Greetings from newly-minted thirty-two year old Paul, who's sitting at Gate 214 at Hong Kong International Airport, waiting to board his flight to Chiang Mai. My friends Jay and Dave are getting married—the sixth wedding of the year for me!—and I'm really looking forward to returning to this charming city in the north of Thailand.
Before I do, I just wanted to reflect on how grateful I feel this time of year. After the ninth anniversary of my arrival in Hong Kong came and went, I knew Thanksgiving and my birthday would both be right on its heels. Preparations got underway pretty much immediately.
I've had Thanksgiving on my Happy Valley rooftop every year since 2011, when the previous inhabitant of my apartment, Amy, hosted my twenty-fifth birthday here. Starting the next year, I took up hosting duties myself, and now the tradition is firmly enshrined. This time, I ordered the turkey from French favorite La Rotisserie, and the bird was to die for!
I've had Thanksgiving on my Happy Valley rooftop every year since 2011, when the previous inhabitant of my apartment, Amy, hosted my twenty-fifth birthday here. Starting the next year, I took up hosting duties myself, and now the tradition is firmly enshrined. This time, I ordered the turkey from French favorite La Rotisserie, and the bird was to die for!
The very next day, the roof repair work started—and is still ongoing—so my birthday was a full day affair away from home.
The big day fell on a Saturday this year, so I really wanted to take advantage by organizing several events spread throughout the day—and throughout Hong Kong! My friend Debbie happened to be in town from Singapore because her family was celebrating her mother's seventieth that weekend. Unable to join the main event, she instead treated me to an otherworldly Sichuan dinner Friday night at Qi, a Michelin-starred spice mecca in Wan Chai. We capped off the evening with cocktails in SoHo at a place called Bocadito, where my friend Gabby works as a bartender. When midnight struck, I was serenaded by Debbie and Gabby—and plied with far too many drinks!
The first event the next day was dim sum at Aberdeen's iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant. I took my dad and sister for dim sum here on my thirtieth birthday, and have been back several times since. In my book, it's one of this city's best dim sum experiences, both in terms of food and wow factor from the atmosphere. My friends Jay and Dave—yes, the lovebirds tying the knot in Chiang Mai this weekend—joined me and my buddy Kris, as we stuffed ourselves with basket after delectable basket of all of our favorite bite-sized dumplings, buns and rolls.
And we capped off our meal with Jumbo's famous costumed photography session, where you're dressed in Qing Dynasty garb before having your picture printed on a souvenir plate. It's a touristy, ridiculous, kitchsy, absolutely wonderful experience, and I now have three of these puppies on proud display!
The party continued in Central, where a flock of others joined me at the Beer Bay, a cheap and cheerful al fresco waterfront bar with heaps of beers in both bottle and draft formats. I was thrilled that so many friends were able to stop by, and although a subset would be catching the ferry to Cheung Chau with me for a fresh seafood dinner, we pushed back our departure by a few boats so we could soak up Beer Bay's casual, convivial ambiance a little while longer.
I was adamant that we would take the "ordinary ferry" to Cheung Chau, as I really prefer it to the slightly quicker, much less charming "fast ferry." With its welcoming aft deck open to the skies above, it's a delightful fifty-five minute ride compared to the fast ferry's thirty-five minute claustrophobic, stay-in-your-seat snore-fest. Sure, you get there a little bit more quickly the fast way, but there's no pleasure in the journey. I'll take an extra twenty minutes of bliss, thank you very much!
I bought two bottles of Prosecco for us all to share on the deck, and as expected, it was a pitch-perfect jaunt from bustling Central to toytown Cheung Chau.
Not knowing in advance the precise number of dinner guests, I hadn't booked a table and was—to be honest—a little nervous when we strolled up to a very crowded New Baccarat. Not to worry! The friendly staff immediately seated us, albeit inside, which was slightly disappointing. But after about ten minutes, a big waterfront table opened up, and we promptly migrated to this new prime real estate.
We ordered a ton of amazing seafood and my friend James and I even picked the fresh garoupa straight from the outdoor tank. With such a great group of people feasting in one of my favorite places Hong Kong has to offer, I was in seventh heaven.
As I'm sure I don't have to tell you, some late night revelry followed in Lan Kwai Fong, and I'm so happy the day worked out pretty much perfectly from start to finish. Welcome to thirty-two, Parisi!
The big day fell on a Saturday this year, so I really wanted to take advantage by organizing several events spread throughout the day—and throughout Hong Kong! My friend Debbie happened to be in town from Singapore because her family was celebrating her mother's seventieth that weekend. Unable to join the main event, she instead treated me to an otherworldly Sichuan dinner Friday night at Qi, a Michelin-starred spice mecca in Wan Chai. We capped off the evening with cocktails in SoHo at a place called Bocadito, where my friend Gabby works as a bartender. When midnight struck, I was serenaded by Debbie and Gabby—and plied with far too many drinks!
The first event the next day was dim sum at Aberdeen's iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant. I took my dad and sister for dim sum here on my thirtieth birthday, and have been back several times since. In my book, it's one of this city's best dim sum experiences, both in terms of food and wow factor from the atmosphere. My friends Jay and Dave—yes, the lovebirds tying the knot in Chiang Mai this weekend—joined me and my buddy Kris, as we stuffed ourselves with basket after delectable basket of all of our favorite bite-sized dumplings, buns and rolls.
The party continued in Central, where a flock of others joined me at the Beer Bay, a cheap and cheerful al fresco waterfront bar with heaps of beers in both bottle and draft formats. I was thrilled that so many friends were able to stop by, and although a subset would be catching the ferry to Cheung Chau with me for a fresh seafood dinner, we pushed back our departure by a few boats so we could soak up Beer Bay's casual, convivial ambiance a little while longer.
I was adamant that we would take the "ordinary ferry" to Cheung Chau, as I really prefer it to the slightly quicker, much less charming "fast ferry." With its welcoming aft deck open to the skies above, it's a delightful fifty-five minute ride compared to the fast ferry's thirty-five minute claustrophobic, stay-in-your-seat snore-fest. Sure, you get there a little bit more quickly the fast way, but there's no pleasure in the journey. I'll take an extra twenty minutes of bliss, thank you very much!
I bought two bottles of Prosecco for us all to share on the deck, and as expected, it was a pitch-perfect jaunt from bustling Central to toytown Cheung Chau.
Not knowing in advance the precise number of dinner guests, I hadn't booked a table and was—to be honest—a little nervous when we strolled up to a very crowded New Baccarat. Not to worry! The friendly staff immediately seated us, albeit inside, which was slightly disappointing. But after about ten minutes, a big waterfront table opened up, and we promptly migrated to this new prime real estate.
We ordered a ton of amazing seafood and my friend James and I even picked the fresh garoupa straight from the outdoor tank. With such a great group of people feasting in one of my favorite places Hong Kong has to offer, I was in seventh heaven.
As I'm sure I don't have to tell you, some late night revelry followed in Lan Kwai Fong, and I'm so happy the day worked out pretty much perfectly from start to finish. Welcome to thirty-two, Parisi!
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