Golfing Through China: Hong Kong Part One

I arrived in the Hong Kong airport yesterday after a bit of a delay out of Shanghai. I initially was going to take a cab to my hotel, but the airport train is too convenient to pass up. It's literally 50 feet away from the exit of the airport, and costs about 1/4 of the price of a cab, so I took the train. I went to a British pub, The Pawn, for dinner. The restaurant is comprised of four converted Hong Kong apartments, and is tucked away on Johnston Street. The entryway is about four feet wide, and I initially walked right past it without noticing it. I had some really good beer, fish and chips and smoked salmon, and walked around Hong Kong Island a bit before going to bed.

Today I started by taking the double-decker trolley to Stanley Market, which is beyond Repulse Bay, way over on one side of the island. It wasn't a great market - a bit too touristy, hard to bargain, and all of the goods you can get in Beijing for half the price. However, it's right on the ocean so it's a pretty part of the island. I then went to the observation deck on the 43rd floor of the Bank of China building, then the HSBC building, and finally walked to Hong Kong Park. I really liked Hong Kong Park - it reminded me of Central Park (a lot smaller, but an oasis in the middle of a huge city). There were nice little artificial lakes, waterfalls, walking trails and even an aviary. I boarded the famous tram right by Hong Kong Park and took it to the top of Victoria Peak for great views of the city. I went to the peak last year with my study abroad group, but we went on a really hazy day, but I wanted to go back on a clear day. The weather was beautiful and from the top I could see pretty much all of the settlement on the islands.

I went to the Four Seasons for dinner, and ate at Lung King Heen, the only Chinese restaurant in the world with three Michelin Stars. The dining room overlooks the harbor and has great views, but the food was even better. I started with crispy Taro dumplings stuffed with mushrooms and mayonnaise and three different chili dipping sauces. The dumplings were my favorite part of the meal and one of the best things I've eaten that I can remember. I then had pan-fried grouper in a soy sauce, roasted Chilean sea bass with a sweet soy sauce, fried rice with vegetables and finished with their chilled mango and sago cream with pomelo. The table next to me ordered the Peking duck, which was carved right by their table and was quite the site. I never thought I would say this about Chinese food but I would stack that meal up against any other I've had, whether it be Italian, French or any other cuisine. From there I walked to Savva, a bar atop the Prince building with great views of the Harbor and Hong Kong Island.

The lounge area of The Pawn - mismatched chairs, broken in couches

Stanley Market

My favorite part of Stanley Market - Obama in a Mao suit

A side view of the HSBC building - designed by Norman Foster, when it was built in 1985 it was the most expensive building in the world, at $1 billion