We went to Hong Kong last weekend for a three night getaway and had three great dinners, all with friends who live there. Just minutes after landing and dropping off bags at the hotel, we met a good friend who had managed to get us all reservations at Hutong, on short notice, a snazzy upscale modern Chinese restaurant on the 28th Floor of 1 Peking Road, in Tsim Sha Tsui. With a table right by the massive glass panes of this otherwise office building, the restaurant had a STUNNING nighttime view of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island. With a view like this, it’s hard not to feel like you ARE in a different city indeed… And at 8 pm that evening, a coordinated light show with buildings all gussied up on both sides of the harbor and lasers, etc. let loose a fantastic display of sheer in your face, “we know how to do a light show right”, attitude. And you know what, they surely did. I have a post on the food itself coming up, but thought I would share these snapshots, and if you look carefully, you might even make out a reflection of Marketman & The Kid…
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Wow! The lights sure are magnificent!!!
I always appreciate your photographs…nice job MM!
MM naman! Parang pang-Halloween naman your photo appreciation instruction — “if you look closely you might just find a reflection of …”… Wink! :)
Hutong is uber swanky! There’s a minimum of HKD300 order for each person if I remember. They have this yummy, inventive dish called deboned crispy lamb mala Peking Duck style! Yumminess!!! Saya the light show. Sad lang that it’s quite polluted na in the mornings and hard to see Hong Kong island from Tsim Sha Tsui!
Sarap to go to HK now ‘no? Quite cold… Must-try is also COVA in Harbour City. I love the lobster pasta with saffron cream sauce. My goodness!
Thanks for the post, MM! Excited to know what you guys had.
Hutong is one of those places where you bring guests to HK to impress them. It’s also one of those places where the view is much better than the food (note that I have been there only twice and both times I was invited). However, having said that, it’s good to experience eating there even just once and especially if you’re not paying. :)
we watched that Symphony of Lights show too at the HK Avenue of Stars. twas great! :D
Marketman, please make an article on really good, “must-go-to” restaurants in HK. I’ve read a lot about this topic but would love to know your take on this topic :)
they have the best hong kong food. ate peking duck and it was worth going to hk.
Check out Yummy mag this month for a short review on Hutong :) Totally agree with Carlo.
It’s important when eating out in HK to try to stop mentally converting prices to pesos, otherwise its impossible to enjoy a meal out in a quality establishment.
Haven’t been to Hutong but I understand its run by the same group who runs Water Margin in Times Square. If so, their Chinese take on lamb is worth the visit.
My favorite places for Chinese in HK range greatly in price but not in quality are Yung Kee, Lok Yu Tea House, Zen, Ye Shanghai, and believe it or not Peking Garden (better than the Makati branch but five times the price).
That being said I prefer eating continental food in HK.
Heehee, you guys are all pre-empting my next posts on the food… :)
Interesting, I read in Yummy Magazine December Issue about a review of Hutong Restaurant.. I wonder what yours would be..
dear mm, this is off topic . have you tried the small oranges that is inside the orange net. it is very delicious .the brand is nan something. here in iloilo they sell it along the road.
john paul, I think they are called kiat kiat or possibly clementines in English. Yes, they are good. Blaise, the yummy article is written by a commenter on this blog…
Am curious to hear how you guys found the food. I think the peking style lamb is probably the best dish there. We had an interesting experience at Hutong involving chilis.. lets just say I couldn’t feel(or taste) anything until the next morning!
Hi MM! I did a post on my blog about dinner there with some friends. It’s near the end of that long April blog…
https://ffrenzy.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
i forgot to take pics so puro descriptions lang. It’s my fave resto to bring clients or guests to because of the killer view, presentation of the food and the drinks. quite expensive though so I also take people to other restos that are presentable, with cheaper fare and yummy dishes as well. alicia, I love the lamb and the chili chicken where people do a double take and go “where’s the chicken?” upon seeing that mountain of chili. Haha! Some of the stuff I don’t care for, a bit bland for my taste but generally the food is interesting and the ambience and presentation is all part of the experience. People looking for authenticity ( a la where the locals eat) should go to dai pai dongs instead or my fave noodle house Nam Kee or Chee Kei with their HKD 23 noodles! :)
Tricia,I can email you my personal list of must-go restos in HK and Macau if you want (some snazzy, as MM describes Hutong, some for the serious food “cowboys”) with comments on the food, prices and atmosphere if I’ve been there. :) Eating my way through HK is a passion… :)
must go places for me while im in hk
there is a dumpling place on wellington street in central.. another place to go to is Maks in central near the escalators . they serve one of the best prawn dumplings ( wantons) in soup. The egg tarts near by are also the best… Yung kee for roast goose and roast pork. For something a bit high end and fine.. try Pearl at the peak or L’atalier de Joel Robuchon. High end japanese is Zuma at the landmark. For a quick snack while shopping in IFC mall try the singapore export Crystal Jade to have your fill of freshly pulled noodles with deep fried leeks. (served dry with a bowl of soup on the side) and siao long pao ( small pork dumplings) while at IFC buy some teuscher champagne truffles or royce nama chocolates. For excellent yum cha… maxim’s tea house in city hall but gets busy fast so best to come early plus they have english menus. or you could just point at the steam baskets that the “aunties” push around the room. For nice tapas bocca on peel street in central.
Dear Sir,
Sorry for being off-topic…
Thank you very much for your fried chicken recipe. As one who has been living far away from home for more than a year, cooking fried chicken as you have described brought back memories of my childhood. It makes me nostalgic of my family and friends back in Manila and realize how much I miss them. I am looking forward to the time that I would be able to go back home.
Thank you again.
Looks like you’re dining in a disco house with 360 degrees view – like John Travolta’s Dance Fever!
What a fantastic view and nice (reflections) photos of you and The Kid! :)
I had been to Hongkong 2x and it is sad to hear that some of our Kababayans who had been there hadnt seen the Symphony of Lights because it hadnt been part of their package tour.
I love Chinese food but basically loves the Chinese food here better than those served there. Its probably that the Chinese foood served here is already catered to our taste. I love the Chinese foods better in San Francisco and other Chinese buffets in San Diego, Asian Buffet near Knotts Berry Farm. A friend once said, you might not like the Chinese food there in Hongkong! I just laughed it off, and I think its true. One thing we are also afraid of the hygiene of people preparing it as well as the Chinese food in Chinatown here in Manila. My friend doesnt eat siopao unless it is homemaid and bought from a person she knows. Have you heard in the news the siopao in China contains boiled cardboards. We ended up eating in Jollibbee and Kentucky which are more expensive than what we have here.
I hope you can present Chinese food there which are catered to Filipino taste and which are affordable. Some Filipinos are afraid that they might eat foods which are from cat.
If you are a tourist guide, how would you tour your Filipino clients there in Hongkong? Mongkok is more expensive than Divisoria. What souvenirs can you suggest which is definitely from Hongkong! Like cable cars from San Francisco, mini Eiffel towers from Paris, mini Petronas towers from Malaysia. I was just able to buy Hongkong t-shirts there. My best buy was probably the Chinese costume for my nephew which we bought near the department stores where most Filipinos go around.
Hongkong is such a small country but the transportation system is really organized. Only few people use private cars. MRT, buses and cable cars are more used.
The only drawback to Hongkong tourism is that Chinese dont know how to speak in English. If you get lost, nobody is going to help you. You will just be lucky to see Fiipinos! When we took out McDonald’s, surprisingly, many had been asking were we bought it. Filipinos and Americans are pretty excited about McDonalds there, which we frequently ignore back home.
I enjoyed Hongkong Disneyland better than US Disneyland. First, HK Disneyland had its own train going there, another feature is that it is just small like Enchanted Kingdom which you will better appreciate more if you reallly want rest and vacation. In Anaheim, you feel so exhausted after your Disneyland trip. Florida is even more tiring!
Hi ragamuffin! Yes, send it my way :)
Hi Tricia, you did not leave your email add :)
Apologies MM for using your site as Tricia did not leave an address where I can send the list of HK restos.
MM,
can’t wait for your post on best HK restos. I’ve been making my way through a seriously good list of places over the past year. Validation from the Marketman would be great.
Ragamuffin, would you actually post a blog on your favorite places?