Hong KOng
香港
18th Oct - 19th Oct
Food Trip
My housemates and I rarely have our rest days together. So we decided to head over to Hong Kong for a short 2 days 1 night trip. We booked accommodation through AirBnb just one day before departure. Immediately after I've confirmed the booking, Macau and Hong Kong hoisted Typhoon Signal 3. I was quite worried cause I don't wanna waste the money for our accommodation. But looking at how the Typhoon was moving away from Macau, we guessed by the next day the weather would clear up.
Accommodation:
AirBnb --> Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan by host Sandy HKD644 per night
I finished work at 8am and we rendezvous at my hotel's staff entrance. We waited for bus 3A to go towards the Ferry Terminal. Typhoon signal 3 was still hoisted in Macau and Hong Kong. It was raining slightly with occasional strong winds, fortunately the bus arrived rather quickly and we arrived at the terminal around 8.30am. The next available ferry is at 9am, so we had time to withdraw HKD before going through the immigration.
Ferry Schedule:
Macau --> HK Sheung Wan bu Turbojet, 0900hrs HKD153 per person
Hence, before leaving for Hong Kong, we've spent HKD368 per person.
Accommodation:
AirBnb --> Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan by host Sandy HKD644 per night
I finished work at 8am and we rendezvous at my hotel's staff entrance. We waited for bus 3A to go towards the Ferry Terminal. Typhoon signal 3 was still hoisted in Macau and Hong Kong. It was raining slightly with occasional strong winds, fortunately the bus arrived rather quickly and we arrived at the terminal around 8.30am. The next available ferry is at 9am, so we had time to withdraw HKD before going through the immigration.
Ferry Schedule:
Macau --> HK Sheung Wan bu Turbojet, 0900hrs HKD153 per person
Hence, before leaving for Hong Kong, we've spent HKD368 per person.
We were afraid that we might get sea sick from the strong winds and high waves, so we forced ourselves to sleep through the entire ferry ride. We arrived HK Sheung Wan around 10.10am. Jason's colleague was travelling to HK at the same time using Cotai Water Jet, so we waited for him before leaving the terminal building.
Once we've met up with Thomas, we proceeded down towards the direction of Sheung Wan MTR. We stopped by Maxim's Palace 美心皇宫 for dim sum breakfast before entering the MTR station. It was quite early I guess, so we could get a table without queuing. Thomas did most of the ordering as he has been there numerous times. There's an order chit for you to tick on the dishes that you'd like to order, and also some occasional dim sum trolleys passing by with fried items.
Once we've met up with Thomas, we proceeded down towards the direction of Sheung Wan MTR. We stopped by Maxim's Palace 美心皇宫 for dim sum breakfast before entering the MTR station. It was quite early I guess, so we could get a table without queuing. Thomas did most of the ordering as he has been there numerous times. There's an order chit for you to tick on the dishes that you'd like to order, and also some occasional dim sum trolleys passing by with fried items.
The dim sum was alright I guess, somehow I still prefer the dim sum that I had at 阿一(东湖)火锅 next to President Hotel in Macau. We each paid HKD120 for the dim sum.
After that, we took the MTR towards Tian Hou station 天后 to check in Thomas's hotel room. We reached around 12pm and the hotel upgraded a Premier room for him. Once he has settled down, we went back into the streets for desserts! Thomas recommended Auntie Sweet 甜姨姨, which is located at Tsing Fung Street 清风巷. The place was empty, I guess not many people opt for desserts for lunch! Plus, the typhoon is still brewing, so why would people crave for cold desserts in the cold weather eh?
After that, we took the MTR towards Tian Hou station 天后 to check in Thomas's hotel room. We reached around 12pm and the hotel upgraded a Premier room for him. Once he has settled down, we went back into the streets for desserts! Thomas recommended Auntie Sweet 甜姨姨, which is located at Tsing Fung Street 清风巷. The place was empty, I guess not many people opt for desserts for lunch! Plus, the typhoon is still brewing, so why would people crave for cold desserts in the cold weather eh?
We ordered 4 dessets: the almond milk dessert, Instant Bean Curd Jelly 即撞木桶豆腐花, Chocolate Molten Cake 心太软(特浓版) and Peanut Butter Castle Toast 格仔饼味城堡. It came up to a total of HKD226, so we paid HKD57 each.
Only Thomas drank the almond milk dessert cause the rest of us couldn't accept the unique almond flavor. The bean curd jelly came to the table with its lid on, together with a 4 minute timer. We are only allowed to open the lid after 4 minutes or else the bean curd won't set properly. At the 4 minutes mark, we need to use our spoon to lightly touch the surface of the jelly. If it doesn't sink/collapses, we can officially dig in! But if the jelly does collapses, we just need to put on the lid and wait again.
The chocolate molten cake came with a scoop of ice cream, in which we chose the banana flavored ones. They drew a Meowth on the plate with some Pokeballs, so cute! The peanut butter castle came last with three big scoops of ice cream (peanut butter and vanilla) and big chunks of toasts.
I had a similar ice cream toast dessert at L&R cafe in Macau, and I dare say that till now, no other ice cream toasts has topped L&R's awesome toast. I'll share L&R's toast on my normal blog space soon.
The peanut butter flavor was too overwhelming, especially when it comes with such a huge serving.
After we're done with desserts, we proceeded down the road to get our hands on HK style Wanton Mee. We entered Mak Siu Kei 麥兆记 and ordered their shrimp roe wanton noodles 虾籽云吞汤面/捞面.
Only Thomas drank the almond milk dessert cause the rest of us couldn't accept the unique almond flavor. The bean curd jelly came to the table with its lid on, together with a 4 minute timer. We are only allowed to open the lid after 4 minutes or else the bean curd won't set properly. At the 4 minutes mark, we need to use our spoon to lightly touch the surface of the jelly. If it doesn't sink/collapses, we can officially dig in! But if the jelly does collapses, we just need to put on the lid and wait again.
The chocolate molten cake came with a scoop of ice cream, in which we chose the banana flavored ones. They drew a Meowth on the plate with some Pokeballs, so cute! The peanut butter castle came last with three big scoops of ice cream (peanut butter and vanilla) and big chunks of toasts.
I had a similar ice cream toast dessert at L&R cafe in Macau, and I dare say that till now, no other ice cream toasts has topped L&R's awesome toast. I'll share L&R's toast on my normal blog space soon.
The peanut butter flavor was too overwhelming, especially when it comes with such a huge serving.
After we're done with desserts, we proceeded down the road to get our hands on HK style Wanton Mee. We entered Mak Siu Kei 麥兆记 and ordered their shrimp roe wanton noodles 虾籽云吞汤面/捞面.
We've literally been eating non stop the moment we arrive in HK. We were so bloated after the dim sum, dessert and wanton mee in just 5 hours. We decided to check in our airbnb unit at Sheung Wan. We took Exit A2 and followed Google Map towards the address given by the owner. The owner-Sandy, gave me the instructions to obtain the house key and also the access code into the building. We had some trouble opening the metal sliding gate of our unit cause we've never seen one like that before. There's a key hole but the owner did not include that particular key in the pouch that he gave us. After a few moments of struggle, Vincent found a button beneath the middle part of the sliding gate that does the trick. We rushed in the apartment unit and switched on the air conditioners cause it was so stuffy out in the corridor.
There's a kitchenette, 2 small bedrooms and a bathroom. Just enough for a night's stay. I removed the make up that has been on my face for more than 12 hours and patted on some face lotion before heading out again. We took the MTR towards Mong Kok station and visited the Langham Place. We chilled for a while at Starbucks and started playing Pokemon Go. While the guys are immersed in the game, I trotted off towards H&M for some fast and furious shopping. We passed by H&M on our way to Starbucks earlier and all I could see are the On Sale signage-s. I sped through the store and whipped clothes off the shelves that are to my liking. I bought a jacket and 2 long sleeved Halloween themed pullovers to prepare for winter, and also for Seoul!
As I was queuing for payment, I saw a board that states if we were to follow H&M on WeChat we will get HKD20 off our bill, provided if our total loot exceeds HKD100. Hey, it's free money, who doesn't want it? I immediately did as told and showed the cashier the email that I received for the discount, woohoo!
I rushed back to meet them to explore the higher levels of Langham Place. The escalators are SO high up, I dare not look down for my fear of heights.
As I was queuing for payment, I saw a board that states if we were to follow H&M on WeChat we will get HKD20 off our bill, provided if our total loot exceeds HKD100. Hey, it's free money, who doesn't want it? I immediately did as told and showed the cashier the email that I received for the discount, woohoo!
I rushed back to meet them to explore the higher levels of Langham Place. The escalators are SO high up, I dare not look down for my fear of heights.
There were so many outlets that circulates around the building. The shopping area was designed in a way that allows shoppers to descend the levels slowly while circulating the shops along the walkway. We took the elevator down the rest of the way so we could go into the streets for dinner.
We walked towards Temple Street to have Claypot Rice for dinner. We chose Heng Kei Claypot Rice 兴记煲仔饭 and ordered 3 claypot rices, stir fried clams, vege and oyster omelette.
We walked towards Temple Street to have Claypot Rice for dinner. We chose Heng Kei Claypot Rice 兴记煲仔饭 and ordered 3 claypot rices, stir fried clams, vege and oyster omelette.
After dinner, we wandered around catching Pokemons and advanced towards Sneakers Street. I was looking for the New Balance MRT590TW that looked so awesome in the pictures. But when I see the shoes up close, it was not entirely white as what's in the pictures. There's some beige-y white parts on the shoe that I don't fancy. So I gave up on that pair of shoes.
We stopped by Hui Lau Shan 许留山for their mango dessert. We each ordered a jumbo dessert cup and devoured the entire thing in a flash.
We stopped by Hui Lau Shan 许留山for their mango dessert. We each ordered a jumbo dessert cup and devoured the entire thing in a flash.
After dessert, I rushed into the multi-story Forever 21 and sped through the clothing racks. I was only able to pick out one dress that I kinda liked. I paid and left in a rush cause they are done looking at the electronic items at the opposite side of the street. After wandering around for some time, we decided to head back to our respective accommodation to rest and Thomas had an early flight the next day as well.
I showered and posted the pictures on Facebook, and slept soundly. Well not at all soundly, I dreamt about Zombies and spending the whole night running away from them. Anyway, at least I still get to have some beauty sleep.
I showered and posted the pictures on Facebook, and slept soundly. Well not at all soundly, I dreamt about Zombies and spending the whole night running away from them. Anyway, at least I still get to have some beauty sleep.
Day 2
I woke up at 7am and started to search online for some breakfast spots. I stumbled upon a cafe called Kam Wah 金华冰厅, and apparently they serves the best Polo Bun in HK. So I showered and left to search for the cafe. It's located in between Mongkok and Prince Edward MTR station. When I arrived there aren't many customers queuing. So I bought 6 polo buns and 6 egg tarts at the entrance of the cafe. When I'm done paying, I was surprised to see the queue behind me that's growing longer.
I bought some milk tea from a bakery nearby our Airbnb instead of Kam Wah Cafe so I don't have to carry such heavy stuffs all the way from Mongkok.
I bought some milk tea from a bakery nearby our Airbnb instead of Kam Wah Cafe so I don't have to carry such heavy stuffs all the way from Mongkok.
I did not realize how huge their polo buns are! It was too much to get 6 polo buns just for the 3 of us. We managed to finish off the egg tarts and packed the remaining 2 polo buns. We got ready to check out for lunch before leaving HK, and we left the apartment around 10.30am.
On my way to Kam Wah Cafe this morning, I picked up a copy of newspaper at the MTR station and saw an interesting advertisement. It's about a beauty drink that was tested successful in curing acne within the 8 week treatment period. It's a product from Korea, and it's on 50% off sales in Watsons. I'm not sure why, but there's a lot of pimples on my forehead that started a month ago. I tried everything! Clay masks, facial masks, aloe vera masks, lotions, nothing is soothing it out! I made a mental note to stop by Watsons on the way to lunch.
We head towards Wan Chai MTR to look got Kam's Roasted Goose Cafe 甘牌烧鹅, which was recommended by Thomas. The cafe opens at 11.30am but we arrived at 10.55am. So we went to the Watsons on the opposite side of the street to look for my beauty drink. Unfortunately it was sold out. I searched on Google Maps and found another outlet nearby. So Jason and I went to search for it while Vincent stood in line for the roasted goose. Luckily that Watsons outlet still have 2 packs left on the shelf. I need 4 packs for the full 8 weeks treatment period, but I guess I'll have to settle with 2 packs first. I'm going to HK again next week, so I'll get them by then.
We went back to the roast goose cafe and waited for another 10 minutes before the hostess came out to count the people that are already queuing. We were the 3rd group and that guaranteed seats for us! We ordered their individual set lunch that comes with an appetizer, main dish and soup/drink. I opted for the roast goose + roast chicken combo with braised tofu as appetizer and a bowl of hot soup.
On my way to Kam Wah Cafe this morning, I picked up a copy of newspaper at the MTR station and saw an interesting advertisement. It's about a beauty drink that was tested successful in curing acne within the 8 week treatment period. It's a product from Korea, and it's on 50% off sales in Watsons. I'm not sure why, but there's a lot of pimples on my forehead that started a month ago. I tried everything! Clay masks, facial masks, aloe vera masks, lotions, nothing is soothing it out! I made a mental note to stop by Watsons on the way to lunch.
We head towards Wan Chai MTR to look got Kam's Roasted Goose Cafe 甘牌烧鹅, which was recommended by Thomas. The cafe opens at 11.30am but we arrived at 10.55am. So we went to the Watsons on the opposite side of the street to look for my beauty drink. Unfortunately it was sold out. I searched on Google Maps and found another outlet nearby. So Jason and I went to search for it while Vincent stood in line for the roasted goose. Luckily that Watsons outlet still have 2 packs left on the shelf. I need 4 packs for the full 8 weeks treatment period, but I guess I'll have to settle with 2 packs first. I'm going to HK again next week, so I'll get them by then.
We went back to the roast goose cafe and waited for another 10 minutes before the hostess came out to count the people that are already queuing. We were the 3rd group and that guaranteed seats for us! We ordered their individual set lunch that comes with an appetizer, main dish and soup/drink. I opted for the roast goose + roast chicken combo with braised tofu as appetizer and a bowl of hot soup.
After lunch, we made way back towards Sheung Wan to catch the ferry back to Macau, the counter ran out of 1pm tickets so we bought it from a guys that was selling travel agent's ferry tickets at HKD170 per person. As we arrived at the departure gate, the 12.30pm ferry was still boarding, so we sprinted onto the ferry and managed to take off sooner than our scheduled ticket.
So that's all for this Hong Kong food trip. Thanks to Thomas I now know of more places to eat and shop!
So that's all for this Hong Kong food trip. Thanks to Thomas I now know of more places to eat and shop!