We picked Hong Kong as the entry point to our trip because 1) we’ve never been and 2) it’s easy to get to the Philippines.
We couldn’t have asked for a better start of our vacation! The temperature was around 20 degrees, so the shock coming from Belgium in early March wasn’t too big and we could fight our jet lag without additionally experiencing hot, humid climate. We could have done with a little less rain, but as we say in Germany: there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad (poorly chosen) clothes. Travelling to Hong Kong also gives us the chance to meet up with our friends from Ho Chi Minh City (see Vietnam), who not only flew over to see us but also know the city very well. They take us to their favourite dim sum place, which makes us so happy after a 10 hour flight and airplane food (what is it with airplane food and breakfast? Usually lunch or dinner are ok, but breakfast is always weird; if any airline meal planner reads this, please stop serving slimy spinach).
We indulge in steamed dumplings of all kinds, plus some noodles for which Julia chooses to ignore that they are cooked in chicken broth. With very happy bellies, we get ourselves to bed soon after dinner.
Maybe a little side note here: we definitely didn‘t rush anything in Hong Kong, even though we could have easily added a few more activities. However, we didn‘t want that as the idea was not to exhaust ourselves, but to get over the jetlag, spend time with our friends, and eat really well. And that we certainly did!
The next, well, late morning, we take the metro to a breakfast place, which is supposed to be close to Victoria peak. My friend misread the directions and in fact it’s at Victoria park. No problem – we enjoy a really nice breakfast and get a chance to experience the Hong Kong tram, which takes us towards Victoria peak. The tram looks like a double decker bus, but it’s on rails, obviously. We get to sit on the upper level and stare out the window like excited children.
Victoria peak is covered in clouds so we decide to skip the peak tram, which costs around 12€. Instead, we walk a bit up the hill, admiring this fancy neighbourhood and watching the tram crawl up the hill. As it starts to rain a little, we make our way to the Soho neighbourhood, where a system of escalators takes us up and down, passing by shops and restaurants. We stroll through busy streets until our stomach reminds us that it’s way past lunchtime. Time to enjoy some wonton soup!
A couple of hours and a large coffee later, we are ready to board the star ferry, which connects the two parts or Hong Kong. Our hotel is very conveniently located in Tsim Sha Tsui, with a metro in front of our door, but also in walking distance to the port. The ferry costs less than 1€ and crosses in about 15min.
After a quick stop at the hotel, we meet our friends at theirs for a drink and are off to a vegetarian restaurant that turns classic Shanghai dishes into meatless fare. The view of the Hong Kong skyline is impressive, the food varies – the noodle dishes are insanely delicious, everything else is a bit bland.
The next day, our destination is the Chi Lin Nunnery, which is an oasis of peace and quiet next to skyskcrapers. Bonsai trees line the beautiful inner courtyard, which is surrounded by four altars. On the other side of the road, a park invites for a stroll, and there is our lunch destination, the vegetarian restaurant that belongs to the nunnery.
We share dim sum, veggies, and noodles and feel ready for our next stop: the market at Mong Kok. First, the goldfish market. Streets are lined with little shops that sell goldfish in little bags (filled with water, obviously). Very curious, and somehow funny, though in some stores the small bags hold what seems like entire schools of goldfish. Seems a bit questionable from an animal welfare point of view. On to the flowermarket – no animal welfare issues here. We walk through flowers and plants, ranging from basil to orchids, until we get to the bird market. Birds crammed into small cages everywhere – we stay for less than five minutes in this depressing place.
In the evening it’s raining quite a bit, but we are determined to make our way to the Symphony of Lights, a light installation in the harbour, taking place every night at 8pm. The Hong Kong skyline is quite impressive already at daylight but at night, and with the colourful lights, it’s absolutely incredible.
On Sunday morning, we have a breakfast date with an old friend, who invites us for a traditional breakfast. For her and Brice, this means beef noodle soup, sweet buns with condensed milk and eggs. For Julia, it’s buns, eggs, and porridge. Not for every day, but we really enjoy the food and the atmosphere in the restaurant.
In the early afternoon, we make our way to the other side with the ferry. Our friends had told us that Sunday is the day off for Filipino maids in Hong Kong and that they fill the city picknicking in malls, sidewalks… everywhere. And it’s true! Wherever we go, there are plenty of groups of young women, chatting, eating, even napping.
We are already on the way to our next food adventure, the fancy kind this time: Afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental. The tea is delicious and we feast on finger sandwiches, the prettiest pastries, and delightful scones.
We then walk the tea off in Hong Kong Park and its aviary, before we make our way back to the hotel. At least we try – crossing streets is not so easy in this part of Hong Kong with the highway is coming in. We try to get back to the pier for a while, but then just give up and take the metro.
One last drink and dinner with our friends before we head to the Philippines next day. And of course it had to be one more round of Dim Sum!
Hong Kong – Food, activities, and accommodation
Top 3 Activities:
Eating our way through Hong Kong could probably be listed as our favourite activity, but you already know that. We’ll talk about the food below and focus on our other activities here:
– Walk around in Soho and Lang Kwai Fong: full of shops, restaurants, and markets
– Head to the Chi Lin Nunnery for a moment of peace and quiet
– Catch the Symphony of Lights in the harbour (every day at 8pm)
On the other hand, we would recommend to skip the goldfish market, and especially the bird market.
There are so many more things to do in Hong Kong that we didn‘t do this time. If the weather is favourable, there are possibilities for short and long hikes – we would have loved to do it but it was too cloudy and/or wet.
Accommodation:
We stayed in Wai Fan Guesthouse, with very basic facilities. It was fine for what we needed; Hong Kong hotels are known to not have very big rooms. However, we had a large bed, and while the bathroom was small, the shower and hot water worked really well. The staff was super friendly. The location was great, in walking distance to an abundance of shops and restaurants, as well as the harbour, and a metro right in front of the door. We paid around 50€/night – Hong Kong’s hotels are expensive! Our room was towards the back of the building and the window was so close to another wall that there was no daylight – maybe ask for a street facing room to have an actual window.
If you would like to spend a little more for a bit more comfort, our friends stayed at Attitude on Granville for the second time and were very happy. It’s in the same area.
Budget:
We definitely didn’t really watch our spending very much in Hong Kong – however, all budget went into food, accomodation, and transportation. We ended up with a daily budget of around 140€ for two. While Hong Kong is definitely more expensive than most other places in Southeast Asia, you can certainly lower this by the type of restaurant you choose and the type of transportation you take (e.g. trams are cheaper than the metro; a tram ride always costs around 0.4€, whereas on the metro it depends on where you go). And of course, there is also cheaper accomodation.
Food
We mostly ate in a group of four and shared a bunch of things. The price depends a lot on your appetite 🙂 Sometimes, there were beers included in the order, but never any other alcohol. Often we only had tea.
–Din Tai Fung: our favourite dim sum place so far. They are a chain and have many locations in Hong Kong. Known for their soup dumplings with pork, they also have some good veggie options, notably the delicious vegetable dumplings and the mushroom buns. We went twice and paid around 25€/person each time.
–Pumpernickel: the name and the logo makes you think of a total hipster place, but it‘s actually a simple cafe/bakery. We had the mini sandwich breakfast set (not mini at all, actually). Around 10€/person for a breakfast set. Very nice if you‘re in the area!
–Maks Noodles: an institution for wonton noodle soup in Soho – delicious! Around 5€/person.
–Kung Tak Lam Shangai Vegetarian Cuisine: as said above, food of mixed quality. Noodles were excellent, but for example the meatball made from mushrooms had no seasoning at all. Great view of Victoria harbour. Around 25€/person.
–Food republic: food court in the Silvercord mall basement. You can find anything from noodle soup to peanut butter toast.
–Chi Lin Vegetarian: restaurant by the nunnery; good dim sum and noodles. Around 15€/person
–Yum Cha HK: Hip dim sum restaurant. Veggie options, but only one type of veggie dumpling. They make some dumplings into cute animals (very photogenic, hence the hipness); we enjoyed the food but would rather go to Din Tai Fung. Around 30€/person. Several locations.
–Tsui Wah: traditional, no frills restaurant. This is where we had the traditional breakfast but they are open all day and, as it was right next to our hotel, we often saw people queuing outside. Breakfast set cost about 4€/person.
– Afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental. We loved it! Everything was delicious and they had prepared a vegetarian version for Julia. The only downside of the Mandarin Oriental is that it doesn’t have the great view. You can check out the Peninsula or the Ritz – prices are similar. The Peninsula only seems to have raisin scones though. Who would want only raisin scones? You can also share the food (didn‘t even occur to us, but it is possible) and just order a second tea. One full set is around 40€.
– And of course, don’t forget to have a Milk (Bubble) Tea. Shops can be found anywhere. Recommended: Brown Sugar Milk Bubble Oolong Tea (get in line, fancy Starbucks order) from Sharetea.
– If you have a sweet craving, go for an eggpuff – delicious, waffle like little snacks. We had the plain one but they come in flavours like chocolate or matcha.
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