There have been memorable meals already in Paris, to be sure, especially the ethereally spiced honey-glazed duck breast I had on one of my pre-move visits, and the crayfish salad at the little bistro around the corner from my apartment.
But on the whole, Paris food has been a bit unsatisfying -- not because there's anything wrong with it, but because French food in New York has gotten so much better in the last few years that it now rivals at least the run-of-the-mill bistro cuisine of Paris. (I haven't visited any Michelin-starred places yet, to be sure. I will. Stay tuned.)
Not so in Hong Kong, where I arrived yesterday for a week's visit to the Asian office of my company. Today I went with a friend for dim sum -- in an impossibly elegant place on the tenth floor of a ritzy shopping center called, yes, Times Square:
And I have to say, this was the best dim sum I've ever had. By far. Better than the dim sum Joey and I had last time we were here. Better than the dim sum Pei, David and Anthony took me to in Los Angeles, which still stands as the best I've had in the United States.
With two minor exceptions, every dish I had here was exactly the same as the dim sum you get in New York: the steamed shrimp dumplings, the beef balls, the meat wrapped in broad noodles, the turnip cakes, and so on. And yet it was completely different: fresher, less greasy, lighter, tastier. It's like the difference between plastic-wrapped Swiss cheese from the deli and real Emmenthal. Subtle, but unmistakable.
Worth the trip.
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