We love Hong Kong!

So much has happened already that I know it will be impossible to keep this blog up-to-date! Friday night we arrived in Hong Kong amazingly refreshed after the 20 hours of travel. We met up with Dana's family and visited Sam's awesome HK apartment (can I move here?). Then we went for dinner at a trendy Vietnamese restaurant called Rice Paper. I ordered a Violet Lime soda that was simply beautiful! Afterwards we strolled through HK's equivalent of Times Square. I prefer it to NY because it's just as fashionable but seems cleaner and easier to get around.
Saturday we took the ferry out to nearby Lamma island where we did some light hiking and enjoyed an amazing view. It was a big strange to leave Hong Kong (which is full of the tallest skyscrapers I've ever seen) and travel a short way to a place that feels much more like Big Sur or Costa Rica. Truly stunning. After choosing our lunch out of a tank, we enjoyed the most amazing seafood meal I've ever had (many, many, many courses of goodness - manta shrimp, scallops, bamboo clams, grouper, lobster, and more)- and definitely the freshest!
Saturday night was a big night on the town. We met Sam's fun friends (Sheena, Sushman, Zack) out for fruity cocktails at a very cool place called Zuma. My favorite drink was a Kiwi Bellini.
Then we went to a traditional Szechuan dinner at a "house kitchen" called Da Ping Huo. House Kitchens are sort of the "in" thing in Hong Kong. They're unauthorized kitchens that have private restaurants. Ours looked like a regular trendy restaurant, but apparently some just look like someone's living room. I didn't eat much because it was spicy, but it was a fun experience! At the end of the evening the owner sang Opera to everyone. It brought me to tears (although I'm sure the multiple glasses of wine I had had something to do with that as well). Afterwards we went with Sam's friends to a "Private Club" where we sipped champagne with a group of people who all looked like models. It was quite the experience. Judy and Ron even stayed out until 2 AM!
Sunday we enjoyed a leisurely 3 hour outdoor champagne brunch at the Top Deck. It's a brunch buffet on the top of huge floating restaurant. Now that I'm off the South Beach diet, I'm embarrassed to say that I had 3 servings of Coconut Creme Brule. The fruit crepes with Vanilla sauce were also very memorable! Afterwards we traveled to Stanley to shop at the market. I found fun gifts (silk wine bottle covers) for some coworkers back home, and we almost bought a Chinese dog outfit for Ryan & Stephanie. Judy picked up some beautiful pashminas for a steal.
The waterfront area in Stanley is amazing. There are a ton of adorable indoor/outdoor cafes and more caucasians than Chinese - pretty amusing. Later we visited Sam's fancy office and admired the architecture in this city. It's amazing! Every building is so beautiful and unique. Later we opted for a tasty Mediterranean meal to get a break from 14 straight days of Asian food. The Coffee Banaoffee, although not a traditional mediterranean dessert, was one of the best I've ever had!! I can't stop thinking of it...
Today we're off to Kowloon to see a tailor, do some more hiking, have reflexology massages and enjoy tea at the famous Peninsula hotel. Can't wait!