Archive for December, 2008
December 24, 2008 at 4:20 am · Filed under Shopping
Given the dismal economic outlook, it comes without much appetite to suggest that one go shopping in Hong Kong. (To wit, I have rewritten this opening sentence at least five times since settling on this one.) But at the same time, one must tell it like it is: HK is about the shopping. It is not about reading circles and literary salons and idle afternoon contemplations over a cappuccio on the terrasse. It is about shuh-opping.
One of the most visible manifestations of rampant retail therapy is sartorial; Hong Kong is about clothes shopping. If that interests you, I’ll further posit that this activity will be particularly fruitful for those in the readership who are, like us, of a smaller stature. Because being in Asia — and being Asian, for the most part, unless you are Yao Ming — you will find that the bar on S, M, L, XL definitions is lower. And thankfully so; entering the fitting room, you may be surprised to realize that the erstwhile droopy shoulders, boxy sleeves and unruly hem-lines — that you have steeled yourself for after years of buying ill-fitting, potato sack-like clothing in the West — are gone. (And gone with that, too, the additional hassle and expense of taking the durn thing to the tailor afterwards).
So then, where to go and blow the proverbial wad? Ahh but grasshopper, that is a question of style and interest-level. As a start, Hong Kong, being a wonderland of materialism, carries all the major labels from Paris, Milan, New York, London, Tokyo. (Surprisingly or not, the prices for many European brands will be cheaper by upwards of 20% than back home. Guess who is waiting to buy his wedding shoes in HK? Word.) But really, it’s not about the major labels; the fun involves heading into the wilds of Causeway Bay or Kowloon to dig thru the racks of the smaller, local shops, which carry the wares of younger, lesser-known designers.
I won’t get into any sort of list of places to go; I think it’s best for you to just wander around Causeway Bay and duck into various boutiques, many of which are scattered in the upper floors of malls (unlike in, say, New York, which is structured sort of like tiramisu, with the goods — i.e. commercial and retail outlets — on the bottom, stacked above by a boring spongey mass of residential, Asian cities are set up more like layer cakes, with stuff going down on the upper floors, and even the roof, of the bldg). In any case, one place that we have reliably found cool threads and decent deals at is with i.t and its myriad subsidiary outlets.
I’m unclear about the corporate structure, but my take is that I.T is an umbrella company that owns several fashion outlets — sort of a youthful, ‘contempo-casual’ version of LMVH. When you wander into one of their main stores — I.T (for the fashionista grownups) or i.t (for the hipster kids) — you’ll see racks of clothing separated in sections by designer (if you’ve gone to Opening Ceremony in New York you’ll be familiar with the concept).
I.T also has something to do with two other outlets that we’ve also been lucky with: izzue.com and 5cm. The look n’ feel is all black, white, or otherwise neutral palettes. Wool and cotton dominate. Stripes prevail. As do funky touches, like built-in ties. Think Club Monaco with a tweakier edge; the architects will eat it up …
December 23, 2008 at 4:48 am · Filed under Knowing
Chances are you will be crossing between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island a fair bit. There are several ways to do this, each of which come with its advantages and caveats.
You can take the MTR subway, which you should do if you are traveling farther distances (and not merely crossing the harbour). But we’re here to tell you that the Central (HK) - Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon) ride can be really annoying, because the Central Station is deep, labyrithine, and ENORMOUS; you may innocently enter from an above-ground escalator only to find yourself at your platform an eternity later, having embarked, unbeknownst to you when you signed up, on a subterranean odyssey longer than the width of the harbour itself. This is a general truism about the MTR — the stations and trains are efficient and clean, but damn if those things aren’t buried deep in the earth.
You can also cross Victoria Harbour by taxi, of course, via one of two tunnels located at either side of HK and Tsim Sha Tsui. You will need to do this if you’re out late (ferry service ends at around 11pm each night), but don’t fret — distances in HK are short, and fares are reasonable; in moderate traffic, a Central-TST journey will take about 10 minutes and cost about $10USD. In bad traffic, however, and it’s a different story — attempting a motorized crossing during the daytime is pure folly.
By far the easiest, cheapest, and most enjoyable way to cross the harbour is by the Star Ferry service.
Just walk to through one of the two ferry terminals if you are in Hong Kong (one pier is in Wanchai to the east — technically the Wanchai Ferry, and the other is in Central on the west, right in front of the ifc); or if you are in Kowloon, to the one terminal at the tip of TST near the Cultural Center. Just follow the signs — they will prompt you either to the top or the bottom deck of the ferry (personally, I think the upper deck is a bit nicer). Cost difference is negligible, in any case; lower deck is $0.25US, upper is $0.28. Madness. (I don’t think you can buy a loosie for that little in NYC).
Below is a shot of the, uh, interface for the token machine. Don’t get too bent out of shape about the design, though — just look at that sweet, sweet price. Drop your pittance in the coin slot below, collect your plastic token from the tray at the bottom, and you’re good to ride.
December 23, 2008 at 3:54 am · Filed under Eating
Wow, way to represent. Michelin awards Hong Kong restaurant Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons its ultimate rating of three stars, which is pretty astonishing, given that:
A. A third of all 3-star Michelin restaurants are in France (a higher proportion if you parse by French cuisine)
B. This restaurant is Cantonese, a cuisine (at least in the US) more readily associated with greasy takeout and often-shady dim sum — a first in Michelin Guide history
C. Many master chefs of Chinese cookery were sent to re-education camps — or worse — by Mao during the Cultural Revolution. Might this signal a resurgence of high cuisine in China??
Found some food porn from the restaurant in a flickr set here.
December 23, 2008 at 3:40 am · Filed under Sleeping
Economist — and economic — Aravind passes along a last-minute housing tip (re: a short-term flat rental), which we shall repost here, in case it got buried in the comments ghetto:
If anyone is still looking for accommodations, I have a good tip: check for short-term apartments. There are many still available for the holidays, most have in-suite laundry, internet access, satellite TV (as if), etc - and they are DIRT cheap compared to hotels: I was choosing between 7 places in the range of 190 - 500 HKD per night… that’s $24 - $64 US!!
Two good places to look are: http://hongkong.craigslist.org (under “housting”, “sublets / temporary”), and http://hongkong.gumtree.com.hk (under “Flat…”, “short term”).
(FYI, there’s a whole 2-bedroom flat in Wanchai that I just turned down, for $500 HKD / night available from 12/25 - 1/4… see craigslist’s posts for last Sunday!)
December 23, 2008 at 2:56 am · Filed under Knowing
You will notice when transactin’ in Hong Kong that you’ll be handed your change/receipt/plastic back two-handed, along with an ever so slight bow of the head. Something about the elegance and gentility of this gesture inveigled me to make a post of it.
So now you too can be a money-/card-handling ninja — try it! It’s E-Z.
(FYI, this gesture applies to business card handoffs, and seems to be pan-Asian in nature too)
