Hong Kong (Jul '07)

It was a last minute plan to go Hong Kong when I've decided to quit my previous job. The main reason was to give myself a break before my new job in Aug. Since this was an impromptu decision, all the Economy class tickets were already fully-booked, therefore had to choose Business class. At the same I could also use up most of my krisflyer mileage which will expire at the end of 2007.

Leisure trip at a glance

Country / Region: People's Republic of China (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)
Period:24 Jul to 27 Jul 2007
Flight timings:
24 Jul: SQ 860, SIN-HKG, ETD 0830 ETA 1215
27 Jul: SQ 891, HKG-SIN, ETD 2015 ETA 0010 (28 Jul)
Air tickets: Return Business Class tickets (42,500 krisflyer miles thru' on-line redemption)
Airport Tax: Total SGD 92
Accommodation: Dorsett Seaview Hotel (3 nights)
Currency exchange rate: HKD 100 = SGD 19.50 (Jul '07 period)

Since this was my sixth time to Hong Kong, major tourist attractions like Disneyland, Ocean Park, Victoria Peak, Giant Buddha at Po Lin Monastery etc. are out of my trip this time (which I've already went before). My purpose this time was to capture some interesting HK scene through my camera, sample delicious food / desserts and hunt for my collections. My itineraries therefore included some of the places that typical Singaporean may not have thought of going …


Day One

Took a cab from home to Terminal 2 at around 6.00 am with an empty stomach. After checked-in my luggage, I proceeded straight to Silver Kris lounge, located at second floor of the departure area (left photo below). Although the varieties of food in the lounge can't compare to a hotel high tea, the choices are enough to satisfy most fussy passengers (right photo below). There are choices of hot/cold drinks, Chinese porridge, fried noodles, tuna/salmon sandwiches, dim sum, ice-cream etc. Besides food, there are also availability of internet access and different types of newspapers / magazines.

Singapore Airlines

Seats of the Raffles (Business) class are obviously much bigger than economy class (left photo below), and the leg space is enough to allow a person to walk through with a passenger seated. However the monitor screen in this Boeing aircraft is smaller and the seat can't decline fully to make it "flat" (skybed) compared to Business class in Airbus A340. Nevertheless, the headphones provided are good noise reducer as it can cover the whole ear which muffles the noise generated by aircraft engines (right photo below).



One main meal (breakfast) was served on this short 4-hours morning flight. For Raffles class, the meal usually includes an appetizer, main course and desserts. At least three choices of the main course are available and there is a variety of bread to choose from; which is a totally different dinning experience! Here's my breakfast selection (photos below).





Airport Express

Upon arrival after custom declaration check, it will best to purchase an "Airport Express Tourist Octopus" pass within the HK airport (left photo below). The pass I bought cost HKD 300 which includes two Airport Express, 3 days of unlimited MTR rides and a HKD 50 refundable deposit. The other cheaper option of the pass would cost HKD 220, which has a difference of only one single Airport Express. HK airport express is clean and efficient (right photo below) and best for visitors traveling alone or in pairs. If traveling in three or four, my recommendation is to share a cab.
Dorsett Seaview Hotel

My hotel, Dorsett Seaview, is located just 5-mins walk from the nearest Yau Ma Tei MTR station. Charges per room was only SGD 101.50 per night (during Jul period). To me the price is very reasonable even though the room was very small (but I only need a bed to sleep). However this hotel has good location and room/bathroom are clean (photos below).


Mido Café (美都餐室)

After hotel check in and some wash-up, I went to the famous "Cha Chun Teng" (茶餐厅) – Mido Café (美都餐室) which is just beside the hotel, for my lunch. This restaurant has been operating for more than 50 years and its interior remains almost unchanged; many HK films/TV productions had used this place for filming scene set in the 50s (photos below). The restaurant do served a variety of authentic HK food; as for the taste not too bad, better than those "HK café" in Singapore.



Shopping Spree

My shopping excursion begins at the Tai Yuen street (left photo below), which is just across the street from Wan Chai MTR station Exit A3. For Gashapon figurines & Gundam collectors, this is a "must-go" place (right photo below). Next I went to Causeway Bay (铜锣湾) area. Large shopping malls such as the Times Square, Sogo etc are located there. Not to mention that it was 'Summer sales' in HK, so many shops are offering good discounts.


Supper for the Night

I almost combed the whole area and had aching legs when I reached the hotel at around 9 pm. Luckily there are many eateries/food stalls behind my hotel; in fact this street was part of the Temple Street Night market. Here were my unhealthy supper for the night: Hoi Lau San (许留山) Mango dessert (left photo below) and Fried Oyster with Egg (right photo below).

Day Two

Ocean Empire (海皇粥店)

Went to the Ocean Empire for my breakfast (left photo below), in which one of its outlets is just 3 minutes walk from my hotel (along Nathan road). Besides cheap & good, criteria of fast & hygienic were also one of the few factors I chose to visit this eatery. Besides porridge, there are also other choices like 'chee cheong fun' (made on the spot), rice roll, congee, soya milk, stir-fried rice noodles and some varieties of dim sum. Here was my simple breakfast for the day (right photo below).
Goldfish Market (Tung Choi Street)

To capture some photogenic scene in Hong Kong, one of my suggestions is to go to this "Goldfish market", located along Tung Choi Street, between Mong Kok and Prince Edward MTR station. It opens quite early at around 10 am (early to the standard of HK). Fishes were packed in plastic bags and hanged out neatly just like those in a drink store (photos below)!
Chi Lin Nunnery (志莲净苑)

Another scenic place for photo shots would be the Chi Lin Nunnery, which is just 5 - 10 minutes walk from Diamond Hill MTR. This place is not listed in the tourist brochures, not too sure why but I would guess the nunnery don't want too many visitors to disturb its tranquil environment. The concrete buildings are all built in a style of Tang Dynasty architectures (photos below), even the Buddha sculptures are different from the ones we used to see (bottom photos).





Opposite the nunnery is Nan Lian Garden (南莲园池), a classical garden landscape designed in a naturalistic style. Both the Nunnery and Garden are free on admission. Recommended for tourists to spend their morning before most shopping malls are opened.

Shopping Spree

Another great shopping mall, Plaza Hollywood, was just beside the Diamond Hill MTR station. It has a huge supermarket where I got my milk tea sachets and gums. I also had my lunch there.

Next stop was the Adidas factory outlet near Kwun Tong MTR station. The full address of this outlet is 11H Phase 2, Yip Fat Factory Building, 73 – 75 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. There is also a Nike Factory Outlet in this Yip Fat building.

Maybe the design of the sportswear couldn't satisfy me, I then went to other end of the territory, Lantau island to look for more. Located besides Tung Chung MTR station is the CityGate mall, which has most number of factory outlets, including Adidas, Nike, Espirit, Giodano, Timberland etc just to name a few.

Hong Kong-style Egg Tarts

Went back to my hotel at the late afternoon to put my shopping bags. Before reaching the hotel, I stopped by a confectionary shop, located Tung Kun Street behind my hotel, to get some freshly baked egg-tarts. Each egg-tarts costs only HKD 2.50 (about SGD 0.50), a price impossible to find in Singapore now, and its taste is excellent (photos below).



Had a quick wash-up and went to Causeway Bay to meet my old friend who is working in Hong Kong. It's great to have this short but interesting catch-up with her. Nice of her to bring me to try out the local food, we had the sotong balls noodles, deep-fried fish skin and the popular desserts store just in front of the World Trade Centre - Causeway Bay. We complained on our work, gossiped about our sec school friends and chatted about her adaptations in HK. Must be a challenge for her to get used to the Chinese character as it's widely used than English and the way Cantonese is spoken there….

Hoi Lau San (许留山)

Went back to hotel at around 10 pm to have my supper, Mango dessert, at Hoi Lau San (许留山). Virtually there is an outlet at every corner of Hong Kong bustling streets but this outlet is just opposite my hotel; very convenient for supper (left photo below). Cost of one typical Mango dessert is about HKD 28 (right photo below).



Day Three

Sweet Dynasty (糖朝)

Woke up at around 9 am to have my "brunch" at Sweet Dynasty (糖朝). They have shifted to upper location along the road at 100 Canton Road of Tsim Sha Tsui (left photo below), with a newly renovated interior that looks more imperial-like, especially with the gold cushion seats (right photo below).


Fried carrot-cake is a must try as it has generous portion of succulent prawns (left photo below). Other not-too-missed is the 'mango tofu' (bean curd), which has an impressive presentation of dry-ice emerging from the side of the bowl (right photo below). Besides the two snacks, I've also ordered beef-soup noodles.



Shoppping Spree

After my meal, it was almost 11 am, just in time for most shopping mall to start their business. I then walked across the road to the nearest shopping mall, Harbor City (海港城). In addition to branded shops (such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci), a huge sports shop (GigaSports) and 'Toys 'R us' are also located there. After which I went to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, between 'Avenue of Stars' and HK Cultural centre, to take a good photo of the Hong Kong Island Skyscrapers. The sky was bright and clear, which was very lucky for me as most of the time (about 80%) the sky are hazy (probably polluted).

My next shopping spree began from Sogo Departmental Store at Tsim Sha Tsui (besides the Space Museum). And walked through the shops along Nathan Road. This was where I bought my working shirts and pants, from G2000 and Bossini outlets. I also walked at the 'Ladies' street' and 'Sports Shoe street' near the Mong Kok MTR. My favorite building is the 'Zhao Wang' (兆万中心) where many Toy stores are located there. Almost burnt a hole in my pocket as the collection I've bought are difficult to find now.


Symphony of Lights

Rushed back to hotel to put my things and carried my camera tripod to the 'Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront' again. This time was to capture the night scene and to watch the 'Symphony of Lights', displaying daily at 8pm. From a personal experience, a tripod is a must if you want to capture the beautiful night scenes (photos below).



Supper for the Night

After exhausted walking, the best relaxation is to have a cold dessert. I then had my refreshment at this 'Yee Shun Milk Company' (义顺牛奶公司), located along Nathan road, for a bowl of steamed egg. Reasonable in price, their famous "double egg" cost HKD 20. Texture is smooth and had this light taste of milk and egg (left photo below). Probably still feeling hungry, I then bought some instant noodles from the '7-11' store while on my way back to the hotel (right photo below).



Was watching the variety show and packing my luggage at the same time. Must comment that the variety / drama show are much better than those by Mediacorp.


Day Four

Checked out the hotel and deposited my luggage with them. Had my quick breakfast at the Ocean Empire again, before going to my first destination.

Hong Kong Museum of History

It takes about 10-mins walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Exit B2 to reach the Hong Kong Museum of History. Admission cost was only HKD 10 to visit this world-class exhibition. There are eight theme, stretching from the ground floor to the third floor of the building, namely "The Natural Environment", "Prehistoric HK", "The Dynasties", "Folk Culture in HK" (photos below), "The Opium War & Cession of HK", "Birth & Early growth of the city", "Japanese Occupation" and "Modern Metropolis & Return to China".



My favorite exhibition is the "Modern Meteropolis" where it showed the scene display dating back to the 1960/70s. I remembered watching the show clip "HK film development" in a reconstructed cinema where even its seats are so authentic. And the bedroom exhibition reminds me of my grandparent's bedroom where there were those "Dragon & Phoenix" pillow case and the radio set. Really brings back my past memories when I was a kid (photos below).





Special Exhibition: The Pride of China

As it was 10th Anniversary celebration of the SAR (HK) during July period, many China's National Treasures were on loan in a Special Exhibition at Hong Kong Museum of Art (left photo below). Decided to visit this "The Pride of China" exhibition where it showcased selected masterpiece of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphies from Beijing Palace Museum.

The main highlight of this exhibition was the masterpiece "Along River during Qing Ming festival" (清明上河圖). Interestingly the exhibitor made this scroll into a mini-sized version and handed to visitors as a souvenir (right photo below).
I'm not a Chinese painting fanatic and don't really know how to appreciate them but at least know the significance of these paintings in Chinese civilization. Definitely worth to visit as one may not able to see them in a life-time. The admission cost was HKD 30.

Two batches of the masterpieces were exhibited at the HK Museum of Art; 1st batch from Jun 29 till Jul 22 and 2nd batch from Jul 23 till Aug 11. Therefore I only got to see the second batch. Following are the descriptions on some of the 'National Treasures' (do skip this section if you find it too boring):

Letter to Boyuan in Running Script (伯遠帖) – Eastern Jin Dynasty

Earliest surviving piece of Chinese calligraphy, this was written by Wang Xun (王旬), a member of the prestigious family whose uncle was the "Sage of Calligraphy" Wang Xizhi (王羲之).


The present calligraphy was acquired by Emperor Qianlong and was deposited in the Hall of Three Rarities, with other two rarities, namely Wang Xizhi's Timely Clearing after snow (快雪時晴帖) and Wang Xianshi's Mid-Autumn (中秋帖). Verification by experts confirmed that only this 'Letter to Boyuan' is authentic to Jin Dynasty, while the other two rarities are replicas during Tang / Song dynasty. Note: only the text in red box is the letter, other calligraphies besides it were written by the owner of the script.

Emperor Taizong receiving the Tibetan Envoy (步輦圖) – Tang Dynasty

Painted by Yan Liben (閻立本) of Tang Dynasty. This painting portraits the Tang Emperor Taizong's reception of the envoy Lu Tongtsan, who came to ask for Princess Wencheng's hand in marriage on behalf of Songtsan Gambo, King of Tubo in Tibet, in A.D. 641. The subsequent marriage brought about an amicable relationship between the two political entities for over two centuries. Therefore this painting documents an important part of Chinese history.

Mid-Autumn Poem in Regular Script (楷書閏中秋月帖頁) – Northern Song Dynasty

Written by probably most talented Chinese Emperor in history: Zhao Ji (Emperor 宋徽宗) of Northern Song Dynasty, this impromptu work was done in A.D. 1110, the year where there was a leap 8th month. Zhao Ji was a painter and calligrapher, with his famous invention 'slender-gold script' (瘦金体). According to the guide, it looks like were written by a "ballpoint" pen! The script was an excellent masterpiece.

Other famous painting which I've missed was the 'Along River during Qing Ming festival' (清明上河圖) of Song Dynasty, which was part of the exhibit during the first batch. What were exhibited during this second batch were the replicas during the Ming Dynasty and Modern times.

Singapore Airlines

After collected my luggage from the hotel, I took the Airport Express, reaching HK International Airport more than 3 hours before departure. Reasons to arrive so early was to have a bath and some quick bites in the Silver Kris lounge at the airport. At the same time had my last-minute shopping around the sky-mart. My personal experience is to leave those pasteries to be bought at the airport if you need to hand-carry them.

Had my late dinner on my flight back. Here's the dinner menu and I've selected the grilled beef for my main course (photos below).





Everytime I would buy lots of pastries and food stuff from HK, here're some of my recommendations (photo below).