First Impressions of Hong Kong

I'm just wrapping up my third day in Hong Kong, and this city is crazy. It's packed, but not overly crowded. There are new buildings right next to what look like the old world all at the end of an alley crowded with semi-permanent stalls. I need to get out at night to take more pictures so that's my goal for the next few days.

I started on Sunday by going to Macau. The new gambling Mecca of the world. It has more gambling revenue than the Las Vegas strip and has only a fraction of the casinos. After the hour ferry ride and the half hour line to get through customs, I was there. While I wanted to see a few of the casinos (the Sands, the Wynn and the Venetian) I ended up only at the Sands. Had I left that casino I would have been happier, but hey, you win some and you lose some. On the way back to the terminal, I walked past the Macau Grand Prix. There weren't many good viewing spots for non ticket paying spectators, but I did see a few laps. I also took a look around the Duty Free shop since I was in another country. But I held back. Had I won money, it could have been a different story. Sine they had a large vertical range of every single Premier Cru French Boudreaux.







I bummed around the neighborhood I'm staying in looking for a place for dinner and getting frustrated that streets aren't labeled well, if at all. I ended up at a small noodle shop and for about $5 had a bowl of noodles with wontons and a coke which was quite good.

Works been keeping me busy so I haven't ventured out too much at night, but that will change. I went to Yung Kee for dinner on Monday which is a local institution. I had the roasted goose and some sides. It was good, but nothing special. Something to say I went.

Tonight, however, I went to Shui Hu Ju for their Black Chicken.



I'm not one to take pictures of food, but this trip is an exception. I started with a Bean Curd with Spring Onion Oil. And if all tofu tasted like this, I might be able to get on board.



I also managed to eat an inlets with just chop sticks. But the reason I went here was for the Black Chicken. I sort of knew what to expect, but what came out was quite different. Black Chicken is exactly that. A black skinned chicken. The deep fry it and the toss it in the wok with Szechuan peppers. Szechuan pepper is a peppercorn and has a tongue numbing sensation. It was a bit like a dry Arizona heat. I didn't break into sweats like with buffalo wings, but I felt like I was breathing fire. I was cursing under my breath it was so hot and trying to cool it with water and beer. Note for next time, hot tea does not work. You might be wondering how hot could it really have been. Well.....



Yep, those red things, all 60-70 of them, we're tossed in the wok along with the chicken (hidden below the peppers). It was very very addictive, but the heat won out with just a few pieces left.

And walking out of the restaurant into a side street like this.



Old and new, living side by side.

Location:Hong Kong