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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Hong Kong
One of Asia’s great cities, Hong Kong is in the lead in the region’s frenzied race from yesterday straight into the Jetsons age. The former British territory, which returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, is at once colonial—in some far-flung corners, even preindustrial—and glitteringly futuristic. In the city’s modern Central business and shopping district, you can still spot the occasional deliveryman, dressed in a singlet and flip-flops, peddling his bike with a cage of live chickens strapped to the back—all the while dodging the Rolls-Royces and double-decker buses careening along Queen’s Road. Just a few blocks from Central’s soaring skyscrapers, grannies in black cloth shoes light incense and bow before the gods in their smoky neighborhood temple.
Outsiders and locals alike worried about what would happen to Hong Kong—whose seven million citizens live on Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula, and in the New Territories—once it returned to the hands of Communist China. But the Special Administrative Region has maintained a separate identity—in large part because the rule of law established by the British still prevails. Most tycoons in Hong Kong adapted nimbly to the changeover and are doing a booming business in mainland China today. The dry, temperate fall is the ideal time to visit Hong Kong. If you’re there in late spring or in summer, it can get very steamy and you may get caught in the monsoon rains. Attractions & Activities To get a sense of the city’s majesty, head up to Victoria Peak, on Hong Kong Island. The best way to get there is to take the Peak Tram, a funicular built in 1888 to carry the British masters up to their colonial homes in the coolest regions of the territory. From the viewing platform, the city’s skyscrapers look like Lego pieces. Sadly, due to Hong Kong’s air pollution, you can see across the harbor to the mountains of Kowloon and China’s border only on the occasional clear day. Back in Central, visit the flagship sandalwood-scented Shanghai Tang for its beautiful architecture (polished wood and an East-meets-West, 1930s Shanghai feel) and chic chinoiserie. The traditional cheongsam dress is updated with vivid prints, and other Chinese designs are reinterpreted with funky neon colors (12 Pedder St.; 852-2525-7333). Another fun, quirky store, GOD (Goods of Desire) sells housewares and inexpensive clothing with cool fabrics and Chinese frog buttons (48 Hollywood Rd.; 852-2805-1876). Otherwise, the shopping is mostly about glassy malls that have everything you might find on New York City’s Madison Avenue and other upscale districts stateside. For art and antiques, take a walk down Hollywood Road, where dozens of shops sell everything from Qing dynasty and Ming-style furniture to Tibetan rugs and avant-garde Chinese paintings. Be sure to walk far enough to hit the Man Mo Temple, where enormous coils of incense hang from the blackened ceiling and old and young alike shake fortune sticks onto the floor to glean their future. Farther down, a series of stores have tomb figures dating back to the Tang, Han, and pre-imperial eras—that is, if you believe the sellers’ promises of provenance (buyer beware). Take the Star Ferry, a charming vestige of an earlier era—the sailors still wear blue sailor suits and each boat is named for a different star, from Celestial Star to Morning Star—across to the Kowloon side (865-2367-7065; starferry.com.hk). Stroll up bustling, shop-jammed Nathan Road. Check out the Chungking Mansions, one of Hong Kong’s most colorful landmarks, a chaotic, multistoried tenement block full of Nigerian traders, Chinese hustlers, shops selling cheap goods, backpacker guesthouses, and some of the finest—and cheapest—Indian buffets in town. For a break from the rush and crowds of Hong Kong, hike the city’s many lovely nature trails (buy a guide to the routes in local bookstores) or head to one of the beaches on the South side. The water may not be clean, but that doesn’t stop locals from taking the plunge. And, finally, the secret that hotel concierges will never let you in on: Climb over the central ridge of Hong Kong Island down to Shek O village and eat at the open-air Shek O Chinese and Thailand Seafood Restaurant, which serves great pad Thai, spicy prawns, tom yum soup, and kid-friendly satay (303 Shek O Village; 852-2809-4426). Lodging The city has many top-notch hotels that are both glamorous and comfortable, including an impressive 11 that rank on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List of the world’s very best places to stay. Among them are: the Conrad, in a multiuse Central District tower and beloved for its white-glove tea service and for the clean, contemporary lines of its recently renovated guest rooms; the InterContinental, a terraced Kowloon waterfront property with renovated rooms and a Lobby Lounge affording jaw-dropping skyline views; the Island Shangri-La, where the spacious rooms have bay windows overlooking the harbor and the service is exceptional; the Grand Hyatt, with Deco granite interiors, black-and-white photos of traditional Chinese gardens in the guest rooms, and 14-karat-gold-plated fixtures in the marble bathrooms; the JW Marriott, particularly popular for its concierge floor and its guest rooms’ angled windows with top views; the Kowloon Shangri-La, in a 26-year-old tower alongside Victoria Harbour, near the Star Ferry terminal, where recent renovations refreshed the rooms and added a third Horizon Club executive floor; the Mandarin Oriental, the company’s flagship, which set the standard for service in the former colony and has reopened with newly designed rooms and restaurants; the Ritz-Carlton, in a 25-story tower in bustling Central, where the rooms have Victoria Peak and harbor views; and The Peninsula, Condé Nast Traveler readers’ favorite Asian property and the city’s most elegant colonial hotel, with afternoon tea-and-scones service in the lobby that’s a must for all Hong Kong visitors. With three-quarters of its 399 rooms offering unobstructed views of Victoria Harbor and Kowloon, the Four Seasons has a distinct advantage over its luxury competition. At 484 square feet, standard rooms are among Hong Kong’s largest, with wide flat-screen TVs and pillow-top beds. The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, a sibling to Hong Kong’s original Mandarin, is full of sleek lines and sexy curves. The 113 rooms range from 450 to 900 square feet and have ultramodern bathrooms (but if you’re shy, watch out—they are contiguous with the room). The city’s hippest small hotel, Jia, designed by Philippe Starck, offers modest but chic rooms. Dining Hong Kong has spectacular food. Indeed, the city’s restaurants serve some of the best Chinese food in the world—and probably its best nouvelle Chinese—along with plenty of fabulous Western cuisine. At the cool, contemporary Yè Shanghai, in Harbour City’s Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel (opposite the Star Ferry Kowloon terminal), one specialty—a peerless example of pig fat as an art form—is pork knuckle in a sweet soy sauce. Braised meatballs, called Lion’s Head, are wonderfully savory (852-2376-3322; entrées, $5–$44). For dim sum—traditional breakfast and lunch morsels served on clattering carts, a must for experiencing the soul of Hong Kong—head to Maxim’s Palace, on the second floor of City Hall. Here you’ll witness wedding banquets decked out in gold and red double-happiness characters, the bride and groom and family and friends oblivious to the hoi polloi around them. As the grumpy-looking ladies push their wares past your table, just point at what looks good (City Hall, Connaught Rd.; 852-2526-9931; dim sum, $3–$4). If you want a modern take on dim sum, try Zen Chinese, a stark, hip restaurant in the Pacific Place mall frequented by a chic clientele who like traditional fare served with style (852-2845-4555; dim sum, $4–$7). At the Kowloon-side restaurant Hutong, the magical atmosphere of its namesake (Beijing alleyways lined with courtyard houses) has been re-created in an ultramodern glass and steel skyscraper a short walk from the Star Ferry terminal. Start with drunken crabs and bamboo clams steeped in Chinese rose wine, then try the soft-shell crab with Szechuan pepper or the eye-watering prawns Chong Qing style (1 Peking Rd.; 852-3428-8342; entrées, $13–$52). For Western fare, the Italian newcomer Isola, at the International Finance Centre Mall, has brisk and informal service, refined pizzas, and a bar with a huge terrace above the harbor (Level 3; 852-2383–8765; entrées, $16–$44). A more high-end Italian option is Cinecittà, with a stunning modern bar and a glassed-in wine cellar that doubles as a private dining room. The restaurant has led the way in transforming Star Street, in Wan Chai, from an average backstreet into the city’s newest and most popular dining area. Try the roast rack of lamb with a pistachio crust or the homemade bigoli (whole wheat pasta) with duck ragout (9 Star St.; 852-2529-0199; entrées, $16–$37). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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