Mini Trip Report - Hong Kong
Apr 18th, 2007, 12:55 PM
#1
Original Poster
Mini Trip Report - Hong Kong
My husband and I spent 6 days in HK in early January as part of 3 months in SE Asia/NZ and OZ - following is a "just the facts" trip report - i.e. hotels/restaurants/sights - and a link to our blog which has lots of photos and commentary.
Air travel
We flew Singapore Airlines from SF to HK on the Star Alliance Circle Pacific Pass (a bucket of 26,000 miles - good for travel from the west coast of NA around Asia/NZ/OZ - it was a great value for us - $7,000 CDA each for Businss).
Singapore Airlines was wonderful (as was Thai Air) - when we hit Air Canada at the end of our travels we were shocked at the difference (I guess we're like the frog in the water - we've been flying Air Canada for so long we didn't know there was a difference!)
Hotel
We LOVED the YMCA Salisbury - forget the "Y" part - it's a terrific hotel by any standard and the rate cannot be beat. We had a Harbour View Room (approx $150/CDA) and highly recommend it - the view of the light show each evening was lots of fun. Broadband access in the room (for a separate charge) was a bonus.
Regarding the Kowloon versus Island debate - most likely because we were so happy with the hotel we loved taking the Ferry to Hong Kong - it was all part of the adventure and we really enjoyed walking in Kowloon as well.
Restaurants
We're like an army - we move on our stomachs! Had some exceptional meals in Hong Kong (with thanks to Cicerone for her list!)....Detailed photos and descriptions on our blog....link below
Yellow Door
37 Cochrane Street (under the escalator)
Sichuan cuisine
Wonderful food - we ate their twice, and once at their sister restaurant
Kin's Kitchen
9 Tsing Fung Street (Causeway Bay)
Mak's Noodles
77 Wellington
A main stay for noodles and broth - delicious!
El Bacarrat
On the Praya
Cheung Chau
Good - most probably all the restaurants along the Praya are the same
Sights
We walked miles in HK - did many markets - i.e. flower, bird, goldfish, Ladies (Kowloon) and herbal medicine, dried fish, meat, antiques etc (Hong Kong). I love NYC and had the same visceral response to HK.
The Art Gallery is a gem - I don't think it's high on tourists' lists but we really enjoyed it - it's right across from the YMCA Salisbury.
We took the bus to Stanley and enjoyed it (and the bus trip) very much - and then jumped a cab to the tram to the Peak. We're in the camp that thinks the new Peak structure is pretty ugly but a walk on the trails around the Peak is lovely. After the Peak we went to the Botanical Gardens (near the tram) - we really enjoy gardens and it was lovely.
Cheung Chau - hard to comment about this half day trip as my husband had a terrible cold and was being a real trouper to go in the first place. If he hadn't been feeling so rotten we would have rented bikes and explored more - as it was we walked around a bit and had lunch. There was a great deal of construction going on at that time, using small gas powered carts - so much so that sitting in the outdoor restaurant we practically couldn't speak it was so loud. That detracted from the "island with no vehicles" thing we were going to visit.......but as I said if we had rented bikes and gone exploring I'm sure we would have really enjoyed it.
Other details
We bought an Octopus card at the airport as is so often recommended here - it was a great idea - easy to buy and easy to use.
We took the Airport hotel bus to the YMCA as it seemed easier than the train - we had a fair bit of luggage for 3 months and the bus went door to door. Very easy purchase in the airport as you come out of immigration.
Here's a link to our blog - lots of food photos!
http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2...ong/index.html
In summary - Hong Kong was our first stop on our 3 month adventure - we both loved it and plan to return.
Happy to answer any questions.
Air travel
We flew Singapore Airlines from SF to HK on the Star Alliance Circle Pacific Pass (a bucket of 26,000 miles - good for travel from the west coast of NA around Asia/NZ/OZ - it was a great value for us - $7,000 CDA each for Businss).
Singapore Airlines was wonderful (as was Thai Air) - when we hit Air Canada at the end of our travels we were shocked at the difference (I guess we're like the frog in the water - we've been flying Air Canada for so long we didn't know there was a difference!)
Hotel
We LOVED the YMCA Salisbury - forget the "Y" part - it's a terrific hotel by any standard and the rate cannot be beat. We had a Harbour View Room (approx $150/CDA) and highly recommend it - the view of the light show each evening was lots of fun. Broadband access in the room (for a separate charge) was a bonus.
Regarding the Kowloon versus Island debate - most likely because we were so happy with the hotel we loved taking the Ferry to Hong Kong - it was all part of the adventure and we really enjoyed walking in Kowloon as well.
Restaurants
We're like an army - we move on our stomachs! Had some exceptional meals in Hong Kong (with thanks to Cicerone for her list!)....Detailed photos and descriptions on our blog....link below
Yellow Door
37 Cochrane Street (under the escalator)
Sichuan cuisine
Wonderful food - we ate their twice, and once at their sister restaurant
Kin's Kitchen
9 Tsing Fung Street (Causeway Bay)
Mak's Noodles
77 Wellington
A main stay for noodles and broth - delicious!
El Bacarrat
On the Praya
Cheung Chau
Good - most probably all the restaurants along the Praya are the same
Sights
We walked miles in HK - did many markets - i.e. flower, bird, goldfish, Ladies (Kowloon) and herbal medicine, dried fish, meat, antiques etc (Hong Kong). I love NYC and had the same visceral response to HK.
The Art Gallery is a gem - I don't think it's high on tourists' lists but we really enjoyed it - it's right across from the YMCA Salisbury.
We took the bus to Stanley and enjoyed it (and the bus trip) very much - and then jumped a cab to the tram to the Peak. We're in the camp that thinks the new Peak structure is pretty ugly but a walk on the trails around the Peak is lovely. After the Peak we went to the Botanical Gardens (near the tram) - we really enjoy gardens and it was lovely.
Cheung Chau - hard to comment about this half day trip as my husband had a terrible cold and was being a real trouper to go in the first place. If he hadn't been feeling so rotten we would have rented bikes and explored more - as it was we walked around a bit and had lunch. There was a great deal of construction going on at that time, using small gas powered carts - so much so that sitting in the outdoor restaurant we practically couldn't speak it was so loud. That detracted from the "island with no vehicles" thing we were going to visit.......but as I said if we had rented bikes and gone exploring I'm sure we would have really enjoyed it.
Other details
We bought an Octopus card at the airport as is so often recommended here - it was a great idea - easy to buy and easy to use.
We took the Airport hotel bus to the YMCA as it seemed easier than the train - we had a fair bit of luggage for 3 months and the bus went door to door. Very easy purchase in the airport as you come out of immigration.
Here's a link to our blog - lots of food photos!
http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2...ong/index.html
In summary - Hong Kong was our first stop on our 3 month adventure - we both loved it and plan to return.
Happy to answer any questions.
Apr 18th, 2007, 01:57 PM
#5
Original Poster
Tim and Liz - I hope you like the Y as much as we did - the buffet breakfast (extra cost) is also very good - I could really get into dim sum and rice for breakfast!
Rkkwan
I still dream of Yellow Door - in particular the lighter than air dumplings and the "Boiled Pork in Chili Soup" - it was so good!
If you go - Yellow Door isn't exactly *ON* Cochrane Street - the entrance is tucked around the corner (there's a 7-11 right on the corner) and then you go up to the 6th floor - well worth the effort!
Rkkwan
I still dream of Yellow Door - in particular the lighter than air dumplings and the "Boiled Pork in Chili Soup" - it was so good!
If you go - Yellow Door isn't exactly *ON* Cochrane Street - the entrance is tucked around the corner (there's a 7-11 right on the corner) and then you go up to the 6th floor - well worth the effort!
Apr 18th, 2007, 02:12 PM
#8
Original Poster
Tim and Liz - it's been our experience that many chicken dishes are ...... complete with bones, etc. We live in Toronto where there are many fine Chinese restaurants and it's pretty standard so we're used to it.
Rkkwan
Yes, the Monet reference is definitely Richard's attempt to turn something negative into a positive!
Rkkwan
Yes, the Monet reference is definitely Richard's attempt to turn something negative into a positive!
Apr 18th, 2007, 02:30 PM
#9
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If a chicken dish is boneless, it's usually called "something gai DING" in Cantonese, like "Kung Bo Gai Ding". If it doesn't say "Ding", then it's usually with bones, and yes, they do chop through the bones.
The Chinese character for "Ding" is like the capital letter "T" with a little hook at the bottom.
The Chinese character for "Ding" is like the capital letter "T" with a little hook at the bottom.
Apr 18th, 2007, 09:14 PM
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Elizabeth, Richard
If you dont mind my asking what unique items did you find having to purchase in Hong Kong. Having three months ahead I don't imagine you loaded up much, maybe a couple goldfish? I'm guessing 'shopping' was mostly taking photos?
If you dont mind my asking what unique items did you find having to purchase in Hong Kong. Having three months ahead I don't imagine you loaded up much, maybe a couple goldfish? I'm guessing 'shopping' was mostly taking photos?
Apr 20th, 2007, 11:26 AM
#13
Original Poster
bob56 - re shopping - neither of us are big clothes shoppers so that's not a problem, and being away for 3 months does tend to inhibit other shopping (!) but we did buy something in Hong Kong we really love - we found the "chop" lane (sort of near the IFC) where the vendors engrave marble figures with your name for inking formal documents (apparently in some cases your chop is still required in addition to your signature?) - anyway this one enterprising vendor who did not speak English managed to get us to stop, look at his book of English surnames, and to our great shock found my husband's last name (which is a very obscure name)......so we chose one of the marble blanks and through charades and an intermediary we agreed to pick it up the next day. It's a lovely souvenir of Hong Kong - for $20.
Here's a link to a pic of a common chop
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/c..._engraving.htm
We did go nuts - however - in Luang Prabang buying silk and scarves - they were irresistible for beauty and price - shipped them home with excess books from New Zealand.
LynnieD
Knock him over the had and strap him in - spring for biz class if that's what it takes - the flight was decadently fun and life's too short!
Here's a link to a pic of a common chop
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/c..._engraving.htm
We did go nuts - however - in Luang Prabang buying silk and scarves - they were irresistible for beauty and price - shipped them home with excess books from New Zealand.
LynnieD
Knock him over the had and strap him in - spring for biz class if that's what it takes - the flight was decadently fun and life's too short!
