Roast duck sums it up!

We recently visited Hong Kong to attend a trade tasting and meet with some distributors who are interested in selling our wines.

I love Hong Kong - it is an exciting city with a deep history and fascinating culture beneath it's shiny exterior.

Hong Kong oozes money. It drips from every glittering building. The smoggy haze which encircles the high rise palaces of wealth, and the air conditioners hanging out of the windows of the more modest buildings, suggest that this city is a long way from thinking about carbon footprints. There's not just one Louis Vuitton store - there's one on every corner (or so it seems). The well-heeled disciples of commerce crave everything with a designer brand.

In contrast, down at the markets, the fake Louis Vuittons and trashy rip offs are being consumed by the hordes of visitors. The flashy and the trashy add to the excitement of this city. But despite the facade, Hong Kong does have a soul. Underneath its bankroll cloak is a humble gentleman whose wisdom is handed down through the traditions of an ancient culture.

I believe the best way to understand a culture is to start with its food. For me, Hong Kong means feasting on duck and some seriously good dumplings.


taken with my i-phone

Roast duck pretty much sums up this city. It's rich and delicious; a luxury prepared with a humble bird that is served at Hong Kong's finest restaurants as well as hanging in shops and street stalls with equal pride of place. Just like Hong Kong's appetite for designer products, the appetite for duck is voracious.


taken with my i-phone

Its difficult to move past the marriage of duck and pinot noir, but I am a riesling lover so we enjoyed a few kabinetts to accompany dumplings, duck and most of the Cantonese cuisine that we enjoyed. At the Yung Kee, which is famous for its roast goose, we decided on something a little more complex to go with the rich goose meat. A Louis Latour, Chassagne- Montrachet seemed to work pretty well.

To really immerse yourself in the local food culture I would recommend a visit to the wet markets. I love exploring these outdoor food markets.


taken with my i-phone

Wan Chai was one of the first areas developed on Hong Kong Island. The wet markets in Wan Chai are where the 'old' people of this area shop on a daily basis for their food.


taken with my i-phone

I wish I had my good camera with me on this trip. The markets are a photographers dream with plenty of textures and colours.


taken with my i-phone


taken with my i-phone


taken with my i-phone

You can buy live fish and other live seafood at the wet market. There are all sorts of shellfish and odd looking sea creatures.


taken with my i-phone

Both raw and preserved meat are hanging out in the open air street stalls. There doesn't appear to be any refrigeration, so this is probably not somewhere I would be buying chicken. I think I'll stick to roast duck and try not to think about where it may have originated.


taken with my i-phone

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