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An Asian Holiday: Part 13 – From Fine Dining to Food Stalls, Eating in Hong Kong

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    Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Twitter! Emily Jablon:  Daraius and I celebrated Christmas with his family in Macau and Hong Kong for ~8 days.  It was our 1st time to Macau and Hong Kong and we were very excited to visit!
    Daraius Trying Chinese Hot Pot in Hong Kong

    An Asian Holiday – Trip Report Index:

    This post will cover various restaurants we tried in Hong Kong, including:

    Eating In Hong Kong – Part 2

    Conrad Hong Kong, Breakfast at the Garden Café

    Our second morning at the Conrad, we decided to go for breakfast downstairs at the Garden Café.

    Bird’s Eye View of the Garden Cafe Breakfast Buffet

    We arrived at around 9:00 am and there was a 10 minute wait.  The restaurant was very large, and there was a lot of food on the buffet.

    Emily Happy to Have a Seat and Eager to Try the Food

    There were cold cuts…

    There Were Several Types of Protein
    …mackerel and salmon…
    Craving Sushi?  You’ll Love the Giant Sashimi Sized Pieces of Fresh Fish!

    …freshly cut fruit, including pineapple, melon, honeydew, and watermelon…

    I Was Happy to See All the Fruit Because It’s One of My Favorite Foods

    …yogurt and smoothies…

    Emily Wondering If She Should Start With Yogurt or Sashimi

    …a selection of bread and pastries…

    Croissants, Tarts, and Rolls So Tasty, but Straight to the Hips It Goes

    …fruit in syrup…

    I Wanted to Like the Pears, but the Fruit Syrup Was Too Sweet

    …and a wide selection of hot foods….

    Daraius Suggested We Have an Early Breakfast at 8:00 am to Start the Day Right

    …including all of the American favorites.

    Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Crepes…Where to Start?

    There was also Chinese food…

    Dim Sum Was Included in the Buffet

    …with a variety of Chinese meat.

    I’ve Never Seen Fish Balls, Bean Curd, and Bean Sprouts at a Breakfast Buffet

    Lastly, there was fresh juice.

    The Watermelon Juice Was My Favorite

    Daraius and his dad had a great time trying out all of the food.

    Surprisingly There Was Still Food Left After Daraius and His Dad Ate Breakfast

    Because of all of the fish on the menu, I ate packaged yogurt, granola, ground flaxseed, and pastries.  The manager said he would make anything I wanted, but I felt like having a smaller breakfast and didn’t want to take risks.

    A Small Breakfast Means More Room for Dessert Later!

    Tsui Wah Restaurant

    Daraius had given up on the guidebook recommendations, and instead ate at a nearby restaurant when he was hungry.

    For lunch, we went to Tsui Wah Restaurant, in Central Hong Kong.  It wasn’t the closest Tsui Wah location to the Conrad Hong Kong, but it was nearby where we were at the time.

    Tsui Wah Is a Chinese Chain Tea Restaurant With 26 Restaurants in Hong Kong

    The dining area was busy, but we quickly got a table for 4.

    You Know a Restaurant Is Good When It’s Packed With Locals

    Tsui Wah had a large menu.  One entire page was fish dishes.

    All Sorts of Dishes I Can’t Eat Because of My Fish Allergy

    Daraius ordered pork…

    It Came With Broccoli Which Daraius Didn’t Eat

    …and shrimp.

    No Green Vegetables Here So Daraius Ate the Whole Thing!

    Daraius thought the food was okay, and wouldn’t return.

    Food Stalls Near Temple Street Night Market

    For dinner, Daraius and his dad went to the food stalls near the Temple Street Markets.  After scouting out a few stalls, Daraius decided on the Woosung Street Temporary Cooked Food Hawker Bazaar.

    Daraius Ate at a Food Stall

    There weren’t many places to sit, but we found a table.

    Daraius and Emily Trying “Street” Food

    Most of the menus were in Cantonese…

    We Couldn’t Read the Menu

    …which made ordering a bit tough for me because of my allergy.  So I decided to skip eating.

    It Was a Challenge Trying to Figure Out What to Order

    However, there were 1 to 2 small menus with pictures and a little bit of English.

    Thankfully We Found a Menu With Photos!

    That helped a lot!  But Daraius noticed that the menu had only a few items, and wasn’t as extensive as the Cantonese menu.

    The English Menu had Fewer Choices

    So Daraius walked around and pointed out to what the locals had on their table which looked good to him!  In the end, Daraius ordered a Chinese hot pot…

    The Chinese Version of Fondue

    …and steamed fish with black bean sauce.

    Daraius Enjoyed his Fish!

    Daraius liked the fish better than the hot pot.  He had visions of a tasty hot pot which his Chinese business colleagues had made him eat years ago, and was yearning for something similar.  This was a bit different and wasn’t as tasty as what he had eaten before.

    Daraius Stuffed to the Gills

    Golden Leaf, Conrad Hong Kong

    For dinner, we went to the Golden Leaf, the Chinese restaurant in our hotel.  The Golden Leaf is a 1 star Michelin restaurant.  We’ve had great meals at other 1 star Michelin restaurants, like the Mirabelle Restaurant in Rome, so I was looking forward to to the food.

    Daraius, Emily, Daraius’ Sister and Father Enjoying Dinner at the Golden Leaf

    There was an expansive menu that included a variety of dishes, including bird’s nest soup!

    Daraius ordered duck…

    Duck Meat Is Fattier Than It Looks
    …and fish…
    The Fish Was Prepared in 2 Ways

    …and a spicy beef dish.

    Daraius Loves Spicy Chinese Food

    Even better was that they brought me food from Nicholini’s, the Italian restaurant upstairs because of my fish allergy.

    I Couldn’t Resist the Pasta With Shaved Truffles!

    Bottom Line

    I tried to stay away from Chinese food on this trip because there’s so much fish everywhere and cross contamination was a potential concern.  The staff at the Conrad took great care of me.  And it made my trip much more enjoyable because I could relax and eat what I wanted instead of my energy bars, pizza, and McWings.

    But Daraius was adventurous and tried lots of Chinese dishes, including street food!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)