Best bar terraces that are so Hong Kon

Our ode to the bar terrace, the champion of our continual struggle to discover peaceful spaces in the mad urban build-up of Hong Kong

By Nicholas Olczak 7 May, 2010

The Fringe Club's terrace is a mellow hangout in bustling Central.

If the low-key Hong Kong bar terrace were a person, it would be a saint. The patron saint of those poor, lost, stressed-out souls, seeking a place where they can escape horrid bosses and noisy neighbors. Alas, the streets of this city are too crowded, so Hong Kong bars wishing to offer peaceful, spacious, outdoor seating, have to do so with elevated terraces.
Some really distinctive terraces are tucked into the front of old Chinese buildings or stretch across rooftops all over Hong Kong. Our favorites are the ones with a mellow atmosphere that are situated just several stories high. This means the terraces are surrounded by highrises on all sides, giving a very Hong Kong feel to the 'view.' We can escape from the city and immerse ourselves in it at the same time. Here are six of our favorite:

The Fringe Club

After a visit to The Fringe’s rooftop terrace, it’s hard to understand why anybody would want to go sit in the dark, clammy interiors of Lan Kwai Fong bars. This large terrace is a real breathing space in the middle of Central. It's fantastically positioned with gleaming office buildings wrapped 360 degrees around. Add to this some cheap happy hour prices on Erdinger and John Smith’s beer together with tasty tapas dishes and you’re on to a winner.
2 Lower Albert Road, Central, tel +852 2521 7521

Cup Cup Cafe

For anyone who’s not lucky enough to have their own luxury apartment with a big sun drenched balcony, then a trip to the terrace of Cup Cup is a nice alternative. With smart wicker seating, a barbeque, and just a few fashionable customers, it feels a lot like somebody’s designer home. It would be a great place to rest after battling through the shops and crowds of Causeway Bay or to bring a date for a quiet after-dinner drink.
Unit 4B, Vincent House, 513-515 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, tel +852 3568 5978

Full Cup Cafe

A glance around at the tattooed and beanie wearing customers confirms this is the place where Hong Kong’s real hipsters choose to hang out, smoke, chat and enjoy the huge range of coffees, teas and comfort food.
With a mosaic sprawling over its back wall, a gnome perched over a little pond, and Lykke Li on the stereo, Full Cup’s terrace abounds in the type of kitschy cool and slight whimsy that makes Mongkok Mongkok.
4/F-6/F, Hanway Commercial Building, 36 Dundas Street, Mongkok, tel +852 2771 7775

The Pawn

Come six o’clock and The Pawn’s terrace fills up with suited business people who head here straight from the offices looking for a stylish place for post-work drinks.
If you can put up with, or even enjoy, this slightly ra ra clientele then the terrace is a great place to sit while watching the trams slide by on Hennessy Road. The Pawn has an impressive range of English and Belgian beers as well as deep fried finger foods to boot.
Alternatively, check out the rooftop of The Pawn, which is officially public space.
2-3/F, 62 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, tel +852 2866 3444

Pizza Milano

This isn't a bar, but it's a pizza joint that is perfect for a boozy night out. The original Pizza Milano on Cochrane Street proves you don't need Italian charm when you have the cityscape of Hong Kong. Instead of looking out over a little European piazza as you eat, this terrace lets you marvel at the towers of Soho, and there’s something romantic about being wrapped in the magic of the city in this way. Combine this with authentic tasting stone-oven pizzas and you have one of those really unique eating experiences at which Soho excels.  
9/F, Cheung Hing Comm Bldg, No. 37-43 Cochrane Street, Central, tel +852 2581 2848

Sense 99

Without even trying, the terrace of Sense 99 has more character than most bars in Hong Kong put together. Sit up here late in the evening and you’ll see a whole parade of hipsters, musicians, artists, and drunks come tumbling out from inside.
The terrace also feels immersed in history, located on an old Chinese walk-up building. It's a place which throbs with Hong Kong culture, both old and new.
99 Wellington Street, Central, tel +852 9466-4695

Best Hong Kong bars with a view

Sipping a cocktail while ogling Victoria Harbour is the quintessential Hong Kong drinking experience 

By Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor 5 July, 2011  

 

Looking for your boss? Try Sugar, at EAST.

Hong Kong's famed Victoria Harbour lit up in bright lights makes for a ravishing view and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. The experience is enhanced by a well-made drink at some of the city's most glamorous addresses.
Here are our picks of the best Hong Kong bars with a view of Victoria Harbour:

Sugar: Best new perspective

Sugar is the most resourceful bar-with-a-view. It is located on the edge of a residential housing estate in Quarry Bay where it is rare to find a high-octane cocktail joint with a killer view to boot. Predictably, the joint is getting good business from the neighboring Taikoo Place offices.
While "harborview" typically conjures up the night view of Tsim Sha Tsui lit up by neon, Sugar offers a view of East Kowloon where there are fewer flourescent billboards. The scene is made up of ocean-going vessels serenely floating in the wide harbor with a backdrop of the old airport, Kai Tak.
It's best to visit the loungy outdoor deck before sunset to enjoy the coastline by the soft light of dusk. This way, you can also avoid Sugar's garish pink and purple lighting that becomes apparent once it's dark. 
Open until 2 a.m. 32/F, EAST, 29 Taikoo Shing Road, Tai Koo, +852 3968 3738 www.sugar-hongkong.com

It could only be called OZONE.

OZONE: Highest in Asia

Perched on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, OZONE claims to be the highest bar in Asia, counting up from street-level.
That superlative alone is enough to attract throngs of thirsty thrill-seekers. But the bar is an over-achiever. OZONE stuns inside and out with a lavishly decorated interior of gold and marble.
Corner tables offer a wraparound view, while binoculars located on the terrace are a temptation for everyone's inner voyeur.
The menu is light Asian tapas heavy with Japanese influences. Cocktails are done with confidence here but Champagne from the extensive cellar is the default for the well-heeled customers.
No flip-flops, beach sandals and plastic footwear. Men are required to wear full-length trousers; sleeveless shirts are prohibited. 118/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, +852 2263 2263.www.ritzcarlton.com

Felix at the Peninsula.

Felix: The godfather

Felix is the original Hong Kong harborview bar, where you can celebrate the neon-lit panorama of Victoria Harbour all the way to the men's bathroom (it has one of Hong Kong's best toilets).
It's become a bit of a tourist trap, with the restaurant serving so-so Pacific Rim cuisine, hit-and-miss service, and a clientele of short-stay visitors armed with cameras, but the place remains an icon and you have to at least know about Felix if you've set foot in the city.
Designed by Philippe Starck, the contemporary art feel of Felix contrasts with the colonial grandeur of the rest of the Peninsula Hotel.
The bar does decent drinks, although anybody who comes here doesn't bother with much other than Champagne. It's an old-school high roller place that bans kids and enforces a strict dress code, but get past the elitism and you're in Hong Kong's most classic harborview bar.  
Drinks until 1:30 a.m. No flip-flops, beach sandals or plastic footwear. Men are not permitted to wear sleeveless shirts and are required to wear full-length trousers. Children under 12 are not permitted. The Felix elevators are located in the Peninsula Arcade entrance adjacent to Hankow Road. 28/F, The Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road, Kowloon, +852 2920 2888 www.peninsula.com/Hong_Kong

The Aqua Luna.

Aqua Luna: Be the harbor

You can't get much closer to Victoria Harbour than aboard the Aqua Luna, a beautifully refurbished traditional Hong Kong junk that turns into a bar at night.
This Oriental-chic floating bar is Hong Kong's ultimate booze cruise, taking guests for a Prosecco-fueled 45-minute voyage around Victoria Harbour. The sailing of choice is the 7:30 p.m. Symphony of Lights cruise. If you want to make a day of it, take the leisurely Aqua Luna 90-minute cruise to Stanley on weekends.
Eight daily sailings from 1:30 - 10:30 p.m.; noon cruise to Stanley Market on Saturday and Sunday only. Sailings depart from Pier 1 (Cultural Center) in Tsim Sha Tsui and Pier 9 in Central.
For reservations call +852 2116 8821 www.aqua.com.hk

Café Gray Bar: Unapologetically fancy

The crowd is very moneyed, very hip and unashamedly aware of how pretentious it can be. I mean, this is a place that serves gimlets in miniature martini glasses. But it is a six-star hotel bar and the staff are trained in the finer skills of hospitality -- they'll serve your gimlet in a paper cup if that's what you demand.
The design is understated and sophisticated, with tactile upholstery in warm woods, navy and not a touch of chrome or acrylic.
A seat by the windows gets a view of the tops of Admiralty's skyscrapers and Tsim Sha Tsui beyond. The best part though is that the bar food is actually pretty good, such as the polenta fries and crabmeat fritters, courtesy chef Gray Kunz. 
Drinks until 1 a.m. 49/F, The Upper House, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, +852 2918 1838 www.cafegrayhk.com

Aqua Spirit.

Aqua Spirit: Flirting with vertigo

Just being in Aqua Spirit makes us feel sexy. It's all dark reflective surfaces, really-difficult-to-get tables and politely aloof staff. Some regulars like to top off the experience with the signature Aquatini, a martini with gold flakes.
The harborview here is huge. A powerful panorama of Victoria Harbour is presented through floor-to-ceiling windows spanning two stories. Every little detail of northern Hong Kong Island can be seen. It's slightly vertiginous, causing a mild dizziness that goes well with gold flake cocktail-induced tipsiness. 
Open until 2 a.m. 29-30/F, One Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, +852 3427 2288
www.aqua.com.hk

Sevva.

Sevva: Central hangout

Sevva's interior is straight out of Vogue Living and the view from the open terrace encompasses Kowloon, Victoria Harbour, Admiralty, and Central -- the neighboring HSBC building is so close you could almost touch it. All this makes Sevva the banker and corporate lawyer's hangout of choice for that magical social space that occurs post-dinner and pre-club.
Someone's closed a deal -- they'll head to Sevva to toast associates facing the champion view. Someone's lost a court case -- they'll head to Sevva and sink low in the outdoor couches, get drunk and angry on old Bordeaux then rant at the HSBC.
Watch out for disappointing food at Sevva's restaurant and avoid the below par service on ridiculously busy weekends. 
Open until 2 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and public holidays' eve; closed Sunday. 25/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, +852 2537 1388 www.sevva.hk

Lobby Lounge at the InterContinental.

Lobby Lounge: Place to be seen

The InterContinental's Lobby Lounge has an unnerving fish bowl effect. The large windows are the main feature and they look out onto the Avenue of the Stars at street level, so you know the tourists may be looking in at you, maybe they'll take a snapshot, maybe post you onto their travel blog. But tourists are an inherent part of Hong Kong's harborview and they make the Lobby Lounge a unique place to access Victoria Harbour.
The lounge itself has an impersonal business hotel feel to it, but visit at night and the view of Hong Kong's skyline looms large while the lounge decor recedes. See this video as proof of the Lobby Lounges' harborview credentials.
Drinks until 1 a.m. Hotel InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, +852 2721 1211 hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com

ToTT's.

ToTT's: Most overlooked lookout

Causeway Bay has one swanky rooftop respite that isn't talked about much. Ironically, it's called ToTT's, which stands for Talk of The Town.
Perched on the top floor of the Excelsior, the restaurant is loved for its Champagne brunches (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.) and special occasion dinners, but we love it for its girly cocktails you can enjoy on the roof terrace during one of those clear Hong Kong summer nights.
No sandals, singlets, shorts, or sleeveless shirts. Open until 2 a.m., Friday, Saturday, and public holiday eves. 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, +852 2837 6786 www.mandarinoriental.com/excelsior

When sweet meets dry 葡萄酒甜度有讲究

We like our wine to be dry, don’t we? Unless, of course, it is unashamedly very sweet (and even this, alas, is a minority taste). But the supposedly dry wines on our shelves can vary substantially in how much unfermented sugar they contain – and those that fall between dry and sweet present real challenges.	一般人都喜欢喝味很淡的葡萄酒，是吧？当然除非是特甜的那种（即便如此，这种口味也不多见）。但酒柜里的红酒因所含未发酵糖份的含量不同而显得千差万别——那些处于味淡与甜之间的酒实在让人难以抉择。
Sweetness in wine, known as “residual sugar” or RS, is usually measured in grams per litre of liquid, although Americans generally express it as a percentage. It is impossible to get RS levels down to zero (wine starts out as very sweet grape juice) but the general threshold of perception of sweetness is around 2g/l (or 0.2 per cent). Most fine red wine is well below this, often less than 1g/l, so doesn’t taste at all sweet.	葡萄酒中的含糖量（所谓的残余糖分，即RS）以每升酒中所含糖的克数来表示，美国人则通常以百分比来衡量。残余糖分不可能降至没有（酒刚酿出时就是很甜的葡萄汁），但衡量是否是甜酒的门槛约为每升2克（即0.2%）的含糖量。多数高档红葡萄酒的甜度都要比这低得多（常常低于每升1克），所以压根就尝不出甜味来。
It’s a different story with mass-market brands. Yellow Tail, the archetypal “critter” brand so successful it now accounts for almost half of all Australian wine imported into the US, is famously relatively sweet – as is one of the most successful brands of California Chardonnay, Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve. These brands are likely to notch up sugar levels of at least 5-6g/l. Some of the California whites naughtily labelled Chablis, even though it is a controlled geographical appellation in Europe, can notch up well over 10g/l of sugar, often in the form of deliberately added sweet grape juice concentrate.	对于销量大的葡萄酒来说，则是另当别论。黄尾葡萄酒(Yellow Tail)这个贴有澳洲特有袋鼠标志的品牌在美国市场大获成功，如今几乎占了该国澳洲进口葡萄酒的一半，它就以味甜著称——肯德杰克逊酒庄精选(Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve)的加州霞多丽(Chardonnay)也是如此。这几种葡萄酒的含糖量可能至少达到了每升5-6克。即便莎碧 (Chablis)属于欧洲某些地区特产的葡萄酒，但某些自诩为莎碧、产自加州的白葡萄酒的含糖量超过了每升10克，通常是有意添加适量浓缩葡萄汁。
Those who routinely analyse wine report that, in general, inexpensive products – reds as well as whites and pinks, made in California, Australia, Chile and New Zealand – have notably higher sugar levels than Europe’s “dry” wines: 3-8g/l rather than 1-2g/l. Because of New Zealand’s relatively high latitudes, acid levels in the grapes tend to be higher than in wine regions closer to the equator. The higher the acid, the less sweet a wine tastes, so Kiwi wines’ sweetness tends to be less obvious than those grown in hotter climes.	作常规酒类分析的专家发布报告称：产于加州、澳洲、智利以及新西兰的廉价白、红以及桃红葡萄酒的含糖量通常比欧洲的淡味型酒要高很多：达到每升3-8克，而不是每升1-2克。由于新西兰的纬度相对高一些，葡萄中的酸度总是比赤道附近的产酒区来得高。酸度越高，葡萄酒的甜味就越尝不出来，所以与那些产于气候较为温暖地区的葡萄酒相比，猕猴桃酒的甜度不太明显。
Sweetness can be used deliberately by a winemaker to counteract excessively high acidity. Some of France’s cheapest “dry” white labelled Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne from armagnac country, for example, tends to be extremely high in acidity, so winemakers often soften this by boosting the natural sugar level. This technique may be applied to some commercial whites from Italy where high yields leave the grapes very high in acid. European reds that are sold as dry but often in fact contain up to 8g/l of residual sugar include some of the less artisan wines from Sicily and Puglia in southern Italy.	酿酒师可以有意使用甜度来“中和”一下过高的酸度。法国有些很便宜的干白，如产自阿马尼亚克县加斯科涅丘(Côtes de Gascogne, Armagnac)的Vin de Pays酒的酸度就特别高，因此酿酒师通常用提高天然甜度的方法让酒味变得柔和些。产自意大利的某些商业白葡萄酒可能也应用了此方法，该国的葡萄产量很高，所以酿出酒的酸度非常高。当作干红销售、但实际含糖量却高达每升8克的欧洲红酒就包括了产自意大利西西里岛以及该国南部普利来地区(Puglia)某些极普通的工匠葡萄酒。
Another factor that can affect how sweet a wine tastes is temperature. At a recent blind tasting, we were, unbeknown to us, served the same wine twice, once at room temperature and once well chilled. We all thought the chilled version of this sweetish wine (60g/l residual sugar) was drier than the warmer one because acidity is more prominent at lower temperatures.	影响酒甜度的另一大因素是温度。在最近举行的一场盲品(Blind Tasting)中，我们这些品酒师在事先毫不知情的情况下，两次品尝的实际上是一模一样的酒，第一种为常温酒，第二种是冰镇过的酒。品过的人都认为这款甜酒（每升含糖量60克）的冰镇酒要比常温酒的味要来得淡，原因就是低温酒的酸度更为明显。
Although virtually all red wines are relatively dry, the level of residual sugar in white wines can vary enormously – from under 2g/l to hundreds of grams per litre in naturally sweet wines made from really ripe grapes. Wines at each end of the sweetness spectrum are generally easy to identify and we more or less know how they are going to taste. But a considerable proportion of white wines lie somewhere in between dry and very sweet. It can be very frustrating to buy a bottle of wine and find that it is much sweeter (or drier) than expected. The wines of Alsace have been particular sinners in this respect. They can vary from bone dry to medium sweet without any indication on the label to help the consumer. This has driven a handful of producers such as Zind Humbrecht to devise their own systems for indicating sweetness.	虽说几乎所有红酒的味都很淡，但各种白葡萄酒之间的残余糖分差别却很大——从每升不到2克至天然甜酒（由自然成熟的葡萄酿制）的每升几百克，不一而足。特甜与不甜的葡萄酒通常很容易识别，因为我们多少知道些它们品起来是啥味。但很多白葡萄酒介于味淡与特甜之间，有时买了一瓶葡萄酒后发现比预想得要甜（或淡），这很让人扫兴，产自阿尔萨斯(Alsace)的葡萄酒尤其给人这种“刻骨铭心”的感觉。它们的口感千差万别，从极淡到中度甜型，消费者从酒瓶的标签上看不出有啥差别。这使得辛特—鸿布列什酒庄(Zind Humbrecht)在内的诸多酒庄设计自己的甜度标示体系。
In the US, where Riesling has had a head of steam behind it (largely thanks to Washington state’s Château Ste Michelle and its joint venture with Erni Loosen of Germany’s Mosel Valley), an American-based organisation called the International Riesling Foundation has also come up with a graphic to be used on wine labels to show the degree of sweetness.	在美国，雷司令的销量遥遥领先（这很大程度上要归功于华盛顿州的圣米歇尔酒庄(Château Ste Michelle)以及它与德国摩泽尔河谷(moselle valley)的路森博士酒庄(Erni Loosen)的合资公司），总部位于美国的国际雷司令基金会(International Riesling Foundation)也想出了在酒瓶标签上用图解的方式来标示酒的甜度。
It was to test how well this scale, the Riesling Taste Profile, from dry through gradations of medium dry and medium sweet to sweet, could be applied to a wide, international range of Rieslings that 25 of us tried to grade the sweetness levels of 26 examples ranging in sweetness from 0.92 to 207.50g/l. We were shown International Riesling Foundation guidelines of extreme complexity beforehand that indicated what influence acidity and the level of pH (the intensity of the acidity), should have in addition to the residual sugar level. One of the tasters was Wendy Stuckey, responsible for Château Ste Michelle’s highly successful Washington state Rieslings. She confessed that, when deciding exactly which point on the Riesling Taste Profile should be applied to each wine, they took no notice of the formulae and did it all on how it tasted.	我们25位品酒师给产自全球各地的26种雷司令（从每升0.92克至每升207.5克）样酒确定甜度，以检测雷司令酒口感度（the Riesling Taste Profile，从味淡依次到不太甜、中度甜最后到甜）标准的实际效果。我们事先看了国际雷司令基金会所制订的异常复杂的标准指南：即除了残余糖分外，酸度以及pH值（酸碱度）会对酒有何影响。其中一位品酒师是温迪•斯塔基(Wendy Stuckey)，她负责产自华盛顿州圣米歇尔酒庄、异常畅销的雷司令酒。她坦承他们这些品酒师在决定如何用精准的雷司令口感度来比对每一款酒时，并没有把规则当回事，而是根据实际口感下鉴定。
I’m not sure average consumers can be bothered with comparing nuances of gradation. They probably just want to know whether a wine is dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet – and many consumers will already be prejudiced against any wine not in the first category. This is a great shame since many delicious fine white wines taste a little sweet, though, thanks to counterbalancing acidity, are far from cloying. I have listed some of my favourites on page 37.	我不知道普通消费者是否会不厌其烦地使用这些彼此之间差别不大的口感度标准。他们可能只想知道某款酒是不甜、不太甜、中度甜还是甜——许多消费者已经对第一等级品牌以外的酒产生了偏见，这的确令人感到非常遗憾，由于酸的中和作用，许多口感好的上乘白葡萄酒略带甜味，那种享受难以言表。我在下面列举了自己最喜欢喝的几款葡萄酒。
The only trouble with medium dry and medium sweet wines is working out how to serve them. If, like a German Kabinett and Spätlese, they are low in alcohol, they may well be too light to stand up to anything other than the most neutral white fish dish and are best drunk on their own. But whites such as the richer examples from Austria and Alsace, medium dry Chenins made in the image of Vouvray and Tokaji have quite enough body to accompany food and can be delicious with rich shellfish, creamily sauced savoury dishes and smooth pâtés.	不太甜与中度甜葡萄酒唯一的问题是如何与菜肴搭配得当。如德国珍藏酒(German Kabinett)与晚秋清甜酒(Spätlese)的酒精度很低，酒味淡，只能搭配味道最为中性的白鱼喝，而且最好是自斟自饮。但产自澳洲及阿尔萨斯、仿照沃莱(Vouvray)与托卡伊(Tokaji)酿制的白诗南（Chenins，不太甜）等酒味醇厚的白葡萄酒则是很好的佐餐酒，搭配很难消化的贝类海鲜、厚汁类可口菜肴以及滑爽的肉酱，再惬意不过了。
--------------------	简希丝品酒经验
Jancis’s picks	从不太甜的酒到中度甜酒
Medium dry to medium sweet	以下几款白葡萄酒比干白的酒味要醇厚得多
These whites taste richer than bone dry.	•南非斯瓦特兰地区(Swartland )2010年酿制的马利诺酒(Mullineux)售价为15英镑
• Mullineux 2010 Swartland,	• 西班牙Sierras de Málaga地区2008年酿制的Botani Moscatel Seco酒售价为11英镑
South Africa	• 匈牙利托卡伊地区(Tokaj)福尔明酒庄(Estate Furmint)2008年酿制的István Szepsy酒售价为20英镑
£15	• 阿尔萨斯辛特—鸿布列什酒庄(Dom Zind Humbrecht)2008年酿制的Turkheim雷司令酒售价为19英镑
• Botani Moscatel, Seco 2008 Sierras de Málaga, Spain	• 澳大利亚法兰克兰河(Frankland River)法兰克兰酒庄(Frankland Estate)2010年酿制的史密斯•库伦雷司令酒(Smith Cullam Riesling)售价为28英镑
£11	• 奥地利坎普谷(Kamptal)赫希酒庄(Hirsch) 2009年酿制的海利根施泰雷司令酒(Heiligenstein Riesling)售价为25英镑
• István Szepsy, Estate Furmint 2008 Tokaj, Hungary	•德国莫泽尔地区路森博士酒庄酿制的Ürziger Würzgarten酒与晚秋清甜酒售价均为16英镑
£20	卢瓦尔河谷(Loire)沃莱酒庄2008年酿制的Huet与 Le Mont Demi Sec酒售价均为23英镑（由哈罗盖特精细酒业有限公司(Harrogate Fine Wine Co)出品，电话：01423 522270）。由白诗南(Chenin Blanc)酿制的沃莱酒或许是最原汁原味的微甜白葡萄酒，各款Huet酒就是最好的明证。
• Dom Zind Humbrecht, Turkheim Riesling 2008 Alsace £19

A Mexican Revolution 墨西哥菜：从街头小吃到高档美食

It is a blisteringly hot day in Oaxaca, the gastronomic capital of southern Mexico, and the brightly hued streets are quiet with lazy dogs and closed shutters. However, Pitiona, a smart but simple restaurant located in a restored colonial house on 5 de Mayo St., is still abuzz from a late-lunch crowd. Bottles of aged mezcal are lined up behind the bar─this is the home of the distilled, smoky agave spirit after all─and some are being passed around.

Run by chef José Manuel Baños Rodríguez, who worked at El Bulli in 2007 before returning to his hometown, Pitiona (www.pitiona.com) takes traditional Mexican dishes and adds its own modern refinements, while also incorporating pre-Columbian ingredients.

Small ceramic spoons carry delicate foam that conceals ants lightly fried in chili. A salad arrives smoking, with the curls forming around crisp lettuce leaves and tomatoes. The aroma of chipotle emanates from a steaming bowl of black-bean soup, as spheres of string cheese explode in the mouth. Pork comes with a rich chichilo mole, in which the sauce ingredients have been gently charred, lending it an earthiness. For dessert, a chocolate tortilla comes cigar-shaped, concealing xoconostle (a type of cactus) marmalade.

While Mexico is famous for its sensational street food and home cooking, it is only relatively recently that chefs, like Mr. Rodríguez, have been adding a gourmet touch to the traditional cuisine.

'We have the best ingredients around the world. Now we can lead the revolution with great restaurants,' says Mr. Rodríguez, who plans to open a similar restaurant in InterContinental's Presidente hotel in Mexico City in June. 'We are now able to prepare food a little more technically, more sophisticated,' he continues. 'We need to show the world that it is more than just home cooking.'

In Mexico City, at Azul Condesa (azulcondesa.com), in a converted house in the hip neighborhood of Condesa, the power dinner is in full force. Every time a new group enters, it takes them a good 15 minutes to get to their table, once the full rounds of air kissing have been completed. It isn't just the social hub; the food is outstanding.

Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, one of the country's most famous chefs, has spent the past 20 years trying to change the way Mexican food is perceived. His first restaurant, Azul y Oro, which opened 12 years ago in a culinary school, was one of the first gourmet Mexican restaurants in the country. Now, with Azul Condesa, which opened in 2011, and Azul Histórico (azulhistorico.com), which opened in January, he spends months trawling the far reaches of the country, researching regional dishes and bringing them, along with the local ingredients, back to his own restaurants.

Presentation is key. Here, a ceviche is served in a perfect circle, topped with diced avocado, framed with a delicate soy, lime and orange-juice sauce. Organic hibiscus-flower enchiladas are served with a gloriously pink tomato and smoky chipotle sauce. A little pillow of sea bass comes with a delicious pumpkin sauce, offering a little kick at the end thanks to a habanero chili. Dessert is a delectable soursop mousse, with black sapote and raspberries. Exotically named fruits, vegetables and spices jump at you from every menu page.

'In the past when you studied cooking here, it was all international cuisines, but now things have changed a great deal and they are finally teaching about Mexican food,' Mr. Zurita explains, attributing the revolution in gourmet cuisine to the metamorphosis in Mexico's cookery schools. 'This means that now there is a new generation of chefs in the country who are educated in the ways of Mexican cuisine and it is changing the scene.'

Changing that emphasis has allowed chefs to rediscover the diversity of local ingredients, such as chili, which don't have to be hot to be tasty. 'We have to give the chili a chance to perform,' Mr. Zurita says. 'A lot of people think chilies are only hot and spicy, but they have wonderful flavors and some are very mild. Unfortunately, the image of the country is that we are eating chilies all the time.'

To prove his point, Mr. Zurita spotlights a different ingredient or dish each month, from mole to mangoes to food from a specific region, such as the Yucatán or Tabasco.

Different is also what customers get at chef Enrique Olvera's gourmet restaurant Pujol (pujol.com.mx), in the smart neighborhood of Polanco, where the dishes are works of art. Here, the prosperous and international set arrive in dresses and vertiginous heels; hair is big and wallets are bulging.

The meal starts with an earthenware pot with hickory smoke pouring out of the top. Inside, beautiful, smoked mini-corns bathe in coffee mayonnaise and ant powder. Tasting menus come with Mexican wines or mezcal and beer. In the seafood tasting menu, a shrimp taco appears as a paper-thin layer of avocado wrapped around a spiced shrimp interior. An oyster is served topped with a rosemary flower and a gentle foam of vanilla. A lemony tortilla comes with thin slices of chili-marinated snook (a type of white fish) and topped with pineapple salsa; it is a posh take on street food, and eaten in the same way─with the fingers. Some of the dishes are traditional Mexican with a twist; others are international cuisine with a Mexican spin.

Nearby, inside boutique hotel Las Alcobas, chef Martha Ortiz is causing something of a stir with her gourmet restaurant Dulce Patria (dulcepatriamexico.com), where dishes showcase the diversity of the country's huge array of ingredients.

Her restaurant is feminine and flooded with light, with pretty arrangements of gladioli and cacti on the tables. Squash-bloom soup comes with toasted almonds, poblano chilies and turmeric cream. Duck is served in a rich mole negro, with a banana leaf and corn-flavored rice. Not for the fainthearted, a grilled red and green salad comes with Oaxacan string cheese, epazote (an herb native to Mexico) and a liberal sprinkling of grasshoppers. Desserts are equally inventive: A creamy mamey (a Mexican fruit) custard features gold leaf and red carnation preserve.

'It has taken a long time to get to this stage,' says Ms. Ortiz, who was born into a family of artists and intellectuals, and first studied political science before realizing her passion lay with food.

'We didn't have Mexican restaurants before,' she says. 'We had cantinas and international restaurants. Until recently, it was a poor country.'

Across the board, these chefs say the national psyche has shifted. 'Everyone used to cook, but now it is a working society more than ever, so people won't go home for lunch,' Mr. Zurita says. 'And when you go out, you don't want that food. People want something different.'

Ms. Ortiz agrees. 'People here have started feeling very proud, as food is culture,' she explains. 'My dream is that now people all over world will start recognizing the prestige and beauty in our food. It is Mexico's time.'

JEMIMA SISSONS

7 sexy skinny dips in Asia

Seven spots in Asia where clothing is just a chore

By Cynthia Rosenfeld 8 October, 2010
While plunge pools pervade in Asia, very few allow us to disrobe entirely without embarrassing exposure. Here are seven of the most private, most luxurious places to ditch the bathing suit for maximum skinny dip satisfaction.
Also on CNNGo: 15 more sexy skinny dips

1. Phuket Pavilions, Thailand

Roll straight from bed into the wet spot, a deep 40 x 13 foot infinity pool outside each Andaman Sea-facing villa at Phuket Pavilions where the motto “no tan lines, no interruptions” means exactly that for couples yearning for none other than each other.
Stealthy staff live up to that promise, delivering service without a sound. That includes poolside massages where silently giggling female therapists know to leave guests to create their own happy endings.
Raid the maxi-bar stocked with Veuve Clicquot and Hagen Daaz ice cream.
US$629 per night; thepavilionsresorts.com/phuket-home

2. River House, Sri Lanka

Forget breakfast in bed. Wake each other up in the Menik Suite’s east-facing plunge pool as the sun rises over the coconut palms dappled across Sri Lanka’s River House.
Raise each other’s body heat well above the water temperature then slip back inside to climb atop the pillow strewn four-poster bed.
One dominates each of five antique-filled rooms at this inland retreat on the Madhu River, three hours’ drive south of Colombo’s international airport.
The ancient Greeks didn’t call this island Serendib, Garden of Eden for nothing.
From November to March, play Adam and Eve around this seven-acre slice of tropical paradise, luring one another upstairs and back into the buff.
US$373-485 per night; www.anilana.com

3. Banyan Tree Lijiang, China

High Naxi tiled walls encourage undressing with abandonment inside the pool villas at Banyan Tree Lijiang some 7,900 feet above sea level.
Outside of May to August when seasonal fields of rhododendrons reach full bloom, expect to raise a few goose bumps while streaking into these pools that are heated but not too hot for a good frolic.
Come up together for air in the shadow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the climax of this Himalayan panorama.
US$618 per night; banyantree.com/en/lijiang/overview

4. Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan

With every rattle of a palm frond, it is hard not to wonder what other creatures are taking pleasure in this dense bamboo jungle.
That and the occasional screams of rafters thrusting along the otherwise Sacred Ayung River are the only sounds to intrude upon the privacy of each villa at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.
All 42 thatched maxi-huts come with an outdoor shower that overlooks the river valley and a plunge pool that releases itself endlessly into the jungle’s steamy abyss.
Nudists notwithstanding, no one need fear overexposure. Farmers on the other bank are nearly naked themselves and too far away to make out the state of play.
US$680-850 per night; Fourseasons.com

5. Trisara, Thailand

Size matters at Trisara on Phuket’s northwest shore where all 39 villas are well endowed for maximum pleasure.
When the urge arises, all glass French doors open onto a longer than average, 10-meter cerulean plunge that appears to drip into the Andaman Sea, seen at its best from December to March.
No swimsuits or cover ups required, thanks to a profusion of jungle foliage expertly tended by 30 Thai gardeners that turn each of these outdoor playpens into secret sanctuaries.
Scattered about are piles of towels to dry each other off before interlacing still damp limbs on the roomy double sun bed.
Between diving in and winding down, get your hands wet and sticky by feeding each other from the villa’s daily replenishment of aphrodisiac chocolate truffles and luscious Thai mangoes.
US$600-1,230 per night; trisara.com

6. Taj Exotica Maldives

Artificial pools would be a ridiculous addition to the swimsuit and bikini-dropping gorgeousness of the Maldives.
The couple’s treatment in the Alepa Suite at the end of a private jetty is as the name of this Taj property suggests; exotic.
Before exposing delicate skin to sun, guests at Taj Exotica can build up to swimming in the buff with four different hot and cold experience showers, and seaside sun beds with Maldivian herbal mud-loving therapists plying their trade.
After being slathered in mud and loosened up on cocktails and exotic fruit snacks, its time to grab the pretty gal or studly guy, drop the pretense and swim with the lion fish and wrasse (don’t worry gents, your better bits won’t be a main target of the local wildlife.)
US$800 per night; tajhotels.com

7. Soneva Gili, Maldives

Had Robinson set sail with Mrs. Crusoe in tow, he might have gotten lucky and washed up at Soneva Gili in the Maldives.
Balanced on stilts above a shallow lagoon, the Robinson Crusoe Residences are the seven most photogenic over-water villas ever to take the character's name.
With the closest neighbor at least 1,000 feet away and no sign of the butler unless requested, couples are left entirely alone. Splash around the Indian Ocean or even snorkel naked among damsels and Oriental Sweet Lips.
US$1,593 per night; sixsenses.com

Best Dim Sum in Hong Kong - WSJ

 

City Hall Maxim's Palace is a ballroom-like restaurant decorated with crystal chandeliers and white carved-wood screens─not the most obvious spot for breakfast, yet totally in character for dim sum. I arrived relatively early, hoping to beat the Sunday morning rush, only to find the enormous room already full of eager diners.

I was, after all, in Hong Kong, a city where eating ruffled siu mai dumplings, pork buns and meatballs early in the day is as much of a way of life as having an afternoon cup of tea is in Britain. As I waited (and waited) for a table, I could hear though the open doors the clinking of china and the chatter of families enjoying brunch.

Finally, I was seated at a linen-draped table. As I gazed out at the boats crossing Victoria Harbour, a waiter appeared with a silver pot of jasmine tea. More servers came, pushing steaming carts piled with baskets of plump har gow, shrimp dumplings in delicate wrappers; cheong fun─tender rice-noodle sheets─tucked around minced beef flavored with scallion and preserved orange peel; and fatty, sweet spare ribs. I grabbed a helping of everything that looked good, savoring a meal that seemed to capture the very essence of the city.

Maxim's is arguably the most famous dim sum spot in town, a 32-year-old restaurant in the middle of packed Central district that serves classic Hong Kong-style dishes to locals and visiting dignitaries. It's far from the only place to find traditional bites: Dim sum is served in upscale hotels and back-alley tea shops, in tourist traps overlooking the harbor and the basements of shopping malls. But in Hong Kong little stays the same for long, and in recent years chefs have begun taking fresh approaches to native-style dim sum, bringing a dash of extra excitement to a meal that wasn't exactly lacking in popularity in the first place.

Dim sum as we know it developed in Guangzhou, the cultural and commercial center of southern China, in the 18th and 19th centuries, said Maria Tam, an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Back then, businessmen would meet in teahouses in the late morning to yum cha (drink tea). The restaurants originally served up simple snacks, but as the city grew, they began competing for customers by improving the variety and quality of their dishes.

The practice also became popular in Hong Kong, where chefs followed Guangzhou's culinary lead. In the 1940s, when mainland China closed itself off from the rest of the world, chefs in British-controlled Hong Kong began developing their own dim sum styles. They emphasized smaller portions, lighter ingredients and more elegant presentations. They also incorporated Western techniques such as baking, developing now-classic dishes like baked pork buns and sweet egg tarts. Over time, chefs began to include dishes from other parts of the country. (Shanghainese soup dumplings, for instance, were popular with émigrés who had fled the communist revolution.) They added foods associated with holidays and festivals, like rice and meat wrapped in lotus leaves, part of the early summer dragon boat festival, said E.N. Anderson, author of 'The Food of China.' Along the way, dim sum evolved into a family affair, becoming popular for breakfast and brunch.

Though dishes like shrimp dumplings and egg tarts are what most Westerners think of as dim sum, many locals still enjoy the old Guangzhou style, which is served at a number of restaurants. The oldest and best of these is Lin Heung Tea House, which opened in 1923. The restaurant is packed every day with locals reading the newspaper, drinking astonishingly strong pu'er tea and eating dishes heavy with roasted, fatty meats.

'Dim sums used to be bigger, heartier dishes that people ate to keep them full for a hard day of work,' explained Amy Ma, a local food writer and former Wall Street Journal staffer, when she introduced me to the restaurant. Dishes like pork and shrimp dumplings topped with a hard-boiled quail egg are so popular that diners will crowd around as soon as carts enter the dining room.

'A handful of high-end restaurants have been incorporating top-shelf ingredients, including foie gras and morel mushrooms.'

Some chefs have begun reviving old techniques, creating updated versions of the kinds of dishes offered by Lin Heung and its peers. Chef Pui Gor of Tim Ho Wan, a cheap, hole-in-the-wall, dim-sum-only restaurant with a cult following, makes a contemporary version of a bean curd skin roll, filling it with light shrimp rather than the traditional fatty minced pork. He nods to the past with a dessert called 'chicken oil pancake,' which uses lard and evokes old menus that often used 'chicken' in the names of dishes (even meatless ones) because it was considered a delicacy.

A handful of high-end restaurants have also been incorporating top-shelf ingredients, including foie gras and morel mushrooms. One of the best examples is Lung King Heen, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where chef Chan Yan Tak has added duck liver and black truffles to pork dumplings, and invented new dim sums, like abalone baked in a cup of flaky puff pastry. The dish is so popular, he said, that he hasn't been able to take it off the menu since he opened six years ago.

Most of these restaurants have made another big change in how dim sum is eaten: They've done away with serving trolleys, mainly to give chefs more control over cooking and presentation. 'Already steamed dim sums that were put on a steamer to keep warm would end up overcooked,' Mr. Chan explained.

With the quieter atmosphere that has resulted, Hong Kong's businessmen have rediscovered the joy of making deals over dumplings. Dim sum has become popular for business lunches again, bringing the tradition back to where it started.

The Classic

City Hall Maxim's Palace

The glittering ballroom at Maxim's, with its view of Victoria Harbour, is a timeless place to experience trolley dim sum. This is the spot for familiar dishes like fried shrimp wontons, baked buns stuffed with sweet roast pork and steaming bowls of congee (rice porridge). Be prepared to wait for a table, and leave plenty of time for a leisurely meal so you can try a little of everything. City Hall Low Block, 2nd Floor, Central; 852-2521-1303

The Empire Builder

Mong Kok Lei Garden Restaurant

This restaurant boasts branches across Asia, but the original location, a cozy space with brick walls and thick carpet on the Kowloon side of the city, is still the best. It provides an elegant, traditional meal, despite the absence of trolleys. Try the turnip-filled pastry puffs, which is one of the best dim sums in the city, as well as the excellent Shanghai-style soup dumplings and smashed cucumber in garlic sauce (pictured). 121 Sai Yee St., Mongkok; leigarden.hk

The Old Faithful

Lin Heung Kui

This utilitarian eatery, crowded with glass-topped tables and low stools, is an extension of a Hong Kong favorite that has been around for nearly a century. The real treats are old-fashioned Guangzhou specialties like dan siu mai (a dumpling topped with a boiled quail egg) and ma lai gao, a lightly sweetened steamed cake made from a yeast starter that the restaurant has been cultivating for decades. 2-3/F, 46-50 Des Voeux Rd. W., Sheung Wan; 852-2156-9328

The Ugly Duckling

Fu Sing Shark Fin Restaurant

It's a favorite of local expats despite (or maybe because of) its kitschy light fixtures and gift-wrap-like wallpaper. Fu Sing offers Cantonese twists on old dishes, like taro-filled spring rolls with a clove-scented dipping sauce and soft cubes of tofu topped with minced melon and shrimp. (Deep-fried bean curd pictured.) 1/F Sunshine Plaza, No. 353 Lockhart Rd., Wan Chai; 852-2893-0881

The Posh Plate

Lung King Heen

The logic behind this restaurant's three Michelin stars is evident in everything from the delicate china and attentive wait staff to the jewel-like quality of each dumpling. For the best experience, ask for a table overlooking Victoria Harbour. Try one of everything on the short menu, focusing on innovations like steamed lobster and scallop dumplings (pictured), and finish with a sweet snack from the dessert list. 4/F, 8 Finance St., Central; fourseasons.com/hongkong

The Holdout

Luk Yu Tea House

Seventy-nine-year-old Luk Yu retains the elegance of an old Parisian brasserie, and its food is equally old-school. Skip the recognizable dishes, which can be poorly prepared, for traditional recipes like the hearty steamed chicken bun, crispy fried dumplings with sweet-and-sour sauce and sponge-like fish balls topped with chicken and crab roe. 24-26 Stanley St., Central; 852-2523-5464

The Divine Steal

Tim Ho Wan

Often referred to as the 'world's cheapest Michelin meal' for its one star awarded in 2009, this tiny dim sum specialist filled with laminated tables is so popular that guests often wait upward of two hours to order the flavorful turnip cakes and superb fried roast pork buns. Dishes are served on red-and-black plastic dinnerware and cost as little as $1.50. Luckily, the restaurant has opened two new branches, in Central and Sham Shui Po, where most of its signature dishes are also available. 2-20 Kwong Wa St., Mongkok; 852-2332-2896

BITE CLUBS: A sprinkling of great dim sum joints across the U.S.

Atlanta

Canton House

It's a bit out of the way in North Atlanta, but Canton House wins local devotees with its wide variety of dishes and solid service. 4825 Buford Highway, Chamblee; cantonhouserestaurant.com
Houston

Fung's Kitchen

A more upscale dim sum restaurant─no snap-to-separate chopsticks─with a selection fans say is fresh, hot and delicious. The roasted duck is especially beloved. 7320 Southwest Freeway #115; eatatfungs.com
New York

Jing Fong

Expect to use your fingers here─not to eat, but to point, since English is not the dominant language at this massive Chinatown establishment. 20 Elizabeth St.; jingfongny.com
San Francisco

Ton Kiang

This spot isn't the cheapest or most adventurous dim sum restaurant in the Bay Area. But it makes up for that by serving dim sum all day long. 5821 Geary Blvd.; tonkiang.net

GEORGIA FREEDMAN

Singapore Beats Hong Kong in Competitive Cities Ranking

香港的长期较量中，新加坡再得一分。

Bloomberg

在新加坡拍照的游客。

花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)委托经济学人智库(Economist Intelligence Unit)做出的研究报告显示，在经历了多年的爆炸式经济增长之后，这个东南亚城市国家现在已成为亚洲最有竞争力的城市──世界排名第三，仅次于纽约和伦敦。根据经济学人智库的报告，排名靠前的城市最有能力将资本、人才、旅游者和企业吸引到城市中心，并且是最宜居的城市，拥有健康的文化氛围。

当然了，香港仅以微弱的差距排在第四位。东京排第六。但是炫耀地区榜首位置的权力仍然属于新加坡，毫无疑问它在吸引更多投资的过程中也会大力渲染这个头衔。

拥有政府背景的智库机构新加坡宜居城市研发中心(Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities)执行理事邱鼎财(Khoo Teng Chye)说，新加坡一直是允许人才、思想、资本、商品和服务自由流动的开放的中心。

邱鼎财的分析毫无疑问会让许多活动人士不以为然，后者认为，为了营造更稳定、更宜商的环境，新加坡限制了公众意见的表达和个人自由，相应地也就限制了思想的自由交流。但是无论怎样，调查至少证实了越来越多的人所持有的观点，那就是，新加坡即便不是在亚洲创业、经营和居住的最佳地点，也至少是最佳地点之一。

专家说，事实上，这个城市国家的居民最大的抱怨之一也正是它在全球具有如此大的吸引力和竞争力的部分原因，那就是相对开放的移民政策。新加坡的全球吸引力排名第四，分析人士说，这个排名至少有部分原因在于政府为保持国家对外资和外来人口开放所制定的政策。

新加坡的规划者还有另一个秘密武器：对新加坡环境质量的坚持。报告中说，这一点让新加坡成为世界上最宜居的地方之一，也让这个城市国家成为人才和资本的首选目的地。尽管一些居民和游客对其限制吃口香糖和规定绿化和停车场比例的做法嗤之以鼻，这些政策和其他类似的政策造就了这个城市国家的吸引力。

邱鼎财说，新加坡具有前瞻性的可持续发展方式与其他城市“先经济增长后治理环境”的做法形成了鲜明对比，包括香港。他说，把一切希望都建筑在快速的经济增长上，这对长期发展是有害的。到达了一定程度之后，他们就会意识到污染过于严重，最终让移民和投资者掉头而去。

尽管西方存在种种经济问题，报告显示，美国和欧洲的城市在整体上仍然是最有竞争力的，尽管亚洲城市在全球拥有最强的经济实力。全球经济实力最强的20个城市有15个在亚洲，其中12个在中国。

中国城市天津、深圳和大连在经济实力上排名靠前，印度城市班加罗尔和艾哈迈达巴德分别排在第16和19位，越南的河内排名第20。尽管北京的综合竞争力排名39，远远落后于纽约和伦敦，但经济学人智库的研究预计，从现在到2016年，排名前32位的亚洲城市将会以每年至少5%的速度增长，未来几年的排名可能会因此发生改变，因为美国和欧洲城市的经济增长仍停滞不前。

Shibani Mahtani

Mixing High and Low in Beijing

Single-malt, 18-year-old Scotch mixed with bottled green tea, anyone?

The concoction ─ the subject of many a nightlife horror story by visitors to China ─ isn't as popular as it used to be, but it remains an apt metaphor for Beijing's nightlife, which prefers its high with a splash of low.

That distinguishes the city from the more Westernized Shanghai. 'In Shanghai, it's about how much money you can spend,' says Leon Lee, a San Franciscan who owns bars in both Shanghai and Beijing.

'Beijing is edgier, a little rough around the edges,' he adds. 'It's more fun to go out in Beijing.'

As money and mixologists have streamed into the city, its upscale options have grown. Start by checking out Sanlitun, Beijing's preeminent drinking district. Once a sweaty Babylon where shadowy figures tried to beckon male visitors to 'lady bars,' Sanlitun is now home to Nali Patio, a six-story, Mediterranean-themed courtyard complex that houses several bars and restaurants.

Here, the main attraction is Apothecary, a sleek, third-floor speakeasy. Run by Mr. Lee, its extensive drinks menu doubles as a cocktail-history textbook and includes an expertly executed Old Fashioned (with optional bacon-infused bourbon) and an Earl Grey martini made with handcrafted bitters and topped with whipped egg whites. Prices are reminiscent of Manhattan, but so is the quality.

Other Nali Patio options include Enoterra, a welcoming wine bar on the fourth floor, and Migas, a Spanish restaurant and bar with an industrial-chic dining room and an expansive rooftop patio.

For a quieter night out, go east of the Third Ring Road to an entertainment district known as Lucky Street. There you'll find Mokihi, an unassuming Japanese whiskey bar located on an upper floor along the southern end of the street. Bypass the main room for the back area, where bartenders ply their trade in a room lined with bottles of single-malt whiskey and infused liquors. If you're hungry, order a plate of Wagyu sashimi from K's Kitchen next door, and pair it with a wasabi martini.

To go deeper into Beijing's soul, head inside the Second Ring Road to Dongcheng. An older part of the city, Dongcheng is one of the last repositories of the city's beloved hutong ─ maze-like alleyways where history, politics and culture brush up against each other to fascinating effect.

Few nightlife spots epitomize that better than Yugong Yishan, a music venue inside a complex that once housed the government of warlord Duan Qirui. It hosts everything from punk rock shows to film screenings to underground rebel bingo and keeps its patrons well lubricated with cheap Tsingtao.

A few kilometers away is Gulou Dongdajie, a street teeming with pubs, guitar shops and vintage clothing stores that serves as Beijing's answer to San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood. In a courtyard house tucked away in an alley, you'll find Amilal, one of the favorite haunts of the city's expatriate literati. Run by a Mongolian photographer who uses the space to host exhibitions of his friends' work, it's an excellent place to decompress after taking in a live show.

Another hutong option is Mao Mao Chong, a five-table bar that does a steady trade in China-themed mixed drinks such as the Maojito, a gingery take on the Mojito, and the Jing Fling, a cocktail based on China's not-for-the-faint-of-heart baijiu liquor.

If you're still going strong at midnight, two after-hours destinations, Lantern and Haze, beckon. Lantern, run by Beijing electronic-music label Acupuncture Records, ministers to heaving weekend crowds. Haze caters to hipsters and offers the added late-night challenge of being located at the bottom of one of the city's most perilous staircases.

Apothecary, Third floor, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Tel.: 86-10-5208-6040
Enoterra, Fourth floor, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Tel.: 86-10-5208-6076
Migas, Sixth floor, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Tel.: 86-10-5208-6061
Mokihi, Third floor, C12, Lucky Street, Tel.: 86-10-5867-0244
Yugong Yishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Tel.: 86-10-6404-2711
Amilal, 48 Shoubi Hutong, south 66 Gulou Dongdajie, Tel.: 86-10-8404-1416
Mao Mao Chong, 12 Ban Chang Hutong, Tel.: 86-10-6405-5718
Lantern, 100 meters north of Workers Stadium West Gate, Tel.: 86-135 0134 8785
Haze, A101, Guanghua Lu SOHO, 22 Guanghua Lu (basement of On the Corner Cafe), Tel.:86-10-5900-6128

Josh Chin

Mokihi酒吧是在北京扎根的众多日本威士忌酒吧中的一个。注重细节令这家店与众不同。

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8年单一麦芽苏格兰威士忌加瓶装绿茶，有人想尝试一下吗？

这种奇特的搭配曾是许多来中国的游客夜生活恐怖遭遇的一个主题，现在它虽然不像以前那么流行了，但用来比喻北京夜生活依然再合适不过。北京夜生活的特点就是雅中带俗。

这点将北京与更为西化的上海区分开来。在上海和北京都开有酒吧的旧金山人里昂•李（Leon Lee）说，在上海，重点在于你有多少钱可以花。

他接着说，北京则更刺激，有点锋芒毕露；北京的夜生活更好玩。

Ann Waddell for The Wall Street Journal

图片：酒吧里的北京夜生活

随着越来越多的财富以及调酒师涌入这个城市，高消费选择变得更多了起来。从北京名气最响的三里屯酒吧区说起吧。这里曾是乌烟瘴气的奢靡之地，一群群面目模糊的家伙试图拉男性游客光顾“小姐酒吧”。现在，那里花园（Nali Patio）进驻了三里屯，这是一个地中海主题的六层庭院式建筑，其中有好几家酒吧和餐厅。

这里最有名的是位于三层的时尚酒吧Apothecary，老板就是里昂•李。其品种繁多的酒单同时也是一本鸡尾酒历史教科书，其中包括行家调制的古典鸡尾酒（Old Fashioned，也可选择用培根波旁酒来调制），还有一种伯爵茶马提尼，由手工苦酒制成，上面覆盖一层鸡蛋清打成的泡沫。这里的价格与曼哈顿相差无几，品质也相当。

在那里花园还可选择位于四层气氛友好的Enoterra酒吧，以及西班牙餐吧米加思（Migas），后者拥有一个工业酷感风格的就餐区以及宽敞的屋顶露台。

如果喜欢安静些，可以前往东三环一个名叫好运街的娱乐区。在那里你会找到低调的日本威士忌酒吧Mokihi，坐落在好运街南端一栋建筑的楼上。穿过大厅，后头是一间摆满单一麦芽威士忌和泡酒的屋子，侍者们在忙碌地工作着。如果肚子饿了，可以从隔壁的K’s Kitchen要上一盘和牛刺身，然后配上一杯芥末马提尼。

如果想更深入了解北京的夜生活灵魂，就要去二环内的东城。作为比较古老的一个区，东城是北京最后的几个胡同聚集地之一。在这些深受人们喜爱、迷宫似的小巷里，历史、政治和文化互相融合碰撞，产生了极为神奇的效应。

没有哪家夜店能比“愚公移山”更好地诠释这一点了。这是一个演艺酒吧，坐落在段祺瑞执政府旧址内。酒吧举办从朋克摇滚演出到电影放映到地下叛逆宾戈（underground rebel bingo）在内的各类活动，价格低廉的青岛啤酒让顾客喝得酣畅淋漓。

几公里外就是鼓楼东大街，这条街上布满了酒吧、吉他店和古着店，感觉就像是北京版的Haight Ashbury（旧金山的嬉皮区）。Amilal酒吧隐匿于巷子里的一个四合院内，它是旅居北京的外国文人雅士最喜欢光顾的地方之一。经营者是一位蒙古摄影师，他在这里为朋友的作品举办展览。这是看完现场演出后放松的好地方。

还有一个胡同里的好去处是“毛毛虫”，这是一家只有五张桌子的酒吧，专门提供中国主题的混合饮品，比如从传统莫吉托改良而来的“毛毛虫莫吉托”，还有Jing Fling，一款用中国烈性白酒调配而成的鸡尾酒。

如果你在深夜依然精力旺盛，那么灯笼俱乐部（Lantern）和Haze俱乐部这两家深夜营业的酒吧就是不错的选择。灯笼俱乐部由北京知名电子乐乐队“针刺疗法”（Acupuncture Records）经营，每逢周末就人潮涌动。而Haze则专门针对时尚人士，到达酒吧需要下全北京最危险的一段楼梯，这为深夜光顾的人们增添了挑战性。

Apothecary：三里屯北路81号那里花园3层，电话：86-10-5208-6040
Enoterra：三里屯北路81号那里花园4层，电话：86-10-5208-6076
米加思（Migas）：三里屯北路81号那里花园6层，电话：86-10-5208-6061
Mokihi：好运街C12商铺3层，电话：86-10-5867-0244
愚公移山：张自忠路3-2号，电话：86-10-6404-2711
Amilal：鼓楼东大街66号南侧寿比胡同48号院，电话：86-10-8404-1416
毛毛虫：板厂胡同12号，电话：86-10-6405-5718
灯笼俱乐部：工人体育场西门向北100 米，电话：86-135 0134 8785
Haze：光华路22号光华路SOHO A101（转角咖啡店地下），电话：86-10-5900-6128

Top destinations 2012的热门旅游地

Maria Howard 2012-01-25 (www.ftchinese.com)

Argentina
“People are really waking up to what Buenos Aires is all about,” says Gordon Campbell Gray, the celebrated hotelier who created One Aldwych in London, Carlisle Bay in Antigua and Le Gray in Beirut. “It’s a party city – it’s very beautiful architecturally but it’s really about great food and great nightlife in a glamorous setting.” By day, tourists can visit beaches, the pampas or the Iguazu Falls, then return to spend nights in the city’s famous tango bars or at the Teatro Colón opera house. The impressive choice of hotels includes the new wine-themed Hotel Mio (www.miobuenosaires.com; doubles from $346), with rooms featuring carved wooden bathtubs and free wine on tap. Geoffrey Kent of Abercrombie & Kent recommends staying on an Argentine ranch where guests can fish and ride, a perfect antidote to nights of hedonism in the capital. Bahia Bustamante (www.bahiabustamante.com; from $215 per person per night), for example, offers more than 200,000 acres of Patagonian wilderness, to be shared by a maximum of 30 guests at any one time. They can spend their time hiking, riding, kayaking, exploring the 60m-year-old petrified forest, or simply watching wildlife, from whales, dolphins and sea-lions to ostriches and armadillos.
Mozambique
“With 2,500km of beautiful, undeveloped coastline, Mozambique is the new kid on the block as far as coastal destinations are concerned,” says Will Jones of Journeys by Design. Joel Zack of Heritage Tours says: “Mozambique offers luxury but still very much feels like you’re in Africa. The beaches are beautiful and the people friendly.” Attracting most attention is Azura at Quilalea (www.azura-retreats.com; from $595 per person per night), part of the Quirimbas archipelago in the far north. It opened last month and offers nine villas, set on an otherwise uninhabited 86-acre island, surrounded by a marine sanctuary. Nearby are more stunning island resorts including Vamizi (www.vamizi.com; from $590 pppn) and Ibo Island Lodge (www.iboisland.com; from $335 pppn). Some 800 miles further south, the Bazaruto archipelago is the other big draw for those seeking paradise beach resorts, including the second Azura, on Benguerra island. But travellers are also turning their attentions to Mozambique’s mainland and, in particular, Gorongosa National Park (www.gorongosa.net). Game viewing is less guaranteed here than in more developed parks of South Africa but it is much less-visited. Explore Gorongosa (www.exploregorongosa.com; from $440 pppn) runs a tented camp, as well as setting up temporary “fly camps” for visitors to explore the bush.
Burma
Two years ago Burma was almost completely ignored by tourists. But in late 2010 Aung San Suu Kyi was released, then opposition groups dropped their calls for a tourism boycott. A month ago Hillary Clinton made a high profile visit in recognition of the government’s steps towards democracy and this week brings the release of a new biopic about Suu Kyi.
The result has been a tourism boom – so much so that tour operators report some hotels are fully booked for the first few months of 2012.
The key attraction is the lack of tourist development, a by-product of years of isolation. “It’s like Thailand 50 years ago,” says Tom Barber, of Original Travel. Jonny Bealby of Wild Frontiers says: “Mandalay and Bagan are unbelievable destinations. Burma has a huge amount to offer.” Tom Marchant of Black Tomato recommends visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda Festival in early February: “It’s a great chance to get out there and see what I think is truly authentic Asia.”
All visitors should see the well-preserved colonial buildings of Yangon, the former royal capital Mandalay and Bagan, the site of more than 2,000 pagodas and temples. Adventurous travellers are pushing north, some making it as far as remote Putao, where they go rafting, elephant trekking or to visit traditional villages in the jungle. Malikha Lodge (www.malikhalodge.net; from $1,900 per person for three nights) is a luxurious wilderness lodge hidden among bamboo trees above the Nam Lang river, about 10 miles from Putao airport.
Papua New Guinea
“It is an intrepid and immersive experience; it feels like a last frontier,” says Marchant. And yet Papua New Guinea’s beaches, fascinating culture and unrivalled scuba diving are starting to attract adventurous tourists as well as hardcore explorers. Visitors can take part in supported expeditions that visit volcanoes and some of the island’s 1,000 isolated tribes. Barber also recommends diving and fishing in Papua New Guinea, which sits in the Coral Triangle, an area known as the Amazon of the Seas for its marine biodiversity. For diving, consider Lissenung Island Resort (www.lissenung.com; from $141pppn), Walindi Plantation (www.walindi.com; from $115 pppn) or Tufi Dive Resort (www.tufidive.com; from $162 pppn). Inland, Karawari Lodge (www.pngtours.com; from $603 pppn) sits amid tropical rainforest, overlooking the Karawari river in East Sepik province. There is no road access, so guests arrive by air, landing at a jungle airstrip, and take boat trips to nearby villages built on stilts by the river’s edge. Wildlife is abundant and at least 229 different species of bird have been recorded in the area.
Sweden
Perhaps helped by the popularity of Nordic food and design, not to mention Stieg Larsson’s Millennium books, tour operators are getting excited about Sweden. Stockholm makes a perfect weekend-break destination, with boutique hotels and world-class restaurants. Stay at the fashionable Lydmar (www.lydmar.com; doubles from £299) and check out the bohemian area of west Stockholm, Rörstrandsgatan, packed with interesting cafés and antique shops. But Stockholm is also a good jumping-off point for longer trips. Barber recommends moving on to northern Sweden, where tourists can ski, go dog sledding and see the northern lights. Marchant recommends visiting the northern city of Lulea and the Unesco-recognised Gammelstad while staying in the Tree Hotel (www.treehotel.se; doubles from £364), where guests sleep in a variety of architect-designed treehouses.
Ethiopia
Though the rock churches of Lalibela have long drawn intrepid travellers, 2012 could see tourists discover far more of the country, from the Simien mountains of the north to the lower Omo valley in the south.
“Ethiopia has always struggled because of a lack of infrastructure and a lack of decent accommodation options but that is changing,” says Jones.
While not luxurious, Gheralta Lodge (www.gheraltalodgetigrai.com; doubles from £37) is a stylish base for trips into the Danakil desert, somewhere Bealby describes as “the most surreal landscape you’re ever likely to see”. If short on time (and energy), Tropic Air (www.tropicairkenya.com) offers helicopter tours to whisk visitors into the most remote parts of the country.
Panama
“Panama lets you get a taste of the whole of Central America in one trip,” says Marchant – its small size means you can easily swap between Caribbean and Pacific coasts, as well as getting inland for jungle and wildlife experiences.
On the northern, Caribbean coast, visitors should head to the San Blas Islands for white sand beaches, diving and to meet indigenous tribes such as the Kuna, advises Barber. “They are autonomous from the rest of Panama and have their own customs that are still flourishing,” he says. Visitors stay in thatched eco-lodges on the beach, such as the Coral Lodge (www.corallodge.com; from $105 pppn).
Further west, closer to the Costa Rican border, is the Bocas del Toro archipelago, which is more developed and has a greater choice of accommodation, including Punta Caracol (www.puntacaracol.com; doubles from $344). On the Pacific side, the hot destination is Isla Coiba, an isolated marine reserve that was a notorious prison colony until the last inmate was released in 2005. This past means there has been little development – a maximum of 60 guests are allowed at any time, while there are more than 700 species of fish, 30 kinds of sharks and 20 species of whales and dolphins.
Panama City itself has much to offer, including colonial buildings, lively nightlife and good restaurants, as well as the spectacle of vast ships navigating the canal. The Museum of Biodiversity (www.biomuseopanama.org), designed by Frank Gehry, is currently under construction, and is due for a soft opening in late 2012. Stay at the Casa del Horno (www.casadelhorno.net; doubles from $275), an eight-suite boutique hotel that opened in 2011 in the old quarter. From the city it’s possible to make day trips into the jungle, along the coast and to El Valle, a pretty town in the crater of an extinct volcano.
Zambia
Visiting Zambia is a chance to experience “sheer wilderness”, says Kent. The Luangwa valley is known as the home of the walking safari and offers the chance to see wildlife without the clusters of tourist minibuses found in some of the more popular African safari parks. “With a great guide, you get a lesson in the African bush going from major game down to the dung beetle,” says Kent.
After a day on safari, guests can relax in one of the elegant lodges, including Sanctuary Chichele Presidential Lodge (www.sanctuaryretreats.com; from $320 pppn) once home to Kenneth Kaunda, the former Zambian president.
At Victoria Falls adrenaline junkies can bungee jump from the bridge dividing Zambia from Zimbabwe and go whitewater rafting, then retreat to the Royal Livingstone hotel (www.suninternational.com; doubles from $440), part of the Falls Resort which had a $7m refurbishment in 2011. Those looking for a calmer activity can cruise along the Zambezi river and spot wildlife on the way or rent a houseboat on nearby Lake Kariba.
Kent recommends following up a Zambian safari with a beach holiday in neighbouring Mozambique. He says: “A week in Zambia, with family or on honeymoon, and a week in Mozambique, what could be better?”

阿根廷
“游客开始真正认识到布宜诺斯艾利斯的庐山真面目，” 戈登•坎贝尔•格雷(Gordon Campbell Gray)说。这位远近闻名的酒店运营商创建了伦敦One Aldwych 酒店、安提瓜岛(Antigua)的 Carlisle Bay酒店以及贝鲁特的Le Gray酒店。
“布宜诺斯艾利斯是个‘派对’城市——它的建筑美轮美奂，但这座流光溢彩的都市真正让游客着迷的是它的美食以及丰富多彩的夜生活。”
白天时，游客可以到海滩、彭巴斯草原(pampas)或者伊瓜苏瀑布(Iguazu Falls)游玩，晚上则回到布宜诺斯艾利斯，在著名的探戈酒吧或者科隆剧院(The Colon Theatre)尽情销魂。入住新建的以葡萄酒为主题的Hotel Mio酒店（网址：www.miobuenosaires.com；双人间起价346美元）是个不错的选择，它的房间最大特色是木雕的浴缸以及可以随时打 开龙头免费喝葡萄酒。
Geoffrey Kent of Abercrombie & Kent则推荐到阿根廷草原游玩，在那儿游客可以垂钓与骑自行车，对于在首都狂欢了几个晚上的游客来说，这种换口味再合适不过了。比方说，Bahia Bustamante（网址：www.bahiabustamante.com；单客每晚起价215美元）则有超过20万英亩的巴塔哥尼亚 (Patagonian)荒原，每次最多可接待30位游客，游客在此可以徒步走、骑行、划船、探寻6000万年历史的石化森林、或径直观赏野生动物（从鲸 鱼、海豚、海豹到驼鸟与犰狳，不一而足）。
莫桑比克
“莫桑比克未开发的美丽海滩长达2500公里，就海岸游目的地而言，它还是个新成员，” Journeys by Design的威尔•琼斯(Will Jones)说。
来自Heritage Tours的乔尔•扎克(Joel Zack)说：“莫桑比克能提供豪华游，但仍让游客觉得是在非洲。海滩景色迷人，当地人热情友善。”
更让游客流连忘返的地方是位于该国遥远北部的基林巴群岛(Quirimbas archipelago)Quilalea岛上的Azura 酒店（网址：www.azura-retreats.com；单客每晚起价595美元）。它上月正式对外开放，拥有9座别墅，建在一座面积86英亩、人迹 罕至的岛上，四周就是海洋保护区。附近是更让游客神魂颠倒的海岛度假村，包括Vamizi（网址：www.vamizi.com；单客每晚起价590美 元）与Island Lodge（网址：www.iboisland.com单客每晚起价335美元）。
往南800英里就是巴扎鲁托群岛(Bazaruto)，另一个游客的梦幻海滨度假去处，包括建在本盖鲁阿岛(Benguerra)上的另一家Azura酒店。
但游客也可以把目光投向该国内陆地区，尤其是戈龙戈萨国家公园（Gorongosa National Park, 网址：www.gorongosa.net）。与南非开发更为完善的国家公园相比，在此观赏野生动物，游客的生命保障度相对较低，但此处游客罕见。除了为 那些到灌木丛地带探险的游客建起临时性的“空中宿营地”外，Explore Gorongosa（网址：www.exploregorongosa.com；单客每晚起价440美元）还向游客开放帐篷式宿营场所。
缅甸
两年前，游客对缅甸几乎一无所知。但是，2010年年底，昂山素季(Aung San Suu Kyi)获释，反对派不再呼吁对缅甸旅游进行抵制。上个月，美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)高调访问了该国，以回应缅政府所做出的一系列民主举措，最近，新拍摄的昂山素季的传记电影得以公映。
此举使得游客呈爆炸式增长——各家旅行社都声称2012年头几个月，酒店已被预订一空。
缅甸吸引游客最大的地方就是缺少旅游规划——这是多年受国际社会孤立的附属产物。“这就好比50年前的泰国，” 来自Original Travel的汤姆•巴布尔(Tom Barber)说。Wild Frontiers的强尼•贝尔比(Jonny Bealby)说：“曼德勒(Mandalay)与薄甘(Bagan)都是美不胜收，缅甸的美景数不胜数。”
来自Black Tomato的汤姆•马钱特(Tom Marchant)推荐游客参加二月初的马哈牟尼佛塔节(Mahamuni Pagoda Festival)：“此时亲临其地再好不过了，可以欣赏到原汁原味的亚洲风情。”
所有的游客都应该参观仰光(Yangon)保存完好的殖民地时期建筑以及昔日的皇都曼德勒与薄甘（那儿有2000多座佛塔与寺庙）。胆子大的游客则 继续向北游玩，有些甚至到了偏远的葡萄(Putao)，在那儿他们可以乘竹笺、骑大象长途旅行或者游览丛林中的传统村落。Malikha Lodge（网址：www.malikhalodge.net；单客住三晚起价1900美元）是建在Nam Lang河上、掩映在竹林中的荒野豪华旅馆。
巴布亚新几内亚(Papua New Guinea)
“这是勇敢者妙不可言的体验，感觉就是最后开拓的疆域，”马钱特说。然而巴布亚新几内亚美丽的海滩、神奇的文化以及无与伦比的潜水除了吸引铁杆探险者外，也开始吸引喜欢冒险的游客。
游客可以参加有导游的探险活动：参观火山以及这座岛上1000个与世隔绝的部落。巴布尔还推荐到潜水及垂钓，巴布亚新几内亚坐落在珊瑚礁三角区(Coral Triangle)，这个区域因丰富的生物多样性而被誉为海上亚马逊(Amazon of the Seas)。
潜水可以考虑Lissenung Island Resort（网址：www.lissenung.com；单客每晚起价141美元）、Walindi Plantation（网址：(www.walindi.com；单客每晚起价115美元)以及Tufi Dive Resort（网址：www.tufidive.com单客每晚起价162美元）等度假村。
往内陆走，Karawari Lodge（网址：www.pngtours.com；单客每晚起价603美元）位于东塞皮克省(East Sepik province)，掩映在热带雨林之中，俯瞰着Karawari河。此处不通路，所以游客只能坐飞机，并降落于丛林中的简易机场，然后坐船到附近建在河 畔高脚屋中的村落。这儿遍布野生动物，有据可考的鸟类就至少有229种。
瑞典
也许是远近闻名的北欧饮食以及设计的给力（更不用提史迪格•拉森(Stieg Larsson)的千禧年三部曲），旅行社越来越青睐瑞典。拥有时尚精品酒店与世界级水准餐馆的斯德哥尔摩是周末度假的绝佳去处。入住时尚的吕德马尔酒店 （Lydmar，网址：www.lydmar.com；双人间起价299英镑），然后在斯德哥尔摩城西波希米亚风情的街区 Rörstrandsgatan，此处让人流连忘返的咖啡屋与古玩店随处可见。
但斯德哥尔摩也是很好的长途旅行起点站。巴布尔推荐深入到瑞典北部游玩，那儿游客可以滑雪、坐狗拉雪橇以及观赏极光。马钱特推荐的是北部城市吕勒奥 (Lulea)以及联合国遗产名录加默尔斯塔德(Unesco-recognised Gammelstad)，游客可以入住Tree Hotel（网址：www.treehotel.se；双人间起价364英镑），晚上则睡在由设计师设计的各种树屋中。
埃塞俄比亚
虽然拉利贝拉的石凿教堂(Lalibela)一直吸引着源源不断的无畏游客，但2012年，游客可以饱览这个国家更多的胜景，从北部的塞米恩山脉(Simien mountains)到南部的奥莫谷地(Omo Valley)，不一而足。
“由于缺乏起码的基础设施与像样的接待能力，埃塞俄比亚一直在苦苦支撑，但如今一切正在变化，”琼斯说。
Gheralta Lodge（网址：www.gheraltalodgetigrai.com；双人间起价37英镑）虽说不上豪华，但对于深入丹纳基尔沙漠 (Danakil desert)旅游的人来说，倒是个很时髦的基地，贝尔比称丹纳基尔沙漠是“游客所能见到的最具超现实主义的景致”。如果时间（与体力）有 限，Tropic Air航空公司（网址：www.tropicairkenya.com）的直升飞机可以把游客快速带至该国最偏远的地方。
巴拿马
“巴拿马可以让你在一次旅程中感悟整个中美洲的风貌，”马钱特说，它的国土面积狭小，此举意味着可以来回在加勒比海与太平洋之间腾挪，还可以深入内陆丛林去实地观赏野生动物。
在巴拿马的北部加勒比海沿岸，游客应该去圣布拉斯群岛(San Blas Islands)欣赏白色的沙滩、潜水以及参观Kuna印第安人等土著部落，巴布尔建议。“它们是自治部落，有自己的习俗，而且仍然很盛行，”他说。游客 可以入住海滩边Coral Lodge（网址：www.corallodge.com；单客每晚起价105美元）这样的生态型茅草屋。
往西行，靠近哥斯达黎加(Costa Rica)边境地区，就是博卡斯德尔托罗群岛(Bocas del Toro archipelago)，此处开发较好，住宿选择余地较大，包括Punta Caracol（网址：www.puntacaracol.com；双人间起价344美元）。在太平洋沿岸一侧，热点旅游地是Isla Coiba，这块与世隔绝的海洋保护区过去是臭名昭著的监狱群，最后一名囚犯直到2005年才获释。过去这段历史意味着此处开发较少——任何时候最多可接 待60名游客，而此处拥有700多种鱼、30种鲨鱼以及20种鲸鱼与海豚。
巴拿马城除了可以一睹大型船队通过运河的壮观景象外，本身就名胜古迹甚多，包括殖民时期的建筑、喧嚣的夜生活以及上乘的餐馆。由法兰克•盖瑞 (Frank Gehry)设计的生物多样性博物馆（The Museum of Biodiversity，网址：www.biomuseopanama.org）目前在建，预计将于2012年年底试营业。游客可以入住Casa del Horno酒店（网址：www.casadelhorno.net；双人间起价284美元），这家拥有8个套房的精品酒店于2011年在老城区开张。在巴 拿马城，白天可以到丛林中游玩，沿着海岸转悠或者去El Valle玩，那是坐落在一座死火山口的美丽小镇。
赞比亚
到赞比亚可以有机会体验“纯野外游”，肯特说。众所周知，卢安瓜谷地(Luangwa valley)是徒步旅行的好去处，在这儿可以观赏野生动物，却看不到在知名度更高的非洲野生动物园那种旅行中巴车扎堆的情况。“若是找到一位好导游，能 很好地学到非洲灌木丛（从主要动物直至蜣螂）的相关知识，”肯特说。
野外旅行一天后，游客可以下榻圣殿奇切利总统别墅（Sanctuary Chichele Presidential Lodge，网址：www.sanctuaryretreats.com；单客每晚起价320美元），在这样的豪华旅馆好好放松一番，这里曾经是赞比亚前 总统卡翁达(Kenneth Kaunda)的住所。
从赞比亚与津巴布韦(Zimbabwe)两国的界桥上看维多利亚大瀑布(Victoria Falls)，会让人觉得惊心动魄，乘竹笺激流漂流后回到Royal Livingstone hotel（网址：www.suninternational.com；双人间起价440美元）休息，这是大瀑布度假村(Falls Resort)的一部分，2011年花费了700万美元进行重装修。那些寻求不太刺激项目的游客可以乘坐游艇，沿着赞比西河(Zambezi river)观赏两岸的野生动物，或者在附近的卡里巴湖(Lake Kariba)租一个船屋。
肯特推荐在赞比亚野外旅游后，马上就到邻国津巴布韦的海滩去度假。他说：“与家人或新婚妻子在赞比亚玩上一周，再到津巴布韦过上一周，夫复何求？”
译者：常和

香港最佳點心 The best Hong Kong dim sum

Dim sum for VIPs. For your cheap relatives. For cabbies. Our best-of list has you -- and Hong Kong -- covered
http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/eat/best-hong-kong-dim-sum-restaurants-674709?page=0,0
 

By Christopher DeWolf, Doug Meigs, Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor, Hiufu Wong 3 October, 2011 
 
Best after hours: San Hing (新興食家)
10 Hau Wo St., Kennedy Town, +852 2816 0616. Open daily, 3 a.m.-4 p.m.

Best VIP treatment: Fook Lam Moon
35-45 Johnston Rd., Wanchai, +852 2866 0663. Open daily, 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., 6 - 11 p.m.

Best rural experience: Choi Lung Restaurant (彩龍茶樓)
2 Chuen Lung Estate, Route Twisk, Tsuen Wan, +852 2415 5041. Open daily, 5 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Best value: Tim Ho Wan
9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, +852 2788 1226. Open daily, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Best way to get fat: Tai Wing Wah
2/F, Koon Wong Mansion, 2-6 On Ning Road, Yuen Long, +852 2476 9888. Open daily, 6:45 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; dim sum till 4:15 p.m.

Best 'hot, noisy' atmosphere: Lin Heung Teahouse
160-164 Wellington St., Central, +852 2544 4556. Open daily 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. for dim sum; 5 -10:30 p.m. for dinner.

Best unpretentiously posh: Lei Garden
Multiple locations. See www.leigarden.hk for details

Best cinematic backdrop: Luk Yu Teahouse
Luk Yu Teahouse, G/F-3/F, 24 Stanley Street, +852 2523 5464. Open daily, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.; dim sum is available until 4 p.m. 

Best hole-in-the-wall: Saam Hui Yaat (叁去壹)
11 Pokfulam Road, +852 2547 3917. Open daily, 5 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Best vegetarian for meat-lovers: M Garden Vegetarian
Shop D, 6/F, Grand Tower, 639 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, +852 2787 3128. Open daily, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Best sense of community: Lam Kee (林記點心)
Shop 8-9, 2/F, Tai Po Hui Market Cooked Food Centre, Tai Po. 

Best taxi driver's pit stop: Yue Fu Kitchen (裕富小廚)
1-3 Chik Shun St., Tai Wai, +852 2698 7278. Open daily, 9:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Best power lunch: Lung King Heen
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, +852 3196 8888. Open daily, noon to 2:30 p.m.; 6 - 10:30 p.m.

香港最佳點心

http://www.cnngo.com/zh-hant/hong-kong/eat/city-essentials/best-hong-kong-dim-sum-restaurants-546856

最佳午夜點心：新興食家
堅尼地城厚和街10號，＋852 2816 0616，營業時間：3a.m.- 4p.m.
最佳 VIP 點心待遇：福臨門
灣仔莊士敦道35-45號，，+852 2866 0663，營業時間：11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., 6 - 11 p.m
最佳鄉村點心體驗： 彩龍茶樓
荃灣荃錦公路川龍村2號，+852 2415 5041，營業時間：5 a.m.-3 p.m.

最佳價值點心：添好運
旺角廣華街2-20號（總店），+852 2788 1226，營業時間：10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

最佳增磅點心：大榮華酒樓
元朗安寧路2-6號2樓，+852 2476 9888，營業時間：6:45a.m.-11:30p.m. (點心供應至 4:15p.m.)

最熱鬧點心體驗： 蓮香樓
中環威靈頓街160-164， +852 2544 4556 營業時間：6 a.m.-4 p.m. 點心; 5-10:30 p.m. 晚市

最樸實的浮華點心： 利苑
多間分店，詳情請閱 www.leigarden.hk

最佳電影背景：陸羽茶館
陸羽茶館，G/F-3/F，士丹利街24號， +852 2523 5464，營業時間：7 a.m.-10 p.m. 而點心供應至 4 p.m.

最別有「洞」天：叁去壹
薄扶林道11號, +852 2547 3917，營業時間：5 a.m.-3 p.m

最佳素食點心：常悅素食
旺角彌敦道639 號雅蘭中心6 樓D 舖座位，+852 2787 3128，營業時間： 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

最佳街坊點心： 林記
大埔鄉事會街8號大埔墟街市及熟食中心2樓CFS08-09舖

最佳的士司機秘密飯堂：裕富小廚
大圍積信街1-3號，+852 2698 7278，營業時間：9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

最強午餐點心：龍景軒
香港中環金融街8號四季酒店，+852 3196 8888，營業時間：正午到 2:30 p.m.; 6 - 10:30 p.m.

A Hong Kong dim sum restaurant session once upon a time was about tea appreciation. The baskets of delicate dumplings were a foil for the fragrant drink and considered snacks rather than a full meal.
These days, dim sum itself is a protagonist on the culinary stage. The diversity and sheer number of Hong Kong dim sum restaurants is stunning.
Noisy Cantonese joints where people eat with such determination there's a slight madness in the air; gilded, hushed dining rooms where waiters anticipate your every move; tranquil oases hidden on a mountaintop ... we've got it all here in Hong Kong.
We've picked our favorite Hong Kong dim sum restaurants to make it easy for the food-in-steam-basket fanatics. As we say in Hong Kong, please enjoy!

We've come up with 13 Hong Kong dim sum recommendations and so divided them into 3-4 per page. We've stuck a condensed version of the complete list plus addresses on the last page.

Aiya! Did we miss out your favorite Hong Kong dim sum restaurant ? Let us know which one, and why you love it so much in the comments box below.

Best after hours: San Hing (新興食家)

Celeb-worthy lau sa bao from San Hing.

A mix of elderly folk, celebrities and drunk people on a last stop before home share tables at San Hing for a Hong Kong dim sum fix at dawn.
Located in Kennedy Town, San Hing technically opens at 3 a.m., though customers will arrive earlier to secure seats. Especially on weekends, the shop is a madhouse in the wee hours.
Staff frantically churn out a wide selection of dim sum, stacked into giant bamboo towers. Customers are perpetually hovering around the food arrival counter, while an unending stream of new customers mill about looking to snatch seats.
Photographs on the wall show Canto-pop star Eason Chan giving props to San Hing's lau sa bao -- signature yellow custard "quicksand buns."
Other San Hing specialities include quail's egg siu mai, deep-fried milk and various seasonal dishes often not listed on the menu, such as osmanthus jelly during the summer.
The cost is a bargain, with dim sum dishes ranging in price from HK$12-$17.
San Hing has been around Kennedy Town for more than 20 years, though it moved to its current location a few years ago.
San Hing 新興食家, 10 Hau Wo St., Kennedy Town, +852 2816 0616. Open daily, 3 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Also on CNNGo: 12 things about tea your dim sum restaurateur won't tell you

Best VIP treatment: Fook Lam Moon

A very literal lau sa bao.

The first thing we encountered at Fook Lam Moon was a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulling up at the main entrance, casually letting out a rotund, weary-looking man and his two hungry, young offspring who bounced noisily to the door of the Hong Kong dim sum restaurant as though they were visiting grandma's house.

It isn't called the "canteen of the wealthy" for nothing.
Even though the joint is frequented by the rich and famous, anyone can rock up to Fook Lam Moon and feel like a billionaire.
The service is six-star-hotel-perfect without the robotic-ness. They don't overservice because, you know, celebrities just want to be left alone.
But staff have real charm that they turn on for every customer that walks through their doors. Not just wealthy regulars.
Compared with San Hing above, if you're willing to pay HK$60 for a basket of siu mai, you may as well be regarded as a high-roller.
Yes, it's expensive, but each dim sum gave our tastebuds an education.
Har gau are succulent and juicy, almost to the point of being soupy; their skins perfectly translucent. A signature shrimp cheung fun has a layer of crisp bean curd sheet to add another dimension of texture to an old standby.
The lau sa bao surpassed our favorites at San Hing. The bread casing was barely a centimeter thick and the custard filling would spill out in an appropriate visual expression of its name "quicksand bun."
Fook Lam Moon,  35-45 Johnston Rd., Wanchai, +852 2866 0663, www.fooklammoon-grp.com. Open daily, 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., 6 - 11 p.m.

Best rural experience: Choi Lung Restaurant (彩龍茶樓)

Shek Wai Ling (top right) says her customers travel more than an hour to eat dim sum at Choi Lung.

Choi Lung Restaurant is a three-story family-run teahouse on the waist of Hong Kong's highest peak, Tai Mo Shan. It is a great place to recharge after a hike.
Go early to secure the freshest Hong Kong dim sum experience in this self-service teahouse. Diners have to prepare their own tea and rest on simple plastic stools.
Despite the humble set-up, Choi Lung has been running for more than 40 years with a group of dedicated fans.
"People would drive all the way here from Sai Wan for a bowl of black bean ribs with rice. The rice bowls used to be made of porcelain but people kept dropping them so we switched to stainless steel," says waitress Shek Wai Ling.
We recommend the bean curd sheet wraps filled with chicken, taro and fish maw. The taro is cooked just through with a crunchy outer layer, the chicken is very tender and the fish maw is juicy.
A vegetable stall outside Choi Lung's front door is also well known for selling locally grown produce.
In November, the restaurant will serve fresh watercress purchased directly from the farms nearby, which Shek promises to be "very sweet and rarely found."
Visit Choi Lung at weekends as some dim sum are not served on weekdays, such as the black sesame rolls.
Choi Lung Restaurant 彩龍茶樓, 2 Chuen Lung Estate, Route Twisk, Tsuen Wan, +852 2415 5041. Open daily 5 a.m. - 3 p.m.
To get there, take a taxi from Tsuen Wan station for around HK$60 or take minibus 80 at Chuen Lung Street near Tsuen Wan wet market.

Best value: Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan's inimitable cha siu bo lo bao.

The secret didn’t last long. When former Lung King Heen chef Pui Gor opened this hole-in-the-wall joint in Mong Kok, those in the know flocked here for top-quality Hong Kong dim sum at rock-bottom prices.
Then came a Michelin star. And the masses descended. A two-hour wait became a daily phenomenon. And that's considered short.
The thing is, Tim Ho Wan is still worth it, wait and all.
Saying the quality is high and ingredients are fresh is an understatement. Simply, this is what dim sum is meant to taste like.
The beef balls are firm but tender, with plenty of coriander. The pig liver cheung fun is impeccably earthy. The siu mai is packed with plump shrimp and succulent mushrooms. The radish cake actually tastes like the white radish it is made from.
Be sure to try the cha siu pineapple buns, which are now widely imitated but never matched. Most dishes cost between HK$10 and $20.
In addition to the original location in Mong Kok, there's a second shop in Sham Shui Po, but the quality there is less consistent.
Also on CNNGo: Holy dim sum! Michelin Guide 2010 goes cheap and cheerful?
Tim Ho Wan, original location, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok, +852 2332 2896
Tim Ho Wan, Sham Shui Po, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, +852 2788 1226Open daily, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Best way to get fat: Tai Wing Wah

Stop calorie counting when at Tai Wing Wah.

Sure, we live in a weight-loss obsessed world, but in Yuen Long, Tai Wing Wah is making a killing off of hearty "walled village cuisine" made with lard.
Punti and Hakka villages that were settled in Hong Kong during the Ming and Qing dynasties were protected by high village walls. The food originating from these walled villages are the focus of Tai Wing Wah's menu.
Hugo "To To" Leung is the culinary brains behind the restaurant and he is adamant about maintaining authenticity.
Also on CNNGo: Celebrity chef Hugo Leung's favorite restaurants 

That means, apart from Hong Kong dim sum classics, such as excellent har gau, or a bright yellow and delicious Malay sponge cake, Tai Wing Wah also serves a rustic white rice mixed with lard and soy sauce that is impossibly morish.

Leave your diet at home.
Also on CNNGo: Why we love Yuen Long
Try to get a table and order before 11 a.m. when most of the dim sum costs HK$12.
Tai Wing Wah Restaurant, 2/F, Koon Wong Mansion, 2-6 On Ning Road, Yuen Long, +852 2476 9888. Open daily 6:45 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.; dim sum available until 4:15 p.m. 

Best "hot, noisy" atmosphere: Lin Heung Teahouse

Testing the cart lady's patience at Lin Heung Teahouse.

Originating in Guangzhou, Lin Heung Teahouse expanded to Hong Kong and opened three branches in the early 20th century.
The one that remains today in Central opened in 1918. Its longevity alone is worth applauding.
Lin Heung's decades-old recipes produce the most traditional Cantonese flavors. Dim sum typical of Lin Heung are siu mai topped with a slab of liver and Chinese sausage rolls -- old-fashioned dishes hard to find anywhere else.
The atmosphere is of classic Cantonese dining. The space hasn't changed much in the past few decades and old ladies push dim sum carts through the dining hall in the traditional manner of hawking.
Diners rush up to the carts to fight over the bamboo baskets of dim sum that just can't seem to come out of the kitchen fast enough.
Service is typically sour, but we find the attitude easy to ignore as we become engulfed in the irrepressibly jovial "hot and noisy" atmosphere (yeet lau) favored by Chinese diners.
Aslo on CNNGo: Lin Heung Teahouse, dim sum elder
Lin Heung Teahouse, 160-164 Wellington St., Central, +852 2544 4556. Open daily 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. for dim sum; 5 - 10:30 p.m. for dinner.

Best unpretentiously posh: Lei Garden 

Lei Garden's greatest hits of Hong Kong dim sum.

It's Michelin-starred and a haunt for celebrity families, but the atmosphere at this Hong Kong dim sum restaurant is relaxed and unpretentious.
Offering superbly executed Cantonese dishes and very popular for its dim sum, Lei Garden also stands out for warm service. It is rumored the wait staff are trained more vigorously and compensated more handsomely than at any other Cantonese restaurant chain in town.
The plain cheung fun are al dente at first bite and perfectly tender inside; the siu mei is moist and meaty, with a nice crisp snap to the skin of the siu yuk and roasted duck. Lei Garden’s har gau are stuffed with fat shrimp and expertly wrapped.
Essentially, it’s a procession of Hong Kong dim sum hits, with only a few slight misses, like the underwhelming xiaolongbao.
Dishes cost between HK$30 and $50.
Multiple locations. See www.leigarden.hk for details.

Best cinematic backdrop: Luk Yu Teahouse

Try it at least once: Luk Yu Teahouse. 

Central's Luk Yu Teahouse retains an Old Hong Kong glamour with its art deco embellishments, retro menu and urban legends. It's no wonder it regularly appears in movies and literature.
First opened in 1933, Luk Yu Teahouse relocated to its current location in 1976. The building’s colonial façade opens to a three-floor restaurant dripping with nostalgia. Eating at Luk Yu is falling through a time warp.
A dim sum meal easily averages more than HK$100 per person per meal. Some customers are paying for the teahouse’s history and ambiance. Others are long-term patrons who stay all day.
Hard-to-find items harkening back four or five decades make up the menu, such as excellent liver siu mai and deep-fried dumplings in soup.
Service is notoriously bad and wait staff are intimidating to non-regulars. So much so that it has become a signature of the restaurant.
Luk Yu Teahouse, G/F-3/F, 24 Stanley Street, +852 2523 5464. Open daily, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.; dim sum is available until 4 p.m. 

Best hole-in-the-wall: Saam Hui Yaat (叁去壹)

Tiny, dirty and just right.

This tiny pearl of a teahouse is tucked snug into the metaphorical buttcrack of a dilapidated stretch of Pokfulam Road.
Old men without shirts seem to be the primary clientele, squeezing into the grime-covered hovel that hasn't changed an iota since it opened in the late 1970s.
As with most hole-in-the-walls, hygiene is questionable, but the bright flavors of the food draw us back again and again. Besides, we haven't gotten sick yet.
Prices are low, starting at HK$9 per dim sum basket -- “dirt cheap” is a more than appropriate description for Saam Hui Yaat.
Anyone tired of the sanitized chain restaurant dim sum experience should make a visit for the har gau, cheung fun and steamed rice dishes.
Saam Hui Yaat 叁去壹, 11 Pokfulam Road, +852 2547 3917. Open daily, 5 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Best vegetarian for meat-lovers: M Garden Vegetarian

Proving that great vegetarian dim sum is not an oxymoron.

Meat-free dim sum might seem an improbable venture, but at M Garden you won’t even notice the lack of animal on your table.
As with most vegetarian Chinese restaurants, the meat here is replaced with bean curd and mushrooms, but where M Garden stands apart is its emphasis on unusual textures that don’t slavishly try to resemble meat, like the coarsely packed imitation beef balls.
Even more interesting are the standard vegetarian dishes found on every dim sum menu.
Here, the radish cake is made with mushroom and peppers, then diced and stir-fried.
The steamed egg custard buns are made with whole wheat flour, which gives them more heft and a breadier taste than the usual white flour variety.
Prices range from HK$15 to $25 per dish.
Try to get a seat in the sun-drenched atrium, which is much more pleasant than the dreary interior.
Also on CNNGo: Hong Kong's best vegetarian dish
M Garden Vegetarian, shop D, 6/F, Grand Tower, 639 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, +852 2787 3128. Open daily, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Best sense of community: Lam Kee (林記點心)

Lam Kee is also a great place to eavesdrop on your neighbor.

There’s something about the tile floors, high ceilings and boisterous atmosphere of a wet market food hall that makes a meal more fun than it might otherwise be.
Lam Kee, located in the Tai Po Hui Market’s food court, is a casual neighborhood Hong Kong dim sum spot with simple, delicious fare.
The portions here are small, but also inexpensive -- mostly less than HK$10 -- which allows for plenty of ordering experimentation.
Particularly memorable are the bean curd wraps, which contain an assortment of ingredients that work together remarkably well, like baby corn, taro, chicken and spam.
The black bean spareribs are fantastic and so are the tiny har gau.
But the best part of any meal is the company. At the Tai Po Hui food court, patrons sit in a communal dining area. Neighbors run into each other as they head to the food stalls for a break during a grocery run.
If it's early morning, grannies fueling up for an afternoon of mahjong make conversation over a pot of tea.
Lam Kee 林記點心, shop 8-9, 2/F, Tai Po Hui Market Cooked Food Centre, Tai Po.

Best taxi driver's pit stop: Yue Fu Kitchen (裕富小廚)

No taxis? They're all at Yue Fu.

Dim sum 24 hours a day is taken for granted here in Hong Kong. When we get those midnight cravings, Yue Fu is one of our top choices for getting a Hong Kong dim sum fix.Taxis are parked outside Yue Fu in Tai Wai every night as the drivers have a meal inside -- it's a sign the food and value are both great.
The most expensive dim sum is only HK$18 at Yue Fu. They only serve steamed dim sum and not every dim sum is perfect (forget about the har gau here). But it is the local way of experiencing dim sum that we are aiming for.
Blend in by sitting outside, washing your utensils in hot water and pouring out the water onto the street.
Dim sum to try are steamed rice with ribs and chicken feet, beancurd beef balls, siu mai with quail eggs.
Go late at night for more choices and don't go in big groups as they usually don't have the space to accommodate all of you.
Yue Fu Kitchen 裕富小廚, 1-3 Chik Shun St., Tai Wai, +852 2698 7278. Open daily 9:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Best power lunch: Lung King Heen

Individual steam baskets -- now that's respect for dim sum.

As one of Hong Kong's few Michelin three-starred restaurants and a Four Seasons Hotel signature, Lung King Heen enjoys an elevated status.
It's the perfect setting for special occasions: harborviews, central location, crease free white tablecloths. Dim sum as fine dining.
The dim sum menu is full of classics that have been given novel twists. Lobster and scallop in a thin wrapper resemble decadent siu mai. Cheung fun is filled with garoupa. Dumplings are stuffed with duck liver.
The hotel-ness of the place can't be dimissed. Service is a bit mechanical and halfway through the meal, we start craving the controlled chaos of a typical Cantonese restaurant.
But Lung King Heen isn't a typical Cantonese restaurant. It's the kind of place where Jack Donaghy would go for an intense round of negotiations over an aged Pu-erh tea.
Book ahead.
Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, +852 3196 8888, www.fourseasons.com. Open daily, noon to 2:30 p.m.; 6 - 10:30 p.m.

See over page for the complete list and addresses.