The BF and i had an impromptu 5d4n trip to HongKong on Scoot. Thanks to a special online deal, we got return air tickets for two at SGD453.86. Travelled in mid April, expecting air-con-like spring weather. Forecasts all indicated a comfortable 19-24 degrees. SADLY, humidity and the scorching sun made it feel very much like home, exactly like Singapore. Only on our very last day, HongKong bid us farewell with strong breeze and cold air that finally made it feel like a holiday. We were lucky though, it didn’t rain at all during our trip (unless you count the occasional drips of water of unknown origin along the walkways, shudder).
Upon arrival, it was easy finding our way via the airport express train and MTR (mass transit railway)
HK greeted us with plenty of sounds. The beeping of the traffic lights, red man beep, green man beep, beeping of the escalators, beeping of the lifts..
First stop was Park&Shop (think shop&save), where we loaded up on H2O. This is where we found dirt cheap alcohol too! A big can of Budweiser for less than sgd3! Somersby cider 2 bottles for sgd3! How to resist?! Best place to try brands you always wanted to.
Our HK home was 4-star business hotel Rosedale Kowloon, in busy Tai Kok Tsui. Best part, its only a short walk to a humongous chain of shopping malls, Olympian city 1, 2 & 3! It kinda felt like a Vivocity at our doorstep.
Total HKD3150 for 3 nights, additional HKD330 for late check-out (extended from 12noon to 6pm). Which adds up to around SGD570. Staff speak enough English for us bananas (yellow on the outside but white on the inside).
These photos were taken from their website here.
Not much planning was involved for this trip. So it was a rather carefree-anyhow-walk-along-the-streets type of holiday. Taste-tested a few famous eateries along the way. Are you ready to get hungry?
Gong Zai Mian 公仔面 & Tong Xin Fen 通心粉
Our first meal. Set breakfast to appease our bellies after a 4 hour flight. Plus a huge knock on the head when we realised how we could barely communicate with the locals! nor read the menus!
Gong Zai Mian is basically instant noodles (maggie mee) usually served soup-style. Most common flavour you can find is satay beef. Tong Xin Fen is macaroni, also soup-style, often served with abundant strips of ham. You may find the food in HK cheap, but really its expensive considering the cost of ingredients.
Did you know? Gong Zai Mian is named as such because long ago, the famous instant noodle brand in HK was Doll Brand, pronounced as Gong Zai Mian in cantonese. The name simply stuck.
Roast goose at Chan Kee – 陳記燒鵝
Its known to be oily, so put aside your worries of high cholesterol & clogged arteries and dig in. Recommended by tripadvisor and ladyironchef.
Another famous restaurant for Roast Goose is Yung Kee 鏞記, but we only made a brief stop there for the century eggs.
Crispy Butter Toast with Condensed milk – 奶油脆猪仔包
They are not kidding when they say crispy. I made a mess. A delicious mess.
Tim Ho Wan – 添好運
This place is a must. So much so that we came twice.
Another plus point to Rosedale Hotel is that this Michelin-starred dim sum joint is just a short 5 min walk away at Olympian city! No crazy queue in HK as there are quite a few outlets spread across the country.
Most dishes seem more or less the same as the sg branches. But the baked charsiewpau is somehow nicer in HK! Seemed crispier, fuller with charsiew, sweeter? Just can’t pinpoint it. The HK pau looks tinier, but the taste is more magical than i can describe. *mouth watering now
Usually I’m more of a HarGow person, but in HK, I fell in love with their SiewMai. So tender, so smooth…
SiewMai, i miss you
Kau Kee Niu Nan – 九記牛腩
Being Singaporeans, when u see a long queue, just join it. Most likely leads to something good. True enough, it led us to this famous beef brisket noodle shop. I’m the last person on earth that will enjoy beef. But I have to say, the broth is really something. Plus my boyfriend the beef-eater gives this place a thumbs-up. Recommended on Openrice.
Please note! Another famous noodle shop lies right opposite to this beef place. Still can’t forgive myself for missing this. sigh. We were actually searching for this illusive Sing Hueng Yuen – 勝香園 , famous for its authentic tomato noodles. It was closed, that’s why it looked nothing like the photos online. sob!
Australian Dairy Company – 澳洲牛奶公司
Steamed egg white milk pudding is to die for! apparently to queue for as well.
We revealed our tourist identity by showing the waiter (completely run by males by the way) a photograph of the egg pudding we wanted, cause we had no idea how to order it. (embarrassment to chinese everywhere) This was the last resort after my previous order turned out to be just hot milk. LOL
Scrambled eggs were raved about online too. I agree, they are awesome. But once again, so simple! Not used to paying money for stuff I can cook at home.
Kam Wah Cafe – 金華冰廳
Ladyironchef rated their boluoyaos as one of the best in HK.
Did you know? BoLuoPau refers to just the bun, while BoLuoYau comes with a slab of butter. 菠蘿包vs菠蘿油 it makes sense in Mandarin. (silly me thought its just a HK slang)
Despite its name they have no BoLuos (pineapple) in them, only named as such due to the appearance.
This cafe also served my favourite “dong” NaiCha (iced milk tea)! It actually has taste. The rest of HK is bland, especially the hot versions. For people used to condensed milk, don’t ever order the hot milk tea in HK unless you wanna torment your tastebuds. HK version uses more evaporated milk, bleagh.
Things to note about eateries or CharChanTengs in HongKong:
– You will most probably need to share tables with strangers
– Tables are small and cramp
– Think before entering and order fast, HK ppl are super impatient
– There is usually an English menu which you have to ask for
– Accept that there is no service charge, hence no service
– Bowls and plates will be slammed in front of you
#JonChéri 