TIMEOUT HONG KONG— SUGGESTIONS FOR FIRST-TIME VISITORS

There are several things that you must do in Hong Kong, even if you have very little time:

1. Have lunch or dinner at the Old Peak Café, now known as the Peak Lookout. You can take a taxi all the way there, or you can take the Peak Tram from Garden Road, near Central. The café/restaurant is housed in a 19th century building designated as a landmark, and has an open terrace overlooking Aberdeen. The food is a journey in colonial nostalgia—the Chinese food is good, but I’ve had some excellent Indian tandoori chicken and Malay-style dishes there. Nearby is the Peak Observation Deck, from which you can get a panoramic view of the city—don’t miss that! 

2. Have drinks at the Intercontinental Hotel bar by the harbor. The hotel is in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon. The bar is fronted with glass from floor to ceiling, so get a table as close to the harbor view as possible. Both the sunset and nighttime views (when the lights are switched on) are truly memorable.  

3. Have afternoon tea in the grand, colonnaded lobby of the Peninsula Hotel. The tea includes salmon and cucumber sandwiches, scones, pastries, and of course, a wide selection of teas—do you prefer Darjeeling or Earl Grey? The hotel is on Salisbury Road in Kowloon, not far from the Intercontinental. Long viewed as a potent symbol of British power, it was used by the Japanese as their army headquarters during the Occupation. 

4. Dine or lunch at Yung Kee Cantonese Restaurant, 32-40 Wellington St., Central. Established in 1942, it is most famous for its delicious roast goose (though its roast duck and barbecued pork are equally good). It also serves excellent dim sum. In 1968, it was named by Fortune magazine as one of the Top Fifteen Restaurants in the World, the only Chinese restaurant on the list. Reservations recommended—it is particularly busy at lunchtime. 

5. Take the Star Ferry across the harbor. While Hong Kong and Kowloon are linked by a tunnel and well served by both highway and subway, it would be worth taking the Star Ferry across at least once, and enjoy the sea breezes and unobstructed view from the open First Class section.  

Sampling various regional Chinese cuisines 

There is a very good chain of “Garden” restaurants on both Hong Kong and Kowloon side that offer food representing the main regional cuisines of China. The following are a few examples: 

Jade Garden: 4/F, Star House, 3 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon. Tel. 2730 6888. Cantonese food is served here.

Peking Garden: Shop B1, Alexandra House, 16-20 Chater Rd, Central, Hong Kong. One of its selling points is a demonstration by the chef of traditional noodle-making techniques. Tel. 2526 6456

Sichuan Garden: 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. (in Pacific Place mall) Tel. 2845 8433

Shanghai Garden: Hutchison House (G/F-1/F), Central, Hong Kong. 

There are also informal eateries like Lin Heung Tea House for dim sum at 160-164 Wellington St., Central or Din Tai Fung for Shanghai juicy pork buns (xiaolongbao) and other Shanghai specialties, located at 68 Yee Wo St., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. 

Areas like Tsimshatsui, Causeway Bay and Happy Valley have a variety of restaurants (Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, European) if you’d like to wander around and explore possibilities by yourselves. At the airport, or at the Star Ferry, you can pick up tourist brochures for information. 

Lan Kwai Fong is a small area between Central and the Mid-Levels defined by D’Aguilar Street and the smaller lane, Lan Kwai Fong, an L-shaped cobble-stoned lane. Its eating and drinking establishments are frequented by both locals and tourists. Very likely, Irish pubs are to be found amongst them! 

Cultures Amenities 

Hong Kong Museum of Art: located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, its collection includes Chinese paintings and calligraphy, art objects as well as creations by local artists. It also presents a great variety of thematic exhibitions drawn from overseas sources. Tel: 2721 0116. 

The Museum of Tea Ware: this is a branch of the HK Museum of Art specializing in the collection and display of tea ware—it is housed in an old colonial building called Flagstaff House at 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Central. Tel. 2869 0690 

Shopping 

You should go to Shanghai Tang’s new 3-storey flagship store (it has branches in many cities in the world, including NYC) on Duddell St. I’ve never been there, but the store is said to be architecturally and aesthetically interesting. The Shanghai Tang Mansion, 1 Duddell St., Central. 2525 7333. 

Chinese Arts and Crafts: this store has a huge variety of China-made clothing and other products. It’s less expensive and less flamboyantly chic than Shanghai Tang, but my family and I have been able to find good quality clothing there, often inspired by regional artistic traditions. There are 3 branches, one of which is at Ist fl, Star House, 3 Salisbury Road.  

October  2012 

Jeffrey Tao

Copyright by Jeffrey Tao