Friday, September 19, 2008

Lan Kwai Fong

Ahh the trendiness! So this is where they have been hiding it! You knew it when you saw these people... prim and proper for the most part, but maybe rocking some seriously adorable wedges, or just a hint of some crazy eyeliner, and that's not even talking about the boys! Oh the boys in Hong Kong are sooo fashionable. Chris and I were rather impressed. The attention to detail and the hair. Oh the hair. I'm telling you it was a sight to be seen. I know it isn't fair for me to talk about it and not provide examples, but I was in a foreign country and I did not want to get in a scuffle over taking someone's photograph. Teased, tousled, feathered- these guys were peacocks. It was rather impressive. So anyway, underneath their prim demeanor, I knew they were hiding this fun loving side somewhere close by. The neon lights are super big in HK, but by far the coolest example was the Coach Store on Queens' Road and D'Aguilar. Of course, I didn't find this until Chris and I went there together, so I didn't do any shopping, but it was really fun just to walk around and take it in.

This is where we found the best food- our favorite restaurant was appropriately named California, which apparently vaulted this area to its current status of hip nightlife hangout. I had the "Best Burger" which was a perfect patty, juicy with the normal fixings, but also included a portabello mushroom and garlic mayo. I had to cut it in half just to be able to lift this thing, and as the sign of great food- it was still steaming when I started in on the second half. We shared Thai crab cakes to start, which were so cute. They served them on little chinese soup spoons- you know the kind you get with your wonton soup? It went ginger/wasabi cream at the bottom of the spoon, then this tiny crab cake, topped with ginger, a teeny slice of cucumber (think the size of a dime in diameter), some pickled red cabbage and black and white sesame seeds. It was to die for. Chris had the coolest meal too- pecan and Parmesan crusted pork chops with apple-studded mashed potatoes. The presentation of everything was great, the food was innovative and delicious the service was attentive (for the first time) and we were the only ones eating dinner. Hah! We were like the early bird special people! We were eating at 8:30 at night and you would have thought we were nuts! There were lots of other people in the place, but they were at the bar, not the restaurant... which wasn't much of a division, just a small step up to the 'dining' area, and there were maybe 10 tables in the dining section. But it was okay, we were starving and the food was fantastic. We finished with crepes Suzette filled with bananas, grand marnier, and topped with orange slices and this coconut gelato. Even Chris, who I have never seen eat coconut willingly gave it a try. I think we both had to admit it complimented the dessert. HK is funny though. We wandered down this street because I wanted to have a looksee, and at the Tsui Wah Restaurant (the large pink neon sign) there was stuff hanging in the window that you really didn't need to see. Luckily we had already eaten! We headed to another place the next night that was an italian restaurant. It was also great, but not as cool as California. Then again... few things are.
But Hong Kong is definitely not short on the cool factor, for sure. Just check out the boys.

1 comment:

PG said...

Hi MJ. Thank you for the great descriptions of Honkers. I went once when I was a teenager, and I never managed to explore as much of it as you did. Your entries about your trip allowed me to take a vacation vicariously. Thank you.