hong kong (around central and tsim sha tsui) (part 4)

10.54am

i just want to finish this super duper long blog (imagine 4 parts! haiz) about my hong kong trip and this is the final one that i want to share with you guys. bear with me please! and once again, there'll be more photos which i'll just explain along the way. sorry guys for the "draggy feet" syndrome. i've been a tad bit busy coz i was back and kuala lumpur, visiting my family and i only got back over the weekend. and this week, some of my husband's relatives are in town (from the island of penang) so i reckon i'll be kinda tied up therefore before anything else has been planned, i thought i'd better get down to business and finish up this final blog of mine. no no, im not stopping my blogs, what i meant was finishing up my final blog on this topic. without further ado,let us get on.

this is one of the main streets over at causeway bay area. lots of "char chan tengs" (eateries), malls, small shops selling all kinds of stuff from food to clothes, you name it they've got it. busy area too! you can also hop on the trams that's going around the city area at a very cheap price! but unfortunately when we wanted to do that, it was not running in that part of town coz of the street protest. as you can also see in the pictures, there were not many cars around as the police had already closed up some parts of the roads because of the protest that was about to take place. 

here's what i meant. hundreds of people took part in this street protest and i shot this photo from the overhead bridge for pedestrians. 

after all that commotion (there were tons of people in the streets on that day!), my husband and i need some food as it was around lunch time. so we spotted a small hole in the wall "char chan teng" (also at causeway bay) and decided to give it a try. ordered the steamed pork dumplings, tau foo fah (soy beancurd with sugar syrup) and "yau char kway" (deep fried dough fritters). oooh it was lovely! the soy beancurd was super soft and silky and just melts in your mouth. just so you know, im a huge fan of this chinese dessert.

once we've had our lunch, it was off to times square. gotta cut through small lanes in order to get there. just follow the crowd (as per the pictures) and you'll get there in no time. we spent a couple of hours at times square (where lane crawford is located) as it was a pretty huge mall (oh and there's a few malls located around that area as well). 

this was another day out at central. its so easy to get around the whole of hong kong (and kowloon) thanks to their mtr (subway trains) and its not complicated at all, quite straightforward if you asked me (unlike in korea, where there's so many different lines with different train operators, it was a bit of a headache but we managed somehow, thanks to my "street smart" thinking *winks* hahahaha). once in central, we did some window shopping and then headed to mid levels. 

when you are in hong kong you cannot miss  the famous central-mid levels escalator, world's longest outdoor covered escalator/walkalator. if you started at the beginning right up to the end of the escalator, it would probably take you just under 30 minutes.  but most people would just stroll(especially if they are tourists) to enjoy the view along the way (shops, eateries, bars, beauty parlours etc both flanking left and right of the escalator). oh ya, fyi there's a series of 20 escalators and 3 inclined moving walkways, connected in places by footbridges and with 14 entrances and exits. therefore people can "get off" or "get on" at any time from anywhere along this route. how convenient is that?! 

due to lack of space (as you know hong kong is densely populated) they couldnt put 2 escalators (up and down) and could only manage a single escalator therefore it was decided that the escalator travel downwards from Mid-Levels from 6am - 10am daily during the peak period for people going to work and after 10am the flow is  then reversed so that the escalator travel uphill until 12am.

 
here's what you can see along the way when you are riding on the escalator. it was a friday evening and alot of locals and foreigners are having their "fix", catching up with their friends/colleagues at the watering holes. mind you there's heaps there and you're definately spoilt for choices. and did you know that the popular south korean variety show called Running Man was even filmed here for one of their races/challenges when they came to hong kong? 

since it was almost time for dinner, my husband and i decided to have our meal at this hole in the wall called taco-loco. its a tex-mex restaurant in soho. you can see this as you "travel" along the escalator. just get off the nearest exit and go there. food is good and pretty reasonable. luckily we got there a little earlier coz there was a queue growing by the time we left. (as i did mention it was a friday night and everyone was out and about).

our hotel recommended this dim sum place at nathan road in kowloon called very good seafood restaurant. hehehe despite its funny name, the food i mean the dim sum that we ordered was pretty good, place was clean, neat and tidy. thankfully we got there before 9am and it wasnt packed at all. well if you are ever in that part of town, do give it a try. even their local movie stars have dined in this restaurant. so, whatcha waiting for?

after our lovely dim sum breakfast, we roamed about nathan road. nathan road is the main street in kowloon, that goes in a south-north direction from  tsim sha tsui to sham shui po district. It is lined with shops, malls and restaurants with throngs with tourists. the length of the street i reckon is around under 4km. 

anyways, along the way while we were strolling, i kept seeing some people carrying plastic bags with a teddybear like design on the tin container. hmmm must be something going on i thought to myself. i was very curious but shrugged it off. but yet i couldnt help wondering what the heck was inside those tins that these people were carrying. its not just one tin inside these plastic bags, i could see 2-3! so curious!! alas i found out. aahh..jenny bakery! what is this jenny bakery?  i've never heard of it before. but apparently its very famous for its butter cookies. (as well as other types of cookies/desserts). as jenny bakery is located inside mirador mansion, whoever wanted to buy these cookies had to line up at the back of the building. pretty organized. i was so tempted to go and line up but decided against it because it was just too bloody hot out! perhaps next time when im in hong kong. 

after dinner one night as we were strolling around near our hotel in tsim sha tsui, we came across this japanese ramen restaurant where one of my favourite actors keanu reeves had visited when he came to hong kong. wow. unfortunately we didnt try it out to see how good the ramen was. i'll say this again, perhaps on my next visit. another thing for me to keep in mind on my to do list.

on our last day, we stopped by this at this quaint patisserie and boulangerie (at mody road, tsim sha tsui) called passion opened by gerard dubois, a swiss born chef and businessman. ( http://passionbygd.com/ ) what a vast variety of scrumptious food to choose from. honestly, we were spoilt for choices, from salads to desserts to sandwiches! since we didnt want to be greedy, my husband and i decided to share a dessert which was milles feuilles. omg it was to die for! so heavenly so decadent so sinful! the super crusty crispy puff pastry just melts in your mouth. it was baked to perfection! and not to mention the 2 different types of crème pâtissière which is the salted caramel and vanilla! oooh i can just taste it now! *salivating* oh la la 
 

 last but not least my favourite korean beauty shop, too cool for school that i accidentally came across while roaming the streets of tsim sha tsui(it was nearby to our hotel, just a couple of streets down). had to buy something. it was calling out to me! one for the road before we left for the airport. 

well there we go. the end of my hong kong trip broken down in to 4 parts! hope you enjoyed it all. please go and try out these places that i've mentioned. hong kong is definately a place to come and eat till your hearts content (we, chinese love to eat, dont ask why), shop (until late at nite) and sight see.there's tons of things that you can do like visiting themeparks, going on shopping sprees to island hopping, omfg there's so much to do and see! its catered for the old and young and good for families too!

ok folks thats about it i guess. until my next adventure...

ttfn

1.47pm

hong kong (disneyland) (part 3)

2.18pm


have you guys ever been to any of the disneylands around the world? so far i've only been to 2 disneylands which is the one in los angeles and in hong kong and each i visited twice. i must say im a very lucky person. and if you have the time and money, do go and visit these theme parks and trust me, you wont regret it! it is indeed one of the happiest place on earth. it makes you feel as though you are a kid all over again. age doesnt seem to exist here.

now one thing that i didnt really like about hong kong disneyland this time round was because the weather was just too hot and there were lots of people from mainland china! look, i've nothing against these people but oh my god some of them were very crude and really no finesse. if they weren't pushing or banging into me (or other people around them) then it wont be so bad but when they do, they are not bothered to even apologize. kinda rough if you asked me. aigoo.. but what to do. nowadays theres tons of PRC (peoples republic of china) scattered all around the world and somehow, these chinese folks seem to have become rich overnight. righttttt!! or havent you noticed? ooh and let me tell you, i have seen them shop at the branded boutiques and money isnt a problem at all! you can see them carrying bags and bags of expensive shopping and never underestimate them ok, they know their pradas to their vuittons! less is definately not in their vocab, its more is more! 

anywho, these pictures above shows the main entrance to hong kong disneyland. its colorful isnt it? ok so here's the deal, i'll just narrate a bit and i'll let my photos do the "talking" instead. as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words. 

main street of disneyland. rows of shops sellling knick-knacks, souvenirs, cafes, etc. oh just to let you know, this theme park is "divided" into 7 different zones. starting with the main street, then its tomorrowland, fantasyland, adventureland, toystoryland, mystic point and grizzly gulch. (dont ask me what "gulch" means). and inside each zone, there's different types of things for folks to do. you guys can google more about the theme park if you want to know more about it ok. just check out my photos, you'll roughly get what im saying.

so, we began our "trek" at tomorrowland. 

now in tomorrowland, there's the buzz lightyear astro busters. interactive game where its like a laser shooting game. you get into your "car" and it will move along the way and then you can start shooting to get points. you wont win anything though. its just for fun and something to do whilst sitting in the car and looking around. if you dont want to shoot is fine too. afterall, there's alot to see as the car is moving along. by the way, its a bit dark but lots of colorful things to see. 

thereafter, we took a ride at autopia. as you can see, its just another car ride, open air. 

the next land that we went to was fantasyland. and in fantasyland, we went for the golden mickeys. its a musical extravaganza honoring some of disney's favourite films. that picture is beauty and the beast singing and dancing. 

 also in fantasyland, you can never miss out on this which is called its a small world. figurines created from all around the globe is put in there and singing to one tune in their own language. its such a beautiful sight and trust me, if you want colors, this is it! its also very magical to see all these fantastic almost life-sized dolls, opening and closing their mouths and "singing" along. melodic! you dont want to miss this ride! you'll see what i mean in a second.

there we go. this is what i mean. so cool ya! my digital camera doesnt do much justice as it was kinda dark in there so the pictures arent as clear and sharp as i would like it to be. sigh but you get what i mean right! 

still in fantasyland, this is mickey's phillarmagic. lots of singing and dancing performed by popular disney characters like mickey and minnie mouse, donald duck, goofy and gang. 

popped by mystic point. so this is mystic manor. im not sure if you can go inside but we didnt of course. it was way too hot out in the sun and we were already melting by then and dying of thirst. yeah, dont forget to bring your water bottle or facial spray! but then again, depends on when you are going. 

this was at toy storyland. nothing much going on here. we just had a look see. 

so whilst making our way back to the main street of disneyland, we came across this band playing out on the street. there's lots of things going on around the themepark. if you're lucky (and if there's no long queue), you may get a chance to take pictures with disney characters walking all around the park. if you are dying to take a photo with them, be prepared to wait. oh and let me tell you, the hours spent in there is because of all the waiting. from waiting to get into the toilets to waiting to get to your rides or if you want to get some food...its all about patience! you've gotta have them. to cut short your waiting time especially for all rides, you can purchase the express ticket, which of course you would have to pay more than the normal priced tickets. go google and read about it before purchasing your tickets, should you ever go there! (applies to all disneylands around the world, i should think). 

this was our "ride" back to sunny bay mtr station. the disneyland mtr has this logo on the windows of each carriage. how cool is that! coz this train only services from sunny bay to disneyland and back. 

well my dear readers, we have come to the end of my day trip to disneyland. stay tuned for more on hong kong escapades in my upcoming blogs ok. sorry this particular blog on hong kong is a bit long. yes, i tend to go on and on...cant help it. sharing is caring! hahahaha ok im off now. 

p/s here's the link to hong kong disneyland 

http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/general/popup?name=ExplorerParkMapPage



ttfn

12.54pm

hong kong (street food and char chan tengs around the city) (part 2)

4.44pm


ok i got sidetracked for the past couple of blogs. blame it on Big Bang and YG family concert! hahahaha..so we're back on track with my hong kong trip part two. 

i have quite a few photos that i want to share with you guys. ok here's what i'll do, i'll pick the best out of the lot and i'll talk about it, ok! bear with me! 

in the above pictures as you can see, it was our breakfast, the next day after we arrived into hong kong. the "char chan teng" (it means coffee shop or tea restaurant, there's tons in hong kong!) was called uncle 4! yup, you read right. i have no idea what that meant but the food was pretty decent and affordable too. we ordered the "polo bao" (also known as pineapple bun (but there's no pineapple inside) which is sweet on its own or you can whack some butter inside, would taste just as great!), hong kong's famous milk tea, honey poured over french toast, giant sausage etc. omg just by looking at these pictures now makes me want to eat it!! ai carumba! it was a good breakfast i must say.

oh i did mention in my previous previous blog (part one) that we stayed at the ramada hotel in tsim sha tsui which is on chatham road south, well  fyi this "char chan teng" is just a couple of doors away from our hotel.

this "char chan teng" sham tseng chan kee is also right next door to our hotel. you cant miss it! you can see freshly roasted goose/duck hanging by the window (as per the picture) and its all roasted to perfection! let me tell you, its worth every bite! you wont be disappointed. so succulent! crispy skin! tender meat. and if you want to lets say doggie bag it, you can do so or if you want to bring it back home (if you're flying off that day), they will wrap it up nicely for you too! (no, not the noodles, silly, but the roasted goose or whatever you want to take away!). they also have roasted duck, roasted pork etc for more choices,

if you're not a goose eater. 

oh you know just before my trip i emailed a restaurant that was famous for its roasted goose and long story short, i told them to either email me that my booking went thru or to sms me. upon arrival, i checked my phone for any messages, there was none. so i thought - ok, my booking wasnt confirmed, darned it - and thats how we ended up eating at this char chan teng. (fyi when i came back from my trip, i checked my email ( in the junk folder), lo and behold, the restaurant did reply back and they did hold my reservation for half hour before letting it go to other people (as that place was always packed, so i read online). oh no wonder! my ipad cant receive junk/spam mails! hahahaha 

those noodles that you see is actually cold noodles served with some preserved veggies, peanuts, chinese parsley and spicy minced pork. just as yummy! thats how a typical char chan teng looks like, where the "see tau poh" (meaning lady boss) will sit behind the counter/cash register, what else, to collect money! 

by the way, a few simple basic words for you to use should you choose to use (hong kongers generally can speak a trickle of english so you'll get by without much difficulty) are like - um koi sai OR dor che (which means thank you very much or thank you), chou sun (good morning), lei ho (how do you do). just so you know, there's alot of foreigners in hong kong kinda like a melting pot. very cosmopolitan, just like singapore. in fact, singapore and hong kong are almost similar except for the weather. they have 4 seasons (lucky them) but lots of bad air pollution which causes the bad haze/smog (unlucky them) thats coming from certain parts china because of the factories as well as even from within hong kong itself. (ie Hong Kong has the world’s highest traffic density as well as coal burning power plants, which contribute an estimated 50% to the total level of pollution). other than that, its a great city hahahahaha 

"lui yan kai" also known as ladies market/street market in mong kok. unfortunately, not all the stalls were opened when we were there. usually opens around 4pm till midnite. 

temple street over in kowloon. nearest mtr is jordan. sadly also this street market wasnt entirely opened. all these flea markets usually opens in the evening till late. but we were there around lunch time therefore not many stalls were opened. oh well. no biggie. 

these photos were taken as we were wandering around the city. oh yes, now i remember this was over at causeway bay. i wanted to take some pictures of street snacks. so there you go. the ever popular street food. yummy. i like the small round egg waffles. they've got different flavors to choose from. free smells just like if you were walking by famous amos cookie stand! you can smell all this different aromas wafting from a distance. almost everything is freshly/cooked/boiled and most of these street food/snacks as you can see, are skewered so that its easy for you to hold and eat as you walk. hong kong is very fast paced therefore its pretty common to eat on the go. fyi no i didnt find any "chow tofu" (smelly fermented tofu) or "smelt" any. however, i did try it once several years ago when i was in hong kong. i have no words but i have sound - bleeaah.. honestly, its either you like it or hate it and guess which one i chose. but hey, if you do try it, let me know your opinion! one man's junk is another man's treasure! 

ok ok i think thats about it. im beat. got to go and prep my dinner. to be continued, folks!

ttfn

5.51pm