An Action Packed Weekend with Our Visitors, the Newlyweds!

Upon landing in Hong Kong after my trip, I was very happy to see Michael, and also my sister in law, Katie... and her husband, Justin!  They had just finished what sounded like an ah-mazing honeymoon in Thailand, staying in Phuket and Bangkok, before they came to Hong Kong to visit us.

I missed the first day of tourist activities, where Michael took them around what seemed to be all of Hong Kong, on a trek hitting all of the tourist highlights, in what could only be described as a super-human feat of endless energy and steps.  They took the escalators, hiked the Peak, took the Peak tram, went to the harbor, took the Star Ferry, saw TST, walked the promenade, rode the ding ding double decker tram... it was pretty incredible.  By the time I arrived, I felt like our visitors were already old hands in our fair city.

A sweet picture of the tour guide with the can-do attitude:

On Saturday, we had amazing weather, and we took full advantage of that by sitting by our pool for a good five hours with books, sunblock and, at one point in the late afternoon, champagne!  We then went to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in Soho for a chill evening of red wine and pasta and just generally enjoyed each other's company.

After dinner, we did a walk through LKF - but the scene was only starting to warm up because it was still early.  We took some (capital t Terrible) shots, consisting of sugary sex on the beaches and kamikazes, but we felt that no trip to LKF would be complete without some bad alcohol.

Sunday was an action packed day.  We went to dim sum at Dragon King restaurant in Causeway Bay. This one usually makes my list of dim sum places to go because the food is fresh and arrives hot, the atmosphere is quiet, the view is very good, and they have the crispy suckling pork belly with mustard that Michael loves.

Amazing lunch time view

After lunch, we walked around the area, checking out Sogo and other department stores, before heading back to Central to pick up some souvenirs.  While there, we went into our favorite vintage shop, Mee & Gee, where a brief pit stop turned into an hour long foray because it was decided, in a fit of inspiration, that everyone had to pick an outfit to wear for dinner that night.

All of that shopping really tired us out, so we headed back to the apartment to relax before we went to dinner.  Katie had a bit of a stomachache, and here is a picture of Michael trying to convince her that she really (really!) wants to try the magical "plum powder" elixir that we have from Japan.  Please note in particular the Mee & Gee outfits being modeled by the sibling duo.

 We headed to Together Pot, a local hotpot joint in Sai Ying Pun.  I liked their vegetable basket and also their meat.  The broth was also very good.  My biggest complaint is that they had no red vinegar, so my dipping sauce never achieved the level of crisp acidity that I love.

After finishing dinner at Together Pot, we went to the uber trendy Ping Pong Ginoteria, which was just a few blocks away.  It is a very cool space and specializes in, well, gin.

 We descended into a deep basement from the red door entry.

 The words in neon lighting over the bar read: "Exercise your body"

While there, we put our poor waiter on the spot and made him judge our outfits.  Who wins for best outfit, including versatility and wearability?  Katie won!

Here, Michael concedes defeat... kind of.

On Monday, I went back to work, but took a lunch break to go with everyone to shop for shirts for Justin.  We went to the guy Michael really likes, Jim, located in the Far East Finance Center.

Justin was measured not once, not twice, but thrice, and he ultimately decided on two shirts - one in white and one in checkered blue.  I hope they turn out well!

For their last night in town, we went to China Club for dinner.  We went to the Long March bar and the library and balcony for drinks first, then settled into a booth to eat.





I played tour guide.

The atmosphere for dinner in the China Club is quite nice - with dark wood interiors, red booths, fresh flowers, intricately carved wood and stained glass, it very much channels the feel of an old 1940s Shanghai Art Deco bar.  During dinner, there was a singer, followed by a tea performance, followed by a noodle maker.

We got Peking duck!

All in all, we had an amazing, action packed weekend, and we were so happy that we got to see each other and travel together again.  We are already looking forward to the next trip!