Our Foodie Weekend!

We've been here for 7 weeks now, and we only have 2 more weekends until we leave (not even two full weekends!) so this past weekend we wanted to explore Hong Kong and enjoy more of the delicious food there is to offer!

On Friday night, we went over to Causeway Bay (an area of Hong Kong we hadn't explored yet). The area we went to is called "Times Square" and it definitely mimics the look of NYC - large buildings, lights, billboards, and tons of people. We walked a few blocks back from the main area and found a Sichuan restaurant (which we had booked in advance) to try. Since coming to Hong Kong, we hadn't been to a restaurant that focuses on Sichuan cuisine and we wanted to try one here. Sichuan food is definitely known for the heat and spice of the food - and this place did not disappoint. So many peppers (one dish was at least three-fourths peppers) and it was really yummy. Definitely not an everyday type of food, as it's much more greasy than what we prefer, but it tasted great! The restaurant had a set price, and we got to choose 2 appetizers and 3 main courses - plus we got an extra veggie side. Here are some of what we had:

Sichuan Chicken (so many peppers!), Cold Sichuan Noodles, Spicy and Sweet Cucumbers, Sichuan Eggplant

All of that food was so yummy! On Saturday, we continued our foodie weekend, and went to an afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental. We had to make this reservation weeks in advance, so we were really looking forward to it - unfortunately, it wasn't what we expected at all. This is a very fancy hotel, which claimed they were "booked" for weeks - it was half empty, in a lobby-type restaurant that was nothing special. The food itself was still yummy and we enjoyed ourselves, but for such a fancy hotel, we definitely recommend having tea somewhere else! There are so many better options that we didn't know about. The sandwiches were yummy but the desserts were not great tasting - fancy looking, but dry and pretty flavorless. Yes, I'm picky - but come on, it's a really nice hotel, they should have better pastries!

On Saturday night we continued our food adventure and tried out a tapas restaurant in LKF. It was so delicious that I didn't take any photos - so you're just going to have to take my word for it! It's called Boqueria, and we had a delicious ham/salami/cheese platter, fried beef and mashed potato balls, and an artichoke heart salad. So good! After dinner, we tried out a new bar, where we had delicious drinks and were able to sample a few yummy appetizers (they were having an event so we got to try some of their food). At this point, you'd think we would be done eating - but we went for one more late night bite. Late night food is very popular is Hong Kong, and we had yet to try it - so I'll just use that as an excuse. We found a yummy pizza place that's always busy, and tried a GIANT slice of pizza. As expected, it was so good. Check out these slices!

On Sunday, we decided to make it a more active day. Bryan had seen the Big Buddha in college, but I had never seen it, and it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hong Kong. After a 10-15 minute walk, 35 minute subway ride, and an hour wait in line, we were able to take a gondola ride to the area with the Big Buddha. The gondola ride was beautiful, and an amazing new way to see Hong Kong and the surrounding areas! Once we got up the gondola, we took a short walk, and went up the stairs to see the Big Buddha. There is also a beautiful monastery very close to the Big Buddha.

Gondola Ride and at the Big Buddha!

Beautiful Views!

When we were walking around, there were also cows roaming, so it was definitely a different experience to be so close to them. They were calm, and seemed happy to roam. There was also a sign that said how far away the Statue of Liberty is, which made it even more clear just how far from home we really are!

8058 miles from NY!

That is very far away from home! I looked up the two cities that are the farthest apart from each other, and Google says it is Taipei, Taiwan - Asuncion, Paraguay (19917 km = 12376 miles). That's literally around the world, but we're not too far off!


So this weekend was focused on staying and enjoying Hong Kong, and as you can see, we definitely did! As I say every weekend - it was another wonderful weekend with my husband (and I always mean it!).