Town & Country - K.S. Sze & Sons

Edens Of The East

Hong Kong is still a shopper's Mecca. Stella Martin, owner of Temptations Asia Ltd., a shopping consultant company, says that bargains do not abound any more, but can still be found. Knowing where to look is the long suit at Temptations: Martin's specialists will provide a chauf-feur-driven limousine and American guide for shopping expeditions, or will do the shopping and deliver the goods to your hotel. (1231 Jefferson Terrace, Macon, GA31201; 912-742-2435). The best buys in town are jewelry, porcelain, linens, leather goods, furs, clothing (both custom- and tailor-made), furniture, antiques and even eyeglasses-which takes in just about everything but false teeth.The best buys in town are jewelry, porcelain, linens, leather goods, furs, clothing (both custom- and tailor-made), furniture, antiques and even eyeglasses-which takes in just about everything but false teeth. Pearls are a prime purchase, especially at K.S. Szes and Sons in the Mandarin Shopping Arcade. If you don't find it there, try Oriental Arts and Jewelry, a little shop on Hankow Road where the pearl meister is Henry Wan. The town is dotted with Diane Freis boutiques, which stock her Hong Kong-made designs at half the U.S. prices. And the renowned native jewelry designer Kai-Yin Lo has shops at the Peninsula, the Mandarin Oriental and at Pacific Place.

With the help of your concièrge, you can arrange a short boat ride to Lantau, the largest of Hong Kong's islands. It's great for hiking, biking, exploring or a day of visiting the Buddhist and Trappist monas-teries. Abuilding here is the largest Buddha statue in all Asia. Or you can make tor Cheung Chau Island, which has the look and feel of a Mediterranean port with its cafés and shops and its flotilla of junks in the harbor. Artists and writers favor this island, and so, apparently, did pirates, whose caves invite inspection. In April or early May the island celebrates the Bun Festival to please Pak Tai, the god of the sea. It's a seven-day fiesta that brings lion dances, costumed stilt walkers and a parade of island children.

Keep in mind, too, that this is the Year of the Horse: what better time to try your luck at Happy Valley race track lone of two Hong Kong courses operated by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club), where the one-day betting record is U.S. $74 million. The racing season runs from September through May. Ocean Park, Asia's biggest marine playground, just off of Aberdeen, is unveiling Middle Kingdom, a walk through a series of replicas of temples, pagodas, palaces and streets that tell the story of thirteen centuries of life in ancient China. Watch folk dancers, acrobats or Chinese opera in the amphitheater. Further on is Deep Water Bay, one of Hong Kong's prettiest small beach spots, with charming seafood restaurants, water-skiing and weekend golf at the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club.

1990 May

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