Hong Kong 2D2N Weekend Trip!

I first started this blog with my Hong Kong Trip posts in May 2013. I would say it's a great experience to blog about my food and travel journeys. It's like writing a diary and I could just reread everything again and again to remind me of what I have been through. Why am I travelling so often? I work in an airline industry, given the flights I always take, you could easily guess which airline I work in. :) The air tickets for staff travel are really affordable and attractive enough to make me want to travel regularly. Many people have asked me if they can buy discounted tickets from me but I'm sorry, only those who travel with me will get such benefit. As I am leaving this company, I'm going to travel as much as possible before my last day at the end of August. Right now I'm on a "flying spree", 11-14 July in Taiwan and 18-20 July in Hong Kong! Also, I've just booked another trip in the first week of August. =D

Day 0
18 July 2014

First of all, I would like to thank my boss for letting us off early so that we could catch our flight at 5.05pm. It's gonna be a very short trip to Hong Kong with my colleague, Shujuan, whom has been closest to me in this company. I was the one who introduced her to this job as I find it very interesting and the company was hiring another analyst so I shared with her this opportunity. I'm glad that we became colleagues as we were previously from the same university.

Arriving in Hong Kong International Airport as scheduled (9pm), I got myself an octopus card, usable almost everywhere - trains, bus, convenience stores, fast food chains, etc, from the Train Tickets booth before exiting immigration. Payment by cash only, I paid HKD 150 (SGD 24.10) for the octopus card with HKD 100 (SGD 16) credits and HKD 50 (SGD 8) deposit which you could get back once you return the card.

The train (Airport Express) from airport to the city is only 24min but it's more expensive than taking the airport bus. So we followed the signboards and made our way to the bus stop for bus A21 which will stop at Yau Ma Tei - Man Ming Lane (Stop No. 9). The price for taking the bus from the airport is fixed at HKD 33 (SGD 5.30). You may go to Citybus' website to use their interactive route search on how to get to your destination. Also, there's free wifi on the bus! Bus journey was about 40min from the airport to Yau Ma Tei.


Homy235
Address: No. 285 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
Contact: +0085281000189

Homy235 was not easy to find at all! Let me show you the signage, the pictures below were taken on 20 July before we checked out of the hotel:

Close up picture below

THIS IS THE ONLY "SIGNBOARD" OF THE MOTEL/HOTEL/WHATEVERYOUCALLIT

We arrived at 10.30pm at night, the street was not really brightly lit. How the hell can we spot this?! Furthermore, there was typhoon on the Friday night we arrived in Hong Kong. We were carrying our luggage, holding onto umbrella and finding this small little door in Shanghai Street. Lol.

Building of Homy 285 within Chi Residences

Spot Chi Residences and you'll find Homy 285 on the right of the building

Reception - so small lol

No lift, only staircase and we stayed on the 4th floor T.T

In HK, their ground floor = our first floor. Thus we actually stayed on the 5th floor.

Our Room!

Pictures taken on Day 0, 18 July, when we first checked in: 

Though small, this room was rather cozy

It was a bit scary at night when we had to come down from the stairs

Our bed - pillow too soft, bed's quite hard, blanket's very soft and thick. Quite nice to sleep in. The aircon is strong enough to cool the whole room.

Full capacity of the toilet. Smallest toilet I have ever seen! Hahaha

I booked this hotel via Zuji as HSBC has 13% off, this promotion only last till 31 July. We settled down for about 25min and headed out to have dinner, or I would say supper as it's already 11pm. Shujuan brought me to Hong Kee Restaurant which was 5min walk from our motel.


Hong Kee Restaurant 兴记煲仔饭
Address: 15 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong (香港 油麻地廟街15號地下)
Contact: (852)23843647
Review Website (in Chinese): http://www.mafengwo.cn/poi/5505435.html

Hong Kee Restaurant 兴记煲仔饭

Menu

滑鸡腊肠煲仔饭 Chicken with Sausage Claypot Rice (HKD 34, SGD 5.50)

Honestly, the vegetable was average and the claypot rice was below average. The rice were too tough, zero stickiness, chicken was alright and the sausage had a weird taste. We had the worse meal in Hong Kong as our first meal. We shared these 2 dishes and paid less than SGD 10 for both of us.

We wanted to go to Hui Lau Shan, a famous dessert place in Hong Kong, which was just nearby but it was already closing when we reached. Thus we bought mango pudding and brought it back to our place.

The mango pudding was quite nice, not fantastic. I believe it would be better if we had other desserts at the cafe. =/ Nevertheless, we slept without setting any alarm as we wanted to wake up naturally to prepare ourselves for a brand new Saturday in Hong Kong the next day!


Day 1
19 July 2014

Rise and Shine!

Duofie using my selfie stick in the motel before moving off

Mido Cafe 美都餐室
Address: 63 Temple St, Hong Kong (油麻地廟街63號地下)
Contact: +852 2384 6402

We simply love this classic cafe of Hong Kong! I made a statement to Shujuan "I finally feel that I'm in Hong Kong!" after we sat down on our table. All the customers were seated on the second level, there were tourists from Japan, Taiwan and Singapore in the cafe as well. This cafe offers a great variety of HK food and their menu is just right under the glass of the table.

Menu

Pineapple Bun with Butter 鲜牛油菠萝包 (HKD 12, SGD 1.95) - AWESOME

Pineapple Bun with Butter 鲜牛油菠萝包, our favorite dish!!

Lemon Honey 柠檬菜蜜 (HKD 17, SGD 2.70) - Very nice and soothing drink!

Pork Chop with Macaroni in Broth 猪扒汤通 (HKD 38, SGD 6.10) - Average

Chicken Omelette with Creamy Sauce (HKD 55, SGD 8.80) - Average

Street view from our seat in the cafe

Satisfied with our hearty breakfast, we made our way to Mongkok for shopping! Yau Ma Tei is just a close distance to Mongkok (1 stop by MRT) so we walked over to Mongkok from Mido Cafe. The walk won't be boring as there will be shops along the street.

Yau Ma Tei

Our duofie photobombed by Hong Kong citizens

Argyle Centre 旺角中心
Address: 688 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
MTR: Mong Kok Station Exit D2

If you have been to the Platinum Mall in Bangkok, you will find the familiarity in Argyle Centre. During my previous trip to Hong Kong, I didn't buy many clothes, except from H&M and random street stalls as other places were not that cheap. However, this mall totally changed my view of HK. Not only are the clothes cheap, they are very nice too! A wide variety of clothing to choose from all the different shops/booths in the mall and I guess you need at least one whole afternoon if you wish to finish the entire mall.

SJ and I bought sooo many clothes within 3h and I didn't even spend over SGD 100! (She did though she said she didn't want to spend money, tsk tsk tsk.) I didn't take much photos as we were really busy shopping.

Sale starting from HKD 15, SGD 2.40 WHATTTTT

Happy girl with her purchase

Petite Store - Good quality clothes and friendly shopkeepers!

I got to recommend you to visit this store named Petite in Argyle Centre (couldn't rmb which floor, it should be level 3). They do sell some of the similar clothes you will find from other stores but trust me, their quality's better! I bought quite a few pieces of clothing from Petite even though their prices was slightly higher than the rest. Also, SJ and I both bought the same skirt that was designed and manufactured by the lady boss! As I need WIFI to contact my ex-colleague whom we were going to meet in the afternoon, the lady boss kindly gave me the password for their protected WIFI! Thank you!!


Tao Heung 稻香 (Pier 88)
Address: Shop B, 3/F., Grand Plaza, 625 & 639 Nathan Road, Mongkok, KLN
MTR: Mong Kok Station Exit E1
Website: http://www.taoheung.com.hk/
Contact: 83008168
Operating Hours: 7:00am - 5:30pm; 6:00pm - 12:00pm

Grand Plaza is just opposite of Langham Place Shopping Mall in Mong Kok. Tao Heung has many branches all over Hong Kong. As we were meeting our ex-colleague in Mong Kok, Shujuan brought us to this branch situated on the 3rd floor of Grand Plaza.

The way this restaurant work is quite funny. There wasn't any receptionist and based on SJ's past experience, you got to find yourself a table, sit down and select the food you want from the menu. As we were there during lunch hours, our table was not cleaned yet thus we had to ask someone to clean for us as well as to bring us a set of menu. The menu is fully in Chinese, unfortunately for people who can't read Chinese, you got to ask someone to translate for you.

The only menu with pictures (not full menu though)

Super love this mochi!!!

Freaking awesome sesame paste in the mochi!

Cleared everything. Fantastic Dim Sum!

All these 10 dishes and pot of tea added up to about SGD 40 for 3 of us. That's considered cheap for such delicious dim sum and comfortable setting. I'll be back again for my next Hong Kong trip in the future.

SJ, Mau and Me

Triofie with SJ and Mau in the street of Mong Kok

Ozone (Highest Bar in Hong Kong)
Address: The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, Level 118, International Commerce Ctr. 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
MTR: Kowloon Station
Website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/HongKong/Dining/ozone/Default.htm#
Contact: +852 2263 2270
Operating Hours:
Mon-Wed: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Dinner 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
Thu: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Dinner 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
Fri: 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Dinner 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
Sat: 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Dinner 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
Sun: 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Brunch 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.)

Here comes the highlight of the trip! Thanks to Mr. Mau for bringing us to Ozone! It's such a relaxing and insanely awesome venue to chill as well as to overlook the gorgeous Hong Kong city. The drinks aren't cheap, it'd be around SGD 30 after taxes per glass. I'd say that it's definitely worth it for the wonderful experience. 

Level 118, Ozone Reception

Ozone Menu

Outdoor seating with panoramic view of Hong Kong

Me with my ex boss, Mr. Mau!

Ended up sitting indoor as it started pouring T.T

Dragontini - Very nice drink! (HKD 170 before tax)

Thanks for the treat Mr. Mau! Do let us know when you're back in Singapore, we'll give you a good treat in return!

Albeit a short meet up, we were really elated to see our ex-colleague/boss and glad that he's doing well in his new job in Hong Kong. Thank you for all your guidance in the past year(s), it's really heart warming to meet friends when we are overseas.


Hong Kong Trams
Website: http://www.hktramways.com/en/index.html

SJ and I have always wanted to take the trams in HK! They will make the "ding ding" sound when they move. Very old but cute. :)

We alighted the MTR at Admiralty Station and exited the station (asked the MTR personnel in the control station regarding which exit to take) towards the tram's stop. No matter which stop you are alighting at, the tram charges a fixed rate of HKD 2.30 (SGD 0.40) for adults. It's the cheapest mode of transport in Hong Kong.

Seated separately as there's limited spaces on board the Tram

We alighted somewhere near Times Square (Causeway Bay MTR) and walked towards it as there's a Batman outdoor exhibition! All the cool bat mobiles were on display!

Public performance by music talents at Times Square

Cong Sao Star Dessert - Our main motive to drop off at Causeway Bay but the queue was freaking long! Been there during my previous trip to Hong Kong.

Lan Kwai Fong
MTR: Central Station
Website: http://www.lankwaifong.com/

Lan Kwai Fong is similar to Clarke Quay in Singapore. The only difference is that LWF is MUCH MORE HAPPENING than CQ! It's a fabulous night scene in Hong Kong where you could easily find all the party goers and drinkers here at night.

We were unaware that there was a Beer Fest going on during our weekend in Hong Kong. It was EXTREMELY CROWDED at Lan Kwai Fong that night (19 July, Sat)!! It was so difficult to move through the crowd! People were dancing in the street, with tall glasses of beers. Loud music, happy faces, drunk faces, sexy ladies, EVERYWHERE.

Big Pizza - spotted this while we were feeling hungry

Slice of Pepperoni Pizza - Good!

It was seriously over crowded in LWF. We did not settle down in any pub as all of them were full. Despite that, we still enjoyed ourselves by maneuvering through the human traffic and immersing in the hype-up mood. The last train departing Central MTR Station towards Yau Ma Tei was 12.50am. We took the train at 12.15am back to Yau Ma Tei.

Passed by this stall when it started raining again while we were walking back to Homy285. So we sat down to eat!

Bacon wrapped with Asparagus (most right) was good! The other 2 were not bad as well!

Curry Fish Balls - Yummzzzz

A fulfilling Saturday in Hong Kong indeed! Did so many things within a day which made us felt that we've been in Hong Kong for very long! =D


Day 2
20 July 2014

The last day in Hong Kong. =( In the morning, we had breakfast together at a stall nearby our motel in Yau Ma Tei and then split up to do our own things.

Very smooth Chee Cheong Fun!

Superb Congee!

SJ went over to Wong Tai Sin temple for her prayers while I took the train towards Mong Kok for last minute shopping and food.

Fav Stall in Fa Yuen Street (Mong Kok)

Walked back from Mong Kok to Yau Ma Tei, taking pictures along the way:

View from the window of my room in Homy285

Hong Kong, being advanced and all, have two in-town check in counters at both Hong Kong and Kowloon Stations, with the condition that you must take the Airport Express to the airport (HKD 100 from Hong Kong Station). We went over to Hong Kong's In-town check in to get our air tickets first (even though we didn't have check-in luggage) so that we won't need to queue at the airport and go straight into immigration once we arrived.

Hong Kong Station In-town Check-in

Tim Ho Wan at Hong Kong Station

Char Siew Bun and Beef Balls. The beef balls were disappointing =/

Still the BEST Char Siew Bun I've ever tasted

Shopping at Lane Crawford, noticed the view outside the store and snapped a picture of it

Taking the Airport Express train back to Hong Kong International Airport

Bought a new bag from Lane Crawford. A bag that I almost bought in Korea but didn't get in the end as they didn't have a new piece. Hehe =D

Saboten Item #1 on the menu (HKD 110, SGD 18)

Very very tender tonkatsu!! Must try!

Food area in the airport after immigration

All the stalls in the food area

Before boarding the plane, MY PHONE WENT MISSING!! After I boarded the shuttle bus which ferries us towards the budget boarding gates (Gates 500+), I realized that my phone wasn't with me! Frantically, I stepped out of the shuttle bus and began searching all my baggage for my phone. I couldn't find it at all! So I rushed towards the toilet that I last used before boarding the shuttle bus, and finally found my phone in the cubicle I was in. PHEW!!! So thankful that the toilet was empty and nobody took my phone. Thank you my guardian angel (I don't know who it/he/she is) for always watching over me. I've been pretty lucky through my entire life up till now. =')

I was still traumatized by the loss-of-my-phone-moments after boarding the plane and finally calmed down after the plane took off. How we wished that we could stay just one more night in Hong Kong. =( Nevertheless, it was certainly a marvelous trip with SJ!! Thank you girl!