FOOD FOOD FOOD

For those of you that know me you know that food is a very important aspect in my life.

I always told myself during happy times and down times the thing that has always stayed consistent are my family, friends and FOOD.

There are many great joys in life and Food is one of them.

People here in HK ask me how can I have dinner for 2-3 hours? Apparently dinner in HK last about 1 hour at the most.

I let them know that dinner is my way of socializing with my friends. I try to explain to them rather than go clubbing or go out drinking afterwards sometimes I prefer to spend my entire night sitting at a restaurant enjoying the company of my friends over a few glasses of cocktails and some really great food.*

*this does not apply to wonton noodle bars =P

For instance. Just a few days ago. My friend and I went to this great restaurant in the IFC called Isola. I highly recommend it! Food is great and the outdoor patio deck which is as big as the restaurant has a beautiful view of the HK harbour.

IFC is the tallest building in HK and is the same building that Batman para glided into in his recent movie. Kinda looks like a giant phallus don't you think?

Back to food. This place was pretty good. It was of the Italian flair. We had an order of one of the best cooked medium rare fillet's I have tasted in a long time! On top of the fillet was a piece of goose liver as big as the meat itself. We also had a stone oven fired pizza with hand cut pepperoni. Of course a tasty arugula, mushroom, salad.

We spent a few hours at dinner and spent the rest of the time in the outdoor patio having coffee and hanging out.

This is a prime example of what I enjoy doing. Simple pleasures in life.

Had Dim Sum here for the 1st time since I came back this time. I went to a place called Jade Garden on a friend recommendation. There are two in causeway bay and a few others scattered around the rest of HK Island and Kowloon. I went to the one in Causeway Bay off Hysan Road right off of Percival St near Times Square. Needless to say delicious! A friend of mine made a good point in that why is it that it tastes better in HK than it does in SF? I was wondering that myself and the only conclusion that I could come up with is that the turnover for the dim sum is really high in HK and its constantly fresh. But that didn't make sense for some dishes like the Chang Fen. The noodle itself was just better. The skin of the Shao Mai was better as well.....

I guess HK just simply more skillful in their preparation.....

Sorry I do not take pictures of food when I eat. By the time I try to whip out a camera the food is gone!

Fundamental difference between HK Island and Kowloon when it comes to food.

HK Island has more expensive high class food then Kowloon does. Although in Tsim Sha Tsui there are a few little nooks and crannies like Knutsford Steps where you can get some real good quality Italian food at a price of course.

Kowloon has more of the great cheap local food here. Wonton Noodle Soup. BBQ meats over rice. Cafe Style Food.

I'll try to post some pictures next time unfortunately it will be posted from my iPhone.

HK - Month Long Recap

Month long recap of HK......

All in all HK is a great place. I would never replace it with the greatest place ever.....SF

My 1st week was pretty rough. A lot of you know this because you got many phone calls from me. I realized my social network here was not as big as I thought as a lot of my friends were either in relationships or have moved away from HK.

I made it an effort to go out and meet random people and luckily things have worked out really great.

I have met different groups of people I would not readily call friends yet but more hang out type people. Party people, Dinner people, and of course my business partners family.

Work is something I do not want to get to. That is just mundane. I'll give a recap on that with my next post.

• week 1 - Bad week, No friends, eating by myself....Home sick
  
• week 2 - Forced myself into uncomfortable situations. Met a lot of random people. Mostly good and some psycho
  
• week 3 - Friend came to Hk on vacation. Had a great time kept me occupied for 5 days. Really got me going in the sense of getting comfortable here.
  
• week 4 - At this point. I have almost reached my goal of being able to call someone if I want to grab dinner anytime during the week. It has been a hectic month starting from week 2. After my friend left from week 3. My friend came from Shanghai to visit. She warned me that I was going to possibly die from exhaustion. Boy she was not kidding. I think I partied for 6 nights straight! We are talking about coming home at 5 AM everyday type deal.
• week 5 - been hanging out with a friend of mine that recently moved here from SF. It is interesting the differing opinions i get about HK. My experience has been great so far! I have learned something about HK with my many conversations with my friend is that it is indeed a very superficial place. But just like everywhere it is what you make of it. I do not let how HK is turn me into a different person fundamentally. I enjoy all aspects of HK but at the same time I am not afraid to do or express what I feel to people here. They may find me strange but that is whom I am. I really try to go out and find a piece of SF here in HK. From Gardens to off the beaten path places. I enjoy doing what is out of the norm for HK. Next up on my list finding kid of artistic feel to HK perhaps a trip to Macau.
• week 6 - Work Work Work!

More to come later