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Hong Kong: From the Ritz to the Y   Bustling international metropolis has something to offer everyone from big spenders to frugal travellers  
By Rochelle Lash, For Postmedia News
    Story Photos ( 1 )
 
  This long exposure picture shows apartment buildings and office blocks clustered tightly together in Hong Kong&#8217;s Kowloon district. Photograph by: ALEX OGLE
, AFP/Getty Images tiffany Festivities and fireworks are part of Hong Kong's identity, but to me, the city is a perpetual party, popping yearround with lights and commerce and energy. The approximately 400,000 Canadians who visit this year will experience an intriguing mix of East and West, all flourishing in a delicate balance of upper-crust elegance and frenzied neon-lit street life.tiffany outlet locations Hong Kong always has been my favourite city, even before I ever saw it. The name is loaded with music and mystique. The place brings to my mind images of a glamorous and worldly past of rickshaws and Rolls-Royces, and a pulp history rife with international spies, opium smugglers and painted women with rare talents. With eight million people, the Hong Kong of today embraces enough skyscrapers of astounding architecture to dwarf Toronto and even Manhattan, as well as the world's largest container port and one of the busiest airports. It's also an enormously entertaining destination on any budget.tiffany jewelry The city has more than 60 Michelinstarred restaurants and is home to some of the world's most luxe hotels, including the revered Peninsula Hong Kong and the new and astounding Ritz-Carlton. Fashionistas line up outside Chanel and Prada, and Cartier and Rolex boutiques proliferate by the dozen.wholesale tiffany jewelry But that's just one side of the modern metropolis. Bargain hunters, too, can enjoy this intimate city of distinct neighbourhoods that you can walk, touch and feel. Here is a peek at Hong Kong, two ways.tiffany jewelry outlet The luxury route Stay: Big spenders will feel right at home at the plush Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, the highest-elevation hotel in the world, capping the shimmering, tapered glass tower of the International Commerce Centre. Rates start at $900 for a ritzy room for two, which includes the astonishing experience of swimming on the 118th floor, a halfkilometre in the sky. You could easily drop another $1,000 per day, living the high life at Ritz-Carlton with dinner at a one of the hotel's restaurants, sightseeing via limousine, a restorative massage at ESPA and lychee cocktails at the penthouse lounge Ozone.tiffany outlet store Eat: The new culinary darling is Above & Beyond in Hotel Icon, which has panoramic views, an airy design by Sir Terence Conran and contemporary riffs on Cantonese cuisine. Delicacies include wagyu beef, abalone with fish maw, lobster with black truffles, barbecued goose, king prawns, foie gras with pineapple and tender smoked Bresse pigeon with oolong tea leaves.Restaurant manager Hugo Cheng brings expertise from Joël Robuchon's empire and executive chef Joseph Tse from Mandarin Oriental. A gastronomic dinner costs $85 and up, plus wine pairings. The twist is that Hotel Icon is run by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel Tourism Management, so you are taken care of by the best and brightest servers, both professional and interns.Shop: The city's Tatler magazine is 400 pages thick with glossy ads for big-brand cars, jewels and watches. (The hottest timepiece is the Swiss-Italian Panerai, which runs $8,000-$25,000 for most models.)The swish Lane Crawford department store carries high-end French, Italian and American designers. But why not go all-Chinese with good-luck symbols, mandarin collars and calligraphy designs from Hong Kong companies? The chic lifestyle boutique Shanghai Tang carries luxurious cashmere, leather and silk clothes for men and women (figure on $700-1,000 for a dress or a man's jacket) and home accessories, all with Chinese detailing. Goods of Desire on Hollywood Road is a hipster haven of local creations, such as weekend sweaters and down vests at $100-200 and loft-worthy decor items. Chinese Arts and Crafts has a three-storey collection of treasures, from a slinky $200 cheongsam to a $200,000 museum-quality porcelain vase.Wan Chai, the former red-light district immortalized in the 1960 movie The World of Suzie Wong, is Hong Kong's upscale "it" neighbourhood, with office towers and condos sprouting like bamboo trees and international indulgences such as l'Occitane Spa from France and The Pawn, a gorgeous, historic colonial-style lounge and dining spot with a regal British accent. Wan Chai's Star Street is a cluster of hot indie boutiques and Queen's Road East is a posh decorators' row with fine Asian fabrics. Spa: The sublime Chinese Wellness Ritual at the Four Seasons Hotel Spa begins with an ancient tea ceremony and segues into a soothing rice poultice application, a bracing body exfoliation, a warm rain shower and a revitalizing massage, all done with essences of ginseng, jasmine and green tea. It's a steep $460, but you'll feel like a million.Nature: It's easy to forget that Hong Kong, the Fragrant Lagoon, is surrounded by tranquil islands, picturesque mountains and the warm waters of the South China Sea. No one does a high-flying trip to the seaside like The Peninsula Hotel, the colonial-era doyenne of Hong Kong hotels, where a stunning $57-million renovation is adding subtle high-tech touches and a warm residential style to spacious rooms.The Peninsula runs a twin-engined copter for aerial tours (around $3,000 for four people) of the Hong Kong Geopark, a UNESCO site of unique rock formations near Sai Kung in the New Territories. Geo-tourism is a new gig for Hong Kong and visitors can explore mangrove forests, sea corals and walled villages, built centuries ago as protection against pirates.Tea: East meets West at The Peninsula's legendary afternoon tea served in the splendid neo-Classical lobby. Scones are topped with Devon cream, and Chinese chrysanthemum tea is served on fine bespoke porcelain by Tiffany & Co.On a budget Stay: Hong Kong has more budgetconscious options than one would think possible. Old China hands know about The Salisbury YMCA, arguably the world's most desirable YMCA hotel. It's across the street from the iconic Star Ferry, which still runs for 40 cents a ride after more than 100 years, and next door to the landmark Peninsula, so the same dazzling harbour view at a fraction of the cost. Rooms start at about $130 for two and include daily housekeeping and a fitness centre with two large indoor swimming pools and a hot tub. The young and cool stay at Hotel de Edge in the trendy, gentrified waterfront district of Sheung Wan, adjacent to Central. It's an amazingly affordable 90-room newbie with a boutique style, molecular cuisine and a slew of design awards. Rates start at $120 for a compact, well-thought-out spaceEat: Cheap eats take on new meaning in the wild world of Cantonese cuisine. Michelin has sprinkled one precious star on 44 "authentic" eateries, where you can feast for as little as $10 in simple surroundings.You can pop into a storefront restaurant for egg tarts, roast goose, noodle dishes, dim sum, milk tea or rice congee and rarely spend more than $10. Snake soup and hot pot will warm you up in winter. Shing Kee in Central is one of the last dai pai dongs, steamy street cafés where you can fuel up on rice topped with tripe, pork, ox tongue or beef for $5 a bowl. Tim Ho Wan in Mong Kok, with one Michelin star, has basic laminate tabletops and tissue boxes for napkins, but its dim sum is so celebrated that there are limos and lineups outside. For about $10 each my table feasted on dumplings stuffed with barbecued pork, chicken, shrimp and beef, plus exotic a like chicken talons, all heightened with spicy XO sauce.Shop: Even on a budget, shopping is without limits. When you visit street markets such as Jardine's Bazaar or the Ladies' Market, you can score almost everything for $5-20, if you negotiate. At the Jade Market, I stocked up on pendants and bracelets for gifts at $20-30.Vendors along Cat Street in Soho display bookshelf bibelots at great prices. I love Li Yuen Street East and West in Central for colourful silk brocade jackets and fringed scarves. And Tai Ping Shan Street is the artsy centre of the "it" district of Sheung Wan.The Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium is a traditional department store, ideal for herbal medicines, musical instruments and premium teas.Spa: When I arrived in Hong Kong after a 15-hour flight from Toronto, I was jet-lagged, my legs buckled and my back had ached since we flew over Outer Mongolia. I join the free Tai Chi classes in Kowloon harbour and after gentle movements and balance work, I emerge with a sense of calm and boosted energy. I ferry almost dock to dock to Ten Feet Tall, a day spa specializing in the 5,000-year-old Chinese art of reflexology, or foot massage. It's worth the $30 splurge. My arches are kneaded like dough while I sink into an oversized white leather chaise and sip chilled cucumber water.Nature: I want to feel Hong Kong's origins as a fishing village and see sailing junks and beautiful beaches. While high-budget visitors are fluttering to Sai Kung aboard The Peninsula's helicopter, I swipe my Octopus transit card and board a train and a bus to explore the coastal town's bountiful markets of still-jumping fish and strange crustaceans. Loaf On, at the far end of a cobblestone promenade of bustling restaurants, is another one-Michelin-star eatery where a delectable spread of clams in black bean sauce, scallops with garlic and stirfried squid will cost about $25.Tea: The elegant, historic Lok Cha Tea House presents ceremonial tastings of jasmine, rose, black, green and white teas. If you book through the Hong Kong Tourism Board, some of the visits are free. The priceless extra is that Lok Cha is in Hong Kong Park, a serene botanical garden and bird sanctuary gurgling with fish ponds and waterfalls, a rare respite from the city's bustle. © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette       E-mail this Article Print this Article Share this Article      
  More on This Story   Where to stay in Hong Kong Spas offer respite from the bustle of Hong Kong Lovely green vistas dot Hong Kong Hong Kong: It's for serious shoppers only   Story Tools   E-mail this Article Print this Article Share this Article   Font: * * * * *   Image: * * * *
 
    This long exposure picture shows apartment buildings and office blocks clustered tightly together in Hong Kong&#8217;s Kowloon district. Photograph by: ALEX OGLE, AFP/Getty Images       E-mail this Gallery Print this Gallery Share this Gallery      

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