HK report --- Malaysian and vegan eats and shopping

[disneychu]

I spent last weekend in HK, and wow. Amazing food.

Some highlights:

For dinner the first night, we went to "Sabah", a Malaysian restaurant in Wan Chai. A little homey sort of local-frequented place, but it was packed at night, and we were lucky to get a table. The chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce was exquisitely tender and the sliced cucumbers very very sweet. A roti (indian flaky bread) lover, I ordered roti canai and also roti stuffed with onions, along with the chicken coconut curry. The portion sizes were huge!! It was way too much for me, but it was delicious....and the curry was so complex: I tasted cinnamon first, with fruity overtones----a very "deep" sort of taste, my Japanese friends would say. Great little place, and cheap!

The second night, we went to "Life" a vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Soho. Soho is so cute at night, you walk up the hillside, and there are all these little restaurants lit up like lanterns in the night.....
Walking into "Life" reminded me of going into my yoga studio in NY-----soft lighting, candles, incense, and jazz on the turntable. Nice. We sat on the rooftop----it was beautiful, tables softly lit with lanterns, and a view of the buildings nearby.
I ordered the hummus with whole wheat pitas......gosh, it was to die for hummus, no kidding. I don't know what their secret ingredient was, but it was great. The sweet potato fries were light and crispy and paired really well with the tofu dip. For the main, the genmai (brown rice) risotto was fabulous. Texture was soft but retained a little bite, rice mingled with cashew cream and truffle oil. I felt a bit like royalty. I will be going back there again, next time I'm in HK.

Lastly, gourmet shopping in HK: I loved the basement grocery store in Pacific Place shopping center in Admirality. I found things that I didn't even know I was looking for: kaffir lime leaves, wild rice, bulgur wheat, lemongrass, and best of all, my favorite Fusilli lunghi bucati pasta. Love it.
Another must for vegetarian/vegan foodies: Three Sixty in the Landmark Building---all organic, international foods, simply an amazing store. Whole Foods, eat your heart out.