Eye bags and hand bags. Ready to fly home!

Circa 2009. Dim Sum at Wanchai Hong Kong with Danli and Evan. I can’t remember what the restaurant was called, but i remember us going there twice in a week. It was affordable and tasted really good.

When entering Shen Zhen China, aliens please read.

There was just so much to see in Hong Kong it seems like I’ll never stop posting my Hong Kong entries. I could easily just delete the draft and move on but these posts on my blog are like little bookmarks in my life I want to remember. They all mark a certain point of my life journey, chapter-ed and indexed for my referral.

In the Southeastern part of Hong Kong Island, you will find Stanley and Repulse Bay.  You will find an interesting array of little shops selling silk garments, sportswear, art, Chinese costume jewelry and souvenirs. Bargain hunters will send time haggling, and the rest pretty much soaks in the chilled cafe amibence by the water front.

Stanley Market is situated in Stanley New Street near the Stanley food market. The market is open from 10:30am to 6:30pm.

After a shopping spree you can move on down to Repulse Bay. If you dare, strip down to your bikini for a quick tan and frolick in the waters. I say if you dare, because you will find a lot of oggling when that happens. I’m not sure if its because locals don’t usually bare that much, or if it’s just a plain “hamsup” beach.

Stanley Market & Murray House

1. MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D and take bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 at Exchange Square Bus Terminus.
2. MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B, walk to Tang Lung Street then take green minibus 40.
3. Bus 973 from Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui outside Silvercord Centre.

Everyone who visits Hong Kong would have visited The Peak at one point of another. It’s the best place to see the spectacular view of the surrounding city skyline. Hong Kong at ground level can be quite overwhelming with all the towering skyscrapers and busy traffic. Being up there at The Peak was a real breath of fresh air and gave me a new perspective and appreciation for Hong Kong’s natural landscape.

The Peak’s various vantage points allows you to see as far as the green jagged mountains of the New Territories, Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, and even Macau.

It was a beautiful, cool and sunny day when Bri, Di, Dru and I took the tram up. We spent the afternoon taking in the view, took some silly snaps, had a cuppa at Starbucks and people watched. Perfect.

3 Ways to get there:

1. Take the Peak Tram from the Lower Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road (Bus 15C from the lay-by outside Central Pier 6 or walk from MTR Central Station Exit J2).
2. Bus 15 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D)
3. Green minibus 1 from MTR Hong Kong Station Public Transport Interchange.

I’d suggest the Peak Tram

Ticket Price:
HK$25 (Single) HK$36 (Return) – Adult
HK$9 (Single) HK$16 (Return) – Child (age 3 – 11), Senior (age 65 or above)

There are a lot of mixed reviews on the internet but to me it is arguably one of the best burger joints in Hong Kong. Was first introduced to Shake ‘em Buns by Dru at the beginning of 2009. And the next 3 times I went back to Hong Kong, I was back there at least once. It almost became a pilgrimage.

Don’t expect McDonalds prices here, prepare to fork out around HK$60 for a burger and HK$12 for fries.

My favourite burger is the “South of The Border” which is a beef burger with Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa. What sold me was the guacamole…mMMmm i love guacamole.

Shake em Buns
Address: Shop No. 6, , Wan Chai (Entrance at Ship Street)
Tel: (851) 2866 2060
Opening Hours:
Website: http://www.shakembuns.com/

It was our last few days in Hong Kong and one of the items to strike off the list was to have afternoon tea at The Pen.

The Peninsula (香港半島酒店) located at the junction of Nathan Road and Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is also Hong Kong’s oldest surviving hotel.

Out of the 10 people I’ve asked, 7 said that The Peninsula has the best afternoon/high tea in country, so I guess The Pen it was. All 7 of them also mentioned that we should call to make a reservation a couple of days in advance, just so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for a table.

Afternoon tea was pleasant but slightly overrated. There were so many tables catering to demand, it felt over commercialized and almost canteen-like. But I guess everyone including us were there so we can claim we’ve had tea at The Pen.

Our tiered afternoon tea set comprised of snacks on silver platters accompanied with coffee or tea. For those of you who don’t know, top tier is usually scones, middle is the savoury and the last tier is the sweets. But nowadays no one really keeps to the tradition.

For ours, the bottom tier was raisin scones accompanied by whipped butter, fresh strawberry preserves and clotted cream. You must MUST have clotted cream, and none of that fake cream instant bottle crap. Second tier was finger sandwiches and assorted pastries, and the last tier the sweets: chocolate and cake.

To be honest, it was over-priced, but you pay for the colonial grandeur and ambience which is The Pen. There you are sitting beneath the arches of the lobby, listening to The Lobby String quartet, sipping tea like ladies of leisure. A tad bit chi-chi, and not exactly my cup of tea, so it won’t be a repeat visit. But at least I could tick it off the list.

The Peninsula
Address: Salisbury Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Hong Kong
Afternoon Tea is served daily from 2pm to 7pm
Dress code: Casual – smart casual

Some people find it very strange that I like birds as pets, the fascination started when I took part in a Children’s Art competition organised by the Jurong Bird Park. One of the prizes I received was a book on the different species of birds at the Park.

That’s when I learnt about Parrots. I still remember clearly the species that caught my attention: Blue Hyacinth Macaw, Scarlett Macaw, African Grey, Cockatoos, Cockatiels, and Parakeets/Budgerigars. On my birthday, I convinced my mum to buy me a Budgie and I aptly and boringly named it Tweety.

In Mong Kong, one of the themed streets was Hong Lok Street (Bird Street雀仔街) although correct me if I’m wrong but all the bird stores now sit in Yuen Po Street Garden, still in the same vicinity.

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden is where songbird owners gather to pageant their feathered friends in their intricately crafted cages. The garden encloses some 70 bird stalls selling cages, birds, bird feed, crickets, worms and toys.

Brian and I didn’t spend too much time here, because the smell of bird poo was making me a bit sick. But still glad I got some nice photos in. The only thing which made my heart sink is the number of birds they packed into a cage. I know it’s a shop, but I just think that regardless, they should be given a more humane living condition albeit temporary.

Yuen Po Street Garden (Bird Street)
Directions:
- Get off at the Prince Edward MTR stationTake exit B1 and walk East
- Turn left at Sai Yee Street, then turn at first right into Flower Market Road.
- After walking the length of Flower Market Rd, on the left you will see Yuen Po Street
Opening hours: 7 am – 8 pm daily

After walking past countless plastic bags of fish on Goldfish street, we finally reached Flower Market Street.

I like to think I have green fingers, so the thought of walking through a jungle of plants, flowers and horticulture accessories excites me. It’s the same sort of excitement I get when I’m at a stationery or kitchen store… such a geek moment.

Flower Market Street is lined with endless rows of flower shops touting all kinds of flowers and potted plants. Each store overflowing with buckets of peonies, poinsettias, chrysanthemums and carnations spilling out onto the sidewalk.

Storeowners are regularly fined for putting their plants on the sidewalk, but will risk it in hopes to lure you to their colourful display of nature at its best. We had to meander through the already narrow sidewalks and our best to stay out of the way of women scrambling to pick the best blooms in the bucket. My only purchase from there were a few pink peonies for Auntie Mieke. Hope she liked it!

Did you know, that peonies are one of my favourite flowers?

Flower Market Road (花墟道)
Opening hours: Daily 7 AM-7:30 PM
Directions:
- MTR Prince Edward Station Exit B1 and walk east along Prince Edward Road West.
- MTR Mong Kok East Station Exit C. Walk to Sai Yee Street via footbridge and follow the signs.

While the Lies spent some family time together, I met up with Brian to explore Hong Kong one afternoon. I was raving about the amazing beef noodles in Mong Kok the night before, so we decided to hit it up one more time. It’s funny how in such a short period of time, I’ve become the tour guide as opposed to the tourist.

I read up about the different themed streets in Mong Kok: Ladies street, Goldfish Street, Bird Street, Flower Market Road, Tile Street and Photocopy Street. And since the first few listed were all relatively close to one another, we thought it would be a good idea to have a walk about.

Let’s talk about the Goldfish or Fish Street first. I’m not too sure what the official name is, but there are a few floating around the internet: The Goldfish Market, Goldfish Street and Fish Street. I’ll just call it Goldfish Street because that’s what I found on wikipedia.

Goldfish Street is on Tung Choi Street, South of Prince Edward Road West. It’s the place to go for anything aquarium related. There are dozens and dozens of shops selling fishes in all shapes and hues and everything else to give them a pretty home. From tanks, corals, rocks, plants and food. You can also find them tortoise and sea horse friends. A couple of shops had more critters like Guinea pigs on sale as well.

We walked past a store with plastic tubs of tortoises in direct sunlight! Brian was not pleased by that at all, being the terrapin lover that he is. On closer inspection, there were a few little guys who have already keeled over. Poor lil fellas

The wall of fish in plastic bags makes good pictures, but it must be awful living in a plastic bag of water the whole day. Then again I’m sure most of these goldfish won’t even remember.

GoldFish Market
Address: Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok
Opening hours: 10:30am – 10pm
Directions:
- MTR Prince Edward Station Exit B2 and walk east along Prince Edward Road West.
- MTR Mong Kok East Station Exit C. Walk to Sai Yee Street via footbridge and follow the sign

Was waiting all day for Dru to be done with work, so I took the liberty to find a Mexican place for dinner. I scoured through the internet and found somewhere nearby at Soho, Central Hong Kong.

El Taco Loco is a small little Mexican place that sits on the corner and on a slope, right next to the Soho escalators. Because of its location and price, it gets a steady flow of customers.

They serve the usual burritos and tacos (duh!), but don’t expect it to be plated nicely. They come in tin foil bowls and plates, and plastic sauce dishes. But that’s what you’d expect for the price you pay!

Good place to satisfy the craving, but not really comfortable for long sit down dinners.

El Taco Loco
Address: G/F, SOHO, Central
Tel: +852 2522 1262
Opening hours: 12:00pm to 10:00pm. 7 days a week

Favourite meal of the day is Brunch and even better if its a place that serves All-Day breakfasts.

It was Mothers’ Day, and the Lies were looking for a place to take Auntie Mieke. Again, I did a little research to find a decent brunch place. Judging criteria: Do they have a website, ratings on review sites, interior shots of the restaurant, menu and price.

First of all, the website was well designed. Ratings were pretty good. Interior shots of the restaurant had a P.S. Cafe vibe (I like!). And the menu was huge! Not only was it huge, items like these won me over:
- Wild mushroom soup with truffle cream
- Lobster risotto
- Roquefort & Bacon burger
- Blueberry pancakes
- Eggs Royale with Smoke Salmon
- Freshly baked scones
- Macaroni Au Gratin

SOLD. I forwarded the site to Dru, next thing Boom! Booked for 6 on Mothers’ Day. Food was great, atmosphere was casual and lively, service good. Definitely a repeat location. I reckon its a great place for hangover brunches, and the owner probably thinks so too, offering “hangover cures” and “pick me up” drinks on the menu.

The Press Club
Address: 108 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
Tel: +852 2525 3444
Website: http://www.thepressroom.com.hk/

Photos taken at Wan Chai District

Hong Kong skyline from rooftop of J-residences at Wan Chai District.

While we’re still in Central Hong Kong, I should bring to your attention what made my eyes light up. A WHOLE STREET OF FANCY DRESS SHOPS! My only regret is not BUYING ANYTHING! You can buy all sorts of accessories, costumes, wigs, hats and face paints at bargain-able prices.

It’s at the pedestrian section of Pottinger Street 砵典乍街 or also known as Stone Slabs Street (石板街) by the locals. Just walk up from Queens Road at Central.

Probably one of the best Kebab’s I’ve ever had, second to the Altos Kebab in Perth. But then again everything tastes freakin amazing after a night out on the crawl.

Ebeneezers are spread across the island with outlets in Wanchai, Central, discovery bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and New Territories. The one I visited most was the Wanchai outlet on Lockhart Road.

I recommend ordering:
- Mix (Lamb and Chicken Kebab) HK$62
Roasted Chicken and Lamb, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings
- Gyros (Chicken Kebab) HK$52
Roasted Chicken, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings

Ebeneezers (Wan Chai)
G/F, 52 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2157 0009
Opening Hours: 10am – 6am (Sun-Thur), 10am – 7am (Fri-Sat)
Website: http://www.ebeneezers.com/

Just a bit of trek up the road from the Wai Kee Congee Shop is this pushcart coffee stall – Lan Fong Yuen.

It’s claim to fame is their pork chop bread (豬扒包) and milk tea. We were so stuffed from congee the thought of more food just made me ill. BUT, that didn’t stop us from having a cup of local coffee for a potent java hit.

Dru’s dad was the one who introduced us to this stall, and told us how we were suppose to be sitting on those stools.

Below is one of my favourite photos from that trip. There was a lot going on in that picture, and it captured the moment perfectly.

Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園 )
Address: 2 Gage Street, Central
中環結志街2號
Tel: +852 2544 3895 / 2854 0731

With friends in Hong Kong over the weekend, I’m forced to reminisce the 4 trips I made to the island last year. It was 4 freakin amazing trips I must add.

What I love most about travelling is eating like the locals, or finding that hole-in-the-wall place which serves up authentic, tasty and affordable local cuisine. So one of such places I visit repeatedly in Hong Kong is this porridge/congee stall in Stanley Market.

It’s a bit hard to find, and will involve a bit of map skills to get you there. Best time to go is early in the morning before it gets too hot and crowded, but if you’re dying for a taste and you got out of bed late, it’s still open at lunch.

Wai Kee is most well-known for their Yiu Tiao 油條 which is also known as yiu cha kway or Fried dough fritters. Their yiu tiao are made on the spot and comes to your table hot and crispy on the outside, but the inside is as light and soft as a warm croissant.

Here’s what we had, and what I recommend you order:
- Lean pork with Century Egg porridge
- Yiu tiao (油條)
- 炸兩 which is basically Yiu tiao wrapped in Chee Cheong Fun

Note about ordering: Decide what you want before you order. And when you get hold of the lady boss, give your orders quick and loud. Because she has a habit of coming to your table, and while you begin with your orders, she will start walking off. It’s quite amusing, but don’t worry, she’s still listening.

Wai Kee Congee Shop (威记粥店)
Address: G/F, 82 Stanley St., Central
Tel:+852 2551 5564
Directions: Central MTR Station, Exit D1 & D2

May 2009