. We walked to the Star Ferry Terminal where we caught the 1959-built wooden ferry, “Northern Star”, across the harbour, then walked for about 15-20 minutes to the tramway, where we boarded a tram to Tin Hau. The tram was slow going and there was track work, which meant the tram stopped about 1km shy of our destination. Not only did we build an appetite on that walk/run, but also a hot sweat!

As I have talked about in previous blog posts, I do love a food tour. It’s a great way to really understand the culture of an area, meet like-minded people, and eat some great food!

We joined with a family of four from Singapore, and our guide, and headed to stop number 1, the most famous and highly rated noodle soup restaurant in Hong Kong. We tried beef brisket noodles and learned about how the broth and noodles are made, and even got to meet the long-time owner of this little, but extremely busy place, who had been at the restaurant every single day over the last 40+ years… now that’s commitment! .

We next visited a fruit shop and tasted a couple of unusual fruits; a wet market (complete with live chickens); tasted crisp skinned roast goose and duck at a place that even had its own poultry farm (the goose was oh so delicious); a dim sum restaurant with tastings of another half dozen specialties; then finished with Hong-Kong style iced tea and another pineapple bun in an alleyway that I would never find again! Three hours of fabulous eating, great company and lots of stories and learning about the backstreets of Hong Kong and its culinary culture!

It was then time to leave Hong Kong, and head to our main destination – the UK. After showering at the hotel gym, we took an Uber to the airport for our flights to London. Dave travelled directly, and I went via Mumbai, but did not stop there long enough to go through immigration, so adding India to my list of countries will have to wait for another day!