Spontanei-tea: Hong Kong and Macau

#lifewelltravelled. Also #yolo

Last time I was in Hong Kong I was attending a wedding and staying in what has always been my favourite five-star property (hint: it’s right outside Exit P of the East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station); so it was nice to be back with a couple of my friends from the sandbox.

A week prior to flying out Hong Kong hadn’t even been an idea. All it took was a casual conversation and before I knew it I had Cathay tickets and a booking in my favourite hotel.

Reckless behavior? (I can hear Zayn singing in my head.) Slightly.

Took no time to reacquaint myself with this city, and while I did spend a sweltering afternoon milling with the hordes of suitcase- and selfie stick-toting tourists in and out of the glittering edifices along Canton Road, this was not a retail excursion.

My absolute favourite haven in all of Hong Kong

It was a food trip. When you are with F&B types it is never going to be anything but a food trip.

So we ate and drank our way through the weekend, starting with gorgeous, gorgeous xiao long bao in Din Tai Fung at the Silvercord and drinks at Three on Canton. Mojitos : not so great, but I did make the acquaintance of a Kronenbourg 1664 and promptly fell in love.

Then we hit Lan Kwai Fong for beers and football – Switzerland were playing Poland at the Euro 2016 and of course we were bound to cheer for les Suisses out of loyalty to our host but they lost on penalties – and eventually ended up at the Hard Rock Café, where the lychee mojito made up for the earlier lackluster ones.

Next day found us at the Alma Portuguese Grill in Harbour City. Its menu passed muster with the chef from Algarve, so over bacalhau and octopus salad I was treated to an enthusiastic discourse on Portuguese history, continued over Kronenbourgs at Three on Canton (again).

Not the Yabby cataplana that I’ve been hearing so much about, but this will do for the evening.

The day after that we were at the Shang Palace, a red-and-gold imperial wonder worth both its Michelin stars. We ordered one each of the three set menus and split everything (a proper degustation à trois!) The company and conversation merited five stars, naturally.

Sweated off all the calories on a quick-paced walk to the Star Ferry, and an even longer walk to the Macau-bound Turbo Jet terminal. When in Hong Kong, perambulate as the locals do.

Indulged in a bit of sightseeing before dinner at A Lorcha, a small nondescript place where reservations are a very good idea. We’d booked a table for 6.30, showed up at 6.15 when it was still closed so went around the block for souvenirs; when we returned at 6.35 the restaurant was already in full swing.

Pro tip # 2: Always leave the orders to the F&B boys, especially if one of them is a local and the other is Portuguese. 🙂 So we had sangria, bacalhau, mussels and other lovely things.

Codfish and sardines

It was a wonderfully fortifying meal that got us through a preliminary round of gaming at The Venetian before we stopped for beers with the executive sous chef of the Four Seasons.

Then it was back to (losing money in) the casinos. Half past midnight and we were still in… City of Dreams, I think, and I was getting a little anxious because I had a morning flight to catch. From Hong Kong.

The boys joked about missing my flight and maybe coming back with them to the sandbox – it is a pleasant thought and one I happily entertain for all of five minutes before my reasonable side asserted itself. (Too bad.)

I could end right here, but of course it isn’t how the story ends. It ends with us catching the 1 AM ferry trip and me making my flight, it ends with rolls, lots of them –  egg rolls and Phoenix rolls and those delightful rolls with seaweed and pork floss, and it ends with a box of five-star chocolate – certainly the sweetest and most surprising memento from a  surprise trip that was all too short and yes, all too sweet.

Thank you for making this happen. ❤