October 8, 2013
Hong Kong - Day 4
After our now customary breakfast at Café Grey Deluxe, we went down to the MTR station and hopped a train to the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong where the Lock Cha Tea Shop is located. It would be our first stop of the morning. Lock Cha is about 5 city blocks away from the Sheung Wan MTR station, so we made strides through the blocks stopping to look at the store fronts along the way.
Darrell mentioned that this area is considered to have the look of old Hong Kong. The store fronts in this district certainly support that notion. Shops dealing with old Chinese dried foods of unique origin were everywhere. Dried fish bladders, birds nests, forest mushrooms, fungus, beans of all sorts and more all meticulously displayed and ready for sale.
A few blocks down and to the left we came across the Sheung Wan Market. Just up a small flight of steps saw us inside the meat, poultry, and seafood market, which is made up of a good number of individual vendors. A walk through this section of the market does show a distinct level of freshness, but is not for the faint of heart. Some vendors offered live poultry, which are processed there at request.
After making our way through the market, we exited onto Queens Road Central, just two blocks away from the Lock Cha Tea Shop. Lock Cha Tea Shop is located at 290B Queen's Road Central at Ladder Street. We went inside and took a look around.
Website - www.lockcha.com/teashop
Darrell and T.C. sat at the tasting counter while I took some time to shoot video and take pictures. Wingchi has done an amazing job in the store layout and offerings at Lock Cha Tea Shop. The diversity of tea and teaware is unparalleled. If ever in Hong Kong, the Lock Cha Tea Shop is definitely worth visiting for not only a wonderful look at tea and teaware, but also to get a wonderful feel of a part of Chinese culture.
The Yixing ( pronounced "E-shing" ) tea pots, though completely functional for tea, all look like works of art.
While we were enjoying everything the Tea Shop had to offer, two new customers came in to look around. They had a curiosity with our video and camera equipment and took an interest in what we were doing. The two men were visiting from Austria. Darrell invited them to sit with us and share some tea. He commented on the tea as they tasted. We spent a good amount of time visiting and the familiar midday hunger pangs began to present themselves. Darrell wanted to have some dim sum for lunch and had just the place to go in mind. Darrell invited our new friends from Austria to join us. Darrell wanted to visit Lin Heung, a dim sum restaurant which he had visited in the past. It was less than 1/2 a kilometer away, so we walked over. I snapped a few pictures along the way. Lin Heung is located at the corner of Aberdeen and Wellington. The restaurant is up a flight of stairs from the street entrance. The restaurant was absolutely packed. We waited about 15 minutes for a table. If a few seats become free, they seat you. We managed to sit all together anlong with two patrons who weren't finished with their meal. There's no messing around once seated. You come to eat, and at a brisk pace because there always someone waiting who wants your seat. The interior of Lin Heung combined with the pace of service gives the feel of being inside this restaurant at a point in time which is decades past.
The food was delicious, even though we kept up with the quick eating pace of the other diners. The flavors and textures of the dim sum came through. The restaurant is loud and crowded by not only patrons, but also the staff whisking by with their carts of dim sum. We made our way back down to the street and bid our new Austrian friends goodbye. Darrell, T.C. and I went uphill along Aberdeen Street because Darrell wanted to take a look at the antique shops along Hollywood road just 2 blocks up. Hollywood Road is the antique district of Sheung Wan. Just about every type of antique can be found inside the multitude of small shops.
We really had been giving T.C. quite a workout the past few days, one which he really enjoyed. After popping into a few shops and walking the length of the antique shops and back, T.C. needed a nap, and we had to meet back at the Lock Cha Tea house. We tried to flag a cab, but every one that passed by had riders. It took us a good 20 minutes to finally get one. We dropped T.C. at his home, then went back to Pacific Place. We then walked to Hong Kong Park to meet with Wingchi at the Lock Cha Tea house. Wingchi wanted to share one of his birthday presents with us, so he opened the recently released 2004 vintage Dom Perignon and poured for Darrell, his staff and I.
After visiting a bit, Darrell and I walked back to the Upperhouse to freshen up for dinner. We met back down in the lobby and waited for our ride. Kendall, Grace, and Christian picked us up for another dinner with them. They drove us to The Lee Gardens Building where the Villa West Restaurant sits. Villa West specializes in very good Cantonese Cuisine. The courses came perfectly timed, and were fresh, flavorful, and perfectly enjoyed.
Dinner was another complete success. The much enjoyed conversation was maintained with a family like quality. We left the restaurant very pleasantly satisfied. Kendall, Grace, and Christian drove us back to the Upperhouse after dinner. We had to pack and get a good night's sleep, as tomorrow was a travel day. Our flight to Xiamen, China was scheduled to depart at 12:45 pm from Hong Kong International.