Hong Kong continued – dinner + dim sum part II

Here is a second installment of our Hong Kong adventures.  I have so many pictures, it took me an hour just now just to sort them and upload a few for your viewing pleasure.  There is just so much to share and so little time to do it in.  I’m glad you guys are enjoying reading this.  It was so cool to wake up to all of your comments this morning and see that me taking a little time during our vacation is definitely appreciated.  With that said, let’s get to it.  We have dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant in just a little over an hour

So after an hour long nap on Sunday, my husband woke up more tired than ever.  We contemplated skipping dinner and just going to bed early, but the idea of waking up in the middle of the night, wide awake just did not seem appealing.  Finally we dragged ourselves out of our cozy hotel room and headed to the Times Square in Causeway Bay, HK…. just a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  Times Square has a huge mall with fancy shops and lots of restaurant options.  Did I mention how many shopping malls there are here?  I think I may have.  It’s crazy!  Most buildings are skyscrapers, and they have either a shopping mall, a bank or a hotel on the first few floors.  I’m not complaining

So we read good reviews about Hunan Garden but next door Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant caught our eye, and it was a little cheaper and the decor was a little more modern, so we decided to try it instead.  Not sure if the other place would have been better after all, but we enjoyed our food, so I guess that’s all that counts

Upon being seated, we were promptly served this little plate of veggies + some hot sauce.  I was starving and devoured almost the whole thing (I think it was kind of like broccoli rabe with Asian flavors).

The menu had some enticing looking pictures and the Chinese eggplant particularly caught my eye.  Unfortunately they ran out of eggplant for the night.  Hate when that happens   So my husband and I decided to share 2 dishes: chicken with red chili peppers and mixed vegetables.

The chicken tasted just like kang pao chicken in US Chinese restaurants.  Very yummy – I had maybe 1/3?  The veggies were in a wonderful sauce.  This is mostly different varieties of mushrooms, carrots + another veggie I couldn’t quite recognize.  I ate a good amount of this dish + some steamed rice.

And then my sweet tooth kicked in but we were too tired to look for bakeries.  Thankfully I had a beautiful box of Vosges truffles waiting for me in our hotel room

Aren’t these gorgeous?!!

I started with the Budapest truffle – (from the card included in the box) – influences of Hungary bring about this dark chocolate truffle.  A combination of dark chocolate and paprika infused fresh cream is finished with a dusting of sweet Hungarian paprika.  The perfect complement to a spicy Cuban cigar. I didn’t taste much of the paprika and no Cuban cigars were enjoyed with this truffle, but it was fabulous!  Creamy and chocolaty – amazing!

Next up – Viola truffle – sparkling purple violets are used by the French to decorate their special gateaux.  In the French way, our creamy, milk chocolate truffle is topped with a purple violet and Voila! Oh yeah, this was good stuff!  I think I’ve developed a new obsession with truffles

MONDAY

I started the morning with another 2 cookies from our gift box.  So yummy!

And then we headed to the City Hall Maxim’s Palace for dim sum.  This place is famous for their dim sum, and yes, it’s located right inside the City Hall of HK!  I told you they love putting malls and restaurants inside almost every single building – apparently govt buildings included

It took us nearly 30 minutes to find the place after getting of the Metro, but it was definitely worth it!  Another great thing about dim sum is that you can eat nearly seconds away after sitting down… and eat we did!  Here are pictures of all the stuff we tried (scroll over for descriptions).  The stuff was to die-for.  Love love love dim sum!

The balls above I didn’t touch because my husband said they were full of onions.  Eww

I snapped this photo to show you how gorgeous the space is… definitely palace-like

And this little ball, I have no idea what it is, but a couple at a table next to us shared it with me.  I loved it.  Adam didn’t (and our neighbors didn’t either- that’s why they gave me a taste).  The mystery veg was mushy inside. Anyone knows what it is?

K, I gotta run!  I’m off to a dinner that will surely will inspire a great post!