Elvin Siew Chun Wai - Top Destination of Hong Kong

1. Elvin SiewChun Wai - Top Destinationof Hong Kong
 Victoria Peak
If a single image could encapsulate Hong Kong, it would be the panorama from Victoria Peak.
Looking down at the city from this famous vantage point, you'll see one of the finest harbors
on Earth and a skyline so improbable, audacious and lofty that Manhattan's looks provincial
by comparison. Beyond the mountains to the north of the city, the rest of China simmers and
strains. Everything you've heard about Hong Kong's restlessness and energy is dramatically
reaffirmed by the view from the Peak. Even the most cynical locals never tire of visiting. It
reminds us why we live here.
You can reach the peak via the Peak Tram, the 120-year-old funicular railway that departs
from its terminus on Garden Road (nearest MTR: Central). Plan to arrive a half-hour before
sundown and watch as the city lights come on in their varicolored brilliance.

2.  Lin Heung Tea House
Proletarian clientele vie for shabby seats at shared tables as ceiling fans whir and an ancient
wall clock keeps time — rather pointlessly, given that it's forever 1962 at the Lin Heung
("Fragrant Lotus") Tea House. But if you're going to have dim sum only once during your stay
in Hong Kong, this is the place. A decades-old parlor in Hong Kong's Central District, Lin
Heung makes no concessions to modernity or to English speakers, so be prepared for
pantomime or go with a Cantonese-speaking friend. But what Lin Heung does offer is a tasty
and unmediated slice of Old Hong Kong. (Don't leave without trying the lotus paste buns or
the glutinous rice dumplings.) The city's culinary and cultural authenticity are potently
concentrated in a few surviving places like this. (Nearest MTR: Central)

3.  Charter a Junk
Everyone thinks of Hong Kong as a city, but in fact it is a sprawling archipelago of 260 islands.
If you never see their rugged coastlines or deserted coves, and if you are never buffeted by the
salty sea wind as it blows full pelt across a surging prow, then you will not know very much of
Hong Kong at all. To see the place as it must have appeared to generations of fishermen and
pirates, hire a "junk" (the term formerly applied to traditional Chinese fishing boats now
refers to any motorized pleasure vessel). Load a picnic and a cool-box of beer and wine, and
set off through the scattered islets. Drop anchor somewhere remote and dive off the deck for
a swim.
Eight-hour charters start at around at $490 from Traway; the website is in Chinese only, but
staff speak English (852-2527-2513). Companies like Jaspan (852-2792-6001) and Saffron
(852-2857-1311) charge considerably more, but provide better-looking craft and, in Jaspan'
case, cold beverages, onboard lunch and waiter service. Get a group of friends and local
colleagues together to share the cost. Junks will collect you from Central's Pier 9 (nearest
MTR: Central) or Kowloon Public Pier (nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui).

4.  The Inter-continental's Infinity Pools
Having a soak at the Intercontinental on Kowloon, is not a cheap proposition, since you will
either need to be a hotel guest (about $350 and up per night) or a day client of the spa (which
costs about the same). But here's what you get in return: an impeccably landscaped, third-
floor spa deck, located right on the edge of Victoria Harbor; three infinity pools maintained
at different temperatures — cold, warm and hot — with water that appears to sluice magically
into the sea; a front-row view of the Hong Kong skyline; the ministrations of "pool butlers,"
who soundlessly replenish drinks and supply facial mists; and a feeling of ineffable smugness
as you gaze down upon the tourists, sweating it out on the harbor side walk below. One of
Hong Kong's most sublime secrets. (Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui)

5.  Temple Street Night Market
This rowdy thoroughfare in central Kowloon starts at Temple Street's junction with Jordan Road,
terminatesfiveblocksnorthonKansuStreetandlookslike everyB-moviedirector'sdreamof Chinatown.
Under the glare of bare lightbulbs,hawkersflogeverythingfrombizarre patentmedicinestocounterfeit
watches. Prostitutes work the low-rise tenements,fortune-tellers cluster by the multistorycar park and
impoverishedChinese opera troupes busk for a few dollars just outside the public toilets. Outdoor food
stallsdisplaystill-twitching,unnameable crustaceaandoldmenandjunkiesgamble ongamesof Chinese
chess in the concrete square outside the eponymous temple. Ghetto heaven. (Nearest MTR: Jordan or
Yau Ma Tei)

6.  Heli-Tour of Hong Kong
Althoughagraceless28-storyextensionhasruinedthe once elegantandlow-risecontoursof the 80-year-
oldPeninsulaHotel onSalisburyRoad,one canbe marginallyforgivingbecausethe saidcarbunclehouses
the China Clipper — a swanky lounge that recalls the pioneering days of Asian flight. From the Clipper,
guests are escorted to a rooftop helipad and into choppers for jaw-dropping aerial tours of Hong Kong.
Arranged either through the hotel or through the charter company Heli services (852-2802-0200), the
tours start at a minimum of $850 for a 15-minute whirl around Hong Kong Island, during which the
buildings will look close enough to prod.
Try an appetite-whetting jaunt before returning for champagne and lunch at the hotel's magnificent
signature restaurant,Gaddi's(852-2315-3171), or afternoontea in the famouslypalatial lobby.You'll be
feeling slightly giddy for a while to come. (Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui)

7.  Cha Chan Teng
In the boom years of the 1960s and 1970s, Hong Kong people demanded increasingly
sophisticated dining options to match their swelling pocketbooks, and what they got was
the cha chan teng. Under names like "The Gloucester" and "The Cherikoff," these
neighborhood restaurants attempted to present a reasonable simulacrum of Western-style
cuisine but in practice served heavily syncretic fare. The likes of soya sauce chicken spaghetti
or pork chop with applesauce and steamed rice became the stuff of fashionable Friday nights,
washed down with things likeyin-yang (coffee and tea, mixed in the same cup). Several cha
chan teng have survived, serving the same kind of food, but now they're a cult thing — visited
by young people looking for their childhoods in salads of tinned fruit cocktail and mayo, with
side servings of irony and retro decor. Try Mido Café (nearest MTR: Yau Ma Tei) in Kowloon
— much beloved by art directors for its well preserved '60s interior — or the perennially
popular Tsui Wah (nearest MTR: Central) on Hong Kong Island.

8.  Star Ferry
Reclamation has reduced the journey length of Hong Kong's iconic cross-harbor ferry to a
mere seven or eight minutes these days. Board it anyway. It costs just $.28 each way for an
upper-deck seat (avoid the even cheaper lower deck, unless you enjoy the press of humanity
or the reek of unregulated marine diesel). On this engaging little ride, you'll sail past shipping
vessels of all kinds and take in widescreen views of the Hong Kong Island coastline from
Quarry Bay to Western. Try and catch a sailing just before 8 p.m. These boats stop mid-harbor
for a few moments so that tourists can take pictures of the nightly Symphony of Lights show —
an eye-watering, ecologically reckless son et lumière that incorporates lights, lasers, fireworks
and 44 waterfront buildings on both Hong Kong and Kowloon.

9.  Chungking Mansions
Whenthe local tourismboardreferstoHongKongas "Asia'sWorldCity"it'sreferencingthe well-ordered
worldlinessof bigbanks,finehotelsandaphilharmonic — nottheworldlinessof Bangladeshihashdealers
and NigerianmentradingusedPCsby the containerload.But thisother Hong Kongcan be foundon the
Kowloonpeninsula,inthe greatsleeplesscitadel knownasChungkingMansions.The complex of five 17-
story towers is home to residential apartments, low-rent guesthouses and offices, money changers,
restaurantsandshops.Some 5,000people livehere,butthe populationswellsdailybyanextraestimated
10,000 multinational visitors, buying and selling everything from secondhand mobile phones to old
clothing. According to one estimate, 20% of the mobile phones now in use in sub-Saharan Africa have
passedthroughthishigh-risesouk.Gotothe three-level arcade toseeworldtradeinitsrawestform,then
finishupwithacurry at one of the dozensof South Asianrestaurantsonthe floorsabove.Brace yourself.
(Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui)

10.  Roof of the IFC Mall
The landscaped rooftop of Central's waterfront mall, the glitzy IFC, is ringed with posh bars
and restaurants. However, the resort-style sofas, tables and armchairs placed right outside
those establishments are for the use of the public, and the restaurant operators have no
jurisdiction over them. This means that while places like H One and Red would prefer that
you blow a ton of cash on their meals and drinks, you're perfectly entitled to bring your own
if you're sitting outdoors. Stop off at the City Super deli on Level 1, pick up a $20 bottle of
wine, a corkscrew and some cheese and olives — then head to the roof for a recession-busting,
alfresco afternoon. Million-dollar views almost never come this reasonably priced. (Nearest
MTR: Central)