Rediscover Hong Kong with Heliservices
Fly & Dine
Ever experience flying 1,500 feet over a city full of skyscrapers, landing on top of a 5-star hotel and indulging in a four-course lunch or dinner with champagne?
If you haven't, it's well worth doing.
Hong Kong's crystal clear skies were so inviting last week, I hopped in a five-seater twin-engine Squirrel helicopter and flew up above and around the island.
The pilot brought us over the west side of Hong Kong island, and paused for a moment in the air, the best spot to capture a harbour shot above both the Hong Kong and Kowloon coastlines.
Our pilot, who has flown for more than 20 years and the Hong Kong skies for five, said we were fortunate to be flying on one of Hong Kong's clearest days. We could actually look out beyond Hong Kong into the distance for a glimpse of the China coastline.
We flew around the south side of Hong Kong island over the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in the waters near Pokfulam, Ocean Park, Happy Valley and just over the edge of the Kowloon peninsula where we looked down upon the old airport and made our final approach toward the Peninsula Hotel Helipad.
We were whisked into the hotel through the China Clipper, an arrival and departure lounge for helicopter passengers. Overlooking the harbour, the lounge is full of old photographs, some taken of the first, five-day San Francisco to Hong Kong flight and decorated with other aviation memorabilia.
For lunch, we dined at the Peninsula's French restaurant, Gaddi's, where we met Chef Philip Sedgwick. Chef Sedgwick, who worked in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Europe before joining Gaddi's, colourfully illustrated each dish to us from the melt-in-your-mouth salmon starter to the upside-down vanilla souffl‚s.
How much for all this, you ask? Well, for two people, a 15-minute helicopter ride and a three-course lunch at Gaddi's costs HK$3,450 (US$442).
Hong Kong Heliservices and The Peninsula have teamed up to offer "Fly and Dine" packages, with prices varying from HK$3,530 to HK$7,688 for up to four people including 10 percent service charges and the hotel's 75th anniversary discounts.
(TravelWeekly, Issue 9, July 2003)