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Half Local Half Tourist Dines in Hong Kong (Part 2)

Asia 12:22 PM

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Half Local Half Tourist Dines in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Asia 12:14 PM

In the last post, I talked about the 5 key attractions I’ve visited in the past when I traveled to Hong Kong. In this post, I will talk about the go-to-places to eat. Do keep in mind though, that Hong Kong is a food and beverage heaven 「美食天堂」which means it is difficult to pinpoint what’s good and what’s bad. However, that being said, there are ways to find good food or drinks when in Hong Kong.

Dining in Hong Kong

As a diverse and a multi-cultural city, in terms of food, there are thousands if not millions of restaurants in Hong Kong and trust me everything looks good! While there are some obvious amazing restaurants like the three-Michelin star restaurant, Lung King Heen, there are also other alternatives that are more down-to-earth for the locals. The big question is, however, how on earth do I know what’s good. The answer can be solved by on simple app: OpenRice (available on both Apple and Android devices). I literally use this app every day to find the best food places around the area I am in, and it never disappoints. This app is similar to like Yelp and TripAdvisor, but used by locals, so if the many locals like it, it must be very good! And if not, it’s either getting there, or it may run out of business soon. The F&B industry in Hong Kong is extremely competitive.

In today’s post, I am going to go through a few of the restaurants that I think it’s noteworthy from my recent trip and highlight some other restaurants I always go back to when I’m in town (and it’s STILL there). Hopefully it will make you hungry and kick in that urge for you to travel to Hong Kong for some amazing food.

Restaurants and Food Stands from my Childhood Days

(1) Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司)

Let’s start off with breakfast. As a kid, I would go to this place with my family every Sunday before we head to church for a simple breakfast. Options were limited, but it’s the Hong Kong style breakfast cafe (cha chaan teng) which is extremely efficient: you order your food, your food arrives, you eat your food (quickly), you pay for your food, and you leave. Turnaround time at the restaurant per table is probably 20 minutes maximum. Note: Chinese people, especially those in Hong Kong, eat very quickly, so 20 minutes is already too slow!

Today it’s famous. You need to line up if you aren’t there before 7:30AM. And because I got there at around 8AM, I had to lineup for about 10-15 minutes. The breakfast menu is very simple: macaroni in soup with ham, toast with sunny side up, and a milk tea. The milk tea is a must! Their milk tea has been awarded the “BEST HONG KONG STYLE MILK TEA RESTAURANT” from 2008 – 2016. It’s the best one I ever had, and I will drink it cold. Afterall, it’s too hot to drink ANYTHING hot in Hong Kong. And even though it’s breakfast, a must get item is the steam milk pudding. MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE DESSERT. You may have to wait a little longer, because it’s steamed, but it’s total worth it.

Note: this restaurant is very crowded with limited seating space. It is common to share seats with others. Don’t be alarmed, it’s a usual Chinese tradition; just embrace it.

This is definitely a place down memory lane! And the food still taste just as good, and super affordable too!

Address: G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan
Operating Hours: 7:30AM-11PM daily, close on Thursdays and Public Holidays
What to Order: Milk Tea, Steamed Milk, Toast with Eggs
Price Range: $
How to get there: 2-min walk from Exit C2, Jordan MTR Station

(2) Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles (利強記北角雞蛋仔)

My all time favourite snack is probably egg waffles. As a kid, I will get this every Friday after school at a food stand before I head for the bus to go home. Back then it was only $2.50 HKD. But as days and years go by, inflation and standard of living began to kick in. Food stands are now rare in Hong Kong as it’s considered not very hygienic and associates with dirty or unclean.

This “food stand”, located in between Jordon station and Tsim Sha Tsui station, a hole in the wall, was by far one of my favourite place after I discovered it almost over 10 years ago. The cost of these bubble waffles used to be $15 HKD for two; today, it costs $22 HKD for one. And it’s only made from 11AM to 1PM each day. And to make a statement they are also now on the Michelin guide under the Street Food category.

Address: 492 King’s Road, North Point
Operating Hours: 10AM-11PM daily
What to Order: Egg waffles
Cost: $22 HKD
How to get there: 2-min walk from Exit B3, North Point MTR Station

Recent Finds

(1) Yum Cha

A contemporary restaurant for a traditional type of meal famous to all Chinese, Yum Cha, was definitely one of the best experience I had while dining in Hong Kong. There are a few locations, but I chose the one in Tsim Sha Tsui as it was relatively closer to my hotel.

If you are looking for a fun way eating dim sum, then this place is for you! The dim sum here are one of a kind and it’s also very very instagram worthy. Don’t trust me? See for yourself!

The dim sum looked so cute, it actually took me some time before I was able to dig into my meal...

Address: 3/F, Attitude on Granville, 20-22 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Operating Hours: 11:30AM – 4PM, 6PM – 11PM (Weekdays); 11:00AM – 4PM, 6PM – 11PM (Weekends)
What to Order: Dim Sum!
Price Range: $$ – $$$
How to get there: 4-min walk from Exit B2, Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station

(2) Thai on 5 Seafood Grill and Bar (泰燒遙)

Found this Thai place using the OpenRice app because my sister and I had no clue what’s good around the area, and it happens that this place has a lot of great ratings, so we decided to make our way in some random alley way behind Mira Place 1. And to our surprise, there were lots of restaurant in this area! But we were determined and focus, and we head to this Thai restaurant.

As we walked in, we saw an assortment of fresh seafood. We were confused, but the waitress sat us down first and began to explain. She told us to look at the menu first and she would come back. Not sure how long it took, but when she came back, we were only able to decide to get the fresh coconut drink. So she wave down her boss, and he came and recommended us a few options.

For one, the Thai Style Shrimp Sashimi was out of this world. He explained the way it is prepared and how it’s been raved upon everywhere online. Then he brought us to the assortment of fresh seafood by the entrance and told us how each type of seafood or meats were prepared. We were sold.

Thankful for the boss’ recommendation, we had a delicious meal and had our face stuffed in all the foods we ordered. Above are just some of the foods we had, and they were all delicious! Highly recommend this place if you are craving for Thai food while in Hong Kong.

Address: 5/F, 1 Knutsford Terrace, Tsim Sha Tsui
Operating Hours: 12PM – 3PM, 6PM – 11PM
What to Order: Thai Style Shrimp Sashimi, Tom Yum Soup, Grilled Clams and Razor Clams, Crab Fried Rice, Beef Skewers, Coconut drink and whatever they have on “Special”
Price Range: $$ – $$$
How to get there: 5-min walk from Exit B1, Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station

(3) Snow Garden (雪園飯店)

My family and I really wanted to try this place while we were in Hong Kong this time because they were famous for their Shanghainese fish soup. Thinking of those fish soup noodles that I generally eat back at home, I was like “okay, let’s see how special this is!” To be honest, I was expecting the white creamy looking fish soup, but to my surprise, the fish soup was brown, and had lots of stuff in it!

Other popular Shanghainese food I had include:

Apparently, there used to be multiple Snow Garden restaurants in Hong Kong, at its peak, there were seven! Now it’s down to one, but the food still taste amazing. Definitely recommend this place if you want some authentic Shanghainese food in Hong Kong.

Address: 2/F, China Taiping Tower, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay
Operating Hours: 11:30AM – 3PM, 6PM – 10:30PM
What to Order: Fish Soup
Price Range: $$$
How to get there: 5-min walk from Exit F1, Causeway Bay MTR

(4) Sift

Found this cupcake gem while I was doing my internship in Hong Kong in my university days. Colleagues of one of the Big Four firm knows that every time we get cupcakes from this place, a coworker is leaving among us.
Since I found this place, every time I head back to Hong Kong, I must go to Sift. Previously, I would get the normal size (like a size of a muffin). But then you don’t get to try as many flavours! I was wise this time! I got a dozen of minis, and ate all the flavours I ever wanted to try including my all time favourite: red velvet!

Address: various locations, I got mine at Hysan Place
Operating Hours: 10AM – 10PM
What to Order: Cupcakes
Price Range: $$ – $$$

(5) iCREMERia

Found this ice cream place while walking around in Ocean Terminal / Harbour City. What really caught my attention was the ad. You will see why below.

Final verdict: The Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream wrapped in Pure Gold sounds interesting, but I don’t think I will eat it again. To be quite honest, the sheet gold was just a gimmick thing, and it looks nice on photos! Just getting Hokkaido ice cream would have been sufficient.

Address: various location, I got mine at Ocean Terminal / Harbour City
Operating Hours: 10AM – 10PM
What to Order: Ice cream
Price Range: $$

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Half Local Half Tourist Visits Hong Kong

Asia 12:53 PM

It’s been a while since I traveled back to the city that never sleeps, the truly multicultural metropolis, and the place which I call my hometown. Hello Hong Kong, I am back!

Being a half a local and half a tourist brings disadvantages when trying to decide on the key attractions I want to visit while in Hong Kong. In this post, not only will I mention the places I have visited this trip, I will also bring back other attractions I've visited in the past in hopes to provide a holistic half local/half tourist point of view and you can decide what to visit!

Tourist Attractions

Victoria Peak (aka. The Peak)

I think the Peak is probably the top attraction in Hong Kong. It is the highest view point that a tourist can access to easily during night or day, by tram, by bus/minibus, by taxi, or by hiking! I obviously prefer to take the tram, the most convenient yet scenic route. For further details on how to get there I have embedded the link here.

I’ve been to the Peak during both night and day. While both views are amazing, I definitely prefer going at night because you can still see the buildings at night despite the smog! That being said, the option is yours to choose!

At the Peak, there are also other attractions, such as the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. I really enjoyed it, but perhaps it’s more for Asian tourists, because there are tons of Asian celebrities there. It’s worth a visit! Click here for more details.

Stanley Bay

My second favourite attraction in Hong Kong is probably Stanley Bay. Stanley is one of the oldest villages on Hong Kong Island and many tourists and locals are actually aware or know about the history behind Stanley. This village dates back as early as the Ming Dynasty (1573 – 1620). The English name originates from Lord Stanley, a British Colonial Secretary in the 19th century. This area was the most populous area in Hong Kong Island when it was under the British rule in 1841. The Brits like this area so much that it soon became a base for its garrison. Traces of the British Colonial Times can still be found today such as the Stanley Old Police Station which was established in 1859 – the oldest police station in Hong Kong. Nowadays, a restaurant as well as supermarket can be found in the original Stanley Old Police Station. And if you were curious…. the new police is actually just across the street. As a joke, when I visited Stanley, my uncle would ask me why I’m visiting the prison – just an FYI, the military cemetery as well as the prison were built in close vicinity of Stanley.

So what can you do in Stanley? There are many things you can find in Stanley:

(1) Stanley Market. This is a must-go of all the Hong Kong Street Markets. Not only because the shops and stalls offer a wide variety of products, but it covers the styles from both the East and West. To be quite honest though, I merely just walked around these stalls. But it does have an interesting atmosphere, so it is good to check it out if it’s your first time here.

(2) Stanley Promenade and Waterfront Mart. There are many restaurants, bars and cafes clustered around this area. People usually hang out around here to enjoy the nice weather, good food and drinks.

(3) Murray House. Murray House is one of Hong Kong’s oldest buildings and was originally located in Central. This house was built in 1846 and was known as officers’ quarters of the Murray Barracks back in the day. Today, this iconic building is a popular location for photo and movie shooting. While I was here, I did see photo shooting happening!!!

(4) Blake Pier. This probably my favourite destination in Stanley. I have a thing for piers for some reason and I find this pier one of the coolest (temperature-wise) in Hong Kong. I love the nice breeze on a summer’s day. Something that is hardly imaginable in Hong Kong.

For directions to get to Stanley, please click here.

Lantau Island & The Giant Big Buddha (via Ngong Ping 360)

Lantau Island is another key attraction if you want to check off a bucketlist item for the touristy-you. Not only will you see the Giant Big Buddha in view whichever direction you go, there also street vendors, and traditional desserts here too!

You can go to Lantau Island to visit Tian Tan Buddha by minibus, but why would you pick that option when you can go via the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars! This ride is about 30 minutes to an hour, all depending on whether it stops while you are on it. (Stopping the cable cars is never a good sign though!). The year I went here, I got to even try out the crystal cable cars. This means that the bottom of the cable car is glass, so you can see the view from below as well!

My apologies for the smoggy view, but that’s how it is on a very hot day in Hong Kong. And in the summer months, it’s ALWAYS hot here. On the way up to the Lantau Island to see the Giant Big Buddha, you will see many hills/mountains, apartment buildings, and the airport in a distance!

As you get to the Lantau Island, you will see a street with many shops and cafe. Just keep on walking towards the Giant Buddha, until you meet him at the bottom of the never ending staircase.

For the devoted ones, please continue up these stairs to be as close to Tian Tan Buddha as possible. For me, I continued onwards, skipping the stairs to enjoy some traditional tofu dessert and looked at Buddha in the distance.

The above is a traditional bowl of tofu desserts with grounded yellow sugar. It’s probably impossible to find these nowadays unless you look really hard for it! Nowadays, they use syrup, but it’s just not the same.

And finally, one more snapshot of Buddha before we move on to the next attraction.

Disneyland Hong Kong

As a little girl, my goal was to go to all the Disneylands in the world. That dream shattered when they built one in Hong Kong, and I think there is going to be one in Shanghai now too. I can no longer say I’ve been to all the Disneylands in the world since the opening of the one in Shanghai on June 16, 2016. However, I’m only one away from fulfilling that dream since I went to the one in Hong Kong!

It’s super easy to get to the Hong Kong Disneyland because there’s a special MTR station just to get there! And they even decorated the station and the subways so that everything has a Disney theme! Way to hype it up for probably the smallest Disneyland in the world.

I don’t remember how many rides there were at the Hong Kong Disneyland, but there wasn’t a lot. The park is quite small, perhaps smaller than one of the theme parks in the US. However, they still have the iconic Disney tower in the distance, and firework show at night starting at 8PM sharp (rain or shine).

I probably won’t ever go back to this Disneyland again. It’s too small for my liking and way too crowded. But before we move on to a better theme park in Hong Kong, lets just look at a few more Disney branded structures, shall we?

Bye Mickey *waves*.

Ocean Park

Last but not least, my favourite theme park / aquarium / exhibition in the world, OCEAN PARK! I’ve been to this place many times since I was a kid, and it’s literally different every time. Not only do they have theme parks with roller coasters and other fun stuff, they also have a giant aquarium that features many types of water-living creatures as well as other wildlife that lives on land!!

From the aquarium life...

To the jellyfish (I love jellyfish! They are so pretty!)

To more water living mammals and creatures, including dolphins and seals!

And then my favourite animals in the world... PANDAS! and red pandas!

There’s only one place where you can see it all, the one and only Ocean Park!

That’s all the attractions I can think of at the top of my head. I’m sure there are other ones out there, but these are probably my favorite attractions. Aside from the Avenue of the Stars which features footprints of celebrities like those in Hollywood. Except this place is currently it’s closed for renovations.

But honestly, there’s so much to do in Hong Kong aside from the attractions mentioned above that you would not ever have a dull moment when visiting. One last fun “fun attraction” however, before I close is that you must ride the Star Ferry! Just even once, to feel how it was like back in the day when people get from Kowloon to the Hong Kong Island. Just to walk down memory lane like locals would do.

Until the next post! Good morning and/or good night!

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Half Local Half Tourist Dines in Hong Kong (Part 2)

3-Star Michelin Restaurant

Lung King Heen (龍景軒)

Half Local Half Tourist Dines in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Dining in Hong Kong

Restaurants and Food Stands from my Childhood Days

(1) Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司)

(2) Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles (利強記北角雞蛋仔)

Recent Finds

(1) Yum Cha

(2) Thai on 5 Seafood Grill and Bar (泰燒遙)

(3) Snow Garden (雪園飯店)

(4) Sift

(5) iCREMERia

Half Local Half Tourist Visits Hong Kong

Tourist Attractions

Victoria Peak (aka. The Peak)

Stanley Bay

Lantau Island & The Giant Big Buddha (via Ngong Ping 360)

Disneyland Hong Kong

Ocean Park

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