Discovering : Hong Kong

"Why did you choose to go during the typhoon season?"

That was the frequently asked question I encountered before flying off to Hong Kong. I should be counting my blessing as there were no typhoon and was sunny for the 2 days I spent over there. Having said that, having heatstroke, braving through the influx of obnoxious tourists (yes, they are loud and proud of it) and minor food poisoning was unpleasant during the trip but I did get to at least achieve almost three quarters of what I came Hong Kong for.

High risers - OZO Wesley

Leveraging on the cheap flight return tickets (Thanks AirAsia) to Macau, we landed at 6pm and had a mad dash towards the ferry terminal just to beat the night ferry rate (pricier tickets). Dealt with the one way ticket of MOP 190 (Approximately RM100) headed to Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. The Cotai Jet ferry ride was quite comfortable given that, let's be honest, a ferry ride.

Cotai Ferry

Getting off towards immigration was the introduction to what we experienced the next two days - loud and obnoxious tourists (not to patronize anyone but they definitely weren't the most eloquent people around) from *koff* the Mainland *koff*. Our patience were definitely tested, but we weren't deterred as we survived the immigration and headed to the MTR station to grab a ride to our hotel. The renting of Octopus Card ease commuting through buses and MTR, for $100 worth and $50 deposit (refundable upon refunding the Octopus card in good condition). The subway ride I can definitely relate to Singapore in terms of its fast pace.

We spent some time looking for dinner in Lan Kwai Fong for the night but found ourselves at McDonalds in the end. Mickey D can sometimes be life savers.

The Lan Kwai Fong

Accommodation : OZO Wesley Hong Kong, 22 Hennessy Road, Wanchai Hong Kong

The following morning we met up with a local friend in Hong Kong for a char chan teng (茶餐廳, because really, you can't just come to HK and miss going for a char chan teng breakfast). Char chan teng breakfast can be pretty generic - with the usual suspects of toasts, milk tea, egg tarts etc. The trick here is, just go to the less main stream ones to enjoy your breakfast without the need to rush or being pried by strangers (yes, sharing tables is common here).

Char Chan Teng breakfast

Visited a couple of cafes along the way, with most of them sharing the common traits of compact but never shy of their own personalities for coffee and Instagramming of course.

Cupping Room, 32 Swatow St. , Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Ethos, 93, 97, 99  Hill Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong.

Ethos

Back to being generic tourist mode, we then brave through the bustling Central (中環). Aside from the night scenes of Lan Kwai Fong, several notable places that you can find yourself lost at include 

• The famous stairs you see at TVB dramas, Duddell Street (check out the old school Starbucks there)

Duddell-ing

• Rustic charms of Hollywood Street (Antique street located around it too)
• Walk along the Mid-Level Escalator

Hollywood Road

Mid-Level Escalators

Of course, no visit to an oriental, Chinese heritage country would be complete without visiting at least one temple, the one we visited was Man Mo Temple (文武廟) for worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai / Man Cheong & the martial god Mo Tai / Kwan Tai.

Man Mo Temple

One of the lunch that you should definitely try as well is the Wonton Noodle (雲吞麺). The wontons are generous in size, and the noodles are much chewier (almost like a ramen texture) compared to how Malaysians were to cook them.

Recommended visit : Tsim Chai Kee (沾仔記), 98 Wellington St, Central, Hong Kong.

Tsim Chai Kee Wonton Noodles

To end your day, do get to the Temple Street (nearby Kowloon/Jordan) to unleash your bargaining and shopping prowess, followed by the Arena of Stars and Symphony of Lights at Tsim Sha Tsui.

Temple Street Market starts operating at 4pm till late

Keepin' it real here, Arena of Stars is an interpretation of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but with large crowds of *koff*mailanders*koff*. 

The iconic Bruce Lee at Avenue of Stars

Also, the Symphony of Lights in Singapore is slightly more jubilant than the one in Hong Kong, I guess I wasn't as lucky as those who were in awe of the lights presentation prior to my visit. The night view of illuminated skyscraper is undeniably beautiful though.

Nightview Hong Kong

Another meal that is synonymous to the Canton region would be the dim sum. Hearty, bite-sized cuisine served on bamboo steamer, you can't really go wrong with the variety of flavors here. Don't forget the dynamic duo of Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) and Siew Mai (Pork or Prawn Dumplings) and the classic favourites Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls) and Char Siew Pao (Pork Buns).

Recommended visit : Dim Dim Sum Dim Sum (點點心), various locations.

Dim Sum at Dim Dim Sum

I had high expectations for Mido Cafe after reading reviews that it is a people's favorite when it comes to rustic and classic Hong Kong char chan teng food. Not to patronize the cafe but the food is just not up to what I had in mind, perhaps we Malaysians are indeed the pickiest eaters in the world.

Mido Cafe rustic interior

Upscale market and shopping? Causeway Bay is the area for you, but the main focus when we were here was just for the Hong Kong Gundam Expo, located at the Time Square Mall. 

Gundam v Time Square

Another cafe that was raved in reviews was the Australian Dairy Company, where most Instagram and Blogger peers had agreed that they serve killer scrambled eggs. I had a different opinion though. The eggs were more on the saltier side, and I expected silky, creamy and fluffy scrambled (the likes to what I had in Ronin, Singapore). Plus points - They aced on their milk tea AND their milk pudding (did not manage to try the other famous one, Yee Shun Dairy but I can settle on this). 

To visit : Australian Dairy Co, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Hong Kong.

The Milk Tea, Milk Pudding and ever famous Scrambled Eggs with Toast

If you have managed to catch the skyscraper panorama at the Tsim Sha Tsui piers, you should also get to Victoria Peak (more famously known as The Peak) for the height view of Hong Kong's skyscrapers. I would love to catch the sunset there (evening) but due to our tight schedule of trying to catch the evening ferry back to Macau, we were there at the late afternoon. 

From the Peak (feat Sharky)

Getting up there, get to the Central station (J2 Exit) and find your way to the Peak Tram Lower Terminus. The return ticket would cost $40 for adult (and $83 if you are visiting the Sky Terrace 428). Attractions at the Peak would include the Sky Terrace 428 of course, and Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. Do note that you may need to return down slightly earlier to beat the rush hour (when we went down, the line was almost ten folds as long to board the tram, likely for those who are waiting for the sunset).

Peak Tower

The Aftermath

• Foods in Hong Kong could be slightly pricey, with an average of $30 for a decent meal (check out the estimated price of HK food/transportation/etc price here).
• Participating Hard Rock Cafe (if you are a HRC collector/member) are located in Lan Kwai Fong and the Peak Tower.

Hard Rock Cafe Lan Kwai Fong

• Getting from Hong Kong to Macau at around 8.15 pm would cost around $200 one way. Bloody pricey -_-|||
• Try the smelly tofu (臭豆腐), curry fishball (咖哩魚蛋)and egg waffles (鷄蛋仔) - HK's common street foods.

A wild bag of Egg Waffles appeared 

• HK Dollars (notes only) can be used in Macau but not vice versa.
• I might not return to HK the soonest, but if I do I would want to visit the smaller islands (Lantau, Lamma etc) and get to Ocean Park and Disneyland. God's willing.

Last Brotips : Have you been collecting the selfies at the MTR stations?