In Causeway Bay, there are lots of tarp covered houseboats, sampans, the likes of which are featured in
the majority of adventure films set in Hong Kong. Let’s take for example the James Bond movies, -- in
Hong Kong, Tomb Raider or Spitfire.
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The ethnic composition of Hong Kong is just as colorful as the city itself. Its population has grown
twelvefold over the past 60 years and is estimated to more than seven million people, 95% of whom are
Chinese. The largest minorities are Filipino, Indonesian, Thai and Indian. 50,000 Americans, Canadians,
Australians, Brits and 3000 Germans also live in the city.
Aberdeen Harbor is a popular harbor on the south side of Hong Kong Island. The coastal area will
surprise those who think that Hong Kong is 100% urbanized. Here, we can still find secluded little bays
and hills covered with native forests. We can reach the harbor via the Aberdeen Tunnel. In the harbor,
we can find terribly expensive snow white yachts as well as mussel covered commercial boats or trollers
with flaking paint. Traffic on the water is at least as heavy as on the mainland in the city center.
Destructive typhoons are not uncommon on the coast of the South China Sea which is why everybody
crowds into this refuge protected from the wind. Houseboats rock behind the breakwater and many
have flower boxes hung on the railing in which not only colorful flowers but also herbs are grown.
From amid the waterbuses and fishing boats, a junk sometimes shines through. Junks are small sailing
ships with their fore and aft arched high and their bat wing shaped sails ensure their fast speed and
maneuverability. One of the few remaining junks is the famous Duk Ling, that has been dedicated to
tourism while the majority of boat tours are done with sampans or small modern boats. Tourist offices
organize boat trips but all better hotels can help you set up a trip as well. If we don’t mind bargaining a
bit then we can negotiate the price with the boatman personally.
Jumbo, the swimming restaurant built in traditional Chinese style is a rare local curiosity where Chinese
specialties are served. It’s said that more than 30 million guests have been served there. We know that
Chinese cuisine is not uniform. It has several schools and styles. The most famous of these are
Cantonese, Peking and Szechuan. But Hong Kong also has its own separate style. The huge country’s
different climatic and geographical conditions create considerable differences just like the tastes of
ethnic groups and of course the British authority also influence the cuisine of Hong Kong.
The Chinese cuisine is a philosophy of life which is in fact built on the expressive symbolism of the
harmony of the ancient Taoist yin and yang symbolism. The ingredients of foods and drinks, eating, the
flavors, the cuisine and the cooking techniques are also divided according to this symbolism. This
idealism is an interesting contrast to the fact that the Chinese cuisine is the cuisine of need where lots of
people must be fed under bad conditions and a tight budget. It’s because of this that everything is a
potential ingredient of lunch or dinner in China. They eat snakes and bats, cats and dogs, frogs and
snails, bears, locusts, swallow’s nests, mushrooms, bamboo and sprouts, seeds, roots and flowers.
Cooks use lots of different spices.
Growing and using herbs and spices is significant throughout the whole of the Far East. The tools used
to create these foods like the wok and the bamboo steaming pot are equally important and used more
and more often in Europe as well. Let’s see what Quentin Crewe, culinary writer recommends from the
delicacies of Chinese restaurants.
-- wonton, a rich chicken soup with mushroom and celery. Yuan wotang, the famous swallow’s nest
soup. Suan la tang, hot and spicy soup. This is one of the most popular dishes of Chinese restaurants
abroad. --, eight stone duck, roast duck stuffed with prawns, mushrooms and chestnuts and cut into
eight pieces. Hayang soya, duck seasoned with ginger, onions and soy sauce then baked crispy. And the
most popular poultry dish is Peking duck. There’s specific restaurants specializing in its professional
preparation. Air is pumped under the skin of the duck to separate it from the meat. Then it’s hung out
to dry in the air and finally glazed with honey and roasted into a crisp. The duck is served with little
pancakes which everyone can fill with spicy sauce covered meat and roll up for themselves.
Choiyuanhoi are fried beef strips cut into small pieces and served with vegetables and oyster sauce.
Jiangru is port stewed in a sauce made of ginger, wine, cinnamon and cloves. Besides the innumerable
fish, crab, mussel and other seafood dishes, shark fin is also a big favorite. The choice of vegetable
dishes is endless. The side dish is usually rice but glass noodles and other types of noodles are also
popular. It’s understandable the Chinese buffets and restaurants have a modest choice of sweets. Their
traditional desserts are usually too sweet for tourists who prefer the delicious fruits instead. China is
traditionally a tea drinking country but beer lovers will also never stay thirsty for long. Although grapes
are grown and wine is made in more and more place, their quality varies and anyway, beer like sing tao
goes better with traditional dishes.
Be sure to try the dimsum and --, two real specialties of Hong Kong. The latter is roast cutlet covered
with honey and spices which is served in thin slices. This is also a national dish of the island just like
hainon chicken that is steamed in flavored oil and served cold. Traditional fish balls are still hand rolled
and served cooked in a soup or skewered. A motorboat returns the guests to shore from the palace of
gastronomy.