Honkey Tonk

The guy who collected us at the airport was kinda on the dumb side. For starters, he didn't speak a word of English and we didn't speak a word of mandarin, fookien, cantonese, or ANY Chinese dialect. Coming from an environment 9 hours earlier where we enjoyed a below 20-degree Celsius weather almost every single day, the hot and humid air blasting and blazing wasn't very comfy especially when we stepped out of the airport, almost an hour after waiting for my mom's secretary who she treated to a trip with us. Thinking back, I'm not sure if that was a rewarding experience for the secretary.  Especially since she shared a room with my sister who finds comfort in a heated room, even if you're in a tropical country. After walking to the parking lot, the farthest I've ever walked out of the airport, I wondered why he brought a van when I'm sure he was told that there were 5 of us with huge luggages in tow plus an even bigger golf bag. Which became my seat mate. To make matters more annoying, he took us to Conrad. When we were booked at Island Shangri-la. It was a good thing the room was already available when we checked in or I would have lost it. After freshening up, we headed off to Rice Paper in Kowloon for lunch. It was really hot when we emerged from the MTR station next to the mosque. It was so hot that the walk from there to the end to Harbour City seemed to take forever. But when we got to where we were supposed to go, it was well worth the trip. Rice Paper is a stylish Vietnamese restaurant with a French flair, which can be realised in its style of interior décor, the style of the dining ware as well as the menu. Unlike the Vietnamese cuisine you have experienced in Hong Kong that are based on old-time Vietnamese recipes, Rice Paper's menu is about, as the sign says, today's Vietnam and not the past.

Deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls

Prawn cakes Vietnamese fried rice with fresh prawns and chicken Vietnamese style Deep fried soft shell crab rice paper rolls with avocado and bittersweet orange sauce

I loved the soft shell crab rolls the most that I ordered another serving. After an extremely satisfying lunch, we walked around Harbour City and Ocean Terminal which to my surprise has changed. It's now much brighter and more modern looking. Ralph Lauren and Lane Crawford are still in the same spots, See's became a Customer Service desk, and the area where Marks & Spencer used to be is now occupied by Versace and Chanel. We swung by my Dad's suki fragrance sellers where I finally got my bottle of Paul Smith cologne. After my stock finished last year, I have since used Acca Kappa, Gendarme, and Rykiel Homme but my scent preference always goes back to Paul Smith. There's something delightfully fresh about it. When the heat was unbearable, we retreated to Admiralty and went around Pacific Place instead. We had dinner downstairs at Zen, one of our must-dine-in Chinese restaurants when in Hong Kong. If over-the-top minimalism is your thing, then this is the place for you. Attracting mostly professionals and executives who enjoy eating as much as they do people-watching, this restaurant serves dim sum and other popular Cantonese dishes—house specialities include barbecued suckling pig and roasted goose or pigeon.

Joanna (the one to the very right), my sister's boyfriend's sister joined us. 

You know when you meet somebody new and they're on this Silence of the Lambs vibe (and I don't mean cannibals)? One answer for every question?  

She's not that type.

Infact, she's the type of person that you'll feel as if you've known her forever and ever.

She's funny, stylish (she was sporting a fancy Chanel bag), charming, polite, and has really, really long eyelashes.  She sort of reminds me of my cousin, Angelique. Anyway, I wanted to order drunken shrimp but my Dad said Spring Deer serves it better. Instead we had really fat jellyfish and thousand year old eggs, egg foo young, crispy pigeon, and crispy noodles. The steamed garoupa never came. Hmph. Rice Paper is located at Zone 3319 (near Royce Chocolates) Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui Open from 11:30 am to 11:00 pm Phone: +852 3151 7801 Zen is located at B/F, Pacific Place 88 Admiralty Road, Admiralty Open from 10:30am to 11:00pm Monday to Saturdays 9:30am to 11:00pm Sundays Phone: +852 2845 4555