Seven great spots and one favorite snack to get you through Hong Kong

By Vivian Yan, McClatchy-Tribune
12:03 PM PDT, August 12, 2009

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Restaurants with views in scenic, bustling Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- I grew up hearing stories about Hong Kong. My parents lived there until they were teens, before moving to America. I knew that before a typhoon, cockroaches flew like mad in the skies. I knew that you could toss coins down to a street vendor and they would throw up a snack to your apartment window. I knew that housing could be so cramped in H-shaped tenements that a whole floor might share a bathroom. But all of that was based on memories from my parents growing up in the '50s and '60s.

So when I visited Hong Kong for the first time, I didn't know what to expect. Did the street vendors still launch food up buildings? The coins themselves had probably changed, too, since the city has been returned to China.

And after two weeks in the city, visiting both tourist hot spots and my parents' old favorite haunts, I realize that I still don't know what to expect, even now that I look back. Was riding out a typhoon on the 40th floor of a skyscraper the most exciting event, or was it the fun of trying as many exotic-looking snacks as possible at the numerous 7-Elevens?

I've narrowed the list down to a few places and events that anyone can experience, anytime. And so, at the risk of sounding like yet another tour guide/salesperson, I present my list of eight unforgettable moments.

Why eight?

For many Chinese people, the number eight holds an auspicious significance because the word for eight and the word for fortune rhyme, especially in the Cantonese language: baht and faht, respectively. With a city grounded in traditions yet reaching for the skies, what better way could there be to begin?

1. Fu Kee Restaurant

I didn't expect much when I walked into the small, crowded restaurant. It was the day after I'd landed in Hong Kong, and so far I hadn't been too impressed with the humidity, the loud voices yelling down the street in Cantonese, the violent drivers ... the humidity. But little did I know what awaited me in the one simple order I made that night:

One bowl of barbecued pork, called cha siu in Cantonese, served over white rice.

The man who took my order hollered across the room to the cooks. He didn't have a pen or a pad. He probably would've been slowed down with one anyway, as the restaurant was packed with hungry customers packed around small tables.

The food arrived. A line of cha siu lay on top of a generous amount of white rice. Up with the chopsticks, into my mouth with the pork. ... Wait. That couldn't be right.

I needed another bite to prove that the first bite wasn't a fluke, that I hadn't just imagined the taste due to my own hunger. But each mouthful was just as fabulous as the first, the rich flavors of the meat tempered by the white rice. In all my forays through Rowland Heights and San Francisco, nothing has ever matched up with the cha siu at that small restaurant.

Was I impressed now? Oh yes -- impressed enough to come back at least four times over the course of my month-long trip to Hong Kong and southern China.

104-106 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon District.

2. Tian Tan Buddha

At 2,330 feet above sea level and "sitting" 111.5 feet tall, the 250-ton landmark on Lantau Island is the world's tallest bronze Buddha. I took the Ngong Ping 360, a gondola lift, up the mountain to reach the Tian Tan Buddha. Tian tan basically translates into Altar of Heaven. The Buddha is also known as the Po Lin Buddha for the nearby monastery of the same name. In a small car lifted high above the sea and green mountains, we drifted through cloud cover and over buildings and the international airport.

From the lift's terminal, we walked down a street lined with stores selling food and small statues of Buddhist and Chinese symbols. Visitors held umbrellas to block the sun as they popped in and out of doorways on the way down to the Buddha. Finally, we reached an open plaza, where the 268 stairs leading up to the Buddha's lotus pedestal began their ascent.

We joined the throng of people climbing the stairs, looking upward at the calm and benevolent face of the Buddha before us. Even at a distance, its presence was immense, its tranquil smile overlooking the trees and flowers bordering the stairs and the green mountains beyond. It was a long, hot climb, but the elevation made the site a thankful respite from the summer humidity.

There is a lower level of the lotus pedestal, which the stairs leads to directly and is free to enter, and a higher level, where the Buddha actually sits. Reaching the upper level requires entering the base of the statue and going through the halls there. A curving staircase winds three floors upward, circling a huge bell with carvings of Buddhas. Exiting the halls took us to the very bottom of the Buddha, where my mother told me it was good luck to rub the bronze lotus petals the Buddha sat upon. Outside the wind had picked up strength to cool the heat from the sun, and even with a slight cover of clouds, the view down the mountain and out to the sea was unmistakably beautiful.

Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, np360.com.hk

3. Lui Yen Gai (Ladies' Market)

Ladies' Market is named that for a reason: It's heaven for the female shopper who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to fight for it.

The market is basically a long stretch of tall stalls on the street. Cars aren't allowed to drive down the road, so shoppers need to worry only about pickpockets and bumping into people. Packed with loud voices and throngs of people, combined with the humidity and heat, the street is very claustrophobic and very much alive. Each stall specializes in different goods, from Bruce Lee T-shirts to belts and purses, but many stalls sell many similar items -- and that is where the haggling comes in.

Personally, I'm not much of a haggler, especially since I'm neither fluent nor adventurous with my Cantonese. So mostly I speak to storekeepers in a soft voice, which isn't the optimal tone for arguing over prices. But nonetheless, Ladies' Market was a sight to be remembered. Stall owners shout out for your attention, "Siu jie!" meaning Miss.

At one corner was a pitchman -- or pitchwoman, I should say -- attracting a crowd as she demonstrated a wallet that you could open at either end, switching between Cantonese and English, depending on whoever stopped by. It was like a show -- witness the amazing wallet as it wows the wandering passers-by!

Southern end of Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, discoverhongkong.com

4. The bus ride to Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak, known to most residents simply as "the Peak," overlooks Victoria Harbor and the city below. It isn't the highest point in Hong Kong – but it's well equipped for visitors, with a sweeping view of the Symphony of Lights, a show in which colored lights of the buildings below coordinate to form patterns, pictures and words. It's still humid at the top but much cooler, with the Peak Tower nearby if you need some air conditioning and shopping.

But despite the breathtaking view and the glow of the city lights, the most memorable part of the visit, by far, was the bus ride up.

The road up to the Peak snakes along the mountain curves. A reasonable driver, a safe driver, would take his time navigating the twists and turns – but not these bus drivers. They attacked each stretch of road with a vigorous push on the gas, braking scarcely moments before certain collision. I sat on the second floor of a double-decker bus, holding onto the seatbelt-less chairs and wondering if each thought was going to be my last. It felt like if I leaned too far over to look out the window, the whole bus just might topple over and down, taking one or two high-rise towers with us.

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