We reached Hong Kong around 3pm but we had to wait for our luggage. The HK Dream Travel Agent was kind enough to get a tour guide to see to our transfer to our hotel. As we had arrived earlier, they had to book a taxi for us and they bore all the charges.
We checked into Kimberly hotel and the room was much smaller than Hotel Sintra. We also do not like the fact that the fridge is in the toilet - they should really change it to below the pantry area rather than having another area for the wardrobe. After putting down the luggage, we went to shop at the Apliu street where there are a lot of sales for cheap electronic goods. I bought the Sim card for surfing the internet here. The day usage sim card for broadband (3Gshop) cost HK28 wheras another one which is stored value of HK68 was sold for only HK50. In fact this is the place to come if you want to get cheaper sim card e.g. those with face value of HK98 was sold at HK80.
We went to Temple Street and I bought some keychains. My husband stopped at this shop which .sells snake soup. It seemed that many well known artists had patronised this shop. My husband loved the snake soup. I ordered another soup which was scallop soup but it turned out to be some sort of a lizard - I didn't dare to drink it and my husband finished it up for me. Finally managed to eat the famous mango pudding on ice from "Xu Liu Shan". We ate dinner at an eatery nearby after we saw the long queue for the famous clay pot rice which I wanted at first. My husband liked the salted broiled chicken and the roasted pigeon.
We woke up pretty late and missed breakfast on day 2 in Hong Kong and the manager was kind enough to change the coupon to 15 Dec instead. We took the MTR to causeway bay station as we saw this advertisement for a promotion in electronic goods in the causeway bay building next to the MTR station. The office is located on the 21st floor in Causeway Bay Plaza. We bought the MP5 and android phone with TV receiver. After that we took the tram to Shau Kei Wan terminal which was near to the "Sheng Wan" temple. We took our lunch at a restaurant. I love their dim sum esp the 3 treasure which is the char siew bun, siew mai and prawn dumpling. We love the osmanthus jelly. I bought a bag with the world map design in one of the stall here.
We went back to Tsim Tsai Tsui for our dinner at Tan Yu Tou Hotpot. Quite expensive but the beef slices and prawns were good. The prawns were still moving through they were stringed to bamboo skewer. We had a combination soup base - tomato and fish.
My legs were tired out and we had a massage at the Comodo Spa Beauty and Heath centre at 14A Cameron Road - the rate is much cheaper (almost half of that in front of our hotel).
We spent our day 3 in Hong Kong at the Ocean Park. The pandas were so cute. The theme park is very big and the 2 areas are separated by hills and are accessible by cable car or monorail. However the monorail was under maintenance. We took the cable car but the wind was so strong that the service was almost terminated. We spent almost the whole day there and at night we went to Mongkok. We had dinner at the Han He Korean Restaurant. It was the most economical meal so far in Hong Kong = I would strongly recommend this place. The marinated meats are not impressive but the cooked dishes and the soups were fantastic.
On the last day in Hong Kong, we took the MTR to Sheung Wan station. We walked along Wing Lok Street and saw a food centre. We patronised 2 stalls there - one selling dim sum and the other selling toast and coffee. The dim sum was not as good as the one we had at Shau Kei Wan. I like the French toast - bread dipped into egg and fried, covered with sweetened condensed milk.
After that, we walked towards Wellington Street as I wanted to try the food at Lin Heung Tea House and Mak Noodle. On our way there we passed by the Antique Street and guess what I found? More stamps and first day covers which I had quite a good bargain. Further up, we visited the Man Mo temple and I bought 2 necklace which was blessed. Lin Heung Tea house was so crowded so went to Mak Noodle. I loved the Wanton noodle - the noodle was so thin and the wanton was so big with 2 prawns inside each. After the lunch, we walked further up to the mid=level elevator, it got colder and colder - I think the temperature was around 9 degree celcius.
After that we took the train from Central back to Tsim Sha Tsui. We walked towards the Star ferry by the subway - a popular place for TVB shows. We walked down the Avenue of Stars and it was so cold that I could feel my nose frozen.
We went back to the hotel and was surprised that a guide was already waiting. Equally shocked that he asked for HK160 tip when he did not even help us with the luggage up the coach.
As I had printed the boarding pass in the hotel, checking in was a breeze and we ate dinner at a Teochew restaurant. Love the braised goose and stir fried kailan with the congee.
We flew back to Singapore by Cathay Pacific CX715 - quite a small plane. Dinner was the same as lunch -fish with potato.
Had our lunch at Restoran Hao Bi near Holiday Plaza, opposite Caltex gas station. The restaurant is famous for its roasted duck and meat.
Had dinner at the hawker centre behind Hotel Grand Paragon. Highly recommend the claypot chicken rice, penang kwai tiao and bbq stingray.
Went to this restoran Ka hoe on 25 Dec morning to try the famous kwai tiao soup. However I think I like the roasted bun and goreng pisang in the restaurant more! The coffee was good too!
We went to Temple Street and I bought some keychains. My husband stopped at this shop which .sells snake soup. It seemed that many well known artists had patronised this shop. My husband loved the snake soup. I ordered another soup which was scallop soup but it turned out to be some sort of a lizard - I didn't dare to drink it and my husband finished it up for me. Finally managed to eat the famous mango pudding on ice from "Xu Liu Shan". We ate dinner at an eatery nearby after we saw the long queue for the famous clay pot rice which I wanted at first. My husband liked the salted broiled chicken and the roasted pigeon.
We spent our day 3 in Hong Kong at the Ocean Park. The pandas were so cute. The theme park is very big and the 2 areas are separated by hills and are accessible by cable car or monorail. However the monorail was under maintenance. We took the cable car but the wind was so strong that the service was almost terminated. We spent almost the whole day there and at night we went to Mongkok. We had dinner at the Han He Korean Restaurant. It was the most economical meal so far in Hong Kong = I would strongly recommend this place. The marinated meats are not impressive but the cooked dishes and the soups were fantastic.
There were not as many eateries here as compared to Hong Kong - just a lot of casinos, pawnshops, jewellery shops and medical hall. Many of the eateries and restaurants were closed. I learned from the tour guide later on that that life is very relaxed in Macau and many of the shops are not opened until late in the afternoon or at night. If someone is short of a player for mahjong, they will just close the shop and join the rest for the game. The citizens are well taken care of by the government who provides free education for the students till high school and the retirees are paid a sum of HK6000 every month. Many of the coastal land were reclaimed and a bridge linking to Hong Kong is under construction and will be ready by 2014.
