I have joked that in Sweden people are allergic to strong flavours. That is not really true, but it is hard to find a really spicy curry or Asian food that is not ‘Swedishized’ to make it more palatable to the local folks. We were looking forward to Hong Kong as a chance not only to race, but to eat some awesome noodles, dim sum, sichuan, and cantonese food.  We weren’t disappointed!
Normally when we travel for racing I like to self-cater as much as we can. It is cheaper, easier to accommodate a vegetarian, and we get to eat food that we are used to and we know we perform well on.  Hong Kong was a bit of a departure for us in that we did not make many meals. We did however visit some food markets and grocery stores, which I love to do when travelling. Seeing how and what people eat makes it a living antrohopology museum, often with botany and zoological exhibits! We bought some AWESOME fresh mangosteen, I think I ate 2 kg (before peeling), but also longan, litchi, rambutan, melon, and some of the best tangerines I have ever had.
We had some good restaurant recommendations from our team mates and other friends, and had some great sit-down feasts and also street food adventures. I was a little more relaxed about meat and seafood, since it is hard to get things that don’t include one or the other (Graham got a lot of extra meat bits). However, we also saw lots of Buddhist restaurants, so it would have been possible to avoid meat altogether if we stuck to those. I had some great milk tea, not as sweet as I usually get at home. I had several since we can’t get them in Sweden.
Mmmmm… monkey-head product! Food is such a great window into a culture. I love what Canadian food says about us: maple syrup, blueberries, tortiere, smoked salmon… yummy.