Yum

Le Moment
55 Peel street, Soho Cental
3488 0733
Fantastic wine bar that also offers carefully chosen teas
and coffe. Owner Bobi Wong explained to me that the wines served here
cannot be found elsewhere in Hong Kong. Instead of peanuts they serve cheese with
wine. Helpful and enthusiastic staff of three. Proud of what they do
and serving the best in hard to find drinks. Nothing commercial. They serve
food as well: cheese plates, meat plates, and some seafood selections.

Drank Chateau Ollieux Romania: 2007 Corbieres. Perfection! Served a
bit chilled with 6 month aged Gruyere cheese. Paid for two glasses and
had a third on the house!


The best part of the night happened later, however, when the owner took me on a personal late night eating tour in the Temple Street area of my neighborhood, Tsim Sha Tsui. There is no better way of finding the best places to eat and drink than with an insider!

We hit up two different small Chinese restaurants. Dingy, no English, packed with hungry locals. At the first place Bobi ordered me a beef tendon, fish skin dumpling and noodle soup. SO GOOD. I was surprized with myself for loving it. Beef tendon is certainly something I would not order on my own.  After we finished we crossed the street and entered a restaurant similar to the first and ate shrimp wontons. Bobi advised me not to drink the broth they were served in because most places like that load their soup broths with MSG. However, Bobi told me, in case I ever happen to consume a lot of MSG I should drink milk. Apparently the milk combats the salt and prevents the body from absorbing it. Fair enough. After the wontons we drank herbal tea at a tea stand. The woman selling the tea asked us how we felt at the moment and told us to chose our teas according to that. Since I felt super full I asked for something cleansing. The vendor apparently thought I made a great choice and told Bobi she could sense a calmness within me... Finally, we ended up at a dim sum stand. I managed to gobble down some quail egg dumplings despite feeling over-stuffed. So worth it.

Think About This...

Read this the other day and I can't seem to get it out of my head:

"...Each man's destiny is as large as the world he inhabits and contains within it all opposites as well."
~Cormac McCarthy


On a lighter note: I've found Chamucos tequila in Hong Kong!!!

Fire Dragon!

So. Much. Incense.  Also, a gigantic crowd. The parade's energy was intense and exciting. I don't know how I found my way to the front.

According to legend, the fire dragon parade commemorates a dragon of the past, which fought off a deadly plague that nearly wiped out the entire population of a village near current day Hong Kong. The parade is unique to Hong Kong.

Sorry about the blurriness in my photos. Its my camera. I swear.

See that man? He was doling out incense to the people carrying the 67-meter-long dragon.

Parade participant couldn't handle the smoke.

Apartment windows above the parade.

The Fire dragon. All those lights are sticks of incense. It smelled sooooo good.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival

I hit Victoria Park in Causeway Bay last night for the Mid-Autumn Lantern carnival. So pretty. The whole area was lit up in orange light. Local artists constructed big paper lanterns for the event, which were displayed throughout the carnival area. Families large and small were camped out on the grassy area behind the carnival grounds eating moon cakes and fruit and lighting candles. Each group's designated area was marked off by candles and/or glow sticks.

One major bummer: Neither lanterns nor moon cakes were on sale. I was planning on filling up on the little lotus-filled treats and buying lanterns for everyone i know. What the hell is that? In America lord knows vendors would have made up half the carnival crowd. They also didn't sell beer or food inside the carnival. I guess I will plan better next time...

Off to the Fire Dragon street parade tonight!

Greetings From Hong Hong

Hi, everyone and welcome! I've started this blog in hopes of relaying my experiences as a newcomer to Hong Kong (and Asia for that matter) to all of you who cannot be here with me and to those of you who seek to travel to new and different places. As an amateur explorer I am in this for the love of discovering new things, and little else.

Moving to this fast-paced and chaotic city from Massachusetts by way of New York city has provided my system with quite a jolt. Hong Kong sure ain't home. Nevertheless, its exciting here and I'm learning everyday. Stay tuned for more!

For now, some pictures:

Look! Chinese lanterns. These will be hung all over the city during the upcoming mid-autumn festival.

Also: A view of Hong Kong from the top of Victoria Peak.