90th Birthday Celebration in Hong Kong Part III: FOOD

Chinese and food: These two are inseparable. So at my 5-day birthday celebration among Chinese friends this held true to tradition every day. I ate very, very well in Hong Kong which might just be the best place in the world, to eat, even surpassing Paris.

It began with breakfast. My hosts knew that the manager at the Regal Hotel at which we stayed had been her former pupil. So, of course, she arranged for an-up graded room on the premier level with full access to the special afternoon tea, evening open bar , late night  complimentary cocktails and full breakfast.. Since HK is so international it was obvious that the breakfast counters featured not only traditional bacon and a form of hash-brown potatoes, but also all kinds of hot and cereals, porridges, congee, steamed buns, fish, Japanese dishes hot and cold beyond count., bagels and lox, fresh fruit of great variety. trays of pastries etc, etc,

One of the features of dining in Hong Kong is that it is done in private clubs. So I was elegantly hosted  for food at The Chinese Club, The Hong Kong Golf Club and the Bankers Club. I will here go so far as to actually list the specially prepared (and carefully printed out, personally dedicated menu) provided by Tam Kim Chu and her husband at the Bankers Club.  Here it is: Barbecued Whole Suckling Pig, Sautéd Scallops and Prawns with Vegetables, Deep-fried Crab Claws with Minced Cuttlefish, Braised Birds’ Nest Soup with Fish Maw and Seafood, Steamed Sabah Giant Garoupa, Roasted Crispy Chicken, Fried Rice with Shredded Chicken in Cream and Tomato Sauce, Braised E-fu Noodles with Mushroom and Abalone Sauce, Sweetened Red Bean Cream with Lotus Seeds and Lily Bulbs and Chinese Longevity Buns. Yes, that was one meal, all accompanied by outstanding, appropriate wine for each course!

Lunch at the Chinese Club and at the Hong Kong Golf Club were on a somewhat lesser scale but dinner at Hu Tong in Kowloon, overlooking the harbor and at Guincho A Galero in Macau were also at the very top of any list of fine dining. In Macau it was wonderful to enjoy Portuguese sausage as it can only be made in that former colony of Portugal..

There were two large birthday party meals each attended by over 100 and each featured wonderful more traditional Chinese food. At the alumni dinner the meal actually started with a huge birthday cake which was served before the rest of the meal. The meal was not served in traditional Chinese style with dishes in the center of the table and then on individual plates. Rather each entry was a separate serving brought to each guest on a small plate with just that one item. This went on for 12 courses, most of which I did not have time to eat as I busy posing for photos with guests from the respective tables.

I was greatly surprised by the sumptuous catered noon meal served at Concordia Lutheran Church after services on Sunday. It again featured a vast multitude of traditional Chinese dishes served cafeteria style. Two menu items were especially interesting. The first was actually proudly brought to me. It was a large bowl of charred mashed potatoes. This would never be seen at a traditional Chinese feast but the hosts figured I was an American and so they asked this dish to be specially provided for me and it was brought to me with great flourish and humor!

The other feature of this meal was the birthday cake, actually three of them. At a ceremony in the church after the regular worship service the ushers brought up 2 rather small and beautiful cakes which they asked Tim and me to ceremoniously cut. It was then served later at the dinner. However, at the dinner they brought me another piece of cake in a somewhat “messed up” condition. They explained to me: ”This piece comes from the big beautifully decorated cake we had ordered for you to be presented after the church service. However-on the way to church there was “an accident”. The whole top of the cake with all its decorations was totally ruined. ”They did salvage some of the cake and wanted me to at least have a little piece of that, too.

In between all this Tim and I were ready for a simple dish of noodles from a street-side stand. So we asked David Tzang to help us locate one. Well, that did not work out as planned. He and his wife knew of an old-fashioned noodle shop that had become so famous that it was listed in the Michelin Guide. It was so popular that the waiting line stretched half a block and the wait could be an hour or more. So Margaret had gone early, stood in line and in we marched immediately, sat in the crude wooden booths and with waiters whizzing by enjoyed our noodles-accompanied by wonderful pig knuckles which Tim enjoyed so much that it was later announced that he had eaten three portions of them.