I knew Hong Kong long before the MTR when we had to cross from Kowloon to Hong Kong side on a ferryboat. I knew Hong Kong when our peso was a little mightier than their dollar. I was in Hong Kong, too, when their currency strengthened and ours fell. I knew Hong Kong when there were no Filipino amahs converging at Statue Square on Sunday. I knew Hong Kong even before Ocean Park was built and the "in" park to visit was the Tiger Balm Gardens. I roamed its streets shopping for my party gear at Bang Bang and Faded Glory on Nathan Road. I used to buy my brother Mark’s Nik Nik shirts at Bargain House on Mody Road. I used to spend hours fitting clothes and shoes at Shui Hing across the Ambassador Hotel. Through the years I followed the developments as Hong Kong rose to become one of the greatest economies and the most modern in all of Asia.
Hong Kong became our second home away from home because it was the favorite destination of my late parents, Ting and Mila Dayrit. In fact, this is where they had their honeymoon. I remember my dad saying that Hong Kong is the New York of Asia because the city was dynamic and ultra progressive. When my folks needed to recharge from Manila, we would hie off for the weekend for they derived new ideas and inspiration from here. As my family’s trips to Hong Kong became more frequent, the developments taking place here became more and more palpable. There was always something new in the City of Life. All that we thought would be impossible to build came into existence – the MTR, the Lion Rock Tunnel, a fabulous new airport, Ocean Park, one new shopping mall after the other and more extraordinary restaurants. When the Hong Kong Convention Center was built, all the more that my family enjoyed going back to this city because we would attend jewelry fairs. Since then, we have been coming back for more. Then there was a time when my sisters Michelle and Yvonne and myself lived for quite sometime in Hong Kong to oversee our Dunkin’ Donut business. We learned a lot running the donut factory in Kwun Tong and manning the stores in East Tsim Tsa Tsui and Wanchai especially when Hollywood celebrities like Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan would occasionally drop by for their banana nut donuts.
All these years, I have had stayed in so many different hotels and still there are many sprouting up all over the place; each one trying to outdo the other. Honestly it would be very difficult to say which of the hotels I liked the best until that one fateful day.
I remember it like it was yesterday. We were billeted in a hotel at the Pacific Place in Hong Kong side. We checked out of the hotel and proceeded to the airport to catch our flight back to Manila. At the airport, we were informed that we couldn’t board the flight for there was some kind of confusion in Manila and all flights were cancelled indefinitely. For my sisters and I, cancelled flights meant more time to shop for those shoes on sale at Nine West. So we proceeded back to the hotel to check in. To our horror there were no more rooms. Luckily there was another hotel next door – J.W. Marriott Hotel. So off we went without knowing what to expect. To our delight, the moment we stepped into the hotel lobby, we were welcomed by many smiling friendly Filipino faces and one very familiar old family friend, Therese Ortega, now the communications director of the hotel, who made us feel at ease in what would become our new home away from home in Hong Kong. While respectively watching TV in our well-appointed suites with beautiful interiors, only then did we find out the cause of the flight cancellation: Mt. Pinatubo erupted spreading ashes not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.
Since then we have been staying at the Marriott. Every time we are in Hong Kong, my siblings and I always look forward to checking in to see our old friends in the hotel. From our room, we always enjoy the harbor view as we lie on our cozy beds at night watching twinkling lights like jewels in the sea. We likewise look forward to waking up in the early morning to catch the sunrise as it illuminates the bay. The fabulous breakfast buffet at the Marriott is something we always look forward to. At the coffee shop, there is a sumptuous spread of Asian and Continental delights. Yvonne and Mark always make sure to feast on a cheese selection from all over the world. My eldest sister Jaqui has been consistent in ordering lamb chops with fresh mint jelly and a salad with raspberry vinaigrette and dilled potatoes. But everybody must have Marriott’s New Yorker, a lovely combination of delicate smoked salmon bits in the fluffiest and creamiest scrambled eggs on a soft freshly baked bagel smothered with the tastiest perfect hollandaise sauce and freshly squeezed orange juice.
On cold, cold days, garbed in layered outfits, we would brave walking in the park situated outside the hotel complex. The Hong Kong Park houses an aviary and a number of ponds teeming with gigantic kois and friendly turtles. Old tea houses and lovely old trees dot the park, too.
After all that walking, the hungry sisters are ready to lunch at the J.W. Marriott’s California restaurant for innovative California cuisine and sushi galore at the Sushi Bar. No matter what activity we engage in, we head back to the hotel for sunset cocktails.
Dinner at the hotel’s Man Ho is always a gastronomic experience. I have always admired their jade table accessories and the elegant Oriental interiors done in modern Chinese style, a perfect and graceful blending of east and west. We would always order the steamed fish that is so fresh it melts in your mouth, scallops in X. O. sauce, shark’s fin soup that is fit for kings.
An epicurean experience not to be missed is what the Marriott is famous for all over Hong Kong and around the world. This is the dessert buffet. You will surely forget your name as you submit to all those sinful temptations: orange chocolate domes, mixed berries gateau, apple and chestnut charlotte, caramelized napoleons, sorbets, among others. Blame all this on pastry chef Thomas Lui. The awards won by chef Thomas read like a textbook in pastry science. He has won every possible major award from notable competitions anywhere in the world that he is now requested to judge rather than participate in pastry competitions.
The next morning found us all in the gym, seriously pumping away the calories gained. We would also sweat it out in the hotel’s state-of-the-art sauna and steam rooms. But then again, we would fall to the trap of Marriott’s delectable entrees the minute we walk out of the gym. Can you blame us?
Since we "discovered" it in 1991, J.W. Marriott Hotel has become our company in finding out more secrets of Hong Kong. For that matter, nothing escapes me about this city of colors and life. Like my palm, I know Hong Kong. I may not speak the language but I know the pulse of this city. Feel it for yourself!