Attractions off the beaten path have their merits but Fong Leong Ming still yearns for the touristy stuff
FOR me, Hong Kong is synonymous with addictive TVB dramas, endless shopping, yummy dimsum and delightfully melodious Cantonese pronunciations. It shouldn’t be about umbrellas, typhoons and political upheavals. Those are mere inconveniences which I (and probably most tourists) brush aside with irritation. Traffic jam? No problem. The bus will make a detour. The vibrant city is ever endearing. Nothing will stop me from having a good time.
Whether it is Ocean Park, Disneyland, shopping in Mong Kok or just indulging in street food, it has something for everyone. Tourists descend in hordes upon this lovely holiday destination to buy, eat and indulge (and maybe even hop over to its quaint neighbour to try their luck at the tables).
But Hong Kong doesn’t rest on its laurels. No, not by a long shot. It constantly evolves, creating new attractions for visitors while promoting and improving on the old.
It certainly isn’t the Hong Kong I am expecting during my recent Press familiarisation trip there. If I have been expecting the usual touristy line-up, I am surprised at what I am offered. It is anything but. Nope. No visit to the Peak for us journos from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. No Lan Kwai Fong. No Stanley Market. No Disneyland. Not even the ubiquitous wantan mee, which I adore to bits. Shopping? We get 20 minutes of it.
Strangely, none of us mind. Well, maybe just that last bit. But all that is quickly forgotten as we digest the itinerary and get into the swing of things. As it turns out, the tour organisers hope to create the “other Hong Kong experience”, as my guide proffers. I prefer to see it as “a-little-off-the-beaten-path HK experience”.
GRAPE EXPECTATIONS
First off, the annual Wine and Dine Festival. Held from Oct 30 to Nov 2, this gets wine lovers into a tizzy. A huge selection of wine and good food are available for four palate-watering days. The best in wine, cuisine, live music and entertainment played out in a harbour-side location next to Hong Kong’s new Kai Tak cruise terminal. Yes, the runway at the former airport, no less.
The sun has just set, it’s a gloriously beautiful evening and the opening speeches had just ended so I suppose the timing’s perfect. The carnival atmosphere is infectious and I can feel my excitement building. I almost expect to see carousels but no such luck.
After getting past excited visitors jostling to take pictures with the huge impressive neon-lit sign at the entrance announcing the festival, we are ushered into the festival grounds adorned with the right equipment — a huge wine glass in a pouch securely around our necks as well as adequate wine and food coupons — for the challenge ahead.
I feel like a famished rat being let loose into a well-stocked larder. It’s a daunting task to pick a good selection of wines to taste, compare and still act dignified after 10 glasses but hey, somebody’s go to do it, right? Grinning like the Cheshire cat, I practically do a happy jig getting in. I feel I am on the starting block and the race is about to begin. Time’s limited and there is a lot of ground to cover (read: wine to savour).
There are over 250 stalls divided into themed areas. There’s the Country Pavilion, where visitors get to explore country-themed wine such as those from Bordeaux and also Japan, Latin America, Europe and Georgia. At the Discovery Zone, the fun lies in checking out new wine and hot babes.
Fine wine from Greece, Israel, Portugal and Slovenia are also offered at the festival for the first time but I use my coupons sparingly in anticipation of what’s ahead — the Riedel Grand Tasting Pavilion with its exclusive premium selection.
But first, I have to get past the Party Wine section, a showcase of champagne, cocktail, ice wine, rose and sparkling wine. Then there’s the Everyday Wine Zone, which is self-explanatory with its faithful favourites.
Finally I set foot in my Shangri-la, the Riedel Grand Tasting Pavilion. Needless to say, I am in wine heaven. But with their prices, my coupons run out with just two glasses and I am left browsing and admiring fine wines from a distance. A persistent salesman persuades me to buy a couple of bottles but at prices in the four-figure range (and me woefully reflecting on my journalist salary), I can only fondle the proffered bottles lovingly, gaze at them longingly and sadly shake my head.
At the festival, there is also the Tasting Room, where visitors pay through their nose to enjoy wine-pairing meals with master chefs and attend wine classes by industry experts. Those with similarly deep pockets can also enjoy signature dishes from some of Hong Kong’s premier hotels and restaurants.
For plebians like me, I head for the food booths featuring barbecued specialities, satay sticks, scrumptious appetisers and sweet treats.
But (hic!) all good things come to an end. We gather to leave and I glance back forlornly at all the premium smooth exclusive wines I’m saying goodbye to.
After four days, the festival continues at the various wine and dine outlets throughout Hong Kong, so the wine and dine extravaganza is still ongoing.
* My pick of the lot: Carruades de Lafite Pauillac 2005. It hints of ripe fruits and plum and milk chocolate. Smooth and goes very well with well-done meat. Retails at HK$3,990 (RM1,720). No kiddin
GETTING HIGH
On the 100th floor of Hong Kong’s tallest building (The international Commerce Centre), the sky100 is the highest indoor observation deck in the city. Via a high-speed lift, we are whisked up to 393 m above sea level in just 60 seconds. My ears pop and my jaw drops from the 360-degree views of Victoria harbour. There’s an interactive exhibition with a multi-media tour of HK’s history and culture there as well as a photo booth to take special pictures of you with 3D effects. Cool!
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT, FOLKS
We are deposited at the Open Piazza in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, located at Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon after dinner for what is supposed to be the next big thing to go to at night. Alighting from the bus, I come face to face with a zombie.
It’s not something anyone wants to confront in the shadows of the night but Halloween’s in the air and boy, do the Hong Kong youth love to dress up and party. The ugly-looking thing disappears in the crowd and our guide nonchalantly shoos us along.
I spot youths in all manner of ghoulish costumes and there’s even one with a chicken on his head. It’s a pleasant distraction from what lies ahead — the 3D Light Show. We squeeze into what seems like a good spot but it turns out it isn’t.
From our angle, however, it is still an impressive 10 minutes of computer wizardry beamed onto a towering structure of sorts with a mammoth digital screen. All manner of computer graphics are synchronised to booming choreographed music and designed to elicit oohs and aahs.
Across Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong skyline is picture-perfect with iconic landmark buildings all beautifully lit up as a lovely backdrop to small ships inching their way over shimmering waters. All around, there are couples holding hands and thinking of lovey-dovey nothings while families with children throng the waterfront and make it a noisy evening out.
ART OF DINING
This isn’t something new but I suppose it can be incorporated into someone’s itinerary if he or she has an artistic bent. We are at Gitone, a cafe-cum-art school in Tai Hong Street, Sai Wan Ho, for lunch. We get a crash course in Chinese brush painting followed by a sumptuous meal. Our guide tells us it will be a light lunch but it turns out to be a full six-course affair.
I don’t know if it is the wine from the previous night but I am strangely on Cloud Nine. Art must be the food of love at Gitone because both are memorable.
We get personal attention from cafe owner Terence Lee, a renowned HK painter and ceramics artist who impresses us with his skills and improvisations — we draw something unrecognisable earlier and he turns it into something impressive with just a few strokes and dabs from his brush!
Lee doesn’t cook for his patrons but what is served, like his art and ceramics skills, are artistically presented and delicious.
FAR FROM ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
Creativity has a new location in Hong Kong and the police approve. Launched in June this year, it’s called PMQ and it was formerly the Hollywood Road ‘Police Married Quarters’, hence the acronym.
Built in 1951, it was the first hostel provided for rank and file police officers, with the cosy layout (especially kitchen area) designed to foster close interaction and build bonds. By 2000, it lived out its usefulness but instead of demolition, plans were mooted to preserve it and transform it into a hub for creativity.
It is an impressive makeover. Walk up the stairs and inside, you’ll see classy restaurants, creative spaces, little stores selling knick-knacks and even “designers-in-residence” units where talents stay and work together. It’s cosy to the point of being intimate — we have to walk through shops to get to other shops. I can just spend the whole afternoon here exploring every nook and cranny.
HAPPY HOUR
For many foreigners who enjoy their pint, the area around Wan Chai’s Sun, Moon and Star streets is a haven from the bustling city centre. Take a stroll along these streets and you will see a high concentration of gwai lo (foreigners) with an equally high concentration of liquor in them engaging in animated conversation with other. Some have the appalling habit of littering the area openly with their peanuts shells but hey, I’m just passing through.
And so it ends. Four days of “a-little-off-the-beaten-path HK experience” is hardly exhaustive or sufficient. For one, the vibrancy of the city is ever infectious and beckons me to just jump in and do the usual touristy stuff. My itinerary draws me away from the usual appeal but seriously, they are not worthy enough attractions for me to not yearn for dim sum, shopping, Disney, Ocean Park and yes, the yummilicious wantan and milk tea. Needless to say, I’ll be back! Details at www.discoverhongkong.com.
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