HK Family Time

While reading this blog is a good way to stay on top of Nicole and Jesse's adventures in Asia, by far the best way is to actually come over here and experience life in Hong Kong with them.  That's just what Jesse's mother Doreen and step-dad John did a couple weeks ago by making their first trip to Asia to spend 8 glorious days exploring Hong Kong.

Doreen and John at Victoria Peak

Jesse and Nicole were absolutely delighted they decided to come over for a few reasons.  Not only had it been a long time since they had seen any friends or family from home (it's always nice to get some family time in), but also it's fun to share your new knowledge of a place with first-time visitors.  Also, they picked up the tab for everything that week, and it was awesome!

In Kowloon for Doreen's Birthday!

Definitely the main theme of the week was FOOD.  There were a number of culinary treats that Nicole and Jesse had not yet experienced in this city, so this was a great excuse (and means) of trying out some fantastic new stuff.

Doreen was celebrating her --th birthday while in Hong Kong, so the group marked the occasion by going to Ming Court, a Michelin two-star restaurant in Mong Kok, Kowloon.  The cuisine was authentic and refined Cantonese, and it was an excellent start to a week of food vacationing.  Highlights included an unbelievable egg and prawn soup, and the visually spectacular Ice Crystal jelly cube dessert.  It was fun to get dressed up an go out celebrating, and the restaurant even made Doreen a cake to celebrate the --eenth day of her birth.

Egg Prawn Soup / Hairy Crab / Ice Crystal Jelly desert

The private kitchen was another big thing to check off the Hong Kong "To-do" list, so we found an excellent place, also in Kowloon, that made amazing French food.  The private kitchen is something that originated in Hong Kong, but has now spread to many big cities.  Basically, a family will rent an apartment for the purpose of running a tiny restaurant out of.  These places usually seat 10-15 people, and although you might not expect it, the quality of cooking is outrageously high.  For our French meal, we had our own little room in the apartment, and our eight course meal was possibly the best French food the group had consumed anywhere.  Highlights here included outstanding foie-gras, the best chicken Doreen and John have ever had, and Nicole's scrumptious lamb.

High Tea at the Hullet House

The last great foodie treat this week was high-tea.  This is a hold over from British colonial times in Hong Kong, and is still a very popular afternoon pastime in the city.  For this, the group went to Hullet House in TST, Kowloon.  The tea house is situated in a very old British building that used to house the Maritime police in another life.  It has since been restored to its colonial brilliance and converted into a very classy restaurant overlooking TST's ritzy shopping arcades and Victoria harbour.  The tea was excellent and a fleet of staff wait on your every move.  Plus, the cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches were absolutely top notch.

In the cable car going across Lantau Island

Eating aside, there was much to see around the city.  Most of it involved Doreen and Nicole hastily shopping while Jesse and John meandered behind them.  One sunny day, the group went to Lantau Island, which is visible from Hong Kong, to see the giant Buddha statue that was erected there.  Lantau is actually larger than Hong Kong, but it is also more mountainous, which makes for great hiking, but more difficult habitation.  The way to Lantau includes a gondola ride that offers great views of the South China sea, as well as Lantau's vast and lush jungles.  The ride ends at a (what else) shopping village, and the hike up to the Buddha doesn't take too long.  At one point this was the largest bronze seated Buddha statue in the world.  Now it is merely a very large bronze seated Buddha statue.  In any case, it was great to see some new parts of the HK SAR.

It's a pretty big Buddha

No trip in Asia is complete without some great adventure, so the group departed into mainland China for a day of shopping in Shenzhen.  This city is located about an hour away from HK by train, and enjoys status as a 'Special Economic Zone' in the PRC, which encourages a massive inflow of Western dollars.  Twenty years ago, Shenzhen did not exist.  Now it is home to some 10 million people.

On the MTR to Schenzen!

The group did not go to view the city, however.  There was only one thing on their agenda: shopping.  The Luo Hu Commercial Centre is a massive shopping mall right next to the train station that boasts some 700 shops.  Shopping in China is akin to running the gauntlet: you are hounded and harassed by shopkeepers, followed by touts trying to lure you into their employers' shops, and lady after lady offering massages and foot rubs.  It took a good hour before Jesse felt comfortable in these surroundings.  Nicole and Doreen, on the other hand, we going ballistic shopping at an unprecedented pace.  Jewelery, hand bags, scarves (so many scarves), silks, watches...all of these came home with us.

Sensory overload!

On this day Nicole grew into an insane bargaining machine.  Her talons came out, and she was able to secure deals at about 1/3 the asking price.  The Chinese shop keepers came to fear her and call her "Terrible Money Eater" - her story will haunt Shenzhen for generations.

Haggle, haggle and haggle some more ;)

After 8 wonderful days, it was time to say goodbye to Doreen and John.  They had an amazing time in Hong Kong, and got a little taste of what it's like to live here.  Nicole and Jesse were very sad to see them go, but they had great times and got some good pictures along the way.