Honeymoon Part 55; HongKong 3-5May14

SIN - HKG 3 May 2014 0735 - 1120
HKG -SIN 5 May 2014 0800 - 1145

It has been more than a year since I last went to Hong Kong (minus the countless Hong Kong turnarounds that I did in 2013 where I only got to breathe the Hong Kong air in the aircraft when we land in Hong Kong airport).

So on 3 May, I travelled to Hong Kong to meet my hubby who was arriving from San Francisco.

I took the Airport Express train to Hong Kong Island which cost 100HKD and then changed for a free shuttle service H2 to the hotel The Park Lane by myself. Total journey took me approximately 1 hour and it was pretty hassle free. It would have cost me around 280HKD and 45minutes to take a cab so I figured I could save a little on transport.

My hubby was already checked in at The Park Lane waiting for me that morning.

The Park Lane hotel is one of the stops of the H2 shuttle service. There are a couple of different routes for other hotels too.

It was my first time staying in this hotel as well as my first time staying in Hong Kong Island, as previously when I was flying with SQ we used to stay in Kowloon. But I really like this hotel as compared the hotel I stayed in Kowloon as it is very spacious and I do find the location convenient yet not too busy like in the Kowloon area.

Thus I was not familiar with the area and as my hubby had previously stayed in this hotel before, he brought me to Ho Hung Kee which is a 1-Michelin star wanton noodles restaurant for lunch. It is located at Hysan Place which is around 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

Ho Hung Kee Congee and Noodle Shop 何洪记

1204-1205 Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay (Causeway Bay MTR, near Times Square, take elevator or lift up to Level 12)

Opening Hours: 11:30am – 11pm

It is awarded 1 star by Michelin guide 2013 for the 5th consecutive year.

The 1-Michelin star wanton noodles... 

As we know, Hong Kong's wanton noodles is really different from the ones in Singapore/Malaysia. They are mainly soup base and even if we ordered the dry version the sauce used to dress the dry noodles is also different from the ones in Singapore/Malaysia. Personally, I prefer the style of wanton noodles I grew up eating, but the wantons (dumplings) in Hong Kong seems to be bigger and wrapped with fresh and juicy prawns.

The House Specialty Wanton Noodles in Soup cost HK$38 for a small bowl, and HK$54 for a large bowl.

My hubby loves their steam pork ribs, it was juicy tender and flavourful!

I had blond hair in May'14.

I've heard about the wholesale centre for fashion apparels at Hong Kong Industrial Centre at Lai Chi Kok, somewhat like the city plaza of Singapore. So I decided to drag my hubby to check it out, actually I did not drag, my hubby has always been quite the sport when it comes to accompanying me for shopping. In fact, he would usually drag me out to shop!

Hong Kong Industrial Centre

489/491 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok

 Opening hours : Mon - Fri 11:00 - 20:00

                                 Sat & Sun 11:00 - 21:00 

Lai Chi Kok MTR stop to Exit C, walk the opposite way once on street level. Go down the alley and turn right to enter the building.

Actually once we exit Lai Chi Kok MTR station, we saw this shop selling egg tarts and we couldn't resist.

It was really good! (Though not as good as my favourite Lord Stow's Bakery egg tarts in Macau)

Ok, I gotta apologize, I haven't got any shopping photos at La Chi Kok as we found that the prices ain't that cheap. I bought a couple of dresses at around 35-40SGD each...which I haven't wore them yet as I'm still too fat! :( 

But hey, I did take a photo of this cutie!

Next we went to Apliu Street Flea Market (Electronics). My ex-boss who does training, requested me to help her buy her mic+speakers set from Apliu. You may find bargain-priced new and second-hand electronic devices, audio-visual equipment and telecommunications products are all up for sale at this popular street market. 

Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon 

MTR Sham Shui Po Station, Exit C2 

We chanced upon this authentic peanut+sweet sauce cheecheongfun place in Apliu. There was a queue and like most Singaporeans would, we queued too :p

And we are so glad we did! It was so good and so affordable...looking at it now makes my mouth water as I miss how yummy it was!

That evening after all that shopping, we went to Ippudo for dinner. The last time we were in Hong Kong, my ex-colleague brought us to Ippudo and I really liked it. I don't think I can make a fair statement to compare the Ippudo anywhere else, as I have not tried it in Singapore or Japan, but my ex-colleague who brought us there said that the Ippudo in Hong Kong is better than in Singapore.

For one, I don't think Singapore has buy 1 get 1 free beer..?

Even their prawn avocado wasabi salad was good!

Another food that makes my mouth water just by thinking of it...sigh.

Oh of cos in Hong Kong, we must have Gui Lin Gao (turtle shell jelly). It is a herbal dessert which is said to be very beneficial especially to improve circulation and detox. But a lot of people may not know that it is made from the powdered shells of turtles and staunch Buddhists (like my mom) will not eat it.

We tapao (packed) to eat in our hotel room that night.

My hubby's crude drawing while he was showering... -.-

DAY 2; We went for DimSum breakfast at the mall nearby the hotel...

#butfirstletustakesomeselfies

I don't know if it's obvious, but I DIY changed my hair colour in the hotel the previous night. I used semi-permanent pastel purple dye which made my hair less yellow and gave this purplish glow in some angles.

Salted egg yolk glutinous rice which I didn't eat as I don't eat egg yolk, but my hubby loved!

My favourite dimsum dish is cheecheongfun, be it sweet or salty style.

I must have congee when I eat dimsum but my hubby doesn't like congee.

I'm sorry I can't provide the details of this dimsum place as I can't remember the name and it isn't a famous one. But I have tried Tim Ho Wan in June'12 at its original tiny little shop which we had to queue for 3hours which I found it overstated. 

Anyway, I was so lucky cos there was a Hello Kitty exhibition at this mall to commemorate Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary. FYI, I love Hello Kitty so pardon me for needing to take photo with every single kitty on display there. Disclaimer: Hello Kitty photo spam ahead!

If you love century eggs (it's an acquired taste), you must try the famous watery century eggs in Hong Kong Causeway Bay.

They are to die for!

Yung Kee Restaurant 香港鏞記酒家

32-40 Wellington Street, Central

中環威靈頓街32-40號

Tel: +852 2522 1624

Nearest MTR Causeway Bay

I tapao a box for my ex-boss and she called me the very same day I delivered the eggs to her and said she finished the whole box in one seating.

See it again...mmm. Ok, I will confess, as much as I love how yummy it is, I don't dare to eat more than a few bites of it, cos I don't eat most egg yolks..and century egg yolk is the ONLY egg yolk that I eat, so a few bites is all I can't tolerate. (I'm just scared of egg yolk's smell.)

Yung Kee also serves very good but pricey roast goose.

The next thing I must share is this: I found Lord Stow's Bakery in HONG KONG!!! Previously, I could only eat my favourite egg tart in Macau, then my hubby and I found an outlet in Osaka...but now (then we realised), we can have it in Hong Kong too!

EXPRESSO @ THE EXCELSIOR ( LORD STOW’S EGG TARTS ARE UNDER EXCLUSIVE LICENSE @ EXPRESSO AT THE EXCELSIOR HONG KONG )

Opening Hours:

08:00 – 19:00 (Mon – Sat); 08:00 – 18:00 (Sun & PH)

Address：Ground Floor, The Excelsior, 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel：(+852) 2837 6777

Fax：(+852) 2895 6459

Absolutely my favourite egg tarts! Tapao for everyone back home!

Ever since my sweet old fart hubby knows that I love cats, he would search for cats cafe all around the world to bring me to...so he found one in Hong Kong too.

 Po Ming Building, Level 3, 2-6 Foo Ming Street Causeway Bay

香港銅鑼灣富明街2-6號寶明大廈3樓D-E室

Opening hours: Mon – Thu: 12pm – 11 pm, Fri & Sat: 12pm – 12am, Sun: 12pm – 10pm

There is around 7-8 cats but I usually get so pre-occupied playing with them that I didn't take much photos of the cats.

 Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant that I googled when we were near our hotel, which is a pity too cos I can't remember the name or how to go, but I would love to go back there again!!!

 My hubby's favourite Japanese food is Unadon.

And Takowasa, which I love too.

The raw big prawns were so fresh and sweet I ordered twice. The total bill came up to be around 80SGD which I find quite reasonable as we did order a lot.

DAY 3; Time to check out and head home...

Good morning and Good bye Hong Kong!

By the way, if you like chestnuts, you may want to try these from Ichiban but I find buying it in the city is actually cheaper than the airport. The picture shown above is the price in the airport.

Alright, this is the end of our Honeymoon Part 55 in Hong Kong. It was too short to go to many other places we would have loved to go...and I know a lot of you may know more good food in Hong Kong than me as many Singaporeans go to Hong Kong so do share with me! :)