Sunday, April 12, 2015

To Hong Kong & Back


Is it just us? Lin & I feel Hong Kong is losing its charm. Sadly, it no longer excites us. The next trip to Hong Kong after this impromptu one might be years later. *.* Family would be the only reason why we would visit this city again. 

I'm just gonna put my 4 days Hong Kong travelogue into 1 posting. 

9 Apr 2015 (Thurs) 

After dropping Boon Tong Kee chicken rice at Susan's mom's house (yes, I actually tabao chicken rice from Singapore to Hong Kong), I checked into Lanson Place where Lin has been staying since Monday. :)

Lanson Place is a member of small luxury hotel of the world.
























Lanson Place has a pretty lounge area & cosy library. :) I like the splashes of green & yellow amidst the neutral shades. :)








And now a pic of our room :) The hotel provides complimentary snacks and drinks and also Handy, a smart phone with unlimited 3G mobile internet, local & internatonal calls to select countries, tourist informaton and google maps. I would have YEAH! to it if Handy wasn't cranky. Lin changed a couple of Handy sets and they were the same. *.* I got a SIM card from 7-Eleven and I was happy with it. :)


Details of Lanson Place:
133 Leighton Road
Hong Kong
T: +852 3477 6888
W: http://www.lansonplace.com/

My first Char Chaan Teng meal in HK was at Tsui Wah at Lockhart Road. 















Can't remember when was my last glass of ice lemon tea. :) 




























Lin has been in Hong Kong 3 days earlier and she has lowered my expectation of the food here. While it wasn't gratifying, I enjoyed what went into my tummy so far. :)))




























I have no idea why this made it to TW's popular dish. Tom yum noodles with prawns. The broth tasted like instant mix?





Macaroni with sunny side up and luncheon meat...mediocre








I'm tired from getting up early to catch the 9.30am flight. I think 10am and any later flights will suit me better. It's another trip where I'm ill. Stuffed nose and lost of voice (yet I still wanna yak...) I need a perk me up! *.*




























These French toast cubes with vanilla ice cream was the best item we ate this afternoon. :)














Details of Tsui Wah 翠華集團 at Lockhart Road:
GF - 3F 
485 Lockhart Road
Causeway Bay
T: +852 2838 9086/ 2838 9087
W: http://www.tsuiwah.com/en

We had about 2 hours of retail therapy at Causeway Bay before heading for family dinner at Chiu Chow Garden at Infinitus Plaza. :)

Our family in Hong Kong :)

Cousin Paul, uncle Mike & cousin Kimberley :)











Lin with Big aunty and cousin Paul. :)


Braised goose meat





























Deep fried Pulin Tofu











Seasonal Teochew Veg






























Oyster Omelette 










Minced pork with lettuce wrap 













Sugar coated taro sticks










Yam paste with ginko nuts





























It didn't matter the Teochew cuisine here wasn't mind blowing. :D We enjoyed the togetherness of family. We may be miles apart but the bond is strong. Such a blessing. :)

Details of Chiuchow Garden Restaurant:
3F Infinitus Plaza
199 Des Veoux Road 
Central
Sheung Wan
T: +852 2545 7778

Kim & us spent more time together over ice cream at Via Tokyo. :)










































Thurs nite crowd! *.*



















Via Tokyo is known for their matcha ice cream made of powder from Kyoto and Hokkaido milk. 

Matcha latte and matcha vanilla ice creams for us. :)













I love ice cream and it's impossible to resist good ones... :)

Details of Via Tokyo:
Shop nos. 1A-1B
GF Leishun Court
106-126 Leighton Road
Causeway Bay

銅鑼灣禮頓道106-126號禮信大廈地下1A-1B號舖

10 Apr 2015 (Fri)

We woke up hungry. :( Following Kim's recommendation, we headed down to Cafe Matchbox for breakfast. It's less than 10mins by foot from Lanson Place. :)






































































This cafe reminisces an era gone by. :) 






















Our breakfast :)











Lemon water for me :)




























Milk tea for Lin



























Our macaroni and ham set 










came with scramble eggs and thick toast. :)




























Too hungry....















Details of Cafe Matchbox (喜喜冰室):
2 Sun Wui Road
Causeway Bay
W: http://www.cafematchbox.com.hk/

Lin & I love 小锅米线 from 小雨天( Xiao Yu Tian) from Kwai Chung Plaza at Kwai Fung. Well, they now have it at Central too! :) Kim & her bf, Alex only had 45 mins lunch. So Lin & I went to get a table first. :)

I was a little sad the noodles with marinated wings came in plastic bowl and not claypot. :(






































Kim had fishball noodles :)













Alex had meat balls with tofu noodles. 










And of course we had ice lemon tea. :)





























Details 小雨天(Xiao Yu Tian):
Shop A
GF Shing Hing Commercial Buidling
21-27 Wing Kut Street
Central
T: +852 2815 6616

Frankly we were bored at PMQ. *.* It wasn't as dynamic and vibrant as we imagined it to be. If you have been to Ssamzigil in Seoul, you will know what I mean. Ssamzigil has been very successful in incorporating traditional culture and shopping all in one comlex.














We do like the framed windows and brightness of every store though. :) They elude a certain charm. 


















Details of PMQ (元創方):
35 Aberdeem Street
Central
Hong Kong
W:www.pmq.org.hk

Lin loves egg tarts. 















Loving that it ain't too sweet. :)























Details of Tai Cheong Bakery:
35 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central
Hong Kong
T: +852 2544 3475
W: http://www.taoheung.com.hk/en/brands/tai_cheong_bakery/index_p_2.html

Tea break at Lan Fong Yuen :)

















Pork cutlet buns I miss you. :)





























Condensed milk bun. ;) I love it.












Simple but splendid tea break. :)














More lemon water to soothe my throat. :)





























Details of Lan Fong Yuen:
2 Gage Street
Central
中環結志街2號
T: +852 2544 3895/2854 0731

Lin did some work at the hotel while I shopped for an hour around Causeway Bay. 

JY & Hub haven't try Kwan Kee Claypot Rice even though they have been staying in Hong Kong for X years. So here we are. :)


















Thank goodness we had reservation. :) Serious chit chat during meal. :)))







Tofu & fish soup to warm our tummies. :) Hong Kong experienced a sudden drop in temperature this week. 17-18 degree celsius. I actually like it this way. :)))






























Our all time fav... mui choy minced pork rice











Salted fish & pork patty rice :)





























Chicken & preserved sausage rice :)




























Kwan Kee Claypot Rice is one stall we patron without fail whenever we are in Hong Kong. Very local with fabulous claypot rice. 

Don't let the stench outside the stall (it's located at the side alley you see) deter you. JY was hesitant when she first visited, but that's history! :)))

Details of Kwan Kee Claypot Rice (坤記煲仔小菜):
Shop 1 Wo Yick Mansion
263 Queen's Road West
Western District
西環皇后大道西263號和益大廈地下1號舖
T: +852 2803 7209





























After dinner stroll was made romantic by the drizzle. :) Sharing an umbrella, the 3 of us walked all the way to Four Seasons just for some hot chocolate, ice cream and lychee martini. :)

I miss such chilled moments. :)
Erm...JY was "stealing" a shot of the singer. :)))





























A glass of Lychee Martini for JY :)





























A simple scoop of vanilla ice cream made pretty with berries and pastry stick. :) Pretty happy with it. :)































Hot chocolate made fanciful! :)



































Details of The Lounge at 
Four Seasons:
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
8 Finance Street
Central
Hong Kong
T: +852 3196 8888
W: http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/the_lounge/

11 Apr 2015 (Sat)

Tsim Sha Tsui is infested with jewellery shop! *.* It's appalling. We were trying to find old school cafe for breakfast at Tsim Sha Tsui. Star Cafe, as old school as we could get. :)




















































Star Cafe's signature dishes would be Nissin noodles in tomato soup.

Lin & I had a bowl of Nissin noodles with beef & eggs in tomato soup each. It was a gluey affair. :)))





























And we shared a bowl of macaroni with ham in tomato soup :) The servings were pretty generous.




















Lemon water for me and ice lemon tea for Lin.  The lemon tea was exceptionally thick, it could have suffice for two glasses. Lin might have difficulty sleeping at nite. :)))






























We were totally stuffed after breakfast and weren't sure if we could still stomach dim sum with big aunty and cousin Paul later on, which was in an hour's time. *.*

Details of Star Cafe:
Shop No. 36 Champagne Court
16-20 Kimberley Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
尖沙咀金巴利道16-20號香檳大廈地庫36號舖
T: +852 2724 4408

Our first dim sum for this trip was at Super Star Seafood Restaurant. 













Har gow, shrimp cheong fun & Chiu Chow dumplings





Pan fried carrot cake






























Glutinous rice in lotus leaf






Something seemed to be lacking in these tofu cubes. : /






























Char siew buns












Cute but not my cup of tea as I do not like the bean paste filling. :)




The most disappointing dim sum was the egg custard buns. There wasn't any oozing custard at all. :(



















The roasted duck was tough and the vermicelli was cold. :(
















Dim sum at Super Star Restaurant is at best average. It was awesome to be able to meet up with big aunty and Paul twice in 4 days though. :D











Details of Super Star Restaurant:
3F Grand Centre
8 Humphreys Avenue
Tsim Sha Tsui
九龙尖沙咀堪富利士道8号格兰中心3楼 3/F
T: +852 2628 0698
W: www.superstargroup.com.hk

Our Sat's schedule was kind of packed. :) We had two hours to shop at Kwai Chung Plaza before meeting JY again. :) We managed to grab some traditional snacks for grandmom. :)





Details of Kwai Chung Plaza:
7 Kwai Foo Road
Kwai Chung
Hong Kong

Urban Bakery has got to be best find this trip. Thank you JY and Raymond for this fabulous recommendation! :) Urban Bakery is my to go place for croissants fix. ;)






Spoilt for choice.



If you aren't into croissants...



I love bo lo bun. I love croissant. When two combined into one, magic! :D

































Coffee for JY & Raymond, water for the both of us. :)




























I love peanut butter and would love to try these too. If only I had more stomach space! :)))




Details of Urban Bakery:
3F The Landmark 12-16
Des Voeux Road
Central 
Hong Kong
T: +852 3565 4320

Received a message from Susan she had caught the flu bug. So our hotpot dinner with her became a crabby one with JY and Raymond at Under Bridge Spicy Crab. :) Again, nothing to shout about especially when Singapore has no lack of awesome seafood.












































Oyster porridge. If you like this, Imperial Treasure Teochew Restaurant in Singapore serves really good oyster porridge.




























Steamed tofu with pumpkin and scallops

















Veg with black fungus




























Details of Under Bridge Spicy Crab(橋底辣蟹):
Shop 1-2 GF
414-424 Jaffe Road
Causeway Bay
Wan Chai

灣仔謝斐道414-424地下1-2號

T: +852 2573 7698
W: www.underspicycrab.com

Lin & I did some last min shopping before heading for supper at Tsui Wah @ Sugar Street.



Just one glass of ice lemon tea for the two of us :)





























Shrimps & chives dumplings soup





























Preserved veg with shredded pork vermicelli



Stir fried beef hor fun with crunchy bean sprouts 















Details of Tsui Wah at Sugar Street:
Unit 1-3
GF Causeway Bay Commercial Building
1-5 Sugar Street
Causeway Bay
T: +852 2890 9266

12 Apr 2015 (Sunday)

When was the last time we met and had a meal together? I can't remember. :) Today we caught up with Vivek at Maxim City Hall for dim sum. :)


Dim sum ladies with pushcarts. :)










Shrimp cheong fun




Pork ribs




Har gows




Lin gobbled down a siew mai before I could snap a pic.

































Surprisingly good, chewy squids. :)


I love these baked char siew buns. :)





























Egg tarts





























We completed our dim sum with soya beancurd with yellow sugar. :)








Details of Maxim Palace City Hall:
2F Low Block 
City Hall
Central
Hong Kong
T: +852 2521 1303
W: http://www.maximschinese.com.hk/eng/restaurant/outlet_facts.aspx?sId=2

After grabbing Beanie's Lindt chocolates, we rushed back to Lanson Place to check out and checked our baggages at Hong Kong Station. We had ample time before our flight home at 7.55pm. 

We headed back to Urban Bakery to collect our egg custard croissants & bo lo croissants. Yes oozy egg custards croissants & bo lo croissants, here we come! :) 




























Here're pics of the sinful oozy egg custard croissant I took back home in Singapore. :)










































Details of Urban Bakery:
3F The Landmark 12-16
Des Voeux Road
Central 
Hong Kong
T: +852 3565 4320

We couldn't find Agnes B Cafe at IFC (it has closed down) and ended up at Isola Bar and Grill instead. From wanting to have cakes, we ended having pizza & pasta instead. :)))




Thin crust pizza with sausages, fungi & cheese. :)


































































We had lobster penne (gluten free) too. Not that gluten free penne makes a diff now, after we ate tons of stuff we shouldn't. :) 



























Noting really shouts out here at Isola. And service was average.  

Details of Isola Bar & Grill:
Shop 3071- 3075 (3F)
Shop 4011 (4F)
IFC Mall
1 Harbour View Street
Central
T: +852 2383 8765/2383 8611

Off to the airport as there wasn't much to do already. :) Lin tabao century egg congee from 正斗 (Tasty Congee and Wantun Shop) at Hong Kong International Airport. So that was my dinner on the flight back home. :)





























Details of正斗 (Tasty Congee and Wantun Shop):
Departure East Hall
Level 7
(Restricted area)
T: +852 2261 0101

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