3D2N HK Dec 08

All those SALES!!! A|X, Pedder Red, Vivienne Westwood, H&M!  Up to 60% off, and some places had discounts off the sales items too!! Ok not to bore with my shopping loot - gotta bring an expandable bag/extra foldaway the next time - moving on.  

Accomodation

Panorama Hotel by Rhombus. Recently renovated, cost $200/pax for triple sharing.  There was a complimentary upgrade to a Platinum Room (think it was the Winter Promotion they were having).  Great service, clean, comfortable, slightly snug for 3 ppl but then again we're not in the room for most of the day (1xKing + extra bed).  Set back from Nathan Road off Mody Road, it's not far from the main TST shopping area near the harbour. It's not that far to walk up to Jordan or Yau Ma Tei and you can shop your way up.

Food

镛记 (Yung Kee). One of HK's most famous roast goose restaurants, it serves traditional Cantonese cuisine.  Other roasted meats are also available.  Soups are highly recommended: full-flavoured but clear and refreshing.  The century egg appetiser eaten with preserved ginger may not be to everyone's taste, so if you don't want it tell the waiter else it'll be charged.  A meal with a regular plate of goose meat and medium soup cost around HKD300.  Popular with locals and tourists alike, it may be a bit pricier than the smaller shops, but remember you're paying for quality, reputation, atmosphere and rent.  Make reservations a day in advance or wait up to half an hr for a seat.  32-40 Wellington St, HK Island.  MTR: Central exit D2, near D'Aguilar/Pedder St.

Regular plate, serves 2-3, HKD130

黄枝记.  Opposite from Yung Kee, the noodles are delicious~~ and the pork chop bun my sis had in the extremely crowded Macau branch the last time!!  Pick the soup noodles and you won't go wrong for a recharge at affordable prices and if you don't wanna wait 30mins for a table at Yung Kee sans reservation.

汤丸王.  A traditional dessert shop known for dumplings, the sesame and walnut pastes are smooth and fragrant.  Can't go wrong with the hot desserts.  Average HKD20/bowl.  At the start of Pilkem Street where it intersects with Bowring Road.  MTR: Jordan.

稻香 (Tao Heung).  Hotpot restaurant my family goes to for affordable food in air-conditioned comfort.  Especially comforting on a cool night.  Fried fish skin, geoduc, meatballs, beef, the usual hotpot stuff.  Used to be an outlet at Silvercord Plaza but think it closed.  Again, reservations are required, or the wait can go up to an hour.  Disappointed not to have gone there this time round.  Carnarvon Plaza.  MTR: TST.

源记.  All-time favourite cha can teng.  Fragrant beef brisket noodles in soup, not overpowering, add some chili oil to taste and you'll feel the satisfaction seeping into you.  For breakfast sets I like the ham macaroni + eggs + toast combi with thick, luscious milk tea the way it should taste.  The fishball noodles are great too.  And check out the meltingly soft charsiew, the first time I ordered.  It was HKD30?  Granville Rd, off Nathan Rd.

许留山 (Hui Lau Shan).  No need to intro.  Mochi with mango filling, coconut noodles in mango cubes + puree, mango cubes + hasima jelly... I could go on. 

陆羽.  Didn't go there but wanted to.  Seems like it's packed by regulars, not just tourists. Noisy, local flavour.  Dim sum trolleys pushed thru the place till 11am after which there's an English menu without prices.  HKD 25-55 per.  24-26 Stanley St.  Daily 7am-5.30pm.  

MTR: Central.

糖朝(Sweet Dynasty).  I dig the pork chop noodles soup here!! Super tasty! Succulent pork chop in flavourful shrimp broth.  Love the sesame paste/tau huey.  Large variety of desserts and Cantonese cuisine - all you could ask for.  100 Canton Road, TST.  

美心 (Maxim's Palace).  Went here the first day for lunch, caught the tail end of the hour. Affordable, and a fairly large range.  Trolleys go around, but sometimes it's easier just to order off the menu.  Spacious, large, noisy but not rowdy, regulars flock there as well.  2/F of City Hall, Low Block (top flr for us).  Turn left from Star Ferry terminal exit toward Chater House.  Drab-looking bldg which houses the arts theatre.  Walk into the carpark past the guardhouse, right to the end.  Connaught Rd, Central and Edinburgh Place.  HKD 20-29 per.  Mon-Sat 11am-3pm; Sun and PH 9am-3pm. MTR: Central.

Serenade.  Some sort of SOP.  The figurine dim sum's cute, but go for the rest of the selection on the menu.  We did both =).  No trolley, the menu's self-explanatory.  Charsiew bao, glutinous rice, zhu chang fen, the blanched vegetables (very fresh, the cabbage is, lightly flavoured with oyster/soy sauce), the works. First floor of the HK Cultural Centre next to Star Ferry Terminal (and Harbour City!).  Weekdays, 2-4.30pm has cheaper dim sum than during lunch hr.  Daily 8am-4.30pm, HKD16-38 per.  MTR: TST.

SHOPPING!!!  

The usual haunts - Harbour City + the entire area around Chater Hse to Wellington St.

Pedder Red shoes are much more affordable here, there's one just up the street from Yung Kee (see above) and a branch at Harbour City.  The  flagship H&M is on Queen's Road Central, the main thoroughfare - that's 4flrs to go googaaaa in.  Ap Lei Chau is another place to go warehouse shopping for brand names, up to 90% discount.  Check the merchandise very carefully to see if you can live with the slight defects before committing.  

Apart from Harbour City's brand names (Vivienne Westwood! Y-3! Lane Crawford!), there's the 2-storey luxurious Miu Miu store right at Beijing Rd opp it.  Walk along there, DKNY, A|X and others.  Silvercord Plaza used to be a must-go-to, but has since dropped to a lower priority but if you're there go into the shops and have a lookaround for bargains.  Go up toward Nathan Rd, and you get the shopping 'Golden Mile'.  Miramar Shopping Centre has got a healthy mix of local and foreign fashions: multilabels i.t. (rather highly priced) and b+ab stock trendy clothes and shoes, there's VW, Agnes b., cK jeans, UNIQLO, Anna Sui etc.  We walked the whole of Nathan Road up to maybe Jordan, den took the train to Prince Edward and walked back.  It was an endurance thing, I kid you not, 10am-10pm.