Hong Kong was the type of city I was supposed to hate: a city of traffic, pollution, crowded sidewalks, with little to no nature.
But I didn’t hate it. I actually really like Hong Kong. Standing outside in the street breathing in the city’s heavy humidity, with the air conditioning units dripping down, and the people hurrying down the sidewalk and chattering in harsh Cantonese, I found the energy intoxicating.
While Hong Kong is a city I doubt I handle long-term, I loved the four days I spent there.
From the $3 beef brisket noodles…
To the $5 manicures…
To the beautiful views…
And really, just the differentness of the city. Hong Kong was so starkly different from anywhere I’d been before.
And as this was a weekend of firsts, it was the weekend of my first xie long bao, or Shanghainese soup dumpling. The way you are meant to eat xie long bao is by biting the skin to release the steam from inside, and then sucking the broth out of the dumplings.
YUM. I heart dumplings.
An on my final morning in Hong Kong, I finally indulged my biggest Hong Kong craving- dim sum. After much deliberation and being advised by several locals, I headed to Tim Ho Wan, called ‘world’s cheapest Michelin star restaurant’.
And though there were no food carts (what?) and it was located within a shopping mall (double what), it was definitely the real deal.
We started out with turnip cakes and then ordered about half the menu. When in HK, right?
The slimy-textured turnip cakes that I first found unappealing but strangely grew on me.
Shumai, pork and shrimp dumplings.
But nothing came close in deliciousness level to char siu bao, or barbecue pork buns. They were sweet and crispy on the outside, and savory and meaty on the inside. If they weren’t so rich I would’ve ordered a second one. Or third.
Crack.
Not my favorite. The slimy rice wrappers kind of reminded me of grubworms.
A deliciously tender beef dish I can’t remember the name of.
Have you ever been to Hong Kong? What did you think of it?
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I had precisely the same feeling when I went to Hong Kong. I LOVED it, and as I haven’t seen all that much of Asia to date, I loved its differentness.
Those dim sum dumplings are my fave. x
Aren’t they the best? And yes, I loved it as well- I’m glad I got to make a stop there on my journey!
THAT is such an accurate description! Its incredible how Hong Kong lured me in when I went there. Though my focus wasn’t indulging in the food, I loved the atmosphere. Victoria harbour was one of the places I simply felt relaxed at, despite e large crowd. Hopefully you didnt miss that!
Ah shoot, I didn’t make it there! Next time I guess :)
I haven’t been to HK but I’m hoping to make it there in the Easter holidays as my friend is teaching English there – heard so many interesting things about the city!
That’s great, I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time! I wish I would’ve explored a bit more but I wasn’t feeling so great due to the jetlag and a cold I had at the time. Next time though!
Lou says that he was there in 1946–you can imagine. They were still taking
Japanese air plane pieces out of the rooftops. there were sunken ships all over the harbor. Hundreds of families were living in junks in the bay.
Not so when I was there in the 80s–beautiful dinner with rose in the middle of the lady’s plates in a high building, restaurant on top.
Lou also said that during his sailor days he was at the St. Francis Hotel, Dec. ’46, and sang the “Hong Kong Blues,” accompanied by a Chinese band who
didn’t know what he was singing, and he didn’t know what they were playing,
but they got a hand anyway!
Wow what an experience- I would love to see his photos of Hong Kong in 1946. You and Papa always have the best travel stories, Gamma!
We just came back from Hong Kong where we had a nice dim sum with Audrey of That Backpacker and Sam of Nomadic Samuel. We ordered some shrimp and beef dumplings, streamed buns and sausage rolls. So yummy!
Oh that’s great, I got to meet Audrey in Macau and she was so lovely. Would love to meet you two as well!
I love finding awesome food in seemingly random/sketchy locations, and that dim sum looks incredible (minus the grubworms :)
I love big cities, so I suppose it’s not surprise that I took to Hong Kong like a fish to water! It’s like the biggest, bestest Chinatown, and the food! We stayed 9 days and had not one bad meal during our time there.
I think there must be multiple Tim Ho Wan locations because the one we went to definitely wasn’t in a mall, but did feature an hour+ wait! Everything we had there was scrumptious, but you’re right that the char siu bao are unbeatable!
These dumplings look mouthwatering! I want to have one right now! ;) I think I would have ordered half the menu as well and not felt bad about it in the least. After all, how often will you have this opportunity? ;)
xx
That’s exactly what I told myself, haha ;)
I am just living vicariously through you right now – Dim Sum in Hong Kong is my dream and my new bff here is from there and she talks about some of the craziest stuff. You are right, there sheer differences make it so lovable!
You’ll definitely get there girl! Hope you’re enjoying the last of Germany’s summer! :)
Oh my gosh, dumplings!! SO DELICIOUS! I love dim sum, my dad and I used to go every other Saturday. Would love to try it in HK though!
I’ve heard great things about the Chinese food in Vancouver, sounds delish! :)
Just back from one month in Hk. My third or fourth visit. Love HK, city of contrasts.
A month in HK would be amazing… I’d eat so many dumplings! :)
Tim Ho Wan! I’ve been staying in Mong Kok which is close to the restaurant, so I eat there almost daily!
Ah jealous! I would totally go back :)
Oh my, soup dumplings and dim sum are some of my favorite foods. I had them both in Taiwan, but I never made it to Hong Kong sadly :/
Next time! :)
I’m sure you’ll be back! And you’ll love Hong Kong without a doubt :)
if i dont go there for any other reason…ill go for the food! <3 (btw…i can finally comment on blogs again so im back in the game and will probably have a lot coming your way over the next few weeks!)
The food is definitely a huge, huge reason to go! :) And glad to have you back!
I was also surprised that by how tall the buildings are and yet how small the space is, it still wasn’t overwhelmingly crowded. It was actually quite nice with a beautiful view up on the peak. =)
Ah I wish I would’ve seen the views! Ah well, next time :)
I haven’t been to Hong Kong but I get similar feelings when I venture into Seoul. The atmosphere is both chaotic and peaceful at the same time. A great mix.
Like you, I can’t see myself in living such an environment for the long-term but it’s always nice to visit. I hope to see Hong Kong soon. The food looks great!
I would definitely love to visit Seoul… from how you describe it it sounds really cool!
Ashley, the deliciously tender beef dish you mentioned is actually steam pork spare ribs aka – paai gwat = spare ribs. The slimy rice wrappers is steamed beef wrapped in rice noodle (next time, please order it in shrimp – taste better & add soy sauce). Also, skip the shumai and order the har gow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum You know what, HK is even more amazing if you have $$$. Check out JohnnyJet.com’s blog on his trip to HK a few years back. I so wished you experienced The Peninsula Hong Kong. The Peninsula is worth staying at least once in a lifetime. Last but not least, did you enjoyed the nighttime harbor light show?
Wow thanks so much for all this info! I will definitely try har gow next time :). And I stayed at the Peninsula in Chicago and it was an absolute treat- if only I could afford it on my own dime! And I actually didn’t make it to the nighttime harbor light show due to terrible jetlag. Ugh!