A LITTLE TASTE OF PARIS IN HK

After signing our lease, M and I went in search for a nearby restaurant for dinner. I immediately stopped when I spotted La Marmite, a cute french bistro on Staunton Street. The decor reminded me of one of my favorite eateries in New York - Cafe Cluny.

To start, they present you with a plate of freshly baked bread, butter sprinkled with sea salt and their famous secret spread.

We started with the salmon and dill tartar. The presentation was creative and the crisp piece of toast topped with tartar and some greens was scrumptious.

For our mains, M had the chicken and crawfish pie and I had an almond crusted white fish. Delicious!

The food was absolutely wonderful and is priced pretty reasonably compared to other french restaurants in the area. If you are in Hong Kong and looking for a respite from Asian food, I definitely recommend checking out La Marmite. We will be back soon!

DRAGONS BACK & SHEK O

Having lived in NYC for the past 5 years, it took at least an hour and a half to feel like you were truly "away" from the city. We spent so much time in traffic trying to get somewhere where we could relax and reconnect with nature.

One of the main benefits of living in Hong Kong is that nature and beaches are truly in your back yard. You do not need to travel far to find them. Last weekend, M and I traveled 30 minutes from the city center to the east side of the island to hike Dragon's Back in Shek O.

The only challenge we faced on our adventure was finding the recommended starting point of our hike which is at the Tai Tam Gap Correctional Facility on Shek O Road... I know, very random. Anyway, I wanted to provide detailed instructions on how to get there (with pictures) so you don't get lost if you chose to do this hike.

To get there, we took the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan station.

Take the A3 exit from the MTR station to the bus terminal. From there, take the #9 bus to the Cape Collinson stop, which is where the Tai Tam Gap Correctional Facility is located.

Next to the Correctional Facility, you will find a stone staircase which will lead you up to the trail. Follow the trail and the signs to "Dragon's Back", and you will be well on your way.

The first portion of the hike is more "foresty". M kept asking "when are we going to see the views?" His complaining aside, I greatly enjoyed hiking through the lush trees.

About a half mile into the hike, you exit the forest and begin to climb along the "Dragon's Back" or the peak. The views of the beaches and ocean are breathtaking.

We spotted one of the only golf courses on Hong Kong Island - Shek O Country Club.

It's windy at the top, so pack an extra layer or 2 if you chose to do the hike in the Winter.

At the end of the Hike, we arrived back at Shek O Road. We caught the #9 Bus to Shek O Beach, which is the last stop.

Shek O is such a quaint surf town and the beach is beautiful. We will definitely be back this Spring and Summer to enjoy the water and possibly a picnic on the beach.

Before heading back to the city, we stopped by Shek O Chinese & Thai restaurant for dinner. The Thai food was amazing - we declared it better than the Thai food we had in Thailand! We definitely recommend the vegetarian curry puffs, tom yum goong soup and the morning glory vegetable dish.

APARTMENT FOUND!

Last night, we signed a 2 year lease for an apartment in Hong Kong! It has a little bit of everything we were looking for. We wanted to be closer to Central (not too high up the hill), near the Mid-Level's Escalator to improve our commute time and we wanted to have views of the harbour. We were also looking for a place with 3 bedrooms (1 bedroom is the size of a closet), 2 bathrooms and an oven. Believe it or not, ovens are hard to come by in Hong Kong. In the end, we saw about 40 different places and worked with 4 different brokers. It was extremely time consuming but well worth it!

We are so excited to finally feel "settled" in Hong Kong. The big move is scheduled for next Wednesday, just in time to get settled before M's mom arrives.

You want to know what's really ironic? The weekend we decided to move to Hong Kong, I was craving an old-fashioned American breakfast. Our search for bacon and eggs led us to a restaurant called the Brunch Club on a small street in Soho called Peel Street.

When we selected our temporary Housing in December, we got a good laugh because our building was on Peel Street, just 2 blocks from the Brunch Club.

This is a view standing outside of the Brunch Club looking down Peel Street. You can see the sign for our temporary housing on the right.

And when we finally found THE apartment, it was located at the corner of Caine Street and Peel Street, just up the hill from the Brunch Club.

Brunch Club is on the left and our apartment is in the building straight ahead.

Little did we know that when we chose the Brunch Club for breakfast last Fall, we were literally within 2 blocks of our new home(s) in Hong Kong. I guess you never know what could be just around the corner.

STAR FERRY BY NIGHT

M and I had dinner with a friend this past weekend in TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Al Molo. On the way home, rather than taking the MTR, we caught the Star Ferry. It didn't take that much longer and the views were unreal. It was well worth the extra 10 minute commute!

LOVE FROM THE US

Thanks to my dear friends Katie and Jamie for the most wonderful surprise! Care packages are just the best, especially when they are filled with hand written notes, home baked goods, a photo album filled with so many funny memories, gossip magazines and my favorite good old American snacks. I feel a little less homesick today:)

DAY TRIP TO MACAU

Last week's day trip to Macau was strictly business. But it gave me some great ideas for a weekend trip sans gambling.

The Macau Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong. The total ferry time to Macau is about an hour.

Pak Tai Temple in Old Macau.

Cute shops in Taipa Village.

We really enjoyed our lunch at Antonio's, which serves excellent Portuguese food. I highly recommend the grilled sausage (which they do table-side) and the duck rice.

Antonio himself whipped up some orange crepes for us for dessert. He is quite the character!

Delicious flaming orange crepes.

After lunch, we went for a short walk around Old Macau before catching the ferry back to the city.

Farewell Macau (for now)!

DRINKS WITH A VIEW

When you move to Hong Kong, everyone tells you to go to Sevva for the great views, which is located in the Prince's Building in Central. M and I decided to stop by recently for drinks and dinner. We quickly added it the list of places to take our out of town guests for cocktails. The views are incredible and not to be missed. I also hear it's a great place to watch the nightly light show (A Symphony of Lights).

Dinner at Sevva was excellent. We declared it the best meal we have had so far in HK.

The menu caters to both Western and Chinese clientele. We started with a pork and rice cake dish special that was delicious and reminded me of the spicy pork sausage and rice cakes dish I crave at Momofuko Ssam Bar in New York. For our entrees, I had fish that had been cooked in foil and M had a more traditional Catonese clay pot rice dish. For dessert, we decided to share the green tea ice cream with a caramel cookie crunch. It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

The only downside to dinner at Sevva was the massive bill at the end of our meal. The food prices were shocking, even by New York standards. While we can certainly justify the bar tab with the views, we will save our next dinner reservation for a very special occasion.

BOILED WATER? YES, PLEASE!

In the States we are often asked by a restaurant waiter, "would you like bottled or tap water?" I have grown accustomed to answering the question with, "tap water please."

In Hong Kong and many other places throughout the world, tap water may not safe to drink. While the government assures us that the water quality meets the standards of the World Health Organization, there is no guarantee that the pipes in our building have been properly maintained. So for now we will boil our water to be safe.

So how do we boil our water? We use a handy electronic water boiler by Kenwood. She's a real beauty! We prefer an electric water boiler over a stove top kettle because it boils large quantities of water in about half the time.

Below is our recipe for clean, filtered water.

Make sure the water boiler is unplugged. Once unplugged, remove the lid.

Add water. Make sure not to exceed the line marked "full"

Plug in the machine

And let the water boil.

The machine will beep when the water has sufficiently boiled. Unplug the machine and let the water cool.

Once cooled, dispense the water into a water filter pitcher.

And pour. It's ready to drink!

Our water is 100% clean and tasty!