I’ve embarked upon that exact same walk a thousand times. But it never fails to put me in the happiest of moods. And yesterday’s was as good as they come.
In concluding my last post, I wondered aloud whether Hong
Kong was at the nadir of our experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, or if, in
fact, the bottom was about to fall out, sending us in a downward spiral of
horror. Well, exactly one month later, I’m delighted to confirm that
things have markedly improved. We’re not completely through the tough stretch
yet. But our case count is steadily dropping, many restrictions have been somewhat
eased, and life is slowly—but surely—returning to normal.
And, I’m also happy to report, the month of August was actually quite a memorable little jaunt in spite of it all. For all my fears that the sweeping curbs on public activity the Hong Kong authorities imposed upon its citizenry would all but drain the pleasure of quotidian life, these past weeks have seen more than their fare share of outstanding events. So as September rears it’s head, I thought I’d pause to memorialize some of the good times.
You may remember that, starting in mid-July, local restaurants were ordered to cease dine-in services starting from 6pm. Well, as an avowed opponent of eating at home, that sweeping restriction caused a little bit of a conundrum for me.
Still, it didn’t take long to find a double-pronged solution. Many days, I simply moved my normal dinner window ahead by several hours, leaving the office around 4:30pm each afternoon so that I could savor a proper evening meal before the mandatory closing time. You’ve heard of dinner at eight, of course. But for the past six weeks, it’s been more like dinner at five. My new nickname is Grandpa Paul. But it sure beats eating at home and having to tidy up after myself.
Still, on other days, I have taken the opportunity to re-focus my efforts on lunchtime, pampering myself with midday feasts and relegating my nighttime meal to a small snack (or, on some occasions when I’ve really indulged, nothing at all).
And a few of these meals really deserve special attention, because they were so phenomenal.
Perhaps the best repast of the month took place on the anniversary of my arrival in Switzerland last summer. Coincidentally, that date is also the anniversary of my first day of work at my company back in 2014. I think you all know that I’m a pretty sentimental guy, so when I realized the auspicious double-whammy was approaching, I booked a table for two at the Swiss Chalet over on Hart Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui.
I enlisted my friend Elyse, a fondue virgin, to join in the fun, and we veritably gorged on Alpine favorites in the atmospheric dining room. We ordered a generous helping of steak tartare drizzled with Calvados, and selected two distinct caquelons of warm, gooey fondue for our mains. And I’m sure it will come as no surprise that it was all washed down with a gorgeous bottle of Swiss white.
Somehow, we both summoned the energy for a gluttonous dessert of meringue and zabaglione, complemented by Movenpick ice cream, to cap things off. And I can’t think of a better way to dim the downheartedness of a travel-less summer than by pretending I was back in Lausanne.
Another occasion I wanted to mark was the postponed Tokyo Olympics. It’s not an exaggeration to say that when 2020 kicked off, the summer extravaganza in the Land of the Rising Sun was perhaps the event to which I was most looking forward. I had fully intended to journey to Japan to bask in the glories of another Olympic Games. And so, to commemorate what might have been, my friend Christina and I sought out some tasty 5:30pm sushi at the Tuck Room—around the corner from my flat in Happy Valley—on what was meant to be the evening of the Closing Ceremony.
And that wasn’t the only Happy Valley eatery that made a memorable appearance in my August. Locanda dell’Angelo, an Italian favorite literally steps from my door, has somehow eluded me over the past four years since its opening. But at long last, I gave it a whirl. And all I can say is: wow.
Helmed by a protégé of late celebrity chef Joel Robuchon, Locanda dell’Angelo is normally a dinner-only venue. But due to the dining ban after 6pm, the management made the most welcome decision to create a limited-time lunch set.
So, on a rainy Wednesday mid-August afternoon, I met my friend Rachel for a phenomenal Sicilian feast, crowned with what was almost certainly the most delectable tiramisu I’ve yet found in Hong Kong—and even one that makes my short list of all-time bests.
Small and intimate, with only seats for about twenty diners even in the best of times before the government ordered tables spaced significantly farther apart than normal, Locanda dell’Angelo is a real stunner. And for a brief stretch that day, I felt like I was somewhere in Manhattan, as opposed to the Far East.
It was with great excitement that I learned about the opening of a new Burmese restaurant in SoHo back in early July. I almost instantly reserved a table for four for dinner one Friday night, but—regrettably—by the time the date actually arrived, the government had imposed its restrictions. I compensated by re-scheduling for several weeks later, when I hoped things would have improved to the point of allowing nighttime dining again. Alas, when that second booking rolled around, the ban was still in place.
But, similar to Locanda dell’Angelo, the friendly folks over at Club Rangoon—also originally intended as a dinner-only restaurant—decided to dabble in lunchtime dining. And so, I jumped at the chance to get to know a new colleague, Laren, over tea life salad, curried eggs, mohinga and Shan noodles.
Let’s just say, I’m sure I’ll return again… And soon. Hopefully for dinner, and hopefully in a larger group, so as to sample even more of their specialties. But back I will be.
Once 6pm has rolled around and I’ve been kicked out whatever restaurant it was where I’d just been, I naturally wound up on my rooftop, usually with a crisp and refreshing glass of white wine and often with a good book. And the sunsets have been stunning of late, which I guess isn’t much of a surprise.
Most weeknights, with my private happy hour for one concluding after the sun had firmly set and darkness encroached upon the scene, I usually migrated one floor down, into the living room, to indulge in a movie screening. You remember, of course, that the closing of the cinemas for the second time since this pandemic began was another of the hallmarks of the most recent round of limitations. So, without the option of buying a ticket at the movie theater, I naturally wound up binging on the couch.
Thirty of the movies I’ve recently screened featured Olivia de Havilland, the Golden Age superstar whose passing late last month marked the end of an era. I’m not sure I ever intended to delve so deeply into her filmography. But the quality of the movies was just so darn incredible that I never got bored. So I decided to run with it.
I’ll be honest: I always considered myself a pretty big fan of the actress, loving her most iconic pictures like Gone With the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But I realized over this past month just how many amazing classics I’d never caught—and some, shockingly, I’d never even heard of until my research.
What a rich body of work! Here’s just a handful of the famous faces who’ve flickered across my screen of late, acting alongside Dame Olivia: Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Montgomery Clift, Bette Davis, Mary Astor, James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, Richard Burton, Rosalind Russell, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, David Niven, Charles Boyer, Paulette Goddard, Jane Wyman, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Myrna Loy, Jack Lemmon, Leslie Howard and Ronald Reagan.
And several of her movies that I’ve watched for the first time these past weeks have certainly found a place on my list of all-time favorites. Her dual role as identical twins—one wicked, the other virtuous—in a noir nightmare called The Dark Mirror. An Oscar-nominated turn from the lead-up to World War II, as a naïve California schoolteacher who, while chaperoning a class trip to Mexico, falls for a suave immigrant scheming for easy entry to the United States in Hold Back the Dawn. The first of her two Oscar wins, as an unwed mother forced to give up her son in To Each His Own. And as a French aristocrat who just so happens to arrive at a remote country inn outside Paris as a troupe of histrionic thespians seek revenge on a British stage actor who insulted them in James Whales criminally-underappreciated farce The Great Garrick.
Don’t worry. There were some definite duds among the lot, too, albeit in a fun sort of way. I made sure to include the star-studded disaster sequel Airport ’77 and Irwin Allen’s maligned killer bee travesty The Swarm, neither of which possessed even a glimmer of brilliance yet still somehow managed to be ineffably entertaining. And, all in all, it was a very enjoyable way to muddle through my evenings.
And, when the occasion dictated, I ventured a bit beyond the confines of Olivia de Havilland’s oeuvre. I watched Sunset Boulevard and The Great McGinty on the anniversaries of their original release dates, as they turned seventy and eighty, respectively. And during a morning off thanks to the summer’s first major storm, Typhoon Higos, I screened my obligatory tropical cyclone flick China Seas from 1935, which, coincidentally, had turned eighty-five less than two weeks earlier.
In other news, the rooftop was the fortunate recipient of an amazing second-hand sofa and several potted plants, courtesy of Elyse and her husband Rob, who, sadly for me, have just moved from Happy Valley to Kennedy Town. Blessed with a gorgeous rooftop here in the Valley, but foregoing outdoor space in their new digs, they were looking to offload the sectional outdoor couch and greenery before moving out. And I must say, it is a most welcome addition here.
I even hosted a barbecue this past Saturday to officially christen it. It was a wonderful opportunity to gather with friends in a secluded spot—remember, civil gatherings are capped at two people, so it’s only in non-public settings like a private apartment where larger groups are permissible—and spend some glorious time together.
And the event also served as an informal farewell party for my guests of honor, Elyse and Rob. I know Kennedy Town isn’t terribly far away, but I always looked forward to our spontaneous meetings during morning dog walks and other gambols around our neighborhood. And I know I will miss espying their friendly faces as frequently as I used to.
Oh! And I got a new iPhone for work. It’s crazy to realize it’s been a full two years. But the contract was up for expiry, and a fresh phone came for free with the signing of a renewed agreement, so I’m still in the process of getting used to this toy.
I must say, the camera function is most impressive, indeed. (I guess I’m late to this game, but, man, do I love portrait mode.) It’s a kind of traditional habit of mine that my phone’s home screen photograph is a shot of Fredric while my lock screen captures some spicy Sichuan fare. So, I made it a point to return to Red Pepper for a fiery lunch a day or two after picking up the device. And, of course, my little mutt is always too willing to pose for me. So it didn’t take long before the telephone was properly broken in.
And I am protecting the thing with two awesome cases I ordered from RedBubble, one featuring a stylized likeness of a besuited Cary Grant sprinting away from that crop duster in the most iconic moment from Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. And a second that splices together most of those censored kisses that feature so memorably in the finale of Cinema Paradiso. I just can’t decide which of these is my favorite, so I’ve fallen into the habit of switching them every few days.
As all of this has been happening, the number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped considerably from that previously-alarming stretch of triple digit daily increases. We’re back down to single-digits now, nine cases having been recorded today. Of course, if the past is anything to go by, we need to remain hyper-vigilant. We went weeks without a single reported new case just before the ongoing third wave appeared out of nowhere. But it’s reassuring to see our efforts paying off.
And we got a little reward for our hard work, when the government announced last week that, starting Friday, restaurants could extend their opening hours for an additional three hours, from six to nine in the evening. And the cinemas—while having to operate at half capacity and without the added appeal of their concession stands—have also been allowed to re-open their doors.
On Thursday afternoon a little before five, I entered Zagin Soba, an exquisite ramen specialist on King Kwong Street, where I savored the last of my grandpa dinners. I must admit, I’d come to enjoy them in a strange sort of way. But I was oh so excited for a return to normalcy that next evening.
You can bet I hightailed it out of work and made a beeline straight for a restaurant at six sharp! Ironically, I wound up with a tantalising bowl of mussels in white wine and garlic, the same dish that had served as my Bastille Day feast back in mid-July, the last real restaurant dinner I’d savored before the dining constraints.
It was heavenly to be in a restaurant at nighttime again. What a spectacular meal! And a film screening of the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace at the nearby cinema followed right on its heels, a little before eight.
Dinner and a movie. Seems like old times.
Sunday afternoon, after a sensational helping of dosas at an incredible Indian restaurant in TST East, Rachel and I caught The Last Emperor on the big screen over in Elements.
And you can bet that my life will be chock full o’ movies for the foreseeable future. I purchased a bunch of tickets today and have a list of quite a few others I’m plotting in my schedule.
Yes, as a new month gets ready to kick off, let’s all work hard to ensure that Hong Kong really has seen the worst of this benighted coronavirus, while vigilantly injecting our social lives with a dose of much needed vivacity. Hopefully there will be lots to look forward to as fall approaches, from the celebrations of the Mid-Autumn Festival to the most welcome dip in temperatures that always accompanies the arrival of the season. Stay safe, everybody, but don’t forget to constantly remind yourself how much beauty still exists all around you!
