AKCuisine

Every time I travel to Hong Kong - or read a terrific Trip Report here on FlyerTalk - I become sad that there's no decent way for a solo traveler to enjoy wonderful dim sum.

Thanks for taking us on your journey, chongl. I'm looking forward to following along for the rest of the trip.

chongl

Mostly credit card bonuses. Start saving and planning now...it's easily within reach if you give yourself enough time!

Thanks 2919scott. I wish I was able to get some from the peak, but the weather just wasn't cooperating.

Thank you dark8. I get excited everytime I come back, even if it's only once every few years. I look forward to the next time as soon as I leave

Thank you Annalisa12 and you're welcome.

I don't see why a solo traveler couldn't enjoy dim sum. There are plenty of different places in Hong Kong you could try and I wouldn't be discouraged based on your party size. Are you averse to dining alone or do some places refuse parties of 1 in HK that I don't know about? Thanks for following!

jcm55a

This is really awesome, thanks for sharing. I'm also something of an amateur camera geek so it's fun to see great photography mixed in with the TR (awesome camera and pics, btw). thanks again

DetailsIM

Bump to remind OP to continue with these pics

AKCuisine

I have no worries about dining solo - I do so all over the world when I travel. The issue is dim sum. Most dishes have 3 or 4 of the same item, intended to be shared among guests. This means a solo diner cannot sample the breadth of the menu options. A "sampler plate" would be ideal, but I've yet to see that option while visiting Hong Kong.

kevincrumbs

Really enjoying the photos and the report! You two also seem very down to earth and nice, unlike some of the other people who post TRs to this forum

You mentioned the Star Ferry fare in an earlier post and FWIW, there is going to be an increase in both 2017 and 2018, as referenced in this article.

chongl

Thank you jcm55a. I'm an extreme amateur...nowhere near what DanielW would be able to do with this camera, but thank you for following!

I'm still here

My apologies, I misunderstood what you meant from your post. Could you just order all the dishes you want to sample and take what you can't finish to go? Leftover dim sum isn't ideal, but eating the good stuff fresh is worth the tradeoff IMO. Thanks again for reading

Thank you for following kevincrumbs, and for the link. I'm not surprised they are raising the price on what was about 25 cents in USD for a trip across the harbor. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to make the crossing this time...maybe on the next trip!

chongl

After handing the room key off to my mom (I did want her to experience the Ritz since we had booked 5 reward nights and only needed 4), we went downstairs and checked in at Kowloon Station. It's always a pleasure to be able to take care of all business in town and just stroll onto the airport express. There was no line and we were done at the counter within a few minutes.



We exited immediately to the left and went downstairs for the airport express. From Kowloon Station, a one way ticket was 90 HKD per person.



Awaiting our ride



Looking down aisle E of the check-in counters at HKG.



Our lounge passes



The wait through security and immigration was short. In no time, we were through and took the shuttle towards the gates adjacent to The Pier's entrance (that so many people have previously photographed).



The bar area



A lounging area



Another well photographed hallway looking towards the bar from the dining area



Dining room and menu





I started with a Cathay Delight and some water, followed by a good amount of food. For what it's worth, the Cathay Delight tasted much better on the ground than the one I had on the plane later on. I inquired about the sizes of the portions so I didn't look like a fool who couldn't finish his food and was relieved to hear portions were small. With that, we ordered chicken karaage, seared scallops, winter melon thick soup, risotto, wonton mein, dan dan mein, and 2 apple tart tatins. Service wasn't spectacular, although I had expected this after reading about the transition of the lounge from Peninsula contracted to Plaza Premium. The starters came out rather quickly, and I was even given an extra spoon for my winter melon soup, except that it never came. Given the amount of food we ordered, I didn't feel like asking about it and moved on to the mains. The fried chicken was good and the scallops were pretty decent. Nothing mind-blowing but the presentation of both dishes were very nice.







Wonton mein and dan dan mein below. I really enjoyed the former, and it was good enough that the wife ending up getting an order of it. I wasn't a big fan of the dan dan mein, as much as I tried to like it.





The risotto had pretty good truffle flavor, but I'm also not big on risotto. The portion was larger than the other dishes and a bit on the heavier side.



Then, there was another lapse in service. I wasn't sure whether they forgot our desserts like they forgot our soup, so we sat for at least 10 minutes after finishing our mains. But since I was actually looking forward to dessert, I eventually caved and asked a passing waitress, who quickly brought it out without further delay. The lounge is quite good, but I think they still need to polish the experiencec a little bit more before they can match some of the other top tier lounges we all know and love.



Once the meal was over, we wandered over to the lounging area adjacent to the bar. A British Airways A380 was parked at the gate for a great photo op (first shot was actually from the dining area).





20 minutes prior to boarding, we head towards our gate where I spotted an A350 along the way.



The Queen of the Skies parked at the gate in all her glory



We boarded soon after and I took my seat at 3A.



Full menu of CX542 below























IFE showing our flight path



And the CX A350 taking off



We had one 777 in front of us after the A350 and were airborne shortly after. A Cathay Delight and assorted Japanese crackers were brought over on climbout.



Both of us opted for the Japanese menu for our meal, and I moved over to the guest seat in 2A. The senior purser and purser were both fantastic and even grabbed my camera from my seat when I noted to my wife I left it.

Canapes



Starter



Braised dish and clear soup



Main



Fruit and chocolate (not pictured) for dessert



Bathroom with a view



Cabin lights dimmed



My footrest...no bed needed for such a short hop



IFE controller



Approaching Haneda



We touched down in Haneda slightly behind schedule and said goodbye to what was likely the last time we would fly on the 747-400. In all, Cathay Pacific had an excellent crew that lived up to expectations. We were spoiled by the SQ crew on our first leg, but CX was a very close second place. No Krug or caviar, but the product as a whole was very personal and polished, attentive without being overbearing. I wouldn't hesitate to fly a longhaul with them again if given the chance in the future.

Customs and immigration was a breeze and we collected our luggage from carousel F.



And to end the post...a sign at the currency exchange that gave me a chuckle.



Next up, the Conrad Tokyo and dining at Narisawa!

bsagator

Holy smokes, I've been to Asia so many times and I've ordered so many iced milk teas and iced coffees and I never knew they could be combined into one drink and purchased. I can't wait to go back now.

chongl

Damn double post...already alerted the mods so it should be gone shortly

Most HK style cafes in the states should be able to make it as well. There is an abundance of such spots in the Socal area, and most are almost as good as what I had in HK

LizGross144

Really enjoying your report so far, and anxiously awaiting the next installment, since we're taking our first trip to Tokyo this winter. Narisawa is on our list.

quirrow

Great photos of the trip so far, looking forward to the rest!

On a side note do keep track of the internet speeds in the lounge! Those are some fast wifi in the *A lounge in LAX!

chongl

After collecting bags and buying a 48 hour metro pass (cash only by the way for those who may find it helpful), we walked outside and surprise, it was raining. We got a taxi after approximately 5 minutes of waiting and were on our way to the Conrad Tokyo. Upon arrival, we were escorted to a set of elevators that would take us to the lobby on the 28th floor. An elevator change is required to get to your room which is a bit inconvenient sometimes.

A nice tree on the first floor lobby by the elevators



At the end of the check-in process, the concierge came over and handed us an envelope with the restaurant reservations and details on how to get there. The instructions were incredibly detailed, down to the metro exit number and which landmarks to look for. It would prove to be very helpful since we found out many places weren't as easy to find as we thought. Many places weren't labeled in English like in previous destinations so we frequently stopped and asked the kind locals, many of which went out of their way to help us.

Our room was on the 36th floor at the end of the hall. The executive lounge where we had breakfast was on the 37th floor.



Bathroom and shower





For all the Japanese whisky lovers, the hotel bar was stocked with ALL the good stuff (even Yamazaki 25 and Hibiki 30)



The next morning, we woke up rather late and did some brief exploring before heading to Narisawa for lunch. Some Tokyo metro art as we left from Shiodome Station just downstairs from the Conrad.



Arriving at Narisawa



I was trying to discretely snap a few more pictures of the exterior, but someone on the inside saw us approaching and opened the door for us. We were a little bit early but got seated right away in an empty dining room.

Panel of glass (?) with Narisawa text



Our menu for lunch. The main course was duck, with other substitutes offered. We were tempted to go for the beef, but with a steakhouse lined up for dinner, we went with the recommended duck.



There was a lot of background and explanation for each course. I didn't record or take any notes, so I'll let the pictures do the talking since I won't be able to detail the preparation of each dish like the staff did.

Essence of the forest



Fried soft shelled turtle



Fried onion



Bread dough that you've all seen in JohnRain's report



Soup made with boiled sea snake



Uni (almost like an oyster shooter with different ingredients)



Cracker with squid and caviar



Example of the sea snake used for flavor in the soup



Bread dough extracted and baking by the table



More dishes...getting tired of labeling





Liquid nitrogen used here to freeze some broth that melts on the dish





Bread is ready with cultured butter on the left



Eggplant



Wild eel



Tubes with broth for langoustine shrimp



And poured into the dish



Fried conger pike with fresh almond



The duck as the "main" course



Pickled plum sorbet



White peach dessert



Finishing dessert



Looking into the kitchen from the dining room



The meal was very good and had a lot of creativity in ingredients, but I wasn't blown away. My last Michelin-starred fine dining experience was Eleven Madison Park, where every dish left me wanting more. Narisawa, while innovative and sustainable, didn't appeal to my palate as much and came off closer to being more a show and experimentation than finely crafted cuisine. Obviously the chef is very talented with 2 stars to back him up, but what sealed the deal on my opinion was the duck. It was recommended as the preferred main course and presented extremely well. However, the meat itself was not very tender nor flavorful. I'd rather go to a quick Chinese restaurant and get myself half a roast duck...maybe I'm better suited to hawker stands

Next up, more Tokyo and some quality Wagyu at Dons de la Nature

chongl

Thank you LizGross144. I just posted the Narisawa photos, and while the food was good, I wasn't blown away like some of the other Michelin-starred establishments I have been to. Definitely very innovative cuisine though.

Thank you for following quirrow. I did check a few other places, but I neglected to save the results. I can say I got about 45/45 at the Park Hyatt Seoul, where I took advantage of it to backup some image files to Dropbox

LizGross144

Lovely photos! I think I know what you mean. I've been to restaurants with one Michelin star, and while I'm never unhappy with the food, I don't rave about it for years, like I've done about my meals at Per Se and Alinea. EMP is on our list for next time we're in NYC.

Narisawa is totally our style though, so I'm thinking we'll give it a shot. Just have to choose between lunch and dinner.