HONG KONG - I grew up hearing stories about Hong Kong. My parents lived there until they were teenagers, before moving to America. I knew that before a typhoon, cockroaches flew like mad in the skies. I knew that you could toss coins down to street vendors and they would throw a snack up to your apartment window. I knew that housing could be so cramped in H-shaped tenements that a whole floor might share a bathroom. But all of that was based on memories from my parents growing up in the '50s and '60s.

So when I visited Hong Kong for the first time, I didn't know what to expect. Did the street vendors still launch food to the windows above? The coins themselves had probably changed, too, since the city has been returned to China.

And after two weeks in the city, visiting both tourist hot spots and my parents' old haunts, I realize that I still don't know what to expect. Was riding out a typhoon on the 40th floor of a skyscraper the most exciting event, or was it the fun of trying as many exotic-looking snacks as possible at the numerous 7-Elevens?

I've narrowed the list down to a few places and events that anyone can experience, anytime. Here's my list of eight unforgettable moments.

Why eight?

For many Chinese people, the number eight is auspicious because the word for eight and the word for fortune rhyme, especially in the Cantonese language: baht and faht. With a city grounded in traditions yet reaching for the skies, what better way could there be to begin?

1. Fu Kee Restaurant

I didn't expect much when I walked into the small, crowded restaurant. It was the day after I'd landed in Hong Kong, and so far I hadn't been too impressed with the humidity, the loud voices yelling down the street in Cantonese, the aggressive drivers - and the humidity. But little did I know what awaited me in the one simple order I made that night:

One bowl of barbecued pork, called cha siu in Cantonese, served over white rice.

The man who took my order hollered across the room to the cooks. He didn't have a pen or a pad. He probably would've been slowed down with one anyway, as the restaurant was packed with hungry customers.

The food arrived. A line of cha siu lay on top of a generous amount of white rice. Up with the chopsticks, into my mouth with the pork.

I needed another bite to prove that the first bite wasn't a fluke. But each mouthful was just as fabulous as the first, the rich flavors of the meat tempered by the white rice.

Was I impressed now? Oh yes - impressed enough to come back at least four times over the course of my month-long trip to Hong Kong and southern China.

104-106 Fa Yuen St., Mong Kok, Kowloon District.

2. Tian Tan Buddha

At 2,330 feet above sea level and "sitting" 111.5 feet tall, the 250-ton landmark on Lantau Island is the world's tallest bronze Buddha. I took the Ngong Ping 360, a gondola lift, up the mountain to reach the Tian Tan Buddha. Tian tan basically translates into Altar of Heaven. The Buddha is also known as the Po Lin Buddha for the nearby monastery of that name.

In a small gondola car lifted high above the sea and green mountains, we drifted through cloud cover and over buildings and the international airport. From the lift's terminal, we walked along a street lined with stores selling food and small statues of Buddhist and Chinese symbols. Visitors held umbrellas to block the sun as they popped in and out of doorways on the way down to the Buddha. Finally, we reached an open plaza, where the 268 stairs leading to the Buddha's lotus pedestal began their ascent.

We joined the throng climbing the stairs, looking upward at the calm and benevolent face of the Buddha before us. Even at a distance, its presence was immense, its tranquil smile overlooking the trees and flowers bordering the stairs and the green mountains beyond. It was a long, hot climb, but the elevation made the site a welcome respite from the summer humidity.

There is a lower level of the lotus pedestal, which is free to enter, and a higher level, where the Buddha sits. A curving staircase winds three floors upward, circling a huge bell with carvings of Buddhas. Exiting the halls took us to the very bottom of the Buddha, where my mother told me it was good luck to rub the bronze lotus petals the Buddha sits upon.

Outside, the wind had picked up, and even with a slight cover of clouds, the view down the mountain and out to the sea was beautiful.

Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, http://np360.com.hk

3. Lui Yen Gai