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Day 1 Hong Kong
Day 2 Hong Kong
Day 3 Hong Kong
Day 4/5 Hong Kong
Day 6 Hong Kong - Lantau Island
Our last 2 days in Hong Kong.. Time passes really fast when you're having fun.
selfie in our humble abode before we ended up sweaty at the end of the day
Breakfast was at the highly raved Australia Dairy Co.
澳洲牛奶公司: 47 Parkes Street, Jordan MTR, Exit C2
We had their set meals which were really value for money. Their shredded ham and macaroni soup tasted disappointingly average though.
What's a Hong Kong meal without any milk tea?
We finally tried their scrambled eggs after seeing so much ravings online. They were really good - soft, creamy, slightly runny, and well-seasoned. One of the best scrambled eggs I ever had!
That fluffy bread with consistently runny yolk!! White fluffy bread can be found easily in cha chaan tengs, at least at the ones we've been to.
Satisfying meal before a hot day at Lantau Island. On a side note, I didn't realize that the bread had come into contact with the wall. Sorry, bread :/
It wasn't awkward taking photos because we got seats meant for 2 by the wall! :D
After a hearty breakfast, we promptly made our way to Lantau Island.
Selfie while queuing up for cable car tickets to Ngong Ping Village. It was a super hot day and there was even a "very hot weather" warning issued!
We rode the crystal cable car there and the standard cable car back. It was an interesting experience inside the crystal cable car as we could see what's beneath us through the glass bottoms.
The world at our feet.
The skies there are so blue and clear!
Somehow, the crystal cable car experience was not at all scary as compared to the mini cable car ride at Ocean Park.
A mandatory photo of us against the beautiful backdrop of nature.
We actually saw some people traveling by foot all the way up to the summit. This reminded me of Running Man when they were in Hong Kong.
Finally, we spotted the iconic Tian Tan Buddha.
and we arrived at Ngong Ping Village!
We had to get an iced cold beverage to cool ourselves down because the summer heat was insane. Here's Starbuck's banana chocolate frappucino, hands-down one of my favourite combinations. You can never go wrong with chocolate and banana right? They totally need to have this in Singapore.
268 steps up to the world's largest outdoor Buddha statue.
Such a beautiful sight at the top!
Bucket list checked.
Of course, we had to take more photos to commemorate that moment.
A posed shot (obviously). I was probably squinting my eyes in pain due to the bright sunlight.
We visited Tai O' Fishing Village next after Tian Tan Buddha. The heat stopped us from exploring the other areas of Ngong Ping Village as it was really too much to bear.
Even though the heat was killing us (slowly), we couldn't resist these huge curry fishballs near the entrance.
They were the best curry fishballs we had in Hong Kong and they had to be in such an unassuming place.
Also, the best egglets that we tried during our trip were found in this humble fishing village. These egglets are cooked using traditional charcoal stove!
The beauty of Tai O.
After Tai O, we were back to Hong Kong island for dinner and some shopping. How nice is it to enjoy the breathtaking views with your loved one(s)!
Head over to the city gate outlets at Tung Chung where you can get the past seasons branded goods at a heavily discounted price. There's nothing much for us to see though as the common sizes were already sold out but there sure is a lot to shop over there.
Dinner was at Wah Fung 華豐 (112-114 Wellington Street, Central MTR) because the nearby Yat Lok had sold out their goose leg at 7+pm. Wah Fung wasn't on our itinerary but it was recommended by a local we met at Tsim Chai Kee. Since Yat Lok was closed, we went to Wah Fung.
Lucky for us, we took their last goose leg!!
We also ordered a bowl of noodles soup and roasted duck leg because Wah Fung specializes in roasted meat. I don't know why but all the goose legs I had eaten so far had some visible hair stuck to the skin (except for Yat Lok which we managed to visit on the last day). It looked kinda gross but that aside, it tasted really good! The roasted duck skin was more fragrant and tasted better than the roasted goose skin but the roasted goose meat was yummier and more tender.
蛇王芬: 30 Cochrane St, Central MTR, Exit D1/D2
After Wah Fung, we went to Ser Wong Fun to try out the snake soup. They had quite a bit of media coverage and it was even featured in the Michelin guide. When I did my research on exotic food to try in Hong Kong, I found Ser Wong Fun but I was not aware that they were listed in the Michelin guide and was so popular with the locals. It was a pleasant surprise!
We heard from the locals (the couple featured in the above photo) that no one drinks snake soup in the summer as it is very heaty. This is because snake soup is said to have superb warming properties and is ideal to drink during the winter season.
Shredded snake soup with the crispy crackers toppings
The soup tasted like some strong tonic but I really liked it, especially the texture of the shredded snake meat which was so tender.
This small bowl of goodness was filled with all the good stuff.. and it did not come cheap (SGD$10+). A definite must-try!
We wanted to order the 鸳鸯 Yuan Yang Claypot Rice as featured in the newspapers but due to some miscommunications, we were served this yuan yang rice instead. I guessed that the black sausage was blood sausage and I was right! I had 2 bites and even though my first bite was an unpleasant one, I took a second bite so that I will have no regrets. The blood sausage had such an unforgettable, sharp-tasting flavour that till now, I could still remember the taste.
On the way back to the MTR, we spotted this talented street busker. He paints beautiful landscapes on small rectangular glasses mainly by his fingers! I couldn't help but snap a photo of him doing what he's best at.
Supper (yup, we were eating the whole night even though we were not hungry) was at One Dim Sum 一點心 (Shop 1 & 2, G/F, Kenwood Mansion, 15 Playing Field Road. Prince Edward MTR, Exit A), a one-michelin star restaurant.
As much as I wanted to try their recommended dishes, we had a lot of the same dim sum for the past few days so we decided to try something different. I was so full after the meal that I felt like my stomach was bursting. No pain no gain.
We ended the night gorging ourselves silly but feeling very happy ^^
***
Day 7
Breakfast was at Mido Cafe 美都餐室 (G/F, 63 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei MTR, Exit C) which was very near where we stayed.
We had scrambled eggs too. In terms of flavour and texture, Mido Cafe lost to Australia Dairy Co.
Condensed milk toast with peanut butter.. yummy!
Signature pork chop baked rice which was... alright.
I love the ambience here which has a traditional and nolstagic feel from the floor tiles to the furnitures and window seats overlooking the streets. The cafe doesn't look very hygienic though.
Because we had to leave our accomodation by 6pm, we went back to Mongkok for more shopping before heading back to pack up and I got myself a pair of Nike flyknits! We also had the cold noodles again (I'm totally craving for it now). I was quite surprised that the octopus and seaweed toppings complemented each other really well.
Milk tea with jelly from Freshtea which was surprisingly good!! Why didn't we try this out earlier?!
Since it was our last day here, we got another packet of cold noodles and also because we forgot to try out the original taste noodles. Actually, it's just an excuse to buy another packet.
After checking out in the evening, we lugged our luggages to Central to deposit them for a few hours while we had our dinner there.
Dinner was at Yat Lok (we reached a little after 7pm and their tempting roasted goose rice noodles (they have a photo of it displayed outside) were sold out!!
Thankfully, they had one more set of roasted goose leg and thigh so we got that instead. Yat Lok certainly didn't disappoint us. It was the best roasted goose leg I had tried and it was the only one where I didn't spot any strands of "hair" on the leg!!!!! So clean!
Char Siew Rice.. I am never a fan of char siew rice (still haven't taken a liking to them) but I still ate this. It was the best char siew I had eaten in my life. I don't know how to describe but from the photo, you can see that they are very "meaty" and "authentic" as compared to the ones in Singapore.. Definitely worth the try!
Tai Cheong Bakery 泰昌餅家 (35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central) was our next stop. Some say Tai Cheong has one of the best egg tarts, if not the best, in Hong Kong. Even though I have not tried the other supposedly good ones, I didn't feel that this was sufficient to be the best in the island. Maybe it's because I prefer crusty egg tarts.
After purchasing some eggtarts, we went to the nearby Mak's Wanton Noodles to continue our food adventures. The trip won't be complete without trying out the 1-michelin star Mak! It was surprisingly quiet inside while contender Tsim Chai Kee located just opposite Mak's was at least 50% full.
麥奀雲吞麵世家: 77 Wellington St, Central MTR, Exit D2.
I had the shrimp wantons and dumpling noodles. I didn't know they have the dry version until I saw someone eating it. I'll probably prefer the dry version than the soup as I don't like my soup to absorb the noodles' flavour.
Mak's shrimps are smaller than Tsim Chai Kee but the shrimps are seasoned so they may taste better to some. The texture of Mak's noodles is more springy than Tsim Chai Kee's. However, if I were to go again the next time, I'll choose Tsim Chai Kee over Mak because TCK is cheaper.
After Mak, I was feeling so full and contented. Since it was the last night in Hong Kong, I decided that we needed to cover at least one last destination to officially end our dinner.
We collected our luggages back at Central MTR and brought them along to our final stop for dinner.
Capital Cafe 華星冰室: Shop B1, G/F, Kwong Sang Hong Building. 6 Heard Street. Wan Chai MTR, Exit A4
We arrived about half an hour before they closed at 11pm. Capital Cafe has set meals that are quite similar to Australia Dairy Co. I was so tempted to get them but I was so full. I wish I had planned to go to this cafe earlier with an empty (or at least half-empty) stomach so that I can enjoy the food better.
Due to some language barrier, we mistakenly ordered plain bread with butter. We also had awesome fried condensed milk bun which was the BEST I had eaten here besides Lan Fong Yuen's. So damn good!!!!!
Their truffle scrambled eggs are only available during dinner time. So yummy too!!
By now, we were slipping into a food coma already.
Last photo of us taken outside Wan Chai MTR as we made our way to CEO Neway Karaoke at Wanchai. It was an impromptu decision to sing karaoke as we had time to spare before our flight at 6.55a.m.
I was quite surprised by the facilities of the ktv room! There's even a private toilet in every room! It's quite expensive though but you can sing till they close in the early morning. Shiok max! They need to update their english songs database though.. haha.
3 a.m. hobos..
On the way to the airport, I suddenly felt so sick and puked all the way back home. I am guessing that it is due to the excessive food intake I had consumed earlier that night. No regrets though! I also slept for almost 24 hours when I got back home all because of one sleepless night -.-
This Hong Kong trip was fun while it lasted. This is also our 2nd solo overseas trip together. I am glad that we made many precious and silly memories during this week-long trip. Here's to many more vacations to come!