Hong Kong Archives - Page 4 of 6

Is the Diplomat the Best Burger in Hong Kong?

December 24, 2023March 26, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

There was one name that kept popping up over and over when I kept searching online for the best burger in Hong Kong – and it wasn’t from a traditional burger and fry joint like Five Guys or Burger Circus. There was something hypnotizing about it and the name burrowed deep into my brain, like that squid-like creature baby in Holly’s stomach in the movie Prometheus after she made love with the dude who was infected by the “black goo.”

I suffered many late nights trying to piece together if it could be true, like a 33-year-old chubby, balding male Carrie Matheson from Homeland with three yards of string, several packs of Post-it notes, and a whiteboard. I was Ace Ventura in the shower trying to figure out who police lieutenant Einhorn really was after sharing a passionate makeout right before the eureka moment when he realized she was disgraced Miami Dolphins place kicker ‘Ray Finkle’ post-sex change. “Finkle is Einhorn, Einhorn is Finkle.” In the deep throes of befuddlement, I muttered to myself “Burgers at speakeasies, speakeasies and burgers?”

My burger world was thrown upside down. I knew that I was going to have to test this for myself to make sure that this wasn’t some Truman Show-esque experiment orchestrated by Ed Harris to provide 24/7 entertainment to home viewers at my expense. So, post-Tuesday night workout, I grabbed my finest Pure tote bag and a raggedy old black sweatshirt that I cleaned BBQ sauce stains off of earlier in the day and headed to The Diplomat in H Code.

It was time to settle this literal and metaphorical burger beef once and for all.

21 Date Ideas in Hong Kong to Avoid Becoming “The Boring Couple”

December 21, 2023October 22, 2024Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

I’ve been there before. You mindlessly scroll Reddit on your phone next to one another in bed, being intimate hasn’t been on the table since your mother-in-law moved in “just for a few weeks,” you look over at your partner and see them doing the same. Something snaps and you look at them, “Babe, have we become ‘the boring couple?”

“We’re not boring, everyone’s like this.” “Do you remember when we went whitewater rafting in West Virginia? Or snorkeling in The Maldives?” You smirk, “Or the time we did…on top of…while there were people nearby…”. You raise your eyebrows and give them a playful nudge. “This weekend, what say you and I get out and try something different?” Your partner’s eyes widen as they abruptly sit up in bed and begin to visibly shake with excitement.

“How about we ask ‘so and so’ and get a few drinks before?” “I said ‘try something different’ not ‘try someone different’.” “Oh. Alright. Then l know just the list of date ideas to choose from.”

Without further ado, here are 21 certified, tested, fun date ideas in Hong Kong for couples that want to avoid being referred to as “The Boring Couple” and reclaim a bit of spontaneity (without destroying your marriage) – or who just want to get away from their in-laws.

Croque Hong Kong: Ain’t No Such Things as Halfway Croques

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

As the boys from Queensbrisdge, Mobb Deep, so timelessly rapped, “Son, they shook, ‘Cause ain’t no such things as halfway ~~crooks~~ croques.” And boy, am I shook. Because I just found out that every croque monsieur I’ve ever eaten in my life has been a “halfway croque.” Granted, I’ve only been to France as an enfant terrible, naively and boorishly satiated by chicken nuggets, artificial (mutant) macaroni and cheese, and Capri suns.

But today, I became a man. No. Scratch that. Today, I became a Monsieur. Complete with a black three-piece suit, bushy mustache, and monocle like the Monopoly Man. That’s all thanks to a newcomer to the SoHo restaurant scene, Croque, a new age, vibrant, cheesy oasis of unique (and classic) takes on a French classic – the croque monsieur.

8 Christmas Date Ideas in Hong Kong to Unlock Your Own Winter Rom-Com

December 9, 2023October 22, 2024Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

‘Tis the season for requited love. Or unrequited love. Or that unspoken “group love” that your parents partake in every year in their late 60s when they go down to Jamaica for ‘Hedonism 47’ with ‘Aunt Sally’ and ‘Uncle Jim’ – who you only found out when you turned 18 weren’t related by blood. Whatever the case, love, tinsel, gingerbread cookies, and your local middle school’s rendition of ‘The Nutcracker’ are in the air – and it’s time to celebrate.

I have to be honest with you. Up until several years ago when I moved back to Hong Kong, Christmas was one of my least favorite holidays. Something about the shove-it-down-your-throat consumer and brand tribalism, needing to shovel my car out of several feet of snow regularly, and the fact that I literally could (still can’t) never figure out who the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ was in the Nutcracker until post-intermission, all were major factors that fueled this “bah humbug” mentality.

Now, I can’t get enough of it. Not because of the LED flatscreen televisions that sync with your frontal lobe and can be purchased via Amazon with a single click of a button, or the catchy Christmas jingles (found in every major Hong Kong mall) that bury themselves deep into your brain to the point where you end up in a content, infantile stupor like Danny Devito (aka ‘Martini’) in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or Hong Kong’s weather finally being palatable and not requiring you to take three showers every day.

What’s the Legal Drinking Age in Hong Kong? (2024)

November 28, 2023November 28, 2023Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

If you’re coming to Hong Kong (or in the midst of growing up here) and looking to get your alcohol fix at one of the city’s countless (timeless) British pubs (for a cheeky quiz night), world-class cocktail bars or lounges, raucous and sweaty night clubs, communal 7-11s (which are an institution in their own right), or other bustling watering holes, you might be wondering what the actual legal drinking age in Hong Kong is.

As someone who moved to Hong Kong at 21, coming hot off of the United States’ archaic drinking and liquor laws, I was in awe at just how different this city was from my hometown and how nothing was off-limits (for better or worse).

Find out everything you need to know about drinking alcohol in Hong Kong.

Does An Choi in Sheung Wan Pass the Authentic Vietnamese Taste Test?

November 26, 2023May 16, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Tucked away on Mercer Street, a succinct unassuming feeder thoroughfare to Bonham Strand and a stone’s throw away from the Murderer’s Row of Hong Kong lunch specials (Jervois Street), An Choi is “the answer” to Hong Kong’s desperate plea for high-quality, authentic Vietnamese fare that not only ensures you don’t go home hungry but are transported back to a cragged, bustling, back alley Saigonese noodle, banh mi, and spring roll haunt in the process.

Like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. I was skeptical at first. Having spent over one year living in Ho Chi Minh City, I was accustomed to authentic Vietnamese cuisine at an affordable price, served with several sides of chaos, character, and chili (pepper), and I was convinced it was impossible to replicate in this beleaguered, prohibitively expensive, and gastronomically stagnant city (in my humble, uneducated opinion).

I’m happy I was proved wrong.

What Are People From Hong Kong Called? Learn This Before Traveling Here

November 15, 2023November 15, 2023Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

If you’re traveling to or moving to Hong Kong, you might be unsure of what exactly to refer to the local Hong Kong population as and want to avoid offending someone by accidentally referring to them as ‘Chinese’ or ‘British’. That’s completely understandable due to confusion over Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region (SAR) status, previous positioning as a British Colony (up until 1997), and its official 1997 “return” to China.

Slice-Testing the Roman Pizza Hype at Hong Kong’s Alice Pizza

November 6, 2023November 6, 2023Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Located in the heart of Wan Chai (but the part less rife with sin and hedonism) and pronounced ‘Ah-lee-cheh’ (not ‘Al’is’), Alice Pizza is the answer to Hong Kong’s (surprising) Roman-style ‘in teglia’ pizza void. Somehow finding myself with more Italian friends than I ever realized I’d acquire in this lifetime, and sitting next to a certified Roman in my office, the buzz surrounding Alice Pizza is something I’ve hungrily watched them signal to one another via a variety of exuberant hand gestures for the last several months.

I knew it was time I tried it so I could hit them with a double finger purse and “Mamma mia!’ to prove my relevance – as my daily ‘Buongiorno’s’ were slowly losing their linguistic luster. So I took to the viae and strata (“took to the streets”) to taste-test Alice for myself and see if this pan-baked, rectangular, thin-slice pizza pie hype was justified. I veni’ed, I vidi’ed, and I pizzi’ed, all in the name of finding my Calpurnia of the pizza world.

Here’s what I found.

What’s New in Hong Kong November 2023 Events You Should Check Out

November 5, 2023November 5, 2023Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

Maybe it’s just me. But I don’t really ever get too excited for November. That may be the reason why I’m several days late with this. It’s both November and February that I always find to be two months where I mentally exist in limbo. For me, I attribute it to burnout from October festivities (I’m writing this trying to expel the liters of Oktoberfest Lowenbrau I threw back), the cold reality hitting me that November is a month of buckling down work-wise, and knowing that Thanksgiving just doesn’t taste as sweet when you aren’t sharing a green bean casserole with your mother.

However, I’m trying to turn that around and start giving November the credit it’s due. After all, November was my month of birth on my fake Ohio ID in college (for which I chose the Greekest name possible – I’m also set to celebrate my fake 36th birthday on the 21st), the month I learned how to make a pumpkin pie courtesy of Martha Stewart tutorials when I was a stay-at-home-son (at the ripe old age of 24), and the month my ex-girlfriend gifted me the coziest flannel I’ve ever worn (only to steal it back 9 months later).

A Tempestuous, Tonkotsu Tryst at Ramen Bari-Uma in Central

November 2, 2023November 10, 2023Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

After three months back in Hong Kong (post-Japan stint), to say that I’ve been on a ramen kick is an understatement. I’ve touched on this in several other posts but other than ramen, I find most Japanese cuisine in Hong Kong to be exorbitantly priced. This Big Body wants consistent, high-quality, affordable Japanese fare (and nama beerus) that brings me back to my days falling off izakaya bar stools and waking up naked in the hallway of my Tokyo hotel (I wish I was joking).

Well, I found it and am thankful to Ramen Bari-Uma for delivering that shameful, delicious nostalgia in a piping hot bowl of tonkotsu-based ramen loaded with fat slabs of char siu. I like big cuts of char siu and I cannot lie.

By now, I’ve almost eaten through the entire menu at this bustling Lan Kwai Fong ramen haunt. Initially, I was in it for Bari-Uma’s spicy, rich tonkotsu ramens with thick cut slabs of fatty char siu (that I’d have to dial down a tad with nori slices by the dozen). But as I worked my way through, I found several new favorite dishes that have kept me coming back, at minimum, one per week for the last 3 months. Because of this, it’s only right that I dedicate an entire ~~love song~~ post to this ramen joint that should definitely be on your radar.

Is There Uber in Hong Kong? Guide to the World’s Most Popular Ride-Sharing App

October 25, 2023July 17, 2024Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

Reporting live on the ground from Hong Kong, this is Big Body with your evening news. Tonight’s story, “Is there Uber in Hong Kong?” This is a common question I’m asked by friends (and the occasional reader) traveling from the U.S. to Hong Kong.

If you’re like me, you don’t always carry cash on you and want to ensure that you have a backup means to get around in case you forget to stock up on some cold hard $HKD. Or maybe, you just prefer the solitude and cleanliness of a fully manicured Uber Black. Or maybe you’re a crypto evangelist who got demolished on 100x leverage DeFi moonshots, has turned to UBER call options, and is now trying to personally inject some pennies into the bottom line by Ubering to work so that your fiancé doesn’t leave you and take the dog with her. Been there, done that, got called a “loser” (actually worse) on r/WallStreetBets, and picked up the t-shirt along the way.

Whatever the case, it’s a reasonable question to ask.

Florence Trippa: Home of the Best Sandwich You’ve Never Heard of – The Lampredotto

October 14, 2023October 14, 2023Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Nestled a stone’s throw away from the iconic Mid-Levels escalators, somewhere between the Caine Road Japan Home Centre and the beginning of Old Bailey Street, you’ll find a salt and pepper-haired, mustachioed Italian man in his early 50s donning an (almost) luminescent white T, wielding a pizza peel with the might of the intrepid Vulcan (Hephaestus for those Hellenists out there), and flashing a warm, radiant smile that will melt your heart like creamy, well-rounded provolone over focaccia. His name is Claudio and his shop is ‘Florence Trippa’.

At first glance, it’s easy to miss. Caught in the throes of banal headache, a hurried crowd of pedestrians, and a winding, imposing line of the Chinese restaurant adjacent, two red Florentine flag insignias sandwich black lettering in a nondescript fashion. “Pizza,” “Pasta,” “Panini, “Trippa.” You shake it out of your head. I mean, there are hundreds of pizza shops in the city. You know good Italian food, right? What’s so special about this new spot? Little did you know, you just made the biggest mistake of your month and you haven’t even throttled your first Joe Bananas’ Jägerbomb at 2 AM on Saturday.

On any given night (except Sundays), you’ll find him bobbing and weaving amongst a profusion of pots and pans in a small kitchen, fielding a barrage of takeaway calls and Deliveroo orders with an unflappable grace, carefully ladling slow-cooked vegetable broth over fluffy, freshly toasted buns and sliding thin crust pizzas out of the oven with the precision of a surgeon – a Florentine, gastronomical surgeon. He offers up earnest anecdotes on longevity, happiness, and health, greeting regulars by name and welcoming newcomers as if they were regulars, putting into digestible prose an answer to a question he’s sure to field at least dozens of times per day (for now), “What the heck is a lampredotto?”

And that’s where our story begins. But first, a little housekeeping.