So I'm Hong Kong until August

[rh71]

You know one night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster.

Bangkok to Hong Kong is nearly the same distance as California to Texas. Or NY to Florida.

 

[momeNt]

Video tape Snowden's arrest and execution, then debunk USA officials when they say he "violently resisted his arrest".

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Go to Lin Heung Kui on Des Vouex Rd West for dim sum. They do the cart experience, it's cheap, and the dim sum is really good. It was one of the best dim sum places that I found there. They don't speak any English though but they servers got to know me when I started going every week. All you need to do though is tell them what tea you want, how many in your party, and then you can just point at the stuff on the carts. They have Char Siu Boaloa Bau which is awesome but always runs out quickly. Meal typically costs $40HK and their Pu-er tea is not too shabby (Bo-ley). If you want some good tea I know a good tea house in Sheung Wan. Run by a family from Chui Chow, real nice guy.

Second this place. I lived right around the corner from here and would show up almost every day. They even do tea in the traditional/classical/whatever it's called way, where you have your own little cup of tea and tea leaves which you pour into your tea cup.

One of my favorite restaurants in the Cantonese style is Wing Wah. They have Wing Wah in Wan Chai and Dai Wing Wah in Yuen Long. Obviously the Wan Chai branch is much more accessible but be able to read the chinese menu, the English menu (if they deign to give you one) is limited. Again this is around $100-200 a meal. Bring friends.

Also second this place. For seafood, I'd recommend Lei Yue Mun. You get to pick out everything you're gonna eat while it's still alive. There are other places up in New Territories as well but I didn't see any foreigners when I went there.

You can also check out the shops in Mong Kok, the flea market in Sham Shui Po, the Golden Computer Center in Sham Shui Po. The Big Buddha in Lantau Island is a bit touristy though but it wasn't bad of a trip. Long Kwui Fong (LKF) is the center for cheap bars and clubs for the westerners. I think it's overrated but that area in Central has some nice Western restaurants, so does Ashley Road in TST.

There's also a smaller computer centre in Wan Chai. I didn't find prices to be terribly exciting, though, in either location. The Big Buddha's about the only thing that Lantau Island's got besides HK Disneyland and the airport. If you're a 'gwai lo' (white/American) you can always hang out on Lockhart Road. Whenever the American Navy went to HK they usually ended up on Lockhart. Just watch out for the Filipino/Thai/etc mamacitas who'll grab your arm and try to entice you for "a drink".

The Peak is probably the one that you've heard about. You can hike up there from a trail that starts behind the Chow Yee Ching building in HKU. You can do that just one evening as it only takes 45 minutes of vigorous walking to get up to the Peak. That trail also branches out to the trails that run down to Pok Fu Lam reservoir, Aberdeen and Stanley Bay if you have a whole day.

You can also just take the #15 bus up there and do the touristy thing and take the Peak Tram back down... that tram takes you back down to Central. Note that the viewing area atop the Peak Centre has a HKD30 admission fee.

There are various museums. Not too big but they're cheap and you can spend an afternoon there. There is the HK cultural museum in Sha Tin, there's the Coastal Defense museum out in Shau Kei Wan for example.

The HK History of Museum near Hung Hom is free on certain days. I went on one of the free days.

You can also take the #6 bus I believe and head to the southern parts of HK Island to visit Stanley (expat community by the beach) and Repulse Bay. Now that it's summer though I expect those places to be packed.

The Avenue of Stars is basically HK's equivalent of the stars in Hollywood, I forgot its name. I think it's kind of tacky but the entire promenade, including the westernmost part in Tsim Tsa Tsui is one of the best places on the ground for photos of the building on HK Island.

There are plenty of malls and shopping centres along Nathan Rd that cater to pretty much anything you can think of.

Get an Octopus card, it's basically a HK-wide "credit card" system that makes it easier to pay for public transport. A lot of convenience stores offer it as payment too, just load it up and go.

If you're in Mong Kok (pronounced 'wonggok' in Canto) for the Temple Street night market, watch yourself for pickpockets. Some of the streets surrounding Temple St are populated by the Triads. Also in Mong Kok is Langham Place, the mall with the really super long escalator.

Causeway Bay on the northeast side of HK Island is also a major shopping area.

If you can find someone who speaks Canto, I'd recommend Cheung Hing Tailors on Queens Rd in Wan Chai/Central. HKD997 (~US128) for a custom-fitted suit... I've got three of them personally. They've tailored suits and dresses for the bride/groom of a wedding I attended and they were awesome.

Street food is badass. Don't hesitate to try it, they're licensed and clean despite some of their outward appearances. I'm a fan of curry fish balls and tea eggs. HK is great for food, there are several well-known spots for HK/Canto-style cuisine that you can find on openrice but those are usually always packed.

Find a bakery and eat everything there. Especially egg tarts, Portuguese-style egg tarts, pineapple buns (optionally with a slice of butter), and wife's cake. Drink some milk tea and yin-yeung (forgot the English translation).

I'm forgetting a shitton of things, I'll come back if I remember more.

 

[KeithTalent]

'sup Hong Kong; why are you changing your name in August?

KT

 

[Born2bwire]

You can also take the #6 bus I believe and head to the southern parts of HK Island to visit Stanley (expat community by the beach) and Repulse Bay. Now that it's summer though I expect those places to be packed.

The Avenue of Stars is basically HK's equivalent of the stars in Hollywood, I forgot its name. I think it's kind of tacky but the entire promenade, including the westernmost part in Tsim Tsa Tsui is one of the best places on the ground for photos of the building on HK Island.

There are plenty of malls and shopping centres along Nathan Rd that cater to pretty much anything you can think of.

Get an Octopus card, it's basically a HK-wide "credit card" system that makes it easier to pay for public transport. A lot of convenience stores offer it as payment too, just load it up and go.

If you're in Mong Kok (pronounced 'wonggok' in Canto) for the Temple Street night market, watch yourself for pickpockets. Some of the streets surrounding Temple St are populated by the Triads. Also in Mong Kok is Langham Place, the mall with the really super long escalator.

Causeway Bay on the northeast side of HK Island is also a major shopping area.

If you can find someone who speaks Canto, I'd recommend Cheung Hing Tailors on Queens Rd in Wan Chai/Central. HKD997 (~US128) for a custom-fitted suit... I've got three of them personally. They've tailored suits and dresses for the bride/groom of a wedding I attended and they were awesome.

Street food is badass. Don't hesitate to try it, they're licensed and clean despite some of their outward appearances. I'm a fan of curry fish balls and tea eggs. HK is great for food, there are several well-known spots for HK/Canto-style cuisine that you can find on openrice but those are usually always packed.

Find a bakery and eat everything there. Especially egg tarts, Portuguese-style egg tarts, pineapple buns (optionally with a slice of butter), and wife's cake. Drink some milk tea and yin-yeung (forgot the English translation).

I'm forgetting a shitton of things, I'll come back if I remember more.

The tea service set is called a gaiwan but I have no idea what it is in Cantonese (gai woo perhaps?). I got pretty proficient at using them; have to be swift and confident in holding and pouring it. You'll probably need to ask for a gaiwan specifically if you want to give it a try as they tend to bring regular teapots to foreigners.

There are a lot of gwailous at the seafood restaurants in Sai Kung up in the New Territories from what I remember but that was the only place I regularly saw a lot of foreigners.

I would also mention that the crap you find for sale on the street in Temple St. is the same crap you find in Mong Kok, Stanley Market, Singapore, etc. I've even seen it sold in the US for ridiculous markups. If you are tempted to get anything at the street stalls in the touristy areas, barter hard and be ready to walk away, the next stall over will have pretty much the same exact items.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the dahn tats (custard egg tarts). If you go to Macau, try the po tats for the more Portugeuse variety.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

The tea service set is called a gaiwan but I have no idea what it is in Cantonese (gai woo perhaps?). I got pretty proficient at using them; have to be swift and confident in holding and pouring it. You'll probably need to ask for a gaiwan specifically if you want to give it a try as they tend to bring regular teapots to foreigners.

There are a lot of gwailous at the seafood restaurants in Sai Kung up in the New Territories from what I remember but that was the only place I regularly saw a lot of foreigners.

I would also mention that the crap you find for sale on the street in Temple St. is the same crap you find in Mong Kok, Stanley Market, Singapore, etc. I've even seen it sold in the US for ridiculous markups. If you are tempted to get anything at the street stalls in the touristy areas, barter hard and be ready to walk away, the next stall over will have pretty much the same exact items.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the dahn tats (custard egg tarts). If you go to Macau, try the po tats for the more Portugeuse variety.

Yeah those personal teapot things can be a bitch. They brought them to me though and outside of looking like a HKer I'm 100% gwai lo. lol

Yeah Sai Kung is what I was after. I didn't see any, though... maybe my uncle just brought me to the places without foreigners.

Most stuff from the street markets are garbage, I agree. I didn't even stop by one last time I went to HK. If the OP is gonna go, though, beware that they might not cut you a deal even if you barter. I had a few friends from England try to barter in English, they never got anywhere lol. I speak accented Canto and even then it's hard to cut a deal. Just know that you're the one with the cash, don't let them pressure you to buy their shit. And if they come after you and try to pull you back, just walk off and find another stall. It really is all the same shit.

If you're into electronics and phones especially, just take the MTR up to Sham Shui Po and walk around. Golden Centre is there, but Aplei St (and pretty much all of its surrounding streets) is where I usually went. You can find phone cases there as well, but there's also a 4-story complex dedicated to selling that stuff lol. IIRC it's at 298 Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.

If you're into manga or whatever that Japanese crap is, there's a centre dedicated to that as well. It's Sino Centre and I think it's on Nathan Rd, closer to the Jordan area.

 

[jaedaliu]

visit andylawcc

You can also go into advance edit and change your thread title before August.

 

[Born2bwire]

Yeah those personal teapot things can be a bitch. They brought them to me though and outside of looking like a HKer I'm 100% gwai lo. lol

Yeah Sai Kung is what I was after. I didn't see any, though... maybe my uncle just brought me to the places without foreigners.

Most stuff from the street markets are garbage, I agree. I didn't even stop by one last time I went to HK. If the OP is gonna go, though, beware that they might not cut you a deal even if you barter. I had a few friends from England try to barter in English, they never got anywhere lol. I speak accented Canto and even then it's hard to cut a deal. Just know that you're the one with the cash, don't let them pressure you to buy their shit. And if they come after you and try to pull you back, just walk off and find another stall. It really is all the same shit.

I went to Shenzhen with a friend of mine that was visiting from abroad and he wanted a bracelet of prayer beads and we wandered around until we found a flea market to get some. We found one at a stall and I asked him how much, he said "yat baak" (100 yuan). I thought he meant 18 until I heard it again. I just looked at the seller and we both laughed. Two stalls later and my buddy got a bracelet for 20 yuan and that was before I could try and barter it down. There's a gwailou tax involved with any kind of shopping there but generally you could try and barter it down to something more reasonable. My biggest mistake was when I bought a watch. I gave what I thought would be a low price at a store and he accepted it right away. Still, it was the going rate for the item.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I went to Shenzhen with a friend of mine that was visiting from abroad and he wanted a bracelet of prayer beads and we wandered around until we found a flea market to get some. We found one at a stall and I asked him how much, he said "yat baak" (100 yuan). I thought he meant 18 until I heard it again. I just looked at the seller and we both laughed. Two stalls later and my buddy got a bracelet for 20 yuan and that was before I could try and barter it down. There's a gwailou tax involved with any kind of shopping there but generally you could try and barter it down to something more reasonable. My biggest mistake was when I bought a watch. I gave what I thought would be a low price at a store and he accepted it right away. Still, it was the going rate for the item.

Ugh I went to Shenzhen as well and those hawkers are fucking persistent... lol

"yat baat"
"mm sup"
"gow sup mm"
"lok sup"

Repeat until I got it for $70... but not after a 20-minute spiel on why her shit was awesome.

I feel like as long as you speak some understandable form of Canto and look somewhat Chinese you can get away with bartering. Just gotta let them subtly know they can't take advantage of you. Those friends of mine from England were pissed that no one would cut them a deal. lol

 

[Born2bwire]

Ugh I went to Shenzhen as well and those hawkers are fucking persistent... lol

"yat baat"
"mm sup"
"gow sup mm"
"lok sup"

Repeat until I got it for $70... but not after a 20-minute spiel on why her shit was awesome.

I feel like as long as you speak some understandable form of Canto and look somewhat Chinese you can get away with bartering. Just gotta let them subtly know they can't take advantage of you. Those friends of mine from England were pissed that no one would cut them a deal. lol

Ha. I agree, learning just a little Cantonese is helpful. But it's amazing the markup though. I was in Shanghai this past spring and I wanted a little clay pig for my tea set. I think they wanted something like 60-80 RMB for it, got it for 30 RMB easy which means I probably could have gotten it for 20 RMB. Oh well, not worth complaining about a buck or two American.

 

[SSSnail]

Since no one mentioned Ladies Market, I'm going to mention Ladies Market. It's not what you think, it's a shopping district that I think every tourist should visit at least once. The bargaining is fun. And, you can get Ronex, Plada, Louis Baton and all kinda neat stuff... Rows of different kind of things you can buy.

And, really ATOT? No one suggested massage? I am disappoint.

 

[zinfamous]

oh no, i fudged the title. this wont end well.

 

[Svnla]

Subcribe to this thread. I haven't been back to HK for a few years.

 

[silverpig]

All this time and no one has mentioned LKF? Fail ATOT, epic fail.

LKF is the club/party district. It's nuts. They just open all the bars to the streets/alleys and it's just a huge party there with locals and internationals. It's a ton of fun and something you must do even if you're not into that scene. I'm more of a pub kind of guy and I had a blast.

Tsim Sha Tsui is a good shopping district and yes get a suit or two or three and some shirts made, but DO YOUR RESEARCH first. You can get tons of cheap crap, so don't be fooled.

Hiking the peak is a great thing to do as well. I started off near Admiralty and walked up to the top then took a crazy bus down.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Since no one mentioned Ladies Market, I'm going to mention Ladies Market. It's not what you think, it's a shopping district that I think every tourist should visit at least once. The bargaining is fun. And, you can get Ronex, Plada, Louis Baton and all kinda neat stuff... Rows of different kind of things you can buy.

And, really ATOT? No one suggested massage? I am disappoint.

It's AT, did you really expect to find a girl here? heh

I think the Ladies' Market is also in Mong Kok, at least it was when I was there. But seriously you can find that stuff in every street market.

I find that Coach bags are in high demand over there... every time I go back or one of my relatives comes to America they buy shit tons of Coach bags. Must be huge over there given how they have a massive store sitting on one of the busiest corners of the CBD in Central.

All this time and no one has mentioned LKF? Fail ATOT, epic fail.

LKF is the club/party district. It's nuts. They just open all the bars to the streets/alleys and it's just a huge party there with locals and internationals. It's a ton of fun and something you must do even if you're not into that scene. I'm more of a pub kind of guy and I had a blast.

I feel LKF (Lan Kwai Fong) is overrated. It's just a curving street that consists only of bars to me. Fun to see when there's some sort of public holiday, but other than that I'd rather cross the harbor up to the mainland if I really wanted to get down and dirty.

That's just me, though.

 

[silverpig]

I feel LKF (Lan Kwai Fong) is overrated. It's just a curving street that consists only of bars to me. Fun to see when there's some sort of public holiday, but other than that I'd rather cross the harbor up to the mainland if I really wanted to get down and dirty.

That's just me, though.

My second time going wasn't as good as my first, and I'm sure the third (if there ever is one) will be less impressive still. But that first time was tons of fun.

 

[UncleWai]

Lkf is a pretentious place with chinese girls looking for foreign sausages or ugly chinese guys trying to score a night with a drunk girl.

I suggest the following places
- Kowloon City, there are some old Chinese cake shops, try some. There's a old chinese restaurant called Hau Tak Fook, a bit pricey but the food is nice.

- the peak, take the tramp at admiraly

- Take the star ferry from wan chai/central to tsim sha tsui, then walk along the promenade.

- go for hotpot, raw meat seafood anything, throw them into a pot of soup. Lmk and i will recommend good hot pot place that wont kill your wallet.

- avoid women street in mongkok, its just a tourist trap, buy ur fake shit online, its cheaper.

- shum shui po, golden computer shopping centre and the flea market. there also some nasty but tasty small food shop, eg Wai Kee, it sells pork liver mix with beef noodles.