Hong Kong
Gerald warned me that he has two goals in Hong Kong: spend time with his parents, and try all the viral food. This meant a stop at Butterfly Patisserie at the Mandarin Oriental for their Hokkaido custard flan (aka the most overpriced dan tat you'll ever see, HKD 98 for one!). It's so rich yet actually not too rich, with a soft center that just barely oozes out. Butterflies are dusted on top, and the crust is super flaky without being too flaky. It's so ridiculous that while it absolutely is a dan tat, it's also actually bears very little resemblance to a traditional one. The roll cakes there are good too, but much more traditional.
Did a bunch more wandering, K11 MUSEA Mall and a few other places, and again ended back up in Mong Kok before saying farewell to Gerald for the rest of the trip.
Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop was the first stop for dinner; they do a very good beef noodle, although honestly I did not find it particularly memorable. A few doors down, the slightly less highly rated Mak's Noodle House was almost the same quality to me. Mak's Noodle House has a classier vibe inside, very clean toilets (!), and the option of a large size for their noodles. Went with the won ton and beef tendon noodle soup this time, which was also very good.
Walked down to Tsim Sha Tsui and Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-fried Buns, which has been open for a few years, yet still has a line. Their Shanghai pan-fried buns are excellent, the spicy won tons only slightly less so. Perfectly crispy bottoms on the buns, ample meat, and a thin skin (at least for a Shanghai pan-friend bun) all made for a win. Felt like a great way to finish off my Hong Kong fooding, even more so than my original plan at Hikiniku to Come (which will have to wait til the next trip).
Only I realized I am not likely to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong again, so upon my return to the hotel, ended up at their Lounge & Bar. The harbour was still fogged in (although it would finally lift briefly later), their Hainan chicken was decently tasty enough but probably 3x the price it would be outside, and the whisky list was just acceptable. Would recommend skipping the Starward Hong Kong First Edition, as it lacked the red wine notes of the basic Starward Nova; while some other Starward limited editions have different interesting flavors or desirable complexity (Stout Cask, Ginger Beer Cask-series especially, Single Barrel 3312 even more so), this one lacked all that and instead had a bit of burn without any particular reward for your taste buds or olfactory senses.