Some Hong Kong favourites

I decided that I need a break in January. My last extended break was in October, when I took two weeks off work to visit Japan with Joanne. Three months without an extended break is actually quite a long time, come to think of it. Which was probably why I ended up over-eating and over-shopping.

Favourite after-dinner sport in Hong Kong – harassing chefs at the glass window by taking pictures of them non-stop.

(The Japan trip was a blast btw. I have written a little about it here but I withheld the rest of it because I was going to submit an article to my newspaper for publication, and also because I took quite a while to finally sieve through all of the pictures. Hope to post the stuff up the rest of this month!)

We stayed in this boutique hotel called Butterfly on Wellington, which has an excellent location in Hong Kong Island’s Central district. Which meant it was close to plenty of very nice eateries.

A quick run-down of nearby food haunts: Michelin-starred Yung Kee, which specialises in roast goose; Luk Yu, a classy but unpretentious dim sum joint; Lau Fu Kee, a no-frills congee specialist; Wang Fu Dumplings, with its variety of hand-made Beijing-style dumplings; Mak Noodle, for its great wonton noodles and dumplings; Lin Heung Tea House, for the sheer madness of having to fight for your dim sum(!!!) and Tsui Wah Restaurant, a chain Hong Kong-style cafe where you can have a traditional Boh Loh Bao with butter and coffee for breakfast.

Fighting for dim sum at Lin Heung. I hated the place but I have to admit it was quite an interesting experience.

Some very well-dressed patrons at Luk Yu. Can you see the contrast with Lin Heung?

Yes, Hong Kong is quite the food heaven if you have a good guide with you! Joanne did most of the background research for this trip, really.

An odd couple at Charter Garden, just outside the Legco building. I found the yellow shelters at the seats quite fascinating too. They look somewhat like mushrooms and offer little if any shelter.

With all that eating though, we had to do some exercise to compensate. Shopping mall trawling aside, the ultimate work-out came unexpectedly in the form of a walk up the Peak, as we lost our way en route to the funicular station. Think it took us about an hour and a half, and it was then I realised how unfit I was. We didn’t do much once we reached the top though – had coffee and cake at Pacific Coffee and we were soon on the funicular down the hill.

We chanced upon a memorial outside the Legco building, set up for the late Szeto Wah, a pro-democracy Hong Kong politician. He died just weeks before my visit.

A seal-maker in one of the many tiny alleys on Hong Kong Island.

A devotee praying to the giant Buddha on Lantau Island.

It may sound a little surprising, but I actually spent more on shopping than Joanne this trip. In fact the same thing happened during our Japan trip. I can be quite a spendthrift actually. And the main damage was done both trips because I bought a Porter bag each time. Haha.

One of our best couple pictures, I think! I’m wearing my new jacket here, bought from Sogo just a day before.

All-in-all, a very fruitful trip. We did have a major quarrel on the fourth day, which was mostly my fault. I would love to go back again sometime soon – the good food beckons. Also because we didn’t have time to visit villages such as Tai O and Mui Wo or try out the outdoor hiking trails. And oh we didn’t even have time to go to Tsim Sha Tsui or Mongkok this time, can you believe it?