The definitive travel guide to Hong Kong (part 2)

The usual questions for travellers to Hong Kong are: where to eat & where to shop.  The following are some of my recommendations.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do

Eating

糖朝 (Tong Chew/Sweet Dynasty) is located at the Tsim Tsa Tsui area along Canton Road.  If you're taking the MTR, exit at A1 at TST station, walk along Haiphong Road towards Canton Road.  Once you arrive at Canton Road, turn right and walk against the traffic till you see the restaurant.  Its common to see a queue formed outside, so be prepared to wait a little.

You may consider dining here after shopping at Harbour City.  It opens till quite late (1am I think) so having supper there is fine too.  This restaurant serves main dishes as well as desserts.  Some portions are quite large, so do check with the wait staff before ordering or you might be ordering a dish that's meant for two.  Some of their more interesting desserts are the DURIAN PASTRY.  This you gotta try if you like durian.  Its baked, so its hot on the outside and slightly cool on the inside.  Tip: order this way before you're prepared to eat your desserts or else you'll end up waiting a long time (prep time: 20mins).  The other is their home-made bean curd.  It comes in a tub, very interesting and this also has to be ordered about 15-20 minutes so that they can prepare this dessert.

Durian pastry - to die for!

The home made bean curd

See how deep the container is?

Some of the desserts we tried

稻香 (Dou Heung) has many branches.  There's one near the Mong Kok MTR station and one along Nathan Road.  This place was recommended by locals, so you know you can't go wrong with that.  Its very authentic and the prices varies according to the time of day.  Obviously you will be paying more for the more popular hours of the day.  So plan ahead to beat the crowd and get the best value for money.  From past experience, having a super solid breakfast (buuurrrrp) here will set you back at most S$15 per person.

What I liked here was (1) the dim sum, (2) specifically the 虾饺 (har kow), (3) braised rice (btw, the sauce they pour on the rice kicks ass!!!) and (4) the custard buns (steamed buns with custard and salted egg yolk).  If you don't order these, you're missing out a lot I tell you.  Okay.... I hope you're salivating by now..

Har kow has BIG prawns

太兴 (Tai Hing Roast) is highly recommended for their roast goose and 烧腊. Prices here are a lot cheaper than the overrated Yung Kee restaurant in Hong Kong island (near Lan Kwai Fong).   This restaurant is a mid-priced restaurant that the locals go to, so you can't go wrong.  Btw, only foreigners visit Yung Kee.  Ask any local and they'll tell you that place is overpriced.

When you are there, try their yuan yang (coffee & tea drink).  Its really neat and it comes in a plastic takeaway cup placed in a bigger bowl laid with ice cubes.  In this way, you don't dilute your drink but you still get it chilled.  Thoughtful right?  Alternatively, either the tea or coffee can be served chilled in the same manner.  Of course, I'm missing out on the highlight.  Try their roast goose and their roast pork.  For the roast pork, ask for the belly.  Its called 烧肉 (siew lam yoke).



Roast goose



Roast pork belly



Chilled tea/coffee/yuan yang

蛇王二 - If you haven't tried eating snake (no pun intended hahaha..) I'd recommend that you try this.  Located in Causeway bay, this old restaurant has very nice snake soup.  Don't worry, you can't tell that its snake.  Like all other things, the snake meat tastes like chicken hahaha. For HKD 52, you get a nice warm bowl of thick soup with crunchy crackers and chrysanthemum petals.  Give it a try, then you can tell your friends that you've ever really eaten snake before.  =)

Also, if any of the restaurants you're dining at serves 焖米 (stewed beehoon), order it.  Its usually very tasty and you can't go wrong with it.  Basically, what you'll get is almost like fried bee hoon except that its a little wet and the 上汤 that its been fried with is just bursting with flavour.  Trust me on this.

Its kinda late, so I'll continue tomorrow when I have time..

The definitive travel guide to Hong Kong (part 1)

I make it a point to travel to Hong Kong in July every year since 2006.  Yup, so I can proudly say that I'm very well versed having been to Hong Kong 5 years and counting.  In the rest of this post, I'll share my tips so you can benefit too.


TIP #1

Go in July.  Why July you might ask... Well, for obvious reasons because July is the time when the Summer sale happens.  The period where the sale is held varies from year to year but having gone in June, July and August, I can pretty much say that the safest period to go get your wardrobe overhaul is in July.  The earlier the better because if you haven't shopped enough to figure this out - the earlier you arrive at the sale, the more variety there is.  The later part of the sale is good for 1 thing - better discounts.  But consider this - if the items on sale can't even fit you, what's the point?  So the final verdict is JULY.  Yes, July.  Go any later and you're just wasting your plane tickets.



One often heard comment is "You're going in July? Isn't it super hot in Hong Kong then?".  Do not fret and do not let this affect your confidence.  Think people, THINK!  Isn't it hot in Singapore?  What difference is it going to make in Hong Kong.  Well, there are times when it gets a little scorching and the bad air in Hong Kong doesn't ease the stress on your lungs.. But are you going to be walking around in the hot sun?  The answer is NO WAY.  Who will do that?  You will be (I repeat - you will be) in the shopping malls in the day time.  So it doesn't matter whether its hot or its cold.  The air-conditioning in Hong Kong is so much better than in Singapore, so you will feel cool in the shopping malls.  You might be thinking - what about Temple Street and Ladies Market? Well, they open at night don't they?  So that throws the HOT weather argument out of the window.

I rest my case.

Tip #2

Book early.  You're probably embarking on a bargain trip so whether its fly budget or booking hotels, early is always better.  This also applies to getting your Hong Kong Dollar as well.  Monitor the exchange rates and buy when its in your favour.  Since you already know you are going to Hong Kong, it will be to your advantage if you plan ahead.  There are a few airlines that fly from Singapore to Hong Kong - Singapore Airlines (SQ), Jetstar Asia (3K), Tiger Airways (TR), Hong Kong Airlines (HX), Cathay Pacific (CX), Malaysia Airlines (MH), Thai Airways (TG), United Airlines (UA), Philippine Airlines (PR) & Royal Brunei Airlines (BI).  There are about 270 flights from Singapore Changi Airport to Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok a week, so don't tell me you can't find any airtickets.

For hotels, try Agoda.com, Asiarooms.com, Hotels.com and Booking.com.  Remember to check out the ratings of the hotels you're intending to book just to make sure you get something that is generally well-received.  Personally, I will visit Tripadvisor to see the ranking of that hotel and what other fellow Singaporeans reviewed.  Knowing how critical our fellow kinsmen are, you can't go wrong if you heed their reviews and base your judgement on them.

Tip #3

"How much money should I budget?" you may ask.  As a guide, I recommend at least a hundred and fifty Singapore dollars a day.  That's for someone like me who's going to shop and eat.  No Disneyland, no Ocean Park, so lavish restaurants in Hong Kong.  Just shopping and eating.  If you think S$150 isn't enough, it doesn't hurt to bring a little more cash.  The worst that could happen is that you don't use up all your HKD and you just gave yourself another reason to go back to Hong Kong next year.  Right?

Remember that you're going to Hong Kong during the Summer Sale, so things are supposed to be cheaper.  If discounts on average are at 40%, then your $$ is already buying you more than what you can get in Singapore.  Lastly, on money matters, you can also consider bringing spare Singapore dollars just in case you bust your budget and decide to change more Hong Kong dollars.  Whatever you don't use can be deposited into your bank account the moment you arrive in Singapore.  However if you do need to get your spare Singapore dollars changed, look for a bank that you have an account with.  Remember this... Membership has its privileges.  If you are a DBS bank account holder, bring along your DBS card and your passport (note: foreigners changing money in the banks need proof of ID).  If  you are a HSBC account holder, do so likewise.  The banks are likely to waive any transaction costs if you are an account holder.  Make it a point to ask first to avoid any misunderstanding.  Remember that you are a tourist, you need to ask questions.

Tip #4

Where to get your best exchange rates?  I say Raffles Place.  If its just too crazy to make a trip there (especially if you have to drive thru' ERP gantries and park at ridiculously expensive car parks), then any of your trusty neighbourhood money changers will suffice.  Money changers at Parkway Parade and Chinatown have pretty good rates too.

I will share more in the upcoming posts.  Stay tuned for more tips!

Holiday in Taipei (part 5 the finale)

This is the final post on my January trip to Taipei.  Last day was Saturday and I've only got the morning and afternoon to explore before we proceed to the airport for our flight back at 8.55pm.

We planned to check out 龙山寺 since the temples in Taipei seem to be quite elaborately decorated.  We took the subway to 龙山寺 station, which was one station away from 西门 station.

 

The temple filled with devotees

Elaborately carved pillar.

That's what I call a water feature!

After wandering around a bit more, we stumbled upon the venue where "Monga" was filmed.  It was a nice surprise to find this out of nowhere... Though I haven't watched this movie before, I think I will since I've been to the set now.  =)

Just before we left Taipei, I felt my stomach churning.. think it could be the rubbish that I've been eating the last few days.  Here's an example of what Taipei offers... Fried chicken SKIN, hearts and best worst of all CHICKEN ASS!!! OMG. yeah that's some serious shit I know.. they all go into the oil that fries your chicken cutlet.  Its little wonder why I didn't fall sick earlier.. Oh well.. enjoy the pics!

So I ended the trip to Taipei on an upset stomach.. If you asked me whether I like Taipei, I'll probably tell you a) I prefer Hong Kong, b) I will like Taipei better if not for the dreary rain and c) I think I'll bring some of my own food if I were to go there again.  That's all for Taipei..

Reunion dinner

30 Jan, the date we agreed to have our reunion dinner.  On Saturday, we had yusheng!  So that's like our pre-union dinner I guess... I'll post more after dinner.. As for now, I think I've to go to sleep.... zzzzzzzzzzz

Holiday in Taipei (part 4)

This is the day we planned to go on a day trip with my cousin and her 2 friends.  Destination: 九份 and 淡水.  Before we started on our journey, we had breakfast at some supposedly dou jiang stall.

KC ordered this salty dou jiang.  Its nice!

Taken from the cab since I was at the front seat

Finally we arrived at 九份.  Took a pic with my cousin as well as the scenery.

This is the streets of 九份. 

Chocolates in very interesting packaging

This is a waterfall to show the copper content in this mountain

Pipes that resemble anacondas line the mountain to redirect toxic fumes away from villagers.

Blue coloured rocks.  A result of oxidized copper.

 Can you see what copper does to the rocks?  It literally changes the colour from black to brown. Scary thought...

Next: 淡水.  Didn't take much pics here.

My cousin told us of this nice restaurant that served BBQ food.  We tried it and IT IS GOOD!

Holiday in Taipei (part 3)

Finally the weather put up on day 3 and we decided to head to 故宫.  Being a little adventurous and cheapskate, we decided to take a bus, thanks to the locals who provided directions.

The only pic with both of us in it - Kathryn & me on the bus

At the entrance of Gu Gong

Spotted these toilet signs.  Aren't they cute?

Tested some shots with the LX5.  Took a pic of the stone lion with flash.

That night, we went to 师大 night market.  This is by far my favourite night market.  Why?  Its got good food, the things they sell are also quite trendy, mainly due to the profile of shoppers there who are from the university nearby.  

Wrapping our order

The final product. Twist and eat.

 And there was the chicken cutlet.  How could I resist it?  This stall has a baked and deep fried version.  Verdict - I liked it, though I would have preferred it more if there were no bones in it.  Singapore's version doesn't have bones and its a lot easier to eat.  But Taipei's chicken cutlets are sooo much bigger, so who's complaining?  Kathryn wasn't that into fried chicken cutlet, so I pretty much ate almost everything.. By the time I finished it, I was already quite full.

Next, we had these 水煎包.  Damn they're good!  Had to queue a little for it, but I tell you this is worth the wait.  Its nice and juicy when hot.  Though I'm not sure how much oil went into making it so tasty.  Well, its only a few days in Taipei, so I should try whatever I can right?

Stall owners preparing the 水煎包. 

This is how it look like.

  

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to stop by the Red House which had been mentioned in Kathryn's Taipei book.

Saw this old chinese typewriter in a showcase.  Made me wonder how the heck you'll use it.  Aren't chinese characters infinite?  Well at least that's my impression.  I can't imagine having enough keys to use on a traditional typewriter.  

See the keys?  No easy feat typing I'm sure!

 

Saw this uncle using spray paint to create art.  I've seen such artwork in production before in one of my trips, but I can't remember exactly where.

Just before we headed back to the hotel, Kathryn said she was still hungry and wanted some Ah Chung mian xian.  I can't imagine why and how she can still be hungry.  Btw, she had the large portion takeaway and ate it in the comfort of our room.  I must confess I did try 1 spoonful just to get a taste.  Its indeed nice. Definitely much better than the one at Raohe night market.

More to come in the next post as we go on a day trip with my cousin who's also on holiday in Taipei.