The worst holiday that anyone can ever have would be to stay in Hong Kong for just 2 nights! It was a mad rush and you will miss the food badly.
I returned to Hong Kong for a short weekend getaway after a good 8 years from my last vacation there and it has not changed much...not too much but the heightened costs, degraded hospitality and number of mainland visitors (of course, who else?) have quadrupled. For that statement and more to come later in this blog post, I'm sure to offend some mainlanders but that's coming purely from my personal opinion and perhaps, narrow mindset. So, don't be bothered with my comments.
I stayed in Park's Hotel this time and it is a pretty spacious one.
It really is if you are to compare it with BH International because you can move around and drink coffee at the coffee table (with 2 accompanying chairs) in a standard room. You can do small waltz steps in the bathroom too, so, you can imagine, this room is already bigger than most other hotel rooms. Priced at about MYR600++, it is reasonable for the space that you get. The additional spaces could fit 5 times a cabin size luggage. It is centrally located in the heart of Tsim Sha Shui and 5 minutes away from the Tsim Sha Shui mrt station.
Good sleep despite the renovation next door. But worry not, the noises are minimal.
The first day saw me hunting for food at Tim Hao Wan dim sum restaurant. It was a coincident that we went to Hong Kong on a Friday and upon dumping our luggages at the hotel, we went straight for this restaurant. I heard so much raves about it and online blogs said that the queue is really super duper long. I was quite half-hearted to go but given the good ratings, I have decided that it is a must try.
It has got several branches and we went to the one at Sam Shui Po. It was not a straight forward find from the mrt station but you will do fine with a map. The streets can be quite confusing when the street stalls start to operate. Anyways, it is a good one for street photography. It is a place filled with wholesale stores and stores doing transportation businesses as well as metal wielding workshops. But the weather was a killer and moreover, I was too sleepy and hungry to ponder about the street. With my aunties along, they would have confiscated my camera if I dare to stop and take a longer than 1 min shot. They were dead tired with that early flight.(We took the earliest flight there is, about 5 am; to Hong Kong and best part is that the flight was delayed for about 45 min - which actually felt like 1.5 hours)
I didn't know that Tim Ho Wan has got several branches and googling around didn't quite help. I was quite confused because some sites said that certain branch is operating while some are not. And so, I was afraid that I was unable to locate one which is operating. Upon reaching Hong Kong, we took a cab (appx. HKD250) and went straight to Park Hotel to leave our luggage with them. That was where I asked the concierge about this restaurant and if they know whether or not that it is still operating. Honestly, if you ask me, do communicate with them in Cantonese if you know the language. There will be less confusion. To cut the chase, he just showed me the way to the first address I showed him (I have several addresses with me) despite me asking if these branches are operating or not.
And this was how I realized that there are several branches of Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong. Hope this one helps in helping you Food Hunters out there searching for one branch which is near you!
Next would be the Char Siew Pao (Pork Bun); the one on the left. The right is the Siew Mai, one of the dim sum variety, which is good but nothing to shout about. I would give more credits to the pork bun because it is one of its kind if you compare to the normal pork buns which you get in other restaurants. Usually, the buns in the normal dim sum restaurant comes as steamed ones (white appearance) but this is baked, which makes it crispy on the outside but soft and juicy on the inside. Try it for that melt-in-your-mouth sensation which words can't describe!
And my favourite.....
TA-DA! Kwai Fa Go!! It was translated as osmanthus jelly and I absolutely love it. It is quite pricey (HKD30? Appx..sorry, I don't quite remember...) but nothing in Malaysia (ie: New Shanghai, Pavilion KL) is a match in terms of taste to this version. It is made of osmanthus flower, chinese wolfberry and gelatin. TVB drama would tell you that princesses and queens of China Kingdom love this dessert too. It has flowery fragrance and every bite keeps you yearning for more. (Almost like the swiss roll from Nobel cake house, Taiwan but I doubt that I could buy this home. It might not be able to last that long?). Honestly, you should really give this a try!
We were there on a Friday and at about 10.30 am, hence the queue was not that bad. In fact, we don't have to queue at all! The tables were almost fully occupied but we managed to find a table at the corner of the restaurant. Hong Kong has this annoying....I don't know if that's the perfect term? Annoying culture or part of life where everyone has to queue for food. MOST of the restaurant has lines of people waiting for a table especially that opposite Park Hotel. I didn't take a shot but I assure you that the line is really...really long...for just a shabu-shabu. And don't get me mention about Yuen Kee, Central. It is such a famous eatery among the celebrities that 3 floors are not good enough for its patrons. The estimated waiting period is at least 45 minutes. For? Normal menu that you get in a common chinese restaurant (one of the signature dishes is roasted duck). I don't know about the taste but the waiting time is just too much and so we decided to have our dinner somewhere nearby our hotel. The food served there is just as excellent.
Okay, now the next highlight is Lan Fong Yuen. It is famous for its pork bun, noodles and yin yong drink.I googled for the best food recommended and this pops up. Well, to locate it is not so straight-forward. The address is 2 Gage Street, Central but I can't find Gage street on my free tourist map. It is near Lan Kwai Fong and after some asking-arounds, we managed to find the restaurant. Small restaurant with probably 5 to 6 tables but mostly occupied (no surprise). We tried the pork bun, noodles and thick toast. Good but that's about it. I would say its yin yong wins the race though. It is smooth, aromatic and well balanced with both tea and coffee.
The fruit stall next to Lan Fong Yuen. I thought the cherries would be good but oh well....
My favourite shot of the trip:
Besides all the food, ahhh....the tram car! My initial plan was to take the tram route and explore the island in the evening but plan was scrapped. What happened was that I took a short ride from Central to the next station and that's it. I don't even get the top seats because seats were all occupied (things are always occupied, don't you think?) and it gets stuffy when you don't get the window seat...so we got off the tram and well...there goes my street photography plan but...I Shall Be Back!
Next food highlight was the Glutinous Sticky Rice and soya milk, a common breakfast in Hong Kong and I was dying to try this one; recommended by online reviewers. I was not able to find the exact shop but I assumed that I have found the right one.
The glutinous rice wraps around a stick of fried chay keow and if you are not used to breakfast like this, your stomach would get quite uncomfortable but I tolerated it well. With the soya milk, I know that it can last me till dinner time (Though, I still have lunch when I went to visit the Big Buddha. I must say, wherever you go in Hong Kong, you will always find excellent food. Seriously!)
That's the owner of the shop (below). Somehow, his appearance reminds me of Simpsons...
(So, I need to re-emphasize:) Obviously food in Hong Kong is awesome and almost ALL of the restaurants I went to, serve GREAT food.
Sighs...the 3 days and 2 nights trip is seriously too...way too short for a vacation but when time is limited, this is the best you can make out of it. I have got other eating places on my list and also clothing outlets which I wanted to go but there was just not enough time :((
Then again, Hong Kong is no longer a shopping paradise. Ever since the influx of Chinese tourists and the increase of living costs, every goods and food stuff alike have become expensive. I remember years back, even if accommodation is expensive, you still feel the joy of shopping in Hong Kong.
Now, mentioning the Chinese tourists, my recent encounter with them was a bad one and it was just as real as those portrayed by the TVB series. I know that I shouldn't stereotype and that one bad apple doesn't represent the entire China Chinese population - in fact I met a Chinese couple back during my Thailand trip and they are really nice and educated people, who I'm glad to befriend with. Anyways, the nice and friendly..and polite - type of adjectives don't apply to this recent trip. My magical journey in Disneyland was good enough to see the other side of the coin. Horrendous behaviour which makes you feel like slapping them, especially the kids. These little devils and their parents will make a living hell out of your magical journey...I can see that other people were irritated too...'Nuff said...I don't want to elaborate further because it might just lead to exaggerations...you should get a taste of them on your own or..easiest way...watch TVB Inbound Troubles (Lao Biao Ni Hao Ye)...apt representations.
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