Rose and Ron Krumpos in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong
Impeccable service at the Mandarin Oriental's Man Wah restaurant
The Mandarin Oriental on Hong Kong Island was rated among the top ten hotels in the world. Our host was General Manager Peter Stafford, a true gentleman dedicated to service. We were impressed by the impeccable service in its Man Wah restaurant...our needs were anticipated and unobtrusively fulfilled, while enjoying delectable Chinese cuisine. We had splendid European dinners at the hotel's signature Mandarin Grill, too. Both are Michelin star restaurants.

The Mandarin Oriental met us at the airport in a vintage Rolls Royce, the doorman greeted us by name, the front desk had us preregistered, and an Assistant Manager escorted us to our room ... a delightful arrival. A 'spouse tour' was led by Kai Yin Loh, the hotel's Public Relations Manager - a well-known jewelry designer - who brought them to the wholesale Central Market, Cat Street, Cloth Alley, and to her favorite stores (she did most of the shopping). Hong Kong had a campaign to compete with rival Singapore, the world's cleanest major city.

Fresh seafood on a floating restaurant in Aberdeen Harbour
We went to Tai Pak floating restaurant in Aberdeen Harbour, accessible only by small sampans. Afloat on barges, it was brightly lit by strings of lights outside and by Chinese lanterns inside. Their seafood was very fresh, caught the same day and kept alive until each customer ordered. We also dined at the Verandah of the Repulse Bay Hotel (now closed) and at Gaddi's in the Peninsula Hotel (flagship of the Peninsula Hotel Group)...refined Continental restaurants.

Peter Gautschi managed the Peninsula; the gracious host on our first trip together. His hotel had a Rolls Royce fleet. While Rose went shopping in Kowloon, Ron took a private water tour on a motorized junk with Pacific Leisure’s Manager to Lantau Island - with a vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Buddhist Monastery - then visited the Christian Trappist Monastery (Our Lady of Joy) on a remote corner of the island. Lantau is much larger than Hong Kong Island and adjacent to the new airport. Landings at the first airport - Kai Tak - were just above the rooftops of buildings...you could almost pick the laundry off clothes lines. At a Buddhist temple near Tai Po in the New Territories Rose tried an outhouse, but spiders made her loose the urge to go.



An endless variety of dim sum at City Hall in Victoria
City Hall on Hong Kong Island in Victoria, capitol of the former British Crown Colony, had a cavernous restaurant overlooking the Harbour. At lunch it was filled with civil servants and businessmen. We sat by the windows and were served by at least a dozen women wheeling carts with an endless variety of dim sum. Darse Crandall, Ron's pledge father at Northwestern University, and wife Ruth Ann - who lived in Hong Kong - invited us to dinner.
Darse took us to dinner in Wanchai, the nightclub district. He had been a U.S. Navy supply officer. There is a tunnel to drive between mainland Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, but we preferred to take the Star Ferry...always an interesting experience. Transportation was often provided for us, but taxis were clean, reasonable and by the meter. Central District was terrific for walking, with fascinating shops around every corner. On Rose's first visit, she attended an elaborate dinner at a Chinese millionaire's estate. New dishes just kept on coming. Ron had visited Macau while it was a Portugese colony; it now surpasses Las Vegas in gambling revenues.

Dancing the hora after dinner at a publisher's apartment on Victoria Peak
Adrian Zecha published Orientations, a quality magazine dedicated to Asian antiques, arts and culture. He and his wife were Jewish émigrés from Indonesia and invited us to dinner at their apartment on Victoria Peak. After dinner we danced the hora, led by their amah (maid) who sang “ ava Nagila" in Hebrew. On two of our five trips together to Hong Kong, we ate at the Peak Tower restaurant for spectacular views of the Harbour at night.

Adrian's brother Alwin - an owner of Pacific Leisure - was our guest for a tour of California for Asian tour operators attending the ASTA convention. Adrian later founded Aman Resorts, ultra-luxurious small resorts in Southeast Asia...whose services, facilities and prices put Ritz-Carlton to shame. Wally Gress, V.P.-Sales for Mandarin Oriental Hotels, also lived on Victoria Peak. He came from New York City, but the rents in Hong Kong were more expensive. On our next trip we ate with Andreas Hofer, the Mandarin Oriental's new General Manager. Hong Kong is usually warm and sunny, but we once had cold winds and monsoon rains.

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