Hong Kong Walkathon: Part III

DAYS 3 and 4

This last shopping day was reserved for a trip to far-off Tung Chung's Citygate outlets and the small boutiques in Causeway Bay. Since these didn't yield as much shopping activity as expected, we also took a quick, unplanned trip to the Mongkok markets. Even if it's brimming with touristy crap, there are a few good finds here and there like this vintage shop we found.

 

Being leggy en route to Causeway Bay.

P: Found a Breton v-neck in the I.T. outlet. Mum also asked me to buy a camera for her in Fortress and it turned out to be around 10k less than Manila prices. There are a lot of brands here like Mango, Esprit, Armani, DVF, Clarks, etc. etc. It's a pretty boyfriend-friendly place. Prices aren't bad too.

 

Vito with some Uniqlo goodies

FOOD

For our last night in HK together, we decided to eat in Cheers Restaurant, which is apparently a popular chain resto. The language barrier posed a bigger problem than usual since the fried rice took an age to come after all the other dishes and they were asking us to pay for a dish they weren't able to serve on time. Of course the only relevant Cantonese I knew for this occasion was 'mm koi' (thank you/call the waiter) and 'chao fan'. Everything else I can say, could get me stabbed in the streets.

 

Problems aside, the food was fantastic!

Roast goose. 

This was fatty but very delectable. An excellent alternative to duck and chicken.

 

Sweet and sour pork. It's a little different from what we're used to here. The chunks are crispier, the sauce was a little more savory. The usual pineapples were replaced by deliciously juicy chunks of peaches! I really appreciated the flavor it brought the dish.

No picture of the salted fish and shrimp fried rice because it was decimated as soon as it was served. Really good food all around. Also recommend the chicken feet in abalone sauce.

 

We were searching for a long time for a milk tea shop in Mongkok to satisfy our craving. We found what looked to be a very popular little joint. We had to line up for a bit for our turn. D got the black milk tea and I got the caramel version. It's funny to note that it was situated right beside another milk tea place which had no customers and a depressed shopkeeper.

 

The flight was at 10:40 so I was able to bring D and Vito to the Airport Express station before work. And that wraps up our HK adventure! Had an awesome long weekend!
 

Hong Kong Walkathon: Part II

DAY 2

D: My brother and I wanted to go back to the resto where we had breakfast everyday last time we were here, Uncle 4 beside BP International!

What a strange name. The servers spoke very, very little English so we had to rely on a ton of hand gestures and the ever-useful English menu.

Delicious milk tea is all we drank. Heaven.

 

Mini steak with eggs

D: I didn't realize my order came with white rice. :S I had to scrape the rice off the meat. Other than that, it was pretty good though. A solid brunch, for sure.

 

Steak with pepper sauce

D: This was Vito's order. We both liked the sauce but P thought it was a little strong.

 

Baked eel with melted cheese on rice

P: I tried another variety of these baked rice dishes, this time with the intriguing eel option. Just like the unagi you get in Japanese restaurants but with a creamy, cheesy sauce.

With bursting bellies, we took the MTR to look for more shopping sites to raid.

 

Another H&M branch in Tsim Sha Tsui (along Canton Road)

D: The boys and I went our separate ways and I gave them the camera to snap some shots of things that caught their eye.

 

 

Dress up or down with this workman-like shirt.

 

Mix and match 1: colored and/or patterned blazers

 

Probably the only denim shorts I would wear. These are soft and flimsier than the regular cloth used in jeans.

 

D loves these Briton stripes. I got a similar shirt from the I.T. outlet.

 

Mix and match 2: gingham and stripes.

 

The wonderful wall of cheapie accessories

I felt like a kid in a candy store.

 

 

Cute jacket!

 

A kicky little dress

 

 

Oh and of course, shoes! Heaven heaven heaven!

 

 

Armed with a few giant bags, we left to conquer new ground.

But first, let's eat! Man, shopping makes us hungry.

 

More tea-based beverages, this time from Food Republic

 

D: At this point, our food picks are getting kind of boring. Vito and I got Hainanese chicken rice sets again. This one was better than the one he had on the first day though. The bok choy wasn't bad either.

"Tenderous Beef Ribs" from Ajisen Ramen, my favorite ramen chain

P: The beef was soft from the meat to the cartilage and the soup was hearty and savory. It's one of those dishes I really get my face into.

After doing the rounds in some other malls, we decided to call it a night with a visit to the harbor.

 

Our amateur snapshot of a lovely scene

D: This was probably the most tourist-y thing we did on this trip. It was really pretty at night but I'm glad we decided not to go back to the usual sites anymore (save for shopping of course).

P: The lights, atmosphere, and cool breeze make for a nice, relaxing, if touristy spot.

 

 

When we were about to leave, we ran into one of those ice cream trucks. Good thing because the orange freeze we got was surprisingly good! It was more of a sorbet than an ice cream and it had a light and refreshing taste! Just for HK$6!

 

Vito and I in front of a luxury-store complex.

Day 3 and 4 to follow!

Hong Kong Walkathon: Part I

D and her brother came over for a long weekend visit during my 3-week training trip. Given the small amount of time, we decided to cover as much ground as possible in 3 full days. In a whirlwind tour, we hit the Citygate Outlets in Tung Chung, the Mongkok night market (tourist trap!), malls in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, the harbour, and of course, the 4-storey H&M flagship (not to mention all the other branches).

D: My shopping highlight and probably the boys' greatest nightmare was a trip to the HK Industrial Centre! You can't really take pictures here but suffice it to say that a lot of the trendy boutiques (including a very famous Multiply shoe shop) might source from here. At absolute rock-bottom prices, you get really good quality, trendy clothes and shoes! You won't bump into any tourists here but that's half the fun! They specialize in wholesale but are willing to sell retail at higher prices. Still cheap though!

But we're getting ahead of ourselves!

DAY 1

My brother and I rolled out of bed at 2:45 am to catch a 5:40 flight. Ugh. Thank goodness NAIA 3 is comfortable and passenger-friendly (for the most part).

Topshop jacket, Dorothy Perkins shirt, Ramp cut-offs, Zara ankle boots

My not-so-little brother, Vito and our luggage

The Airport Express was much better than renting a private car like we did last time. The train seats are so plush and the shuttle took us right to Eaton Hotel. 

Our first meal took us across the street to Tsui Wah restaurant just off Nathan Road.

Vito's Hainanese chicken rice set

P and I shared an enormous serving of Baked Porkchop Rice in tomato sauce with melted cheese

P: This is apparently one of the trendy dishes that can be seen in a wide variety of restaurants. We saw it in both low-end and high-end joints. I really like the sauce and the creamy cheese. Great comfort food!

Matcha ice cream and red bean frozen dessert

D: I loved this! The ice cream really tasted like authentic matcha and it complemented the red bean very well.

In between lunch and dinner, we ransacked the H&M flagship in Central and visited random shops in the area. Fast forward to our meal...

Off we went to Jordan Curry House for some authentic Indian food.

A hole in the wall

 

Iced lemon tea

P: No matter how far I am from home, iced tea pa rin.

Complimentary appetizer of "Indian chips" with mint dip

D: Super oily! This was just okay. Not a fan.

P: It's free, no complaints!

;

We had a trio of curries in mutton, chicken, and brisket.

D: Same sauce, different animals, all very very good.

P: I went here at least three times during my trip. The curry is so flavorful, you can tell that a lot of good quality spices went into it. Beware of ordering "spicy" though.

Chicken tikka masala

P: Juicy chunks of roasted meat goes well with the curry sauce from our other orders.

D: This is not the tikka masala I know from New Bombay. This one is much drier. It was also just okay for me.

Cheese naan (white cheese)

D: Soo good! I like the quiet flavors of the naan with the complex tastes of our viands. Nice for calming your taste buds down.

Day 2 coming up! :)