Dining at Tin Lung Heen at Ritz-Carlton in ICC, Hong Kong

102F with 2 Aerial Views.  2 Stars Eating Leads to Paying with 2 Limbs.

When I stayed in HK for a few months in 2009, ICC was taking shape. The construction completed in 2011, and snatched the title from IFC being the tallest building in HK. What's interesting is that most supertalls (buildings higher than 300m) tend to be erected in HK Island (where the CBD is located), none are located in Kowloon. As far as the supertall, ICC stands alone, dwarfing the surrounding Kowloon, facing off the HK financial centre across the harbour like a Mexican (or is it Chinese?) stand off.

ICC has a double-decked elevator. It's one elevator stacked on top of another to save space. Instead of having elevators side by side, they're on top of another. To make it work, it has to be very smart elevators.

Left:  ICC emerged from the clouds. Both photos were taken from The Peak on Feb 2009

Naturally, on this visit to HK, we want to check out this Kowloon's supertall. We want to make a (short) day trip out of this by starting with yum-cha at Tin Lung Heen (天龍軒). After lunch, we would do some walkabout of the Ritz-Carlton, ICC Elements, the promenade, and finally a little exploration of the nearby neighbourhood of Kowloon.

ICC stands tall on the opposite side from the peak.
This panoramic photo and the cloud-filled photos above were taken within an hour apart. How quickly the clouds dispersed.
(Click to enlarge)

Not a pano, but it shows ICC tower stands tall more clearly on the opposite Kowloon shore.
Even before ICC is finished completion, you can see that it's taller than than IFC (because it's further away from the Peak)

The Ritz-Carlton used to be located in the more upscale Central district. It had closed down its operation in 2008, and re-opened in ICC in 2011.

Tin Lung Heen is part of the Ritz-Carlton. Located on 102nd floor, which is actually the lowest or "ground" floor for the Ritz-Carlton that takes up 102F to 118F in ICC, making it one of the tallest hotels in the world.



Since the restaurant is awarded with 2 Michelin stars, you can expect its food and services to be of high standard. While I can eat at a lower price with better tastes elsewhere with the same dishes we order here. My palate is blind and can't see the 2 stars, but my starry eyes can see the 102F aerial view. My eyes win this time, and it costs my 2 limbs (an arm and a leg). We booked for a window table before we came to HK. We wouldn't dine here at all if one wasn't available.

Having said that, there're many tallest buildings in Asian cities where they charge you a hefty fee to go up to their observation towers for a look (e.g. Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, Taipei 101). If you view it from this perspective, the menu prices become quite low.

A view to a meal

From Tin Lung Heen, you won't see the iconic HK CBD view. Instead, you will look toward west of HK. There, you'll see the world's noted Port of Hong Kong, and its container terminals, Tsing Yi Island, and the Nong Shuen Chau Bridge that connect Tsing Yi island to Kowloon Peninsula.

Aerial view showing Ngon Shuen Chau Bridge (昂船洲橋) and container ports,
and the busy port traffic.
HK Disneyland is just off the photo on the left of Tsing Yi

Pano sweep of HK's west

Breakwater of the New Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter

Barges with cranes in the shelter

One of a point or corner of Stonecutters island (昂船洲) with
 beautiful strewn rocks near its beach

All the above and more could be seen from Tin Lung Heen restaurant while we chow down our dim sims.

I don't mind at all viewing at this side of HK because we have seen the "front-on" view of HK many times, and this side of HK is new and refreshing for us. For the 1st-time visitors or those who want to dine in front of the iconic HK Central district, you can eat in Tosca - an Italian restaurant with 1 Michelin star (if you must). The lowest budget would be to grab a drink at Ozone Bar (minimum charge is an outrageous grand total of $10 HKD = $1.50 USD). We could do that, but we aren't drinkers, and Ada is a dim sims' addict, so Tin Lung Heen it is.

After lunch, I stepped into Ozone Bar for a quick snap of their window view. So it costs nothing to snap this iconic view after all. But if you dun mind shelling out a few bucks, you can enjoy the view while sipping your fave c/mocktails. Can't really complain, can you?

Aerial view of HK CBD from Ozone Bar.

Ozone Bar

Banana Crêpe, Fruit Stands, and the Red Light District, Pattaya, Thailand

Pattaya: Party Ya!  Pattaya: Part Two Ya!

Banana Crêpe

Nice to be back. One of the things I missed about Pattaya is the banana crepe. Both Ada and myself love this terrific dessert. Its allure lies in its simplicity. There are other crepes with different fillings like raisin, palm seeds and cashew nuts. But banana is our cup of tea.

Thai banana crepes with a dollop of butter onto the pan

Nearly all done, turning off the pan

Banana slices are wrapped in a flour dough, lightly fried on a flat round iron plate in butter for a few minutes until it browns. Nestlé carnation milk is dripped onto it, and sugar added (which we always insist to skip it - there're enough sugar in the banana and the condensed milk). Fantastic to eat hot off the frying plate. I don't know how many of these stands there are in Pattaya, the one we enjoy run by a middle-aged Thai lady outside a 7-Eleven store (as seen in the photo background) on Second Road not far from where we stayed (Fraser Resort). See google map below for location (from memory). See google map further below.

The following photos show another lady vendor selling the same thing. They're quite popular here for good reason.

This crepe stand locates on Beach Road right across the beach (as seen from the background). But I haven't tried her cooking.

From this photo, she only had banana filling. I think they're the best. I go banana with bananas.

Fruit Stands

Other thing I missed are cockles and especially the rose apples. Sure I can get these in Singapore, but they are about 4.5 times more expensive. More importantly the convenience of getting them. Fruit stands are dotted around Beach Road every 30 metres or so. The fruit are packed neatly in the glass cases on ice, making them impossible to resist especially on sunny days.

Itinerant street vendor selling fruit is busy on a mobile phone
Their business is on wheels, so they tend to move around

Cockles are common in SE Asia cooking. For someone grew up in Vietnam, the memories of eating it would warm the cockles of my heart. Before the Vietnamese brought them into the Cabra markets, you can't find them anywhere in Sydney. Even now, you won't find them on any menu of any restaurants in Sydney (don't know about other states of Australia). Pipis are Sydney's cockles. Pipis are larger but not as tasty as cockles.

Walking Street

The streets are quiet especially before 4 pm when Pattaya just wakes up from its nightlife hangovers. Fraser Resort locates on Pattaya City Walk, close to where all the "actions" are. It's near the southern end of Pattaya Beach, and a stone throw from the Walking Street.

Neon signs on Walking Street,  searing your eyes, fighting for your attention

Gogo bar on Walking Street titillating and assaulting your senses

Open bar stands around Pattaya City Walk area

You'll find that people there refers street names that are different from the google maps' official names
(click to enlarge)

Even in this low season, this area comes alive after 9 pm with neon light blazing, blinking at you alluringly with its bright colourful (but mostly red) eyes. Pattaya City Walk is right next to some odd sounding official street name like Pattaya Soi 13, better known as Pattayaland Soi 1, the gogo bars central (rivalled only by those in Walking Street).

Kitten Club, a gogo bar at Pattayaland Soi 2. Hey what's up pussycat?

A kaleidoscope of dazzling neon light, searing the wide-open eyes

And only two lanes ("soi" in Thai) away is, you've guessed it, Pattayaland 2, and a even smaller lane that runs off Pattayaland Soi 2 is Pattyaland Soi 3 with its other end connects to the gay venue of Boyztown. While gay bars are scattered around this area, Boyztown is the heart.

The arch of a raised eyebrow, beckoning "C'mon boyz..."

Its Boyztown logo suspended high in the sky as if to beckon with an raised eyebrow to the pedestrians walking unsuspectingly on Second Road. Some people refer to the the whole area from Pattayaland Soi 1 to Pattayaland Soi 3 to as Boyztown as gay boy bars are interspersed between girly bars in Pattayaland soi 1 and soi 2. As I walked past these sois, I would be chatted up by all sorts. Girls in cosplay as maids and nurses, and boys. Although I'm only passer-by and had never intended to become their customer, I don't mind it at all as the touts in Pattaya isn't aggressive. In fact, sex workers here are mild mannered and friendly. Perhaps the government tourism agency have had given them a stern talk about aggressive touts that would annoy tourists.

Despite its close proximity to the Pattayaland Sois, Pattaya City Walk is set up as a respectable soi. In Asian countries like Thailand, the respectable and the not-so (or socially so-so) can rub shoulders against one another (Such contrast are less likely , but not unheard of in the West. Back in my hometown of Sydney, Kings cross comes to mind). A wat - Thai Buddhist temple - is located not far from the crepes street vendor, at the corner of all this worldly affair of the flesh. But then, isn't Buddhism about tolerance and compassion?

Opposite Fraser Resort is an open-air restaurant that has traditional Thai dance performance every night, and it's officially opened tonight by Her Highness Princess (The King's daughter-in-law). I'm somewhat disappointed to have missed to grace her presence because of my departure tonight for Bangkok

That's how Pattaya mixes - the very healthy banana crêpe (can sound pervert if your head is in the gutter) and fruit stands mixing with the red light district, and the respectable traditional Thai dances. Everything goes.

Fisherman Village, Guangzhou, China

Another side trip (actually two) was to Guangzhou (or Canton to you oldies) to visit Ada's dad. He has a couple of properties in Guangzhou and go there in northern winter (southern summer in Sydney) to escape the Sydney's summer heat (like the migrating geese or humpback whales, or the emperors in the past).

I was impressed with some of the things i saw there. Take this restaurant called Fisherman Village we've been, this photo gives you only a small glimpse of the overall size of the restaurant.

No menu here, everything are on display, just point out what you want to order to the army of waitresses. And army is apt description in terms of its number, promptness, and efficiency (The workforce these days is far cry from my experience in the previous visits some 18 years when the country is still in a process of transforming itself into capitalism. The customer service staff simply ignore you the customer as they chat to one another. Raising your voice to them wouldn't help. I tried. Since they can't be sacked under a communist system, there is simply no incentive to be nice or diligent. One reason why communism fails and capitalism works). Ok, i'll step off from my soapbox now.

The restaurant is stacked with aquariums of a bewildering array of seafood of fishes, crustaceans, and bivalves of all things imaginable. They also stock turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, something that looks like cockroaches swimming in the tanks. As we know the Chinese eat everything with their backs facing the sky (except for Quasimodo in Notre Dame). 

Some people may think it's terribly uncivilized to eat everything, but it's actually quite green. No wastage from throwaway food. Besides, entrails, offals, etc are not the most tasty bits, they are also the most nutritious. The French and the Chinese have the right idea. Unadventurous people can stick to bland and rough chicken breast meat. I stick to wings any day.

This photo shows a croc's choicest cuts. A croc tail was hung on a hook (ex-body, of course). Peter - a friend of Etta's dad - decide to grab the bodiless croc tail as it was twitching on its hook. As Peter grabbed and tried to bend it, the disembodied tail decided to arm-wrestle with him, flipping and struggling from his grasp. I guess this is the croc saying, "Just because the rest of my body is missing, doesn't mean I can't put up a good fight." Yeah, croc meat tastes just like chicken, somewhat chewier.

To actually look at all the food on display I think we covered easily over 1.5 km distance. This is only possible with the size of Chinese population and their penchant for food. I was also pleasantly surprise by the high standard of tastes in food here. Perhaps my preconception was coloured by my previous trips to China. This is surprising when the restaurant I dined in was in Haifeng, which is a commercial backwater in Guangzhou (although it's expanding rapidly like everything else in China). The dim sim restaurant I tried there was some of the best I have tried (and I've tried some of the best dim sim in Sydney and HK). Even Adaa's dad was impressed and he's someone who have worked as chef in Tokyo 5-star hotel, opened a few restaurants, and have sampled in literally thousands of restaurants around the world.

Yes, Sydney does have some of the best dim sim restaurants in the world as quite a few chefs from top HK restaurants (and other countries) migrated there during the 90's. Several Singaporean friends who tried Sydney dim sim commented that Singapore's dim sim is no match for Sydney's. The only country outside HK where they can have dim sim restaurants (or Chinese food in general) in a comparable standard to Sydney would be Canada. Not surprising with their large population of HK immigrants.