eating and eating

For the first time ever, I ate at a speakeasy; a term given to private dining restaurants mainly hidden from the public. These restaurants are usually not legal (no boards of health certificates!), very small (sometimes just someone's kitchen), with a fixed menu (you get what you get!) and extremely delicious. The speakeasy we went to was no exception to the last...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Amy's fun-filled merry colleagues (including Nat & Jen Whitman, whose mother happens to be Margaret Read MacDonald whom I had dinner with at ALA--small world!!) reserved us all a table and dinner at Club Qing. This had to be done at least seven days in advance.

We went to Lan Kwai Fong, the very hip, cool, club and bar section of Hong Kong. The young and beautiful walk these streets, in high heels and designer clothes; and a local pharmacy advertises that it has viagra and condoms in very big letters (wish I had taken a photo of that!). And hidden so well that Amy and I couldn't find it and had to call Nat, was a red metal door that led you to an elevator...



to Club Qing:



where I had what I imagine will be the closest eating experience as I'll ever have to Iron Chef. I ate things such as White Bunapi Mushrooms with Truffle Sauce, Scallop and Cheese Roll with Crataegus & Kiwi Sauce and Coconut & Papaya with Shellfish Soup--all gastronomical delights. Before each course, the chef came out and told us what each dish was with tips on how to eat it. So a bit of Top Chef, too.




After gorging myself on the 8(!) courses, I decided that they should call them sleepeasy restaurants, because I just went home a rolled into bed with a food coma.

But I woke up the next morning up and eager for....



Yep, dim sum! We went for another fun and stomach filled meal. But it's Hong Kong, and I can't leave Hong Kong without having dim sum, right? That would be sacrilegious.



And when we got our bill of $1166, my companions lit up. Apparently it's a very lucky number and bodes well for the rest of our day. I like that, having some good luck around is always nice. Though, I think we already gave the restaurant theirs.