loving the langham

I’ve spent so much time waxing rhapsodic about the dizzying heights of the Ritz that I forgot to mention I have since moved on to Langham Place, Mongkok. No slight intended, because this hotel is amazing. Rising 42 stories above the heaving heart of Kowloon it boasts the authentic sights, sounds and shops of old Hong Kong right on its doorstep. (As you’ve been reading about – I hope – for the past week.) And yes, it’s all sleek and modern and smells nice and wears its cheeky monkey on its sleeve, but what sets it apart from inferior chains – hello, W Hotels - is the substance beneath all the style: first and foremost is the X-Team, a handful of the friendliest, best-connected concierges I’ve ever put to the test. Then there’s Chuan Spa, as warm and welcoming as an opium den – from which the decor seems to take some inspiration. Treatments are guided by principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine – Wu Xing, or the Five Elements; Yin and Yang; and Jing Luo, the Meridian System – and it doesn’t get more authentically indulgent as this. The hotel also has one of the most impressive collections of contemporary Chinese art in the world, let alone Asia, including pieces from Wang Guangyi, Yue Minjun, and Jiang Shuo. Comprised of more than 1,500 pieces – some provocative, if not downright controversial –  you can explore highlights of the multi-million dollar collection via an interactive iPad tour narrated by the hotel’s curator. As for food, I don’t think I can sing any more praises for Ming Court than I already have. I’m going to miss it here. (Not to mention Hong Kong.) If the Ritz felt more like a mistress, over the top flashy with legs for days, Langham Place is the wife you’d like to have: smart and sexy, with just the right amount of wrong to keep you coming back for more.

 

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strange fruit at ya fuen market

Back in Hong Kong for a last look around before heading to the airport and home, the strangest fruit in this picture is probably the three sad apples at rear. Still, I’ve been wondering all day about what those pale clusters in the foreground could possibly be. They look like baby potatoes – growing like bunches of champagne grapes.

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flower market road

One of Hong Kong’s most colorful street markets, the imaginatively named Flower Market (on Flower Market Road, natch) is a jungle of exotic blooms, lucky houseplants and sweet scents just beyond the Yuen Po bird garden. Unfortunately it’s bookended by a giant “Made in China” crap emporium – though given the fact that I am in China I should probably not use that term quite so derisively.

 

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i know why the yuen po bird sings

A pleasant surprise on this morning’s stroll came along Yuen Po Street and the charming vest pocket garden situated there. It’s a gathering place for songbird owners, who carry their pets around in intricately carved cages. It also houses a few dozen stalls selling all manner of beautiful birds and their paraphernalia – including one vendor with varying sizes of live crickets: medium, large, and run-for-your-life-jumbo. Just keep in mind that whole avian flu scare a few years ago and keep your hands to yourself.

 

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what’s that smell?

Depending on the day – and my general demeanor – the abundant food stalls found on the streets of Mongkok can either appear excitingly mouth-watering or thoroughly repellant. And all it takes is a little shift in the breeze. Best advice: look with your nose, not your eyes.

 

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batteries not included

The Ladies’ Market along Mongkok’s Tung Choi Street may be the place for fake bags, accessories and knock off women’s clothing but gear heads know to drop off the ladies and head round the corner to Sai Yeung Choi Street and the massive Electronics Market. Not just another series of market stalls, the EM is a street full of (un)conventional shops selling cameras, mobile phones, robots, mp3 players, anime … if it has batteries, they sell it. Packed with youngsters and hipsters alike there is an altogether different – if slightly nerdy – energy to be found here. There also isn’t much room for haggling.

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one night in mongkok

Mongkok, I learned today, means Busy Corner. It’s a working class neighborhood with the flair of old Hong Kong, teeming with markets of every stripe, food vendors, night markets, neon, and thousands and thousands of people all cheek by jowl. The name is apt. This is the Hong Kong I had envisioned. A city still on the skirt of urban renewal.

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walk this way

As evident in the signage at Langham Place, the hotel has an insouciant style that’s just this side of cheeky. I think I’m going to like it here.

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more stars: ming court

After yesterday’s mess hall meal it was a no brainer to accept the invitation to dine at Ming Court, the Michelin two-star restaurant at Langham Place, Mongkok. I’ll be moving to Langham Place in a few days, too, so not only did it give me the chance to do a bit of neighborhood reconnaissance, but it also gave me the leisurely opportunity to sample the contemporary Cantonese menu of chef Tsang Chiu King. Sophisticated yet approachable - and very, very comfortable – it’s an engaging dining experience of traditional fresh flavors, creatively presented: a trio of dim sum; bean curd three ways – with prawns, braised with black truffle & gold leaf, and stuffed inside whole abalone with black mushroom; subtly elegant matsutake and bamboo funghi soup; stir fried giant garoupa; award-winning pan-fried chicken skin filled with chicken and black truffle, accompanied with sliced pumpkin; baked rice with chicken and cheese served in bell pepper; and a refreshing tofu bird’s nest “extravagance.” Best of all, the food doesn’t take itself too seriously. Chef Tsang is obviously – thankfully – focused on form following flavor. Which makes for happy palates – not to mention empty plates.

 

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