Wednesday 4 December 2013

Where to eat in Hong Kong: Day 4 City Hall Maxim's Palace, Sunset at Cheung Chau, Lin Heung Tea house, Ozone Bar

Spent the previous night watching an episode of Running Man over a bottle of Tsingtao and jagabee chips so we woke up late on the 4th day as well. Was really hungry when we crawled awake but we refused to make the same mistake of eating way too much so we hurried over to City Hall Maxim's Palace. We took the MTR to Central and had some trouble trying to locate Edinburgh Place. Eventually we found out that it was in some sort of concert hall facing the sea, directly opposite the Apple Store in IFC Mall.

The queue was incredibly long and it took us more than 30 minutes to get our table. There was close to nothing in the building and nowhere to sit either, so everybody just stood around outside the door, waiting for their number to be announced.


Dimsum was pushed around the restaurant in traditional push carts! I remember when I was little, Singapore used to have many such restaurants too, and everybody would simply stick their hands out for whichever dimsum they wanted. That system had since been replaced by the usual order-with-the-waiter system so I haven't had dimsum in pushcarts in awhile! I was so excited!

We order the shrimp dumpling, char siew puff, century egg porridge, pork ribs and siew mai. Everything was wonderful! I loved the shrimp dumpling and siew mai especially. The prawns were so juicy and fresh! The century egg porridge was pretty good too. The char siew puff was average. However, the pork ribs were very awful! They were stale, not fresh, not tender, not juicy, and incredibly bad! I could not even chew the meat off the bone properly. The pork ribs were definitely not worth the money. But other than that, City Hall Maxim's Palace was worth a visit.









3/F, City Hall, 5-7 Edinburgh Place,Central 

After our fulfilling brunch, we took a ferry from the pier at Central to Cheung Chau. It was a really hot and sunny afternoon when we reached so we decided to stop by a small roadside stall for a cheap beer. The beachfront near the pier was lined with shops and packed with shoppers. It was awesome to sit back, sip a beer, and watch the crowd go by.




When the sun was no longer as merciless, we ventured out of the roadside stall in search of the North Lookout Point. After asking a local, we managed to find it after walking along the beach all the way till the end where we found a small playground, turned right, and climbed up a little hill. The view from the North Lookout Point was splendid. We could see a vast expanse of sea, the whole Cheung Chau, and a glorious sunset. You have to make your way to the North Lookout Point for the view if you are in Cheung Chau.




Cheung Chau is famous for its seafood and many stalls sprung up along the coast after night fell. However, we were going to meet an old friend back on the main island so we caught the ferry back to Central. We wanted to have Yong Kee Roast Goose at Central but it was a whooping 45 minute wait and it was almost 8pm by then! We were really hungry so we decided to go to Lin Heung Tea House instead.

Lin Heung Tea House embodied the traditional Cantonese tea house absolutely. The interior was extremely Chinese, with the old wooden furniture, tiled floors, and elderly waiters dressed in their white uniforms. The selection was wide and we had no idea what to order so we asked for recommendations. The elderly waiter suggested Braised Pork Belly, Spinach with 3 eggs, and Pipa Tofu. All the items were homely and happy food! The Braised Pork Belly really melted in my mouth and the Pipa Tofu was so nicely fried on the outside, yet smooth and tender within. The Spinach with 3 eggs was average.





After dinner, we walked around searching for some place to sit down for some dessert but we couldn't find a suitable place in Central. Our old friend left to meet his girlfriend at Causeway Bay and we decided to check out Ozone Bar. Ozone Bar was situated on the 118th floor of Ritz Carlton, a short walk from our apartment. Seriously, our apartment had the best location! We went back to change out of our shorts, throw on something less likely to result in us being bounced out of the place, and walked over to Ritz Carlton. We took the lift up to the 118th floor and were told that tables inside required minimum spending while the outdoor seats were free for all. We went outside, and oh my god! I have absolutely no idea why anybody would want to sit indoors! The outdoor area was completely al fresco so the chilly night wind enveloped the area in its cold arms. The area was circled with high glass windows with a row of chairs facing the glass windows so you could sip your drinks while enjoying the marvelous view below. When I peered out the glass windows, I could see the Central Pier and Tsim Sha Tsui Pier. It was really breath-taking to have drinks at the top of the world. 




International Commerce Centre (ICC)/the Ritz-carlton Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W, Hong Kong

Check out Day 1Day 2Day 3 and Day 5!

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