I've had a few weeks to collect my thoughts so here we go.
Honkers was absolutely fantastic. A bunch of us needed a bit of a vacay from work and the August long weekend (the first long weekend we've had) was the perfect opportunity. I did a bit of organizing to get the trip booked and then I stepped back. I told the rest of them I was fine with anything as long as I got my Dim Sum.
The party started right on the plane heading out of Cebu. We all worked our night shifts and then headed to the airport. The security was unsurprisingly lax in the local airport. We all quickly shifted through the usual metal detectors and x-ray machines before settling into a smokey airport bar for a few more bottles of Red Horse for the road. Once our brains were provided a bit more lubrication we were all ready to fly.
A few hours, a few comp drinks, the chicken (not the fish), and a lot of immature giggling and joking later we all arrived safely in HK. No issues as our accommodation also supplied us with free transit to our hotel. We never really got a great view of the actual city when we spent the night a few months ago. I wasn't prepare for the amazing sights as the bus drove through Kowloon and onto Wan Chai. Rolling lush green hills, bridges that seemed to expand on forever, the sharp angled architecture, streets upon streets of people, shops, and shenanigans. And people were WALKING; something that seems like a foreign concept for the foreigners in Cebu. We arrived at the hotel and planned our next move.
For those who don't know, Wan Chai used to be the red light district back in the 60's. Although some (but not all) of the sleaze has disappeared the neon signs have remained. The view from my hotel room was a perfect preview and pump up for the night again. No time for napping; my plan was obvious: beer, walk, eat, gawk.The group rallied in the lobby and a few maps were looked at but it didn't really matter. We all spilled outside and I said, "hey, let's go that way and look for food". For some reason, I suspect people thought I had an idea where I was going. At the very least I think that some thought I would take charge of this Motley Crew but this was not the case. Like i said before, my only expectation was to get Dim Sum later in the weekend. I was only in the mind set to walk (I cannot stress enough how much I have missed this activity in Cebu) and take in everything laid before me.
Neon signs were everywhere. Even at dusk, all of the shops were buzzing with activity. I could see that the group was hungry, but I wasn't up to making decisions. Most of us has been up for over 24 hours and with empty stomachs grumbling we were all getting a little crabby. We continued to walk past restaurants with Chinese only menus until we inadvertently stumbled into Causeway Bay.
Causeway Bay is a large shopping area, both indoor and outdoor. Words cannot really do it justice but try and think of outdoor advertisements which stretch up stories high to a group of flood lights. I think Karla said it best when she mentioned that it felt like she was inside.
We all quickly turned a corner and Deborah led the way past the giant television display and into a nearby mall. The mall seemed like organized chaos; a mess of twinkling lights and escalators which seemed to go in every direction. Somehow we made it to a noodle house, took a number and made it in. I'm not sure if the restaurant knew what they were getting themselves into when they took in seven tired, silly, non-Cantonese speaking gwai-lo but they sure got their money's worth!
They quickly moved us into a private room with a large table and lazy-susan, probably to separate the insanity from the rest of the establishment. The place looked pretty good:
filled with locals and not a lot of white people...CHECK!
menus with some English and pictures...CHECK!
dude kneading fresh noodles in plain view...CHECK!
old waitresses who spoke about as much English as I do Cantonese...CHECK!
We must have been perceived as the typical ignorant "Americans" but I don't think any of us cared. We had at least one waitress lose patience with us enough to turn her head away in disgust (nothing we did, just a language barrier and a few of us acting a little silly). The manager then quickly came in and took our orders patiently and with courtesy. What can I say; the beers were cold, my soup broth was spicy, the noodles were fresh and firm, the brisket was tender. This is known as Evan's "happy place".
The rest of the evening included a lot more walking and staring. We even went and went past some of the bars and hostess clubs on the main strip. We all stayed pretty tame, because tomorrow was going to be a packed day. It was my day for dim sum, after all...
to be continued...
Honkers was absolutely fantastic. A bunch of us needed a bit of a vacay from work and the August long weekend (the first long weekend we've had) was the perfect opportunity. I did a bit of organizing to get the trip booked and then I stepped back. I told the rest of them I was fine with anything as long as I got my Dim Sum.
The party started right on the plane heading out of Cebu. We all worked our night shifts and then headed to the airport. The security was unsurprisingly lax in the local airport. We all quickly shifted through the usual metal detectors and x-ray machines before settling into a smokey airport bar for a few more bottles of Red Horse for the road. Once our brains were provided a bit more lubrication we were all ready to fly.
A few hours, a few comp drinks, the chicken (not the fish), and a lot of immature giggling and joking later we all arrived safely in HK. No issues as our accommodation also supplied us with free transit to our hotel. We never really got a great view of the actual city when we spent the night a few months ago. I wasn't prepare for the amazing sights as the bus drove through Kowloon and onto Wan Chai. Rolling lush green hills, bridges that seemed to expand on forever, the sharp angled architecture, streets upon streets of people, shops, and shenanigans. And people were WALKING; something that seems like a foreign concept for the foreigners in Cebu. We arrived at the hotel and planned our next move.
For those who don't know, Wan Chai used to be the red light district back in the 60's. Although some (but not all) of the sleaze has disappeared the neon signs have remained. The view from my hotel room was a perfect preview and pump up for the night again. No time for napping; my plan was obvious: beer, walk, eat, gawk.The group rallied in the lobby and a few maps were looked at but it didn't really matter. We all spilled outside and I said, "hey, let's go that way and look for food". For some reason, I suspect people thought I had an idea where I was going. At the very least I think that some thought I would take charge of this Motley Crew but this was not the case. Like i said before, my only expectation was to get Dim Sum later in the weekend. I was only in the mind set to walk (I cannot stress enough how much I have missed this activity in Cebu) and take in everything laid before me.
Neon signs were everywhere. Even at dusk, all of the shops were buzzing with activity. I could see that the group was hungry, but I wasn't up to making decisions. Most of us has been up for over 24 hours and with empty stomachs grumbling we were all getting a little crabby. We continued to walk past restaurants with Chinese only menus until we inadvertently stumbled into Causeway Bay.
Causeway Bay is a large shopping area, both indoor and outdoor. Words cannot really do it justice but try and think of outdoor advertisements which stretch up stories high to a group of flood lights. I think Karla said it best when she mentioned that it felt like she was inside.
We all quickly turned a corner and Deborah led the way past the giant television display and into a nearby mall. The mall seemed like organized chaos; a mess of twinkling lights and escalators which seemed to go in every direction. Somehow we made it to a noodle house, took a number and made it in. I'm not sure if the restaurant knew what they were getting themselves into when they took in seven tired, silly, non-Cantonese speaking gwai-lo but they sure got their money's worth!
They quickly moved us into a private room with a large table and lazy-susan, probably to separate the insanity from the rest of the establishment. The place looked pretty good:
filled with locals and not a lot of white people...CHECK!
menus with some English and pictures...CHECK!
dude kneading fresh noodles in plain view...CHECK!
old waitresses who spoke about as much English as I do Cantonese...CHECK!
We must have been perceived as the typical ignorant "Americans" but I don't think any of us cared. We had at least one waitress lose patience with us enough to turn her head away in disgust (nothing we did, just a language barrier and a few of us acting a little silly). The manager then quickly came in and took our orders patiently and with courtesy. What can I say; the beers were cold, my soup broth was spicy, the noodles were fresh and firm, the brisket was tender. This is known as Evan's "happy place".
The rest of the evening included a lot more walking and staring. We even went and went past some of the bars and hostess clubs on the main strip. We all stayed pretty tame, because tomorrow was going to be a packed day. It was my day for dim sum, after all...
to be continued...
We want more. You are carrying on the fine family tradition of talking about food on holiday!!!!
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