It is impossible to underestimate the significance of food in the Hong Kong experience. At least, that was the case for the five of us.

Prior to arrival, all my guidebooks had prepared me for "the best Chinese food in the world" and advised on which establishments to visit for a world-class dining experience. We did have several of those over the course of the summer, mostly thanks to the funds of Mother Wellesley (dim sum at the China Club and our farewell dinner at the Repulse Bay come to mind, not to mention the dessert buffet at the Hyatt Regency,) but an intern's budget doesn't allow fine dining on a nightly basis. That said, we still managed to eat a lot of mighty good food.

One of the amazing things about Hong Kong that I quickly discovered is that it's possible to get good food CHEAP. Even the packaged ramen is a cut above what you'd find in a U.S. supermarket. I came to rely on Doll brand Sesame and Vegetarian Noodle Bowls ("just add hot water") as a staple on nights we stayed at home. The subs at Oliver's Super Sandwiches weren't anything to holler about, but I was always astounded by the fresh-squeezed tropical juices available there. In fact, there are plenty of street stands devoted entirely to fresh juice of all kinds, and most of them are usually mobbed with customers. I'd never had watermelon or strawberry juice before HK, and began to get daily fixes of guava at Oliver's.

The grocery store chain on which I came to rely for my ramen and orange juice supplies was Park 'N' Shop. Perhaps I leaned toward Park 'N' Shop over Welcome, the other common chain, because it catered more towards Western tastes, but mainly it was a matter of convenience -- there was a Park 'N' Shop Superstore in Festival Walk, the mall though which I walked every day on the way to City U. Or maybe the name was too reminiscent of Boston's Stop 'N' Shop for me to resist. Anyway, the P'N'S Superstore came to be something of a cult experience for me, even leading to a hymn of devotion.

For Hong Kongers, eating well seemed to be a high priority -- Ting noticed this phenomenon among the other employees of the Art Centre, who insisted that she go to lunch regardless of what time she had arrived at work (or how recently she'd eaten breakfast). No one there would be caught staying in the office, snarfing down a sandwich while catching up on work, as so many Americans do over the noon hour.

There were countless delectables we all got hooked on -- egg tarts, regular and Portuguese style; fresh and dried mangoes; lemon tea in cute little drink boxes; dried cuttlefish; pearl tea; and, of course, Cyn's red bean buns. Much to my surprise, I became a tofu convert, and learned to swoon over Buddha's delight. (Mmm, fungus....) In the end, I think learning to love HK food was inseperable from learning to love HK itself. Rachel managed to sum up the process of both in her explanation of what to do with the shrimp at the Portuguese restaurant we attacked in Macau:

"Just suck on it. Whatever comes out, you can eat."