How to Feel at Home in Hong Kong

Our deputy editor returned to one of her favorite cities from childhood—and she packed an appetite.

How to Feel at Home in Hong Kong

The Peninsula hotel’s Hong Kong roots go all the way back to 1928.

Photo by Jennifer Flowers

I lived in Hong Kong three times growing up, and still visit every chance I get, both to revisit old favorites and to explore the ways this fast-paced city has changed.

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

On my most recent trip, I checked into The Peninsula Hong Kong, an 89-year-old grand dame hotel that nods to the past (high tea in the lobby) while embracing the future (LED control panels in the guest rooms).

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

I also spent a couple of nights at the much newer, Andre Fu-designed Upper House, located across the Victoria Harbour on Hong Kong island.

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

When it came to food, however, I went straight for the classics.

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

I lunched on noodles with shredded pork and a spicy brown sauce—my favorite Hong Kong dish—at a plastic-topped table in Mak’s Noodles. For dessert, I went around the corner to the Tai Cheong Bakery for shortbread-crusted egg tarts, the same ones my mom used to buy me during our mother-daughter outings.

For dinner one night, I followed a tip from a friend to Kin’s Kitchen, which makes traditional dishes (char siu pork; steamed egg custard) with ingredients from local farms.

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

Between all that eating, I bought a fiery red sweater with a mandarin-style collar at Dorfit, my go-to spot for cashmere at reasonable prices.

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Photo by Jennifer Flowers

Then I hiked the Dragon’s Back trail along Tai Tam Bay, a trek that’s always a welcome respite from the city’s frenetic pace.

>>Next: Get Off the Beaten Path in Vietnam

Jennifer Flowers is an award-winning journalist and the senior deputy editor of Afar.
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