food | Big Buddha statue | Lantau Island | Yan Toh Heen | big giant

"Yan Toh Heen is the Chinese restaurant in the Hotel Inter-Continental. The restaurant isn't fancy, but classy. If you want just typical Hong Kong food, you have to go to the stalls in Mongkok. They have the women's pantyhose tea. They put tea leaves inside pantyhose and then pour hot water through the hose and make tea. It's very good, very traditional. I love to go to the little noodle stalls in the dai pai dong region on the new territory side of Hong Kong. It's Chinese-style fast food: noodles and sandwiches. Dai pai dong is the proper name for all the stalls. That's what it means: "street stall." They're everywhere. You can't miss them."

Excursion
"Lantau is an island off of Hong Kong. The Big Buddha statue is on Lantau Island. It's this big giant Buddha. You climb stairs up to it. Lantau has Hong Kong's second-highest mountain. There's a place on Lantau called Taio. It's a little old fishing village, and probably the last place around that's got old-world Hong Kong flavor. They still use little junks to go fishing. You should also see the islands of Cheung Chau, which have open-air cafes, clear-water beaches, and temples dedicated to the protector of fishermen."

Soup Break
"Chinese people love food, especially soups. Chinese soups are very therapeutic. Just like Western people have chicken noodle soup for colds, Chinese people have different soups for everything: 'Oh, your eyes look a little pink; I'll get you carrot soup.' Chinese people eat everything for their health. Longevity. Health. Beauty. Good fortune. Shark fin soup is supposed to be good for your health. The best place to get it is Tangwongko. Good shark fins look like huge noodles. And cheap shark fins are little and look like vermicelli. For dessert, I like the green bean soup. It's almost like tapioca, but it's little beans. And, of course, it's also soup."