No Reservations

"So, what do you classify as "local" cuisine," I asked Amy & Arthur today at lunch near the office. "Well, you know, dirty floors. The kind of place you wouldn't want to eat at." Amy replied. SOUNDS PERFECT!

And indeed, Avid Reader, it really was! We hit the North Point area of Hong Kong tonight and enjoyed Tung Po Restaurant. A Hong Kong favorite for years and years, Anthony Bourdain visited to film 'No Reservations' for the Travel Channel and now the secret's out. This place ROCKED!

We joined HUNDREDS of Hong Kongians on plastic stools around beat up wooden tables to enjoy some of the best cuisine I've had on any travel. The squid ink spaghetti and squid balls was a teeth-blackening favorite, as was the chicken which didn't stand a chance. Owner Robbie was the consummate host and ushered us from a back table to one with a full view of the action as well as told us what we would be enjoying. Here's a guy who loves people and his job altogether.

Other fun highlights including drinking beer from frosted BOWLS and watching part of the meal process include santizing one's tea cups, spoons, chopsticks and glassware in hot tea before usage. To top it all off, it was quite a hoot to see good old fashioned commercialism make its way to the servers' uniforms via our beverage of choice tonight: San Miguel.

So, this experience ranks right up there in all of my global travels as one of the best "local" experiences I've ever had. Which made it fun to remember all of the amazing meals I've gotten to experience in my lifetime from dining on ruins in Rome to enjoying a basket of fresh vegetable crudite where Matisse once painted in southern France. This one definitely counts. Amazing. Authentic. Awesome.

And yes, the floors were dirty.