Little Adventures in Hong Kong with Daisann McLane
eat, walk, drink, explore
Daisann McLane
Daisann McLane is a travel writer,photographer and essayist. Her "Real Travel" column appears in every issue of National Geographic Traveler, and her articles about Hong Kong's food, culture and politics have been published in the New York Times Magazine, the International Herald Tribune and Slate. She's the author of the Society of American Travel Writers award winning book Cheap Hotels and the recent Living In Asia (Taschen). Daisann has lived in Hong Kong since 2002, when she came here to study Cantonese at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She spends part of every day walking in Hong Kong.Become a Fan!
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Help for the Hungry Traveler in Hong Kong
What's the biggest obstacle faced by a food loving traveler in Hong Kong?
Ah, the mysteries of the Chinese language menu. You go into a restaurant that smells good. The food on everyone's table looks fantastic. Using the finger pointing "I'll have what they're having" method, you manage to get yourself a tasty meal. Yet...
You wonder what else is on the menu. What are the specialties of the house? What am I eating, anyway? And perhaps you wonder about the history of the restaurant, the characteristics and flavors of the various Chinese cuisines. You want to do more than just point and chow--you want to be a connoisseur.
Well, you've come to the right place. Little Adventures in Hong Kong now offers personalized eating tours, custom designed for you. We will help you sample all the tastes our great food city has on offer. We know where to find the best congee, fish ball or wonton noodles, the tastiest do fu fa. And we know how to read the specials on the wall, so you can be sure you won't miss anything.
Hong Kong food, of course, is more than just noodles and snacks. We have the world's highest concentration of top flight Chinese restaurants. But we know that even with an English menu translation, many of these restaurants are difficult for the non-Chinese traveler to navigate.
That's why we've launched our new Eating Concierge Service.
It works like this. You tell us when you are coming to Hong Kong, how many people are coming with you, and what you would like to eat. We consult with you to find a great Chinese restaurant that fits your taste and budget. Then we go to the restaurant, meet with the manager, and design a well-balanced Chinese multi-course meal, the way that a local Hong Kong person would. We scope out the restaurant's specialties, find out what's in season and what's not, and take care to order any dishes that need advance requests.
Our Eating Concierge Service doesn't end there. If you'd like, we can also come to dinner with you and your group, and be your personal resource. We'll explain each dish, give you the lowdown on the culture of Hong Kong's Chinese restaurants, and answer any other questions you might have about Hong Kong, too. (And, after dinner, if you'd like, we might take you on a little walk to grab some tong seui.)
Want to find out more about our Hong Kong Eating Concierge Service? Email us today:
realtravelhongkong@gmail.com
We've Got Mail!
This past two months at Little Adventures in Hong Kong we've been very busy! We've made lots of new friends who've come with us on our personally hosted walking and food tours of Hong Kong. And a few of them have sent us letters that, to be sure, are making us blush!:
"I am back at home at my desk, and thinking about my marvelous trip to Hong Kong. Certainly the highlight of this trip was our walking tour with you, and seeing things that I had missed in past visits--usually just around the corner from a place I have been many times. That is part of your talent--walking around with your eyes open. Plus, I give you an A for being not just an informed and interesting guide, but a thoroughly professional one. That day was just a complete pleasure. ....It was such a delight to discover so many new and interesting things last week--thanks to you!"--Ann, USA, January 2010
"We will hold our memories with you as a highlight of our many travels. You have a unique ability to personalize professionalism in a manner that ensures the kind of connection that makes experiences meaningful and rewarding.
You are a rare gift to the traveler and to the many cultures that seek to understand each other. Thank you for sharing that gift with us."--Marlene, USA, December 2009
"We sincerely had a great time with you on both of our little tours. You know HK and we will spread the good word if you don’t mind."--Steve, USA, December 2009
"Thanks for my best night in Hong Kong—ever (and that comprises two visits and about eight days!). The place came to life in your hands and what seemed to my unfocused eye a tough, commercial engine rather than a three-dimensional city began to bounce to your beat....." --Marty, New York City, July 2009
Thanks, everyone, for your compliments and support. We hope to see all of you in Hong Kong again, soon.
And for those of you who are planning a trip to Hong Kong, we hope you'll choose to spend some of your time here walking and eating and getting to know the city's culture, life, and "beat" with us.
Email us today for more information about our private, individually-designed tours:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Hong Kong, 2010
May 2010 be the year you have your Little Adventure in Hong Kong!
And whatever brings you to Hong Kong this year, be it work, love, or wanderlust (or all of the above!) we hope you will drop us a line and arrange to take one of our private, hosted walking tours.
We'll watch priests sing to the ancestor spirits at a hidden neighborhood temple.
We'll hop on a sampan and take a spin around Victoria Harbour.
We'll wander through a tiny lost-in-time fishing village at the edge of the sea
We'll shop for shiny woks, gorgeous handmade cheongsams, fine oolong tea
We'll dig into the world's best noodle soups.
Make the resolution to do this in 2010. Give yourself a little adventure in Hong Kong. Email us now:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
and in the meantime, join us at our Facebook page where we post a new Little Adventure in Hong Kong every day!
A Hong Kong Christmas
It's a great time of year to be walking in Hong Kong. We do Christmas here in a big way. Trees, lights, tinsel. Choirs sing carols in the malls. The supermarket muzak in Park & Shop has got "Jingle Bells" on continuous loop. My building's door lady has taken to wearing a pair of antlers. And down on Ladder Street, the vendors are cleaning up with the Santa suits.
Our snow may be fake, but our warmth is jan-jing-- that's Cantonese for the real deal. We're even roasting chestnuts--not over an open fire, but in huge black woks on streetcorners. (We're roasting purple yams on the street, too--that's not exactly traditional Christmas fare, but, hey, they're really tasty!)
Perhaps you are running around now, elbowing through the Christmas crowds, fretting about the gift you need to choose for a certain special--but picky-- someone.
May we make a suggestion? Why not give Hong Kong for Christmas.
That is to say, why not give that hard-to-please person a Little Adventure in Hong Kong? We will be happy to wrap up one of our special, personally-hosted 3 hour walking, food and cultural tours in a bright red bow for you.
And if you book now, we'll throw in a bag of those wonderful Hong Kong roasted chestnuts, too.
email us today:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Happy holidays from Hong Kong!
Only in Hong Kong
Yesterday, 1:30pm, on Lyndhurst Terrace I see a guy pushing a cart. On the cart are two huge roast suckling pigs.
He's holding the cart steady with one hand, waving his other arm out in the air at the passing traffic.
"You mean you're going to take the pigs in the taxi"? I said to the guy in Cantonese, a little shocked.
He shrugs, like this is something he does every day, and says, "Haih la." That's right.
A taxi whizzes by, ignoring him. "Hmm," I say, "Looks like nobody wants to ride with roast pigs."
The man scowls and mutters. Then he lifts his hand to the next oncoming taxi, holding two fingers in the air. It's a signal: "I'm offering him 20 dollars extra!"
The next taxi swerves over and pulls up to the curb. stops. I wait and watched as the guy loads the two greasy, fat-dripping red be-ribboned and cellophane-blanketed pigs into the grimy trunk, heads facing out.
He slams the trunk lid down, hops into the back, and they're off.
Just another lunch hour little adventure in Hong Kong.
I may never eat roast pig again.
*****
I can't promise that you'll meet a couple of roast pigs dolled up for a party when you come on one of our Little Adventures in Hong Kong walking tours.
But here's one thing I know: in this city, you never know who--or what--you might bump into on the taxi queue.
Email us to start your adventure:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
"You mean you're going to take the pigs in the taxi"? I said to the guy in Cantonese, a little shocked.
He shrugs, like this is something he does every day, and says, "Haih la." That's right.
A taxi whizzes by, ignoring him. "Hmm," I say, "Looks like nobody wants to ride with roast pigs."
The man scowls and mutters. Then he lifts his hand to the next oncoming taxi, holding two fingers in the air. It's a signal: "I'm offering him 20 dollars extra!"
The next taxi swerves over and pulls up to the curb. stops. I wait and watched as the guy loads the two greasy, fat-dripping red be-ribboned and cellophane-blanketed pigs into the grimy trunk, heads facing out.
He slams the trunk lid down, hops into the back, and they're off.
Just another lunch hour little adventure in Hong Kong.
I may never eat roast pig again.
*****
I can't promise that you'll meet a couple of roast pigs dolled up for a party when you come on one of our Little Adventures in Hong Kong walking tours.
But here's one thing I know: in this city, you never know who--or what--you might bump into on the taxi queue.
Email us to start your adventure:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Hong Kong Snapshots
Snapshots. Unexpected moments. A door opens, and suddenly you find yourself immersed in someone else's life. For an instant, you're floating in a different world, inhabiting a different skin, wondering how you could have lived so long without understanding, feeling, thinking...like this.
This is the pot of gold at the end of every traveler's rainbow.
And it's why we love Hong Kong.
At Little Adventures in Hong Kong we like to think of ourselves not just as guides or hosts, but as cultural facilitators. Every traveler faces the problem of how to get past the hype, the guidebook cliches, the "official" tourism board attractions. How to make sense of an overload of information, languages, smells and sights.
That's what we're here for. We help you find these moments. We give the doors a little push.
We give you our city, so you can make it yours.
For more information on our food, cultural and walking tours of Hong Kong, email us now at:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
This is the pot of gold at the end of every traveler's rainbow.
And it's why we love Hong Kong.
At Little Adventures in Hong Kong we like to think of ourselves not just as guides or hosts, but as cultural facilitators. Every traveler faces the problem of how to get past the hype, the guidebook cliches, the "official" tourism board attractions. How to make sense of an overload of information, languages, smells and sights.
That's what we're here for. We help you find these moments. We give the doors a little push.
We give you our city, so you can make it yours.
For more information on our food, cultural and walking tours of Hong Kong, email us now at:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Get Your Free Little Adventure in Hong Kong Every Day
We don't like to brag, but we are quite tickled by the warm response to our new Facebook page, Little Adventures in Hong Kong.
Every day, day after day, we're posting a tiny story and photo on Facebook, a snapshot in miniature of life in Asia's greatest city.
It's a notebook of Hong Kong moments that we think are special. Moments and experiences which, of course, we incorporate into our personally hosted food and walking tours.
Check it out today. Oh, and if you prefer getting your daily bites of Hong Kong on Twitter instead of Facebook, you can follow us there too.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong today. Email us now and we'll tell you all about our special walking and food tours:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Raise the Red Lampshade!
In our endless quest to discover the most interesting, unsung attractions of our favorite city for our personally hosted Hong Kong walking tours, we often find ourselves pausing to admire the vast landscape of consumable commodities which surrounds, indeed threatens to devour us, with its variety and plentitude.
Yeah, we like to go shopping.
Not just any shopping, though. I am always on the alert for things to buy that have local flavor, that are Made in Hong Kong. Things that have some connection to this place, and this culture.
Even though Hong Kong is a much touted "Shoppers Paradise", that's not always easy. Hong Kong is awash in designer brands and luxury items, but the everyday local treasures aren't always visible at first glance.
That's why I've compiled my own lists of shops and stores that "think locally." When you come along on one of our guided walks at Little Adventures in Hong Kong, I'll introduce them to you.
Some you may already have heard of, like the terrific hip housewares and lifestyle store G.O.D.
These guys have a terrific eye for Hong Kong design, and a great sense of humor too (their store name is even a Cantonese pun--jyu ho di means "Live a little better"). I love their notebooks and stationery decorated with photos of Hong Kong building facades.
I also like to introduce our Little Adventures in Hong Kong travelers to the stores and shops where Hong Kong folks buy their life's necessities. Everyday household items like a handmade toilet brush, or a woven straw carrying basket ring with authentic beauty. In hardware stores, you will also find classics like the famous Hong Kong red plastic lampshade.
Yes, it's the same one you see hanging over the fruits and veggies in all the open air markets. It makes a great souvenir of the Hong Kong streets, and it only costs about $3.50 USD in any hardware store.
(The lamps are 100% made and designed in Hong Kong by the Red-A Star Industrial Company).
This is the kind of Hong Kong item that really appeals to my inner shopper. (I also love the cheap and cheerful "rice grain" china, the beautifully labelled sauces by local purveyor Pat Chun, and the wonderous range of Chinese and Japanese cookware sold in the basement of the marvellous Wing On department store.)
These are the things we love to put in our shopping bags here at Little Adventures in Hong Kong (and of course we are carrying our own cloth bags now that the government has levied an environmental tax on those nasty plastic ones!)
Of course, if you want to move on from red lampshades and soy sauce to more (ahem) serious shopping--jade, designer wear, discount outlets, china, handmade cheongsams and shoes--we can help you do that, too.
Email us for more information:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Fish Ball Noodles and Salt Sea Air
The Hong Kong weather right now is clear and breezy--perfect for a Little Adventure from Shau Kei Wan to Shek O. We start in the terrific Shau Kei Wan market, and explore the small shops and 100 year old temples along the main street. The road leads right to the old typhoon shelter on the waterfront--where pirates once hid out.
Next time we go I'm going to see about hitching a ride home on one of these local boats!
The best yu daan ho fan I have ever tasted is made right here in Shau Kei Wan. Yesterday, we tried it garnished with some crunchy and delicious fried fish skin (ja yu pei) on top--super yummy!
Yvonne and Mike, from London, were terrific companions for the afternoon. We hopped on a red minibus from Shau Kei Wan to Big Wave Bay, a cool little village that is also the home to Hong Kong's weekend surfer dudes. We climbed up the path to a terrific view of rocks and the bay at sunset, then prowled around the little village.
Last stop was Shek O, at the end of the peninsula, where a wide, sandy beach attracts the Sunday crowds for--what else?--BBQ parties (in Hong Kong, eating is always more popular than swimming!). But we didn't linger on the beach. Instead we followed the secret path behind the Art Deco Shek O bus station, wound our way past the basketball courts and through the hole-in-the-wall to emerge at the best bar in Hong Kong: the Back Beach Bar.
And guess what they're serving at Back Beach Bar these days...
That's right--Brooklyn Beer, manufactured about a mile away from my "other" home town in the USA.
I must say, it is even more tasty 8,000 miles from its origin! Or maybe it's just the great ocean views and breezes at Shek O that make it taste so good.
Thanks to Yvonne and Mike for joining me on this mellow Sunday afternoon of little adventures. (And good luck to you in your studies of Gwong-Dung-Wah!). Juk neih deih sing gung!
Are you planning a trip to Hong Kong? There are lots of little adventures waiting for you here in the Big Lychee.
email me now and start planning one of your own!:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Presenting...the Won Ton-a-Thon!
By popular demand, Little Adventures in Hong Kong has created a unique new food and walking tour:
Won Ton-a-Thon!
What is a Won Ton-a-thon? It's the most unique food tour in Hong Kong: a marathon, epic foodie quest to eat the best won ton noodles in Hong Kong! And it's only at Little Adventures in Hong Kong.
In three hours you'll experience up to eight of Hong Kong island's most beloved noodle shops, from Shau Kei Wan to Sheung Wan. You'll visit the classics, like Mak's Noodles and Wing Wah. But you'll also slip into local off-the-map favorites and slurp elbow to elbow with Hong Kongers at some of the last remaining outdoor dai pai dongs in Central Hong Kong.
And just for variety, we'll also sample some of Hong Kong's most beloved beef brisket noodles, and fish ball/fish cake noodles. It's up to you! The Won Ton-a- Thon, like all of our Little Adventures In Hong Kong tours, is custom-tailored to your interests.
Noodles are to Hong Kong what pizza is to New York: the signature dish at the heart of a great metropolitan city. When you finish your Won Ton-a-Thon you'll really feel like you've been to Hong Kong.
Come hungry! Contact us now to book your Hong Kong Won Ton-a-Thon:
realtravelhongkong@gmail.com
