Delayed...Meal of the Month: January

I know. I'm totally behind. I'm sure you've all experienced many sleepless nights waiting for my Jan meal of the month.Well, without a doubt, it's really got to be one of my many amazing meals during my vacation in Hong Kong.

Not to say I haven't had amazing meals since I returned. But between being on a tight budget (as well as detox!), overall, my Jan meals were on the simpler side.But back in Hong Kong? Full on vacation meal. We tried everything. We planned meals in advance, always saved a little bit of room at the end of the meal just in case we stumbled upon something else we wanted to try, and we ALWAYS saved room for dessert.

Shun Tak Fraternal Association Dinner

Photos from one of the best meals we had! We went to dinner at a fraternal association, and could only get in because a friend was a member. It was delicious! And we tasted delicacies from the Shun Tak region in China. Food that I don't regularly eat, but it was wonderful to try!

Here are some other random snap shots of some of the delicious things we ate along the way...

Almond cookies in Macau, made with pork fat!

The MOST delicious and sweet shrimp from lunch at Crystal Jade La Miam Xiao Long Bao

Crab jook!

Delicious tomato broth with ramen

The goodies for hot pot night!

Roasted crab at the street stand on Temple Street

Variety of jerky (made from all sorts of cuts of meats)

Everything we ate was incredible. Again, how was I suppose to choose just one meal? I think that's probably part of the reason I've been putting this off. It was too hard. Well, I finally decided. My January Meal of the Month would probably have to be the meal we had the last night in Hong Kong.

We stumbled into Tai Woo restaurant, on the Kowloon side, on Hillwood Road. We had walked by it a few times, and thought it looked good, and would be a good place to check out!

My dad, sister, uncle and I started off the meal with some delicious soup, and quickly moved onto some steamed shrimp, pea sprouts, roasted squab, roasted goose, a delicious fried meat patty with salted fish...each and every dish was better than the last.

Our spread!

As we walked out, stuffed and full, and on our way to the Peninsula Hotel for after drinks at the Felix Bar on the top two floors of the Peninsula, I noticed that there was a Michelin Guide sign on the front door of the restaurant. I didn't even notice it when we had walked in. The first ever Hong Kong/Macau Michelin guide had just been released in early 2009, and I even picked up my copy while in Hong Kong! Turns out, the restaurant we were just at has another location in Causeway Bay (on the Hong Kong Island side), and that one had been rated in the guide. No star mind you, but included in the book nonetheless.

As I'm sitting here salivating and thinking about this and all of the meals we had while in Hong Kong...I've changed my mind. There is no way there can be one meal of the month for January. There were multiple Meals of the Month...every meal in Hong Kong was worthy.

Heading to Hong Kong!!

I leave tonight for Hong Kong! Yay! I know. I'm a lucky gal. My second big international trip in two months. This time? I'm traveling with my family! I'm so excited to be in one of my favorite cities in the world, and with the people I love the most in the world.

A photo my sister took during our last trip there in August 2007

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that three of my good friends might also be able to 'pop down' and hang out with me in Hong Kong. Wendy and Mark will be spending the holidays in Vietnam, and Matt will be working in Shanghai. SO, only a few hours away! Hey, how often do a group of Californians all end up in the same region of the world? Hopefully they can make it! It would be great to spend time with good friends in a different city than we're use to.

I'm looking forward to great shopping, delicious food, and ringing in the New Year in Hong Kong!

In the meantime, I've got a few new posts ready to go for you while I'm gone...lots of photos and recaps from Hong Kong coming at you when I return!

Pack Your Bags!

Yay! The end of this year is going to be a busy one for this gal...

I'm packing my bags and will be spending Thanksgiving in...AUSTRALIA!

It's my first trip there, so I'm taking suggestions for Sydney, Melbourne and the Hamilton Islands. You know me, always looking to be connected with some fun local people...I need the insider's tips on food, wine, sights and sounds! My friend Shaye and I are traveling together and I can't wait to hang out with her and for us to explore a new city together. Should be amazing...lots of photos and memories for us to reflect on when we're old.

And then, right after Christmas...I'm heading to HONG KONG!

Hitting up one of my all time favorite cities with my family. I can't wait. And best of all, we'll get to spend New Year's Eve and my sister's birthday there! This is one of my favorite eating cities of all time, the food there is amazing. From the nice restaurants to the street food. It's all good! Don't believe me? Hop on a plane and join me! Happy to play tour guide for friends! It's one of the things I enjoy most, sharing things, places, and foods I love with people that can appreciate it.

Too bad I don't have a lot of time off (nor a lot of money...) Wouldn't it be great to travel to New Zealand, Northern Australia, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, or some other fantastic location over on that side of the world for the month in between?

But still. What a lucky gal I am...to be able to visit not only one of my favorite places in the world, but to check out a new one too!