Clik here to view.
Brent, Carolyn, Chrissie & Albert Pre Dinner at Man Wah – Hong Kong
Ok, so ILTM Asia was a hoot…and hard work! ;) with 6 nights spent table hopping in the best restaurants (El Willy) and table dancing at the most glamorous Shanghai nightclubs (Bar Rouge),all of this frivolity left me wanting a slick city escape to calm myself before I jetted back to wintery Sydney.
Hong Kong was the perfect option, a smooth flight on Friday morning led myself and assorted funsters (Carloyn Turnbull and Chrissie Lincoln – Aman glamazons) onto that fab city. On arrival we were given the VIP treatment and met by the very capable ground staff at Hong Kong airport where we were whisked (and I mean that… those little carts can move fast!) down to immigration, through to baggage claim and into the waiting car for our very smooth transfer to the Landmark Mandarin Oriental where Chrissie and I were in residence for two nights.
Clik here to view.
LMO Hong Kong L600
Landmark Mandarin Oriental (LMO) is one of my very favourite hotels in Hong Kong if not the world. Its sleek, intimate club like feel keeps this establishment high on my ‘IT LIST’. Mr Anthony Costa the General Manager, who arranges all of my stays (and my clients’ stays too) was on hand again to help make this stay as memorable as any others. For me, the location of LMO is unbeatable and the rooms are sleek and calming and as such, the hotel is a real cocoon of discrete serenity. All the rooms and suites are masterpieces of contemporary design and feature very glamorous bathrooms, oh… and did I mention the lighting? All very flattering!
My first night dining destination was Man Wah at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Often referred to as Hong Kong’s most beautiful dining space, Man Wah is Mandarin Oriental Kong Kong’s Michelin star, signature Cantonese restaurant. As guests of Mr Jonas Schuermann, Mandarin Oriental’s charming General Manager, we dined on a perfect degustation menu of Cantonese classics all chosen by Jonas. I would have to say the highlight for me was definitely the Peking Duck… real ‘melt in your mouth’ stuff! It was a very funny & fabulous night.
Albert Herrera of Virtuoso also joined us (he is Vice President of Hotels, Destinations & Tours) and was centre stage as he regaled stories of his very fabulous travelling adventures – he even gave me the name of his personal tailor in Hong Kong whom we visited the very next day for my shirt fittings. All sized, sewn and FedExed to me in 10 days! Gotta love a Chinese tailor, especially one so highly recommended (contact me for his details).
Day two, Chrissie and I headed up to The Peak in the rain… funny, neither of us had ever been to The Peak before so we trekked on regardless with the blessing of Tony Costa – he promised the sun would shine by the time we reached it and he was right! These drop dead views of Hong Kong are not to be missed
* Heres a hot tip: Go early… take the taxi up and cable car down, it’s the best way to do it.
Clik here to view.
Luk Yu Tea House
Clik here to view.
Dim Sum – Luk Yu Teahouse
Back down the hill we headed to the mecca of luxury goods extravagance at The Landmark (GUCCI , PRADA etc.. they didn’t stock have my size….ho hum..) and a whirl around H&M (running into some new friends I had met at ILTM, you know who you are!). Lunch was fab Dim Sum at ‘Luk Yu Tea House’ (the concierge at LMO put me onto this authentic tea house a while back). Later we freshened up and headed across town to The Ritz Carlton and Ozone bar on the 113th floor (the highest bar in the world!)… to meet Frederico Ferjado, our very fabulous travel buddy from Brazil, Fred was in town to inspect the latest and most fabulous properties in Hong Kong for his high end Brazilian travel company (…he even got to be one of the first guests at The Siam in Bangkok the very same week!)
Clik here to view.
Brent , Chrissie & Frederico – Ritz Carlton Hong Kong
Chrissie and I then bid Fred a fond farewell and headed back across the harbour to Island Tang for dinner.
This luxurious Hong Kong Cafe with Shanghai 1930’s interiors styled by Sir David Tang (who also owns the famous China Club) was a superb end to a fab weekend in Hong Kong. Do not miss the Char Sui Pork, it is a house specialty and one of the best you will ever eat… I promise.
Clik here to view.
Island Tang
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
