Thursday, October 3, 2013

Dining Experiences in Hong Kong Part II...



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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.

The food experiences that I had in Hong Kong were borderline insane. It was out of control, but definitely in a good way. I love my trip to Hong Kong, and I could totatlly see myself living there some day. Anyone that loves food would love Hong Kong simply for the food alone, but there is so much to see and do it’s a great place for everyone to visit. If you ever go, take notes from this post and check some of these places and things out! Cheers!

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
I am a food lover living in Philadelphia.

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