Dim sum & the 'ding ding'

During Golden Week I decided to take Kohei on a (very early) birthday trip to Hong Kong. I was super sneaky the night we arrived, and managed to hide any glimpse of the infamous skyline until we visited The Peak. His face was priceless when he saw the lights emerging through the trees while we were riding the tram up the mountain, so ultimately, I think all of my “get your arse into gear, we need to get there before sunset” rants were worth it.

It’s been six years since I went there myself and I didn’t get much of a chance to explore back then, so it was very much like the first time visiting for the both of us. Kohei’s favourite film, that he recently introduced me to, is Forrest Gump, so I couldn’t not take him to Bubba Gump’s while we were there too.

I managed to help him tick off a number of tourist musts – taking the Star Ferry, eating egg waffles, riding the ‘ding ding’, and indulging in a traditional brekkie of macaroni soup. We spent most of our days going wherever the wind took us, all around the city; Sheung Wan, Central, Causeway Bay, North Point, Mongkok, TST and Lan Kwai Fong.

Hong Kong was seemingly having a Kumamoto ALT reunion that week, which none of us were aware of when we booked our flights. We spent one evening with Chloe, Devin, Tiago and Thomas drinking at eyebar, a rooftop bar 30 floors high that looks over Victoria Harbour. We didn’t let the wind and rain dampen our spirits, even if they did saturate our clothes. 

Another evening we met Bilal and Olivia for hotpot, which was an experience in itself. Zero English, food being thrown at us and we all collectively had no idea what was going on. Afterwards we headed to Mongkok to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the markets. Not to mention, introduce them to the joys of the hot drips of water that land on you from the apartment air cons.

Corane and Emily, two of my friends from the exchange programme I did in high school, were the best hosts I could have asked for. They took time out of their busy schedules to meet Kohei and me for the most authentic local lunch ever. We went to a food centre in Sheung Wan, sat on plastic tables and ordered amazing dim sum with the locals. I think Kohei thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

On our final day we ventured into the New Territories together, and after a slightly failed trip to the Mai Po Nature reserve, we instead walked for a little through marshes and farmland all whilst seeing the skyline of Shenzhen in the distance. 

We then headed to the small village of Ho Sheung Heung and treated ourselves to the most delicious soy milk and tofu pudding made by a local company. We also tried some street food outside of the station, steamed red bean pudding on a stick, and some magical coconut sugar thing that I can’t even explain. Sheung Shui station is a sight to behold in itself… due to its proximity to the Chinese border, the amount of people crossing into Hong Kong to buy huge quantities of goods proves to be an interesting people watching occasion.

That evening I met up with more of my friends from exchange, and had the most wonderful time catching up over dinner. We even planned a little reunion trip in Japan sometime, although the logistics of that will probably prove to be a nightmare. Afterwards, we all went to eat dessert, something that I enjoy most about Hong Kong. The nights never end and there are endless opportunities to keep the good company together for a few more laughs. 

That’s something I’m grateful for, the fact that 6 years later we can all meet and act like no time has passed. Until next time Hong Kong, you know I’ll be back.