Hong Kong

Getting Up to Speed

In 1983, after my 7th summer working at the Windrift Restaurant in Avalon New Jersey, I decided, that I would never work in the food business again. I was done. However, after graduating from college with a degree in graphic design and working as a designer for a number of years, which I hated. The culinary gods called and I made my way back in the kitchen, though this time around, I knew how to avoid the pitfalls of the food business.

So, to put it all into perspective that was 37 years ago, I am now 60 and still cooking.

On March 13th, 2020 due to the COVID crisis like many in the food business, I was laid off from my Chef gig until October 25th, 2020. My team went back to work for 4 weeks, then shut down again right before Thanksgiving.

So, what do I do? I’ve been writing, and this is my latest entry.

Hong Kong

On the road to Utopia

Growing up in suburbia, the Irwins were like most families I knew, we traveled a little, though nothing too lavish, just fun family vacations. We did some of the typical things most Philadelphians did, we went to the Jersey shore, the Poconos, and Florida. We also ventured to California, and Canada though I was so young, I don't remember much. The memorable highlight was a trip to St. Croix and an impromptu lunch with Lauren Bacall, though that’s a story for another day.

My brother and sisters were always great traveling companions. We had so much fun on those trips, they were great times, and boy, did we laugh.

A Girl and a Dream

Jane and I married at 26 and when it came to international travel at this point, I was pretty inexperienced. Little did I know, how ready I was for something new, exciting, and far away. The type of travel, other folks do and the only way you hear about it is in between sips of cheap Merlot at cocktail parties.

Traveling to an exotic location was never on my radar. However, my wife surprised me with a trip to Hong Kong back in 1991. I couldn’t wait to get there.

Jane made the trip a reality, she scrimped, and saved for a couple of years then surprised me with it on Valentine’s day. I was absolutely floored, by her incredibly thoughtful gift, it just blew me away and made me love her more than I already did. My gift to Jane? I proudly presented her with a beautiful pair of opal earrings. Thinking back, how could I possibly top that?? I couldn’t.

Live and learn…

The catch? Jane’s entire family would be traveling with us as well. Jane’s brother joined us on the flight and the rest of the clan would-be meeting up with us in a few days.

Hong Kong

The First Part of The Journey

I'll tell you what, flying from the east coast to Hong Kong is no joke, flight time is roughly 22 hours. Our first leg, Philly to LAX, second, LAX to San Francisco, San Francisco to Taipei Taiwan, then Taipei to Hong Kong. Flying on China Air was fantastic, what I remember most about our flight was how comfortable we were, the polite the flight attendants, and how good the food was. That is something you never hear these days.

We flew into the sun the entire flight and tried to sleep as much as possible. It was necessary, due to avoiding severe jetlag and in my case, dehydration. Truth be told, my brother-in-law and I should not have drunk all of those beers in the San Francisco airport, I think we racked up a $110.00 bar bill and a major headache. My wife was pissed, and rightfully so.

Live and learn.

As I recall, I had a meal of pan fried noodles with pork in broth with vegetables, fresh fruit and a sweet bun for dessert.

Not bad for economy class on an epically long flight.

Touchdown in Hong Kong’s, Kai Tak Airport was nothing short of miraculous, and landing is downright harrowing. The short runway is surrounded by water with mountains on one side, skyscrapers on the other. The landing strip is in the middle of Kowloon Bay and forces pilots to navigate right above the rooftops of the heavily populated Hong Kong neighborhoods. On our descent, the plane was so close to the skyscrapers, we literally could see the faces of the inhabitants as we flew by, it was surreal. Everything the pilots do must be perfect to avoid ending up in the harbor.

Frankly landing at Kai Tak scared the shit out of me.

The time difference from Philadelphia to Hong Kong is 12 hours and jetlag is a real bitch, especially if you aren’t used to it. We landed at what felt like midnight, though I had no idea what time it really was. God, I felt like shit.

Live and learn.

Hong Kong

Running with Scissors

I like The Night Life, I like to Boogie

After checking in to our hotel, we hit the ground running. Regardless of how we felt, my brother-in-law and I stupidly headed to the bar, then after a beer or two, we decided to be adventurous and go find, The Bottoms Up, Topless Club. Fans of James Bond would remember The Bottoms Up from the film “The Man with the Golden Gun” On our way out, Jane said rolling her eyes, “have fun, and please, please, please, be careful”. She then promptly went to bed. Smart girl. As we left I thought, what could possibly go wrong?

Side note, out of respect and privacy, I will refer to Jane’s brother, as Frank.

Well, we never found The Bottoms Up ,but stumbled upon another club, oddly named “The Adam’s Apple.” Not to be mistaken for that other Adam’s Apple club in Thailand, which is known for it’s all male review.

To put this into context, in 1991 cell phone technology didn’t exist. There was no internet for Googling a location before making a visit, needless to say, we had no idea what we were walking into. However, as we found out later, The Adam’s Apple is a well-known hang-out for the local mafia and a really rough joint. Oops. Though at first glance it had a cheesy Vegas, Elvis Wedding Chapel vibe, with weirdo lighting, nice drapes, and girls from all over the globe.

Walking down into the club I said nothing. Why? The Chinese bouncer with no neck was massive and from all appearances he was all business.

In those days, I was wearing my hair in a flat top and as we sat down at the bar, and ordered a beer, the bare-breasted gold-toothed Burmese barmaid promptly asked us “What ship are you from? Ship? What ship? She then said, “We love Americans” (of course they do), and “You guys should hang out until the “girls” arrived”. Girls? Um, not the “girls” with men’s parts?! Yikes. I kept insisting, as my inexperience was showing, “We just flew into town”, “I’m not a sailor”, “Wasn’t interested in the girls”, “Just wanted a beer”, and “My wife was back at the hotel sleeping”. They all winked, laughed, and along with my brother-in-law kept saying “yeah, yeah, sure she is.”

Funny guy, huh?

Well, I’ve never been into strip clubs but for the sake of the experience, had a beer, and hung out for a bit. After an hour or so, I was feeling sort of guilty, and the decision was made to head back to the hotel. We meandered our way through unfamiliar, neon-lit neighborhoods, and we were about halfway to the hotel, Frank suddenly said, “I’m gonna go back to the club”. I replied, “Okay, goodnight, and be careful” then made my way back to our room, showered, and went to bed.

From what I understand, The Adams Apple is still there, and to this day a seedy Hong Kong Mafia hangout. Frank never did tell me how the rest of his evening went and I didn’t ask.

Live and learn.

Hong Kong

Victoria Peak and Other Misadventures

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is also known as “The Peak” is the highest point on Hong Kong Island at 1,811 feet. This historic mountain provides 360-degree views of the city's glittering skyline. "The Peak" has much more to offer than just breathtaking scenery, there are restaurants, shopping, and stunning views of the exclusive homes of the uber-rich along the mountain.

We decided to visit Victoria Peak to take the tram up and hike along the Hong Kong trail. A little fresh air was the best remedy to shake off the jet lag as we waited for the rest of her family to arrive. I’m so glad we did because it was beautiful and we had a great time.

The breathtaking Hong Kong Trail and Victoria Peak has a sequence of paths with terrain so varied you can walk, hike or in some instances climb.

Taking it all in, I was struck by how Hong Kong was such a collision of the ancient and modern, yet all of the contradictions were becoming more apparent. The endless high-rise apartment buildings, sampans, lines of cargo ships crowding the harbor, gold skyscrapers, bamboo scaffolding, the orderly masses, lavish hotels, beggars in the streets, the uber-rich, the orgy of flashing neon, coolie straw hats worn by local laborers, British double-decker busses, and really great food.

Did I mention anything about the food? Well, to put it simply, the food in Hong Kong is simply amazing.

Bottom line? Hong  Kong is a world class food destination, just like LA, New York, Philadelphia, Copenhagen, Barcelona or Paris.

The Victoria Harbor Tea Cruise

A Three Hour Tour

Reinforcements

Jane’s Mom, sister, and her husband arrived late the previous night so, while they rested, and unpacked we went out. We were pretty jetlagged and still wanted to get out and see Hong Kong, so the three of us signed up for the Victoria Harbor Tea Cruise.

It was a pleasant somewhat uneventful cruise around the harbor. Our guides were two cute Chinese girls with impeccable British accents, on a small PA system giving us the history of Hong Kong’s busy harbor. They also had a beautiful cold buffet of tea sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, jam, tea (hot or cold), bottled water, wine, and ice-cold San Miguel beer. It was bloody hot, so I stuck with the beer.

Due to the heat, my inner food safety voice told me, okay, eat this and stay the hell away from that. Why? The conditions were not ideal, and we don’t know how long this stuff has been out of refrigeration. Since we were strangers in a strange land, we really didn’t want a case of Mao Tse Tung's revenge, so, I whispered into both of their ears, “stay away from the chicken and tuna salad sandwiches, and just stick with the ham”. Why? Ham is cured and less likely to give you lingering problems. They nodded, we ate, drank, took photos, and enjoyed the tour.

Jane and I stuck to the plan however, hunger must have overtaken Frank, and he just ate without regard. I remember laughing telling Jane “I tried to warn him” but after that, didn’t give much thought. We were having fun, it was a carefree, lovely day.

After the tour, we wandered through shops, Jane widow shopped for jewelry, I looked for obscure import music on compact discs and her brother was interested in the latest electronic gadget from Japan. Hot and tired, we made it back to our room, ready to unwind. We were staying at The Park Hotel in Kowloon, it’s one of the older hotels on the island, and compared to newer hotels, our room was HUGE Jane and I had the master suite, Frank had his own private smaller suite and we shared one bathroom

The Rebellion of the Tea Sandwiches

Before going to sleep, we all adjourned into the main suite, still not ready to go to sleep, snapped on the television, and stumbled upon the Japanese Animae classic, AKIRA, we watched that before finally going to sleep. We stayed up as long as we could but when sleep came, we crashed pretty hard.

Or so I thought.

On awakening, Jane had informed me that Frank had gotten REALLY sick that night and was still ailing. My first thought was yep, it’s gotta be “the chicken salad sandwiches.”

God, I hate being right.

My next thought was, I wonder what condition the shared bathroom was in (ew) and what if his situation is more serious than we first thought? I’m not heartless! The truth is, when traveling overseas there is a possibility you might introduce new bacteria into your system that could wreak havoc. That is why we were told by the hotel concierge, do not drink the water, and when showering, keep your eyes & mouth shut!

Processing all the available information, I kept telling myself he will be okay, and just be ready if his condition gets worse. Thank god it didn’t.

We checked in on Frank, by now his explosive episodes had diminished and he was sleeping soundly. While I was shutting his door, I quietly asked my wife about the “other disturbance that night”. She tilted her head as if I was joking and waited for my punchline. In my now more serious tone, informed her about “How pissed off I was about the incredible racket from the kick-ass party the group of Japanese businessmen had next door to us”. She looked at me strangely and said “What party”? I stammered, “You know, next door”? “The party, right next door…you know? Remember I had to go downstairs to complain to the front desk”?? She smiled and replied, “Dude, I don’t know what you are talking about, there was no party and by the way, you were the first to fall asleep”. I said “Really”?? “No way!?…I dreamt that”? That was a dream?? Laughing, Jane kissed me and said, “Yep, it’s probably just due to jetlag, c’mon let’s get ready to head out”.

I finally snapped to, laughed, still shaking my head, and while we were getting ready, muttering to myself F***ing jetlag”…

I forgot to mention, this was just the beginning of our third day and had reservations at The Peninsula Hotel for breakfast with Jane’s family. I’ll tell you what, when my Mother in Law finds out about Frank, she isn’t going to happy. Knowing her as I do, she will unequivocally think Frank is ill because of too much drinking, and that’s exactly what happened. I hate being right.

While we waited for the sweaty and shivering Frank to head over to The Peninsula Hotel, I valiantly tried to convince my highly irritated Mother in Law that Frank’s condition was not alcohol-related. My argument? Hangovers don't come with a 102-degree fever and hallucinations. Mom’s response to me with raised eyebrows was, “I am so disappointed in you guys”

Oh well, I tried. Live and learn…

The Elegant Peninsula Hotel

A Brief History

The alluring Peninsula Hotel is the flagship of the Peninsula Hotel group and the oldest hotel in Hong Kong, dating back to 1928. It’s located on the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Peninsula Hotel has become analogous, with white-glove service, fabulous food, and old-world elegance.

The Menu

Brunch at The Peninsula did not disappoint, the service was impeccable, the food was skillfully prepared and the presentation was world-class.

The Continental menu at The Peninsula

House-made granola, eggs any style, artisanal sausage, orange pancakes, brioche French toast, waffles, fresh-baked bread, pastries, fresh fruit, scones, custom-blended tea, and coffee. There are also Chinese breakfast items that consisted of stir-fried noodles, pork congee, and dim sum. To make things a little more interesting a Free Range Thick, New Zealand egg sandwich was offered, (Steak and eggs of freshly baked bread).

The food quality was amazing and all menu items were elevated to make the seemingly mundane dish “special”.

Brunch with The Family

We had reservations at the Lobby Restaurant which is known for its lovely brunch and buffet.

Jane and I ordered the orange pancakes, artisanal sausage, scones, and fresh fruit. Since I was still suffering from jetlag, I had their strongest coffee, and Jane had the Darjeeling tea. Frankly, it’s been so long I have forgotten what everyone else had.

Breakfast-Interruptus

The dishes arrived, the plates were placed in front of us, and we oohed and ahhed over the spectacular food then started to eat. Suddenly, while we stuffing our faces, Frank stated, he still was “cold, so cold” and needed to back to the hotel to bed. We abruptly stopped eating, embarrassed, looked at each other, knowing we all forgot the poor guy was still sick. I realize our momentary lapse of reason had to do with the staggeringly beautiful spread in front of us and we were hungry.

Oops.

Sweating profusely, Frank exited and went back to our hotel, and slept straight through to the next day.

By the way, brunch was sensational and if we ever get back to Hong Kong, The Peninsula will be on our list of places to dine. Next time, we plan to splurge and book a table at the French-influenced Gatti’s.

Update, luckily for Frank, his food-borne illness thankfully only lasted 24 hours.

Another serious crisis averted.

My Hong Kong Epiphany

Singapore Noodles

This trip was where I was beginning to have significant shifts in how I viewed food, how I wanted to cook, and eventually what I wanted to eat. It was all because of one amazing dish and that was Singapore noodles.

What are Singapore Noodles?

“Singapore noodles” are a dish that originated in Hong Kong and has no roots in Singapore. Since the British colonized Hong Kong, they eventually introduced curry to Hong Kong and rice noodles are typically used in Southeast Asian cooking. So, clever Chefs started putting these ingredients together, and it turned out to be a delicious, inexpensive, way to feed hungry laborers.

Okay, back to my epiphany. We were still pretty jetlagged and our stomachs were trying to adjust to the severe time change, so, we were hungry at the strangest times.

The Park Hotel had a restaurant that was open late, and we were hungry and it was late, so, we made a visit. Sitting down at our table, perused our menus, and decided we were in the mood for something different. Jane had a fresh fruit & cheese plate, Mom ordered a chocolate sundae, (I kid you not) and I got Singapore Noodles.

The steaming platter of noodles arrived and was an almost unnatural bright neon yellow color, they were infused with a spicy hot Madras curry powder, stir-fried in a screaming hot wok, with prawns, Cantonese-style barbecued pork, scrambled egg, red bell pepper, then topped with a touch of fresh pineapple and sliced green onions.

The noodles were fantastic, the flavors sang as they hit all the right notes, spicy, savory, sweet, and a little sour.

My head was ready to explode.

On that night, I stumbled onto something I never ate before, and making a subconcious decision to get on the road to more serious food discovery. Looking back, I can truly say, it’s been a hell of a ride!

Honestly, it was one of the most delicious and memorable dishes I’ve ever eaten.

The Next Installment:
A Day at Stanley Market