CONTINUED…
Before traveling their, I never thought of Hong Kong as a foodie town like any other you might
find in the U.S. After traveling there and seeing all the options they offered, my viewpoint was changed. I had the best Spanish tapas I have ever had in my life while
in Hong Kong and I have been craving it ever since. I cant get it out of my
head, and it has implanted an idea in my head to travel to Spain as soon as
possible. The best part about the experience was that we were not even planning
to eat at Plaza Mayor the day that we had such an incredible meal. One of my
girlfriend's parent's friends from when they lived in Hong Kong still resides
there. He opened up this Spanish Tapas restaurant and has expanded into the
wine and import business. His business is thriving and after one meal there I
can see why. We were simply going to stop by, but the owner ushered us inside,
made us sit down, brought out the wine, and ordered all kinds of Spanish
deliciousness for us to share. He ordered Iberico ham, I mean real iberico ham,
was aged so beautifully and so full of flavor; Croquetas, fried balls of cream
cheese and ham, creamy bites of heaven; Patatas bravas crispy potatoes with a
slightly spicy tomato sauce on top; chorizo al vino possibly the most delicious
dish I have ever eat in my life, perfectly rendered down chorizo, smoky, salty,
delicious, and sitting in a bath of its own rendered fat and wine; gambas al
ajillo, shrimp cooked in oil and garlic (I think I ate every piece of garlic in
the dish because it was do incredibly phenomenal); albondigas, the owner's mother's recipe; and
a tortilla Espanola, layers of egg and potatoes served in a cast iron skillet
that gets cut like a pie and served in pie slices. I had wines in this
restaurant that were so good that I could taste the wood of the barrel that it
was aged in. I was blown away and don’t think I'm exaggerating, but if you ever
go to Hong Kong you CAN NOT miss this restaurant.
I found out some great news while I was
in Hong Kong, I had finally finished my CPA exam. My girlfriend and I were on
our own for dinner that night anyway, so we decided to try to get to one of the
big name restaurants we had heard about in Hong Kong to celebrate.
Unfortunately the place we really wanted to go had no availability, but there
were plenty of restaurants that were ranked in the top 100 in the world in the
previous 3 years to choose from. The place that we decided on was called
Cepage, a French restaurant in Wan Chai. We got to dine like royalty yet again,
ordering the tasting menu of 5 courses. We started with a delicious seared
scallop with a touch of teriyaki sauce. Next up was a foie gras terrine served
with a crunchy baguette. After that was a delicious little bowl of onion soup
au gratin. I chose the slow roasted beef cheek for my main course. I thought
cheek, this is going to be small, not realizing it was cheek of a cow, and it
was huge. It was definitely one of the most tender pieces of beef I have had in
my life. I mean wow. For dessert we asked for them to substitute the soufflé
for the regular dessert served with the set menu. My first soufflé experience
was a mixed bag. Mine tasted a bit eggy, which I was told by my girlfriend that
it shouldn’t. Her chocolate soufflé was divine! It was a pricey meal, but
incredibly worth it and a wonderful way to celebrate not having to worry about
the CPA exam anymore!
We talked to the concierge at the hotel
about finding a real authentic dim sum place to have breakfast at one day. She
recommend a place called A very Good Seafood Restaurant. I know, definitely not
the most original name for a restaurant ever, but from the way she described it
to us, it was exactly what we were looking for. When we walked in, we were the
only foreigners there, and none of the waitresses could communicate with us. We
had to order by pointing at pictures on the menu, which I love. We ordered
custard buns, spring rolls, taro puffs, pork buns, and shrimp dumplings. The
custard buns and taro puffs were new to me, but very, very delicious. The
custard buns oozed sweet, creamy custard when they were bitten into. I don’t
even know how to describe the taste and texture other than to say it was like
liquid ice cream and a waffle mixed together.
The last experience that I want to talk
about that I had while in Hong Kong came when we met up with one of my
girlfriend's friends and her boyfriend when they came down from Shenzen, a
province in China to meet us and hang out. We went to a place called Nomads, a Mongolian
BBQ restaurant located in a part of Hong Kong called Tsim Sha Tsui. I had never
experienced Mongolian BBQ before, and unfortunately for me, I was so packed
full from lunch still, that I could not enjoy it to its fullest extent.
However, the concept is this. It starts with a buffet full of raw ingredients
and sauces. Seems weird, but you take your bowl, fill it up with all the
ingredients that you want. You choose your meats, your noodles, your veggies,
and your sauces, and you pile everything up in your bowl. Then you walk up to
the window and hand it to the cooks. They cook it, and then bring it to your
table. Such a cool concept and absolutely delicious! Fresh and flavorful ingredients
combine to form one of the most delicious forms of food I have ever had. I
would love to bring that restaurant concept to my home town. I think it would
do so incredibly well.
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