THE FIRST TIME I SAW
初次見到……香港的天際線CHING- HE HUANG 黃瀞億
TV chef CHING-HE HUANG on the Hong Kong skyline
啟迪
電視廚師黃瀞億對香港天際線的第一印象
I WAS 19 and a poor student, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I’d come to Hong Kong to visit my aunt, sleeping on the sofa in her two-bedroom apartment.
We went down to the harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui to watch some fireworks. I’d visited Hong Kong when I was 13, but all I remembered from that trip was the food.
Seeing the energy of the Hong Kong skyline stirred something in me. The ambition of the city made me ambitious myself. It made me want to achieve more, to make something of myself – as Hong Kong was making something of itself.
We did all the touristy things including The Peak and dim sum. We went out to Sai Kung and munched seafood. I’d never had so many treats. One evening, we went to Aqua, a restaurant perched at the top of a Tsim Sha Tsui skyscraper. Looking down at the harbour from there, I remember thinking that this city was magical.
I’ve come back to Hong Kong a dozen times since and now my memories all centre around food and restaurants: filming with chef Ken Hom, eating at Michelin-starred Vea in Central with chef Vicky Cheng, drinking at Mr & Mrs Fox in Quarry Bay. I love Lin Heung Tea House in Central, with all the mad chefs and the trolley ladies.
It’s the skyline, Victoria Harbour, the energy, the whole city. Hong Kong made me feel like anything is possible. Every time I come to Hong Kong now, I still feel that buzz – it’s like a borrowed energy.
Ching-he Huang has worked for the Cooking Channel and Food Network. Her new cookbook, Stir Crazy: 100 Deliciously Healthy Stir-Fry Recipes, is out now. chinghehuang.com 當年我是個19歲的窮學生，正在思索自己的前途何去何從。我來到香港探望姨母，她住在一個兩房單位內；我就在她家借宿，睡在沙發上。
我們一起到尖沙咀海傍去看煙花。其實我13歲時已來過香港，但那次旅程的經歷都忘記了，記得的只有當時吃過的食物。
見到充滿活力的香港天際線，令我獲得鼓舞。這座城市滿懷雄心壯志，也激發起我的雄心壯志。見到這樣的一座城市，令我想自己更有成就，做一些自己想做的事，就如已幹出一番成就的香港一樣。
遊客必做的事，例如到太平山頂觀光，到茶樓吃點心等，我們都有做。我們還到西貢大啖海鮮，我從未吃過如此多珍饈佳餚。有一晚，我到位於尖沙咀一幢摩天高樓頂樓的Aqua餐廳去。從餐廳俯覽維港景色時，我感到這是座散發魔力的奇妙城市。
此後，我來過香港十幾次，現在我的記憶都與美食和餐廳有關：例如與名廚譚榮輝拍攝節目，在中環的米芝蓮星級餐廳Vea與大廚鄭永麒一同品嚐美食，以及在鰂魚涌的Mr & Mrs Fox餐廳小酌。我喜歡中環的蓮香樓，還有茶樓裡的狂廚和推著點心車的嬸嬸。
香港的天際線、維多利亞港、源源不絕的活力，整座城市，我都喜歡。香港令我覺得無論什麼都是有可能的，現在我每次來香港，依然有種令人振奮的感覺，而我就像在借用這種力量一般。
黃瀞億曾在烹飪頻道CookingChannel與Food Network工作。她的烹飪新書《Stir Crazy: 100 Deliciously Healthy Stir-Fry Recipes 》現已出版。chinghehuang.com