Hong Kong
We arrived at 11pm at the Mira Hong Kong hotel. The hotel has a quirky modern design theme and comes off, from afar, as somewhat sleek and new age, however, it seemed a bit dated to me. It didn't wow me.
Hallway at the Mira Hong Kong. The ceilings in the hallways were about 6'7'', so it felt a bit claustrophobic.
A nice welcome. Cheers.
Living Room of the Mira Suite 80
Bedroom: Felt cramped and the chairs seemed oversized.
Bathroom. Also cramped and the ceiling were low.
I couldn't sleep the first night, so headed down to the gym, which is accessible with a keycard between the hours of 11pm-6am. It was well equipped and met all my needs.
Woke up to a nice view of Kowloon Park
Headed up to the Mira Club Lounge for buffet breakfast. Decent spread but nothing out of the ordinary, other than the congee, which I assume is par for the course in HK. They had a la carte options, including pancakes, french toast, eggs benedict, etc.
We walked out of the lobby and headed to Central via the MTR which was located about a block away from the hotel. The location of the hotel to the MTR station is ideal and made for easy travel around HK.
Coming from NYC, I was impressed by the cleanliness and efficiency of the MTR.
We ended up at Sheung Wan station and walked around till we were hungry. We sampled some goodies and had a great day exploring the city.
Stopped into 18 Grams coffee shop for a quick latte
Had a quick shot of snake wine to get the day going
This place looked crowded, so we took that as a sign to eat there.
Roast meats and sausages
Here for wonton and roast beef soups
Walked through the stall market for a bit and then stopped for some french toast
Hong Kong car porn, love a nice S class Maybach, slightly modded.
Back to the hotel where we proceeded to pass out and ended up ordering room service after all of that tasty HK food.
The next day we awoke to cloudy skies but figured we should head up to The Peak to check it out and then cruise around the city for some more exploring.
We took a cab up to The Peak and decided to take the Tram down, which was fun and glad we tried it. After walking around for a few, we were starving and stumbled upon Aberdeen Street Social. This place was fun and had a great lunch scene going.
We both opted for the lobster roll.
For dinner, we ate at Sushi Shikon, which is the "sister" restaurant to Sushi Yoshitake in Tokyo. It's located in the lobby of the boutique Mercer Hotel, on Jervois Street.
Shikon is famous for it's abalone with abalone liver sauce.
Two types of uni for its special uni roll
The menu for January 19, 2016
It's only omakase and they have two seatings a night. I won't go into how much I spent on this dinner (you can google it and find out easily) but it was by far the most I've ever spent for two people. I hate to say it, but I've had better, whether in NYC or Tokyo. We all know that cost does not translate to great taste and the absurd price tag was not justified with the quality and taste of the food here. I left with a smile on my face because of the great service and many glasses of sake but with a bitter taste in my mouth due to the overall experience. I won't be back.
CX 785
HKG-DPS
Business Class
We checked out of the Mira and were chauffeured to HKIA in the Tesla again. Rainy day but we were on time.
HKIA Terminal 1
Check in was a breeze and we were through security in less than 10 minutes
We stopped by the Cabin lounge for a quick look and turned around, it was crowded and the thermostat was blazing.
It does have nice views of the tarmac
We boarded at Gate 35
We were seated in 16A/C. PDB of champagne, orange juice, and water were offered. I love the feel of a flight to an island tourist destination and this flight to Bali had that buzz. The cabin was full of travelers with the look of pending vacation and anticipating relaxation.
Warm mixed nuts and drinks were served immediately after departure
Billecart-Salmon was being poured
Menu
Salmon and scallop starter
Sambal halibut, coconut okra and jasmine rice. Hands down one of the best inflight meals I've ever had. Doesn't look so epic, but was extremely tasty.
Cheese, fruit, port
Cabin
Landed at DPS, greeted by a representative holding a sign with my name, cleared immigration with no visa needed for US and Philippine passport holders, among many others. Into the large arrivals hall and to the baggage carousel where our bags were one of the first to arrive. The 4'9'' Indonesian girl, dressed in a bright pink suit, basically demanded that she carry our bags and load them onto a pushcart and out to the Chedi Club car, where we were met by one of the friendliest people I've come across.
Our Chedi Club driver immediately made us feel welcomed and at home with him. He offered us cold drinks, cold towels and informed us that the drive would take a little over an hour long. We sat back and relaxed while he pointed out some key sites along the way. We were greeted at the Chedi Club by a handful of staff and escorted into the open air lobby.
Clearly a long way from the Mira Hong Kong, my jaw was floored at the absolute beauty of this hotel and its grounds.
Up next: Chedi Club, Amankila, and Boracay/Manila