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Landed safely at HKG, local time 0640. Transited to Hung Hom. The first impression after 8 years: a WOW! Big changes. And a disappointment. The harbor view (North Point) once enjoyed by this hotel (Harbour Plaza Hotel) is now blocked (a good portion of it) by a newer building. When I watched the video people took of Harbour Plaza Hotel, that building wasn't there! Haven't had our first meal yet. But the in-flight meals onboard Cathay Pacific were quite nice. Though the Chow Mai Fun breakfast was a little dry. Weather-wise: ugly overcast. Couldn't see through the clouds/fog from above 3000 feet. The last thing I notice was the Phoenix Mountain to our right through the fog... 1 minute later, touch down. We flew most of our way above China instead of the Coastal water for some reason. I kept seeing city lights. Perhaps to avoid the jet streams. First meal will be something quick and light, probably somewhere nearby...

Friends: This is the time. I will close up my laptop and will be in transit for the next day or two. After the eagle has landed, I hope to transmit my first Hong Kong food picture to entice you. Out for now, and I will be flying over the quiet Pacific Ocean dreaming about the delicious weeks to come. Minus twenty one pound and counting... - Ah Leung, somewhere still in a cowtown in America

I am so happy for you too, Dude! Our circumstances are different. You live in Vancouver and great Chinese food is plentiful and never far away. For you to go to Hong Kong and eat is not a big deal. For someone living in a cowtown like me, going to Hong Kong to eat IS a big deal.

Thank you for your kind words warlockdilemma. Well... life changes. Sometimes from unwanted circumstances. I am happy that I can manage to stay on reading/posting on eG. And I haven't cooked a real meal for like... forever. Now I am on the receiving end of delicious Chinese food.

Thanks aprilmei. I was thinking about that too. Many years ago I passed by that area behind Sogo and saw some street vendors frying the sticky rice on a big wok. It is an excellent treat especially in the winter time. It is exactly what I am looking for and I am just not sure if I can still find them.

I was doing a little research on the Internet about different good eats and came across this web page/site: http://www.go2yl.com/food.asp?id=f04〈=tra If you read Chinese, it is a good source. But it only mentioned places in the Yuen Long area. Anybody knows of any sites/pages that have similar info on restaurants in the Causeway Bay/Wan Chai/Central or Kowloon areas? I am also hoping to find some good San Chow Nor Mai Fan (fried sticky rice with laap cheung). Is this the season for it (I know it's more for the winter). Any place you have tried?

June and Lee: We will be staying in Harbour Plaza Hotel, Hung Hom. Off the center of action in TST a little bit. But I like the view of the Victoria Harbour that they offer at a more affordable price. InterContinental would be great to have an up-front view of the harbour. But it has a high price tag to go with their view too. Hostels in Hong Kong is not that common. Maybe things have changed a bit now. I have never tried those but I think for under US$30 one can find a place to provide a bed and shower facilities... If that's all one needs. For some it might be since you may be out sight-seeing all day and all you need is a place to sleep. Tourism in Hong Kong is big business. Food in hotels, especially 5-star hotels, are usually very good. Patrons include both tourists and locals. Though the prices are typically on the high side. For my stay I will most likely not eat in hotels but out there in the city. And choices there are plenty!

That looks superb, junehl! 1) Is it a lot of work for deboning the duck. Seems like you can only do it through the cavity and there is not a whole lot of room. 2) Would you describe your process more? I saw only "steaming" but not sure how the duck skin got brown. Did you also bake the duck (before steaming)?

Wow! There is a gold mine of good information here! Please... continue to argue! I will benefit from all the tidbits.

Oh, great! Maybe I will run into you! There are only 7 million people in Hong Kong. Hard to miss.

akaray: Welcome to the China forum! The "doughfoo bahnnahn fahn" that you mentioned, which means "tofo with rockcod over rice": specially "bahnnahn" means the "belly" of the rockcod. The fish belly is typically a little bit fatty, it is slightly battered and deep-fried first. Then a sauce (garlic, cooking wine, broth, oyster sauce, salt, MSG, and corn starch, etc.) is cooked and the fried fish belly is thrown in at the end.

Thank you, bethpageblack. I remember Law Fu Kee very well. After all these years they are still around! I used to work in Central and I went there for lunch every other week or so. I love their fried dash fishball with fermented clam sauce. It's surreal. They have very small dining room and the place is packed like a sardine can. I gotta avoid the rush hour. Milk custard/ginger milk. "Zhong Lai"... Never tried it. But it is on my list since canuklehead posted pictures of them a while back. I am not much of a dessert person but my wife would love it.

This topic is becoming a "cook off" of siu yook. Marvelous!

Worry not... I plan to make regular visits back, just to eat. Once a year perhaps? If Wall Street treats me right...

Yeah... after all these years they are still there! These beefball food stalls used to be at the corner of Peking Road and Canton Road. When I was 4-7, I passed by their Dai Pai Dong all the time and I watched the sifu's using a ceramic spoon to scoop while the bare left hand to squeeze the beef ball from the mix to make beefballs. And they used a big pounding machine to pound the meat. Boom, boom, boom, boom... And they laid the beef balls in a spiral on a metal tray before cooking them. I used to live in the employee living quarters of Kowloon Godown (my father worked there) on Haiphong Road. The government demolished the building where we used to live when they built the sort-of highway bypass for Canton Road. Where the Haiphong Road overpass is now, was exactly where I used to live 40+ years ago... And eating at that Temporary Market would be something...

So... why November? I believe November is the best month of the year to visit Hong Kong. Since we don't have any kid, we are not bound to make trips only in the summer. January and February, it is a bit cold in Hong Kong. Though you can catch the Chinese New Year celebration. March and April, Hong Kong is typically very foggy. Very humid. Clothes take 3 days to dry. May may be okay. June through August/September are typhoon seasons. And the summer heat coupled with high humidity is a bit uncomfortable. When the typhoon hits, there is nothing you can do but sit in the hotel room. October may still be a little be hot. November is the best. Dry, warm and nice weather-wise. Early November may not be good because of the Grandprix in Macau. Late November and early December should be good. Many hotels have good discounts on rooms in the first half of December.

Thank you for your words of encouragement everybody. Docsconz, thank you for your kind words. Boy... now the pressure is on.

Cha xiu bao: You get me scared! What am I forgetting? Tell me, tell me!!!

I hope that the water fountain in front of the Peninsula Hotel is still there. When I was 5 or so, I passed by that water fountain every few nights mesmerized by the change of color from red to green to blue to white. Fascinating. Of course that was 30 some years before they built the Bellagio Hotel. Ever drank a bottle of "Green Spot" at the Peninsula? That was a memorable TV commercial. Multiple sources pointed to Man Jiang Hong for Sichuan food. Man Jiang Hong it is! See how many dried chili peppers I can handle...

Your situation and mine are quite different. Since you live in Beijing and have many good Chinese eats available, and probably have less than ideal western food, your friends are probably right. I, on the other hand, in Sacramento will always need to endue only second best (or even third) Chinese food available compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles, during my trip I will mostly save my stomach for Chinese food in Hong Kong.

It certainly helps to speak the language (Cantonese). But you can get by with speaking English too. Most Hong Kong locals are bilingual (or you can find someone who is to help). But one bad thing is most Hong Kongers... when they see you and if you look Chinese, they automatically assume you speak Cantonese!

Thanks somemale. Is "delicious kitchen" the name of the restaurant?

I really like Mayflower too. The only thing is they are too crowded. Seating arrangement wise. I meant, really elbow-to-elbow crowded during meal hours, compared to other dim sum restaurants in the city because their restaurant is so small. I also like Parc Hong Kong nearby. And Hong Kong Restaurant on Noriega near 33rd in the Sunset district.

Booked at Harbour Plaza Hotel, Hung Hom Rona. This hotel is built on reclaimed land next to the Kowloon KCR (railroad) Station. Will check in under the stage name of Foo Ling Yu if you want to look me up.

Don't name a city after an airport code! Thanks for the camera tips BonVivantNL. I did a dry run last weekend and am happy with the D80. Switched off the AF, go manual. The dishes looked much sharper. If I get a bad picture, I would have only my own fingers to blame. The Canon P&S will be my spare. Beef brisket noodle soups are everywhere in HK. It's one of my all time favorites too. The trick is to find the extraordinary ones from the good ones.