are you gonna eat that? » CHINA

HONG KONG: Cafe de Coral

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:00:08 +0000

Cafe de Coral (大家樂), is one of Hong Kong’s biggest fast food franchises.

Far from burgers and fries associated with fast food in North America, Cafe de Coral whips up fairly healthy meals in an astonishingly efficient manner. I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes from ordering to getting a piping hot meal [...]

HONG KONG: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:00:09 +0000

One of Hong Kong’s biggest tourist attractions is Victoria Peak (太平山) or simply The Peak (山頂) which is home to some of the country’s priciest properties and a stunning panorama.

You can get there by bus, mini-bus, or taxi but the most popular way is by tram on a funicular railway that was first [...]

HONG KONG: Three tiers for high tea

are you gonna eat that? — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:15:44 +0000

It costs just HK$1.70 (0.28 CAD) to take the Star Ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and reach views of the Victoria Harbour and skyline like this. That has to be one of the biggest bargains in the travelling world.

Subway stops and road tunnels have been built since the ferry opened in 1888, [...]

HONG KONG: Pop bites and Post-it notes

are you gonna eat that? — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:00:55 +0000

There are lots of notable things about pop bites, a combination wine bar, bakery, deli and dessert cafe. (It’s owned by the same company that runs Shui Hu Ju, several blocks away.)

I felt my cool quotient rise just by stepping inside. A DJ was spinning tunes (isn’t that what the kids call it?) in [...]

HONG KONG: Tending to the tootsies

are you gonna eat that? — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:00:51 +0000

(Flickr photos above by photocapy, left, and xiaming, right)

Foot massage businesses are everywhere in Hong Kong and China. Foot-shaped signs advertising them are on every corner and hang off every building. And as far as I could tell, no way of differentiating the legit and the illicit until you were actually at the door.

Getting [...]

HONG KONG: Where the chicken is hot and the water is broken

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:00:27 +0000

While we were traipsing around in Guilin, Carolynne made reservations for us at Shui Hu Ju for our meetup in Hong Kong because we all definitely wanted at least one Sichuan dinner with some kick.

Shui Hu Ju (水滸居), named after a mystical mountain in a Chinese fable, is tucked into the restaurant-packed Soho district [...]

MACAU: Portuguese tarts

are you gonna eat that? — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:14:59 +0000

I think Portugal’s sweetest contribution to China are its custard tarts.

In Chinese cuisine, there are the bright yellow egg tarts (蛋撻), which are said to be influenced by Britain, and then there are Portuguese tarts (葡撻), which are made with a bit of coconut milk and have a brown caramelized top.

The Portuguese tarts [...]

MACAU: The madhouse at Fernando’s

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:00:19 +0000

Fernando’s is an institution in Macau, a former Portuguese colony and now special administrative region of China. Online searches reveal excellent Portuguese food, and sometimes arrogant and inattentive staff proportionate to increasing clientele.

Our visit certainly confirmed the former. And as for the latter, I’d say we got overly attentive service especially from the restaurant’s namesake [...]

MACAU: Fast boat to pork chop bun

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:14:24 +0000

Like Hong Kong, Macau is a former European colony. Portugal controlled the region from the 16th century until it was transferred back to China as a special administrative region in 1999. Macau was China’s first and last European colony.

Just an hour’s ferry ride away from Hong Kong, Macau is an easy getaway to a very [...]

GUILIN: Tour guide recommendation

are you gonna eat that? — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:59:53 +0000

I had mentioned our great tour guide on our trip through the Guilin area and promised to blog about her, so I better do it before I forget.

The first thing Maggie Mao told us when she and her driver picked us up from the airport was that her family is from the same village as [...]