November in Hong Kong is for good wine, good food

Wine connoisseurs and foodies in the Philippines won’t need to travel too far to get a taste of the world’s best this month. Hong Kong, less than two hours away by plane from Manila, is staging a Wine and Dine Month in November that will feature carnivals, music, and food- and wine-themed classes and tours. Now on its third year, the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival has been named one of the top ten best international festivals of its kind in the world by Forbes Travel. The event kicked off on October 27 at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, along Victoria Harbour. During the opening, over 300 wine and food tasting booths and a special area for high-quality wines were unveiled to the trade and media partners in the first two days, and to the public from October 29 to 30. The event, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), drew around 165,000 people.

In vino, there’s fun For those who are more interested in tipples, there’s a wine cellar tour and “Wine Tasting in the Dark" class that’s offered in both English and Cantonese. Why "the dark?" Well, it's supposed to give connoisseurs and newbies alike the chance to rest their eyes and allow their other sense to take over. The less adventurous and more culinary-conscious can try a two-hour “Cooking with Wine" class with a professional chef. For oenophiles, there’s the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair and the Winefuture Hong Kong 2011, an event that will bring together wine experts from all over the world. Several Hong Kong hotels have agreed to wave corkage fees for the month and allow diners to bring in their own bottles of wine. In addition, “tourists can buy their favorite wine labels tax-free, so it's relatively cheaper here than in other countries," an HKTB official told GMA News Online in an email interview. Gastronomic finds… and Brazilian dancers Foodies can opt to join the “Festival of Restaurants," where visitors and locals alike can sample Hong Kong’s best fine dining and casual dining restaurants from November 7-13. Early birds get ample rewards, with the first 300 reservations getting a bottle of wine for free. Or if you’d really rather just sit back and relax, a pre-dinner sunset cruise along Victoria Harbour featuring unlimited beverages, or a horse-racing tour that gives you the option to watch the race action inside the members’ enclosure with an unlimited buffet and beverage spread might be your cup of tea. If wine isn’t your poison, the world’s finest beers take center stage during the Lan Kwai Fong Carnival from November 12 to 13, alongside food stalls, Brazilian dancers, African drummers and all sorts of international performers. - Bea Cupin/YA, GMA News Photos courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board