Hong Kong: Part 2

In the first Hong Kong post, I briefly touched on the food. Well, let me share with you the dish that will haunt my every dream: crispy duck.

So crispy and so ducky

That duck came to the table and immediately, we were best friends. I pictured bringing it home, taking longs walks through Tokyo, showing it the view from Landmark Tower, cuddling on the couch at night and watching TV. But alas, its appeal was its downfall, and I ate it. I mean, I wasn't alone. There were four other people there, all just as eager to dig into that bird.

Words cannot describe its perfect, crispy, deliciousness. It was cooked perfectly and cut table-side.  Here's the interesting thing- it came with a platter of friends. Thin slices of onion and cucumber. Delicious sauce. And Chinese tortillas. Yeah. Chinese tortillas. Roll it all up like a duck taco and stuff your face. Repeat as necessary, then repeat even when unnecessary.

The other exciting dish? Bird's nest soup. It's not a euphemism, the soup really is made of birds' nests. It's a famous Chinese dish, very good for you. I'm more inclined to believe the delicious chicken broth is what's really doing good things, and not the re-hydrated, gelatinous strands of bird spit. It tastes like broth and noodles so it's not as exotic as you might think. Definitely a good strange food to try if you're a picky eater.

Me, I'll eat almost anything that's put in front of me, and that night, a lot of things were on the table. More accurately, they were on the gigantic lazy susan. Battered shrimp with oranges and strawberries, baby rack of lamb, pumpkin soup, and pigeon. Yes, we ate pigeon. Don't judge us. It was delicious, kind of like a pigeon hash. It looked nothing like the chubby, bobble-necked, flying pests that plague every single city in America.

What else did we eat? Dim sim, which is lots of small dishes meant to be shared with a crowd. You get to much food, then stuff yourself comatose.


Oh, and this happened:

It's meant for five-year-olds, but Blake and I had to take a turn. We each had a camera, so I've got all the pictures of him and he's got all the pictures of me. Kind of inconvenient when one set of pictures if out in the ocean somewhere with its owner.


Anyway, that little gem of a picture was taken at Jumbo, a giant, floating, over-decorated monstrosity.

Take a second to process this picture. I'll wait... ... ... ...


It's a three-story restaurant and banquet hall built in the 70s, only accessible by a short ferry ride. It's a huge tourist trap attraction. We ate some tasty dim sum, and also passed up a golden opportunity to put on costumes and get our picture taken as a Chinese emperor and empress. It's like a far east version of getting those cheesy cowboy dress-up pictures at a county fair. Still kicking ourselves about that one... not.



Maybe we'll get one the next time we go to Hong Kong. I say "next time" because both Blake and I feel like we have to go back. The food alone is worth a second (and third, and fourth, etc) trip; add on the amazing shopping and the beautiful sights, Hong Kong is definitely a must-see.

Tune in for yet another post and another round of pictures. It's going to take a long post to show/tell you why I was completely exhausted by the end of every day.