Hong Kong, my Hong Kong

Who doesn’t love Hong Kong? Filipinos in general love this bustling city because it is just so close to home!  It only takes an hour and forty five minutes plane ride and you are immediately transported to a city that has perfectly combined the old world glamour of British colonial China and the cosmopolitan style of the modern First World.  Not to mention, a lot of Filipinos work here which makes us feel even closer to home. 🙂

Writing this post just came so easy for me because just like everybody else, Hong Kong is perennially on top of our family’s travel list. Because it is so close by, the family and I head there quite often- at least twice a year. As fans and constant visitors of this lively city, we have already singled out some of our favorite Hong Kong hotspots.

The Four Seasons Hotel, is our home away from home when in Hong Kong. We love this hotel for its central location (it is situated within the Central Financial District of the Hong Kong side) and for its close proximity to some of our favorite shopping haunts (IFC, Landmark, Pacific Place). It is also the first hotel in the world to house not just one but two (!) three-Michelin-star restaurants, namely : the Cantonese restaurant Lung King Heen and the French fine dining restaurant Caprice. Now for big foodies like the Hubby and I, this is a major plus! Also, I find that the Four Seasons in Hong Kong is probably one of the best among the other Four Seasons city hotels in the world mainly because of its distinctly Asian style of service.

The spacious lobby of the hotel.

Interiors have that clean look and minimalist, modern decor.

The hotel also houses an award – winning Spa.

Another reason that makes us feel most at home here are the Filipino musicians we always see performing at the hotel’s The Lounge. 🙂 This place is always teeming with business executives, bankers, lawyers and Tai Tais enjoying their Afternoon or High Tea or just having their usual cocktails or nightcaps after dinner.

Being frequent guests of the hotel, the staff here already know The Spoiled Mummy’s gustatory weaknesses! 🙂  They always indulge me with my favorite things…

In this trip, these thoughtful trays of pure dark Chocolate Tarts with Raspberry and gold leaf greeted me as I entered our room.

Their comfortable, luxurious bedroom.

…And the rest of the room (with all our mess!) 🙂

The room overlooks the beautiful harbor and cityscape…. the skyline as taken from our window.

Of course, Hong Kong has a few things up its sleeve for the young ones too! 🙂

On this trip, we took them to the newly built Noah’s Ark! This is not your usual theme park but rather it is one huge multi-media park modeled after the famous Noah’s Ark story in the Bible. This park proved to be not just fun but very informative and educational for the kids as well, because everything here is just all about good values, social harmony, and love and care for the environment.

This is the world’s only full-size replica of Noah’s Ark! We couldn’t believe it at first that the Ark actually stayed true to the exact specs and measurements – as detailed in the Bible!

Here are my two boys saying hello to the beautifully handcrafted animals sculptures.

My little one was so amazed at how lifelike everything looked.

Aside from the Noah’s Ark sculptures, there are also other things you can do within the park: they have a hotel and resort inside, different kinds of theaters, interactive museums and exhibits of the Animal Kingdom, and outdoor waterfalls and ponds, among many others.

Definitely, this is a new and exciting concept in children’s entertainment, something that we truly welcome in this world of senseless cartoons and overly-commercialized theme parks!

Now going back to some adult entertainment… 🙂

Of course, when in Hong Kong, one always eats well! From their smallest dim sum shops to their  high-end fine dining restaurants, Hong Kong can do no wrong! Being the big foodies that we are, the Hubby and I have our usual favorites…and Amber (featured above) is one of them.  This highly rated restaurant (two Michelin stars and always a part of San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants), specializes in contemporary French cuisine.  Everything here from the bread basket to the Petit fours are G-O-O-D.

Some cold bubbly to start the night right.

Different kinds of gourmet salt for the steak that we ordered.

Being cut and sliced right in front of us made our beef even more tempting!

The meat was succulent, juicy and mouthwatering, to say the least! Perfectly done right, I say… Pink on the inside (not red please!) and just cooked a little bit on the sides to give it that smoky taste and flavor.

Of course, Chocolate overload for our desserts!

And a beautiful, thoughtful tray of Petit fours 🙂

Here comes another perennial favorite of ours when in Hong Kong.  This one is located right in the hotel where we usually stay. This is Four Seasons Hotel’s French restaurant Caprice that was awarded three Michelin stars in 2009 and continues to hold this prestigious honor up to today. As you can imagine, the food here is beyond superb! If Amber is good, Caprice is just excellent.

Aside from its ultra-fresh produce, which is flown in daily from France, Caprice offers only the finest French, European, and New World wines- a bonus for all wine lovers out there.

The spectacular interiors, complete with the dazzling Czech crystal chandeliers, adds to its phenomenal dining experience.

There is an army of 25 chefs here that meticulously attend to your food!

From the amuse-bouche down to the main course, everything here is sublime!

And this is one of my favorite dishes of all time – Caprice’s Braised Wagyu Beef Shoulder with fondant leeks and red wine sauce. This just melts in your mouth because it was cooked for more than a day — 72 hours to be exact! No words are enough to justly describe this dish…the meat was just so tender and extremely flavorful! In fact, the very first time I had this dish, I raved about it to their chefs and waiters, without me knowing that they were taking down notes! And so the next time we made a reservation, they asked me if I wanted to have my favorite beef dish again. Of course, how could I say no to that? 🙂 (Now that’s what I call excellent, attentive service that merits more than 3 stars!)

Caprice is famous too for their wide array of cheese selection…truly a smorgasbord!

Here, the Caprice staff graciously explained and elaborated on each type of cheese to make our whole selection process easier.

And after much deliberation, the Hubby and I narrowed it down to a good combination of our favorite soft and hard cheeses.

The Caprice staff is always willing to give a tour of their Cheese cellar (and mind you, this is Hong Kong’s first ever!), which boasts of the widest selection of artisanal European cheeses.

Inside this unique Cheese cellar, everything is controlled – from the temperature to the way the cheeses are handled, arranged and displayed.

And here comes my favorite part of all…Desserts!

 And to end an already perfect dinner, I was presented a tray of my favorite Chocolate Petit fours! 🙂

Hong Kong is definitely one place bursting with life and vibrant energy! Young and old visitors alike will never lack anything to do here…but above all, good food can be had anywhere! It’s no wonder then that the Hubby, the kids, and I have fallen in love with this amazing, cosmopolitan city. We can say that Hong Kong is one place that is close to home and even closer to our hearts. And we shall definitely be back for more!

See you in the next trip!