There are a lot of mixed reviews on the internet but to me it is arguably one of the best burger joints in Hong Kong. Was first introduced to Shake ‘em Buns by Dru at the beginning of 2009. And the next 3 times I went back to Hong Kong, I was back there at least once. It almost became a pilgrimage.

Don’t expect McDonalds prices here, prepare to fork out around HK$60 for a burger and HK$12 for fries.

My favourite burger is the “South of The Border” which is a beef burger with Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa. What sold me was the guacamole…mMMmm i love guacamole.

Shake em Buns
Address: Shop No. 6, , Wan Chai (Entrance at Ship Street)
Tel: (851) 2866 2060
Opening Hours:
Website: http://www.shakembuns.com/

Close

Food, Travel Burger, Burgers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Shake 'em Buns

It was our last few days in Hong Kong and one of the items to strike off the list was to have afternoon tea at The Pen.

The Peninsula (香港半島酒店) located at the junction of Nathan Road and Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is also Hong Kong’s oldest surviving hotel.

Out of the 10 people I’ve asked, 7 said that The Peninsula has the best afternoon/high tea in country, so I guess The Pen it was. All 7 of them also mentioned that we should call to make a reservation a couple of days in advance, just so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for a table.

Afternoon tea was pleasant but slightly overrated. There were so many tables catering to demand, it felt over commercialized and almost canteen-like. But I guess everyone including us were there so we can claim we’ve had tea at The Pen.

Our tiered afternoon tea set comprised of snacks on silver platters accompanied with coffee or tea. For those of you who don’t know, top tier is usually scones, middle is the savoury and the last tier is the sweets. But nowadays no one really keeps to the tradition.

For ours, the bottom tier was raisin scones accompanied by whipped butter, fresh strawberry preserves and clotted cream. You must MUST have clotted cream, and none of that fake cream instant bottle crap. Second tier was finger sandwiches and assorted pastries, and the last tier the sweets: chocolate and cake.

To be honest, it was over-priced, but you pay for the colonial grandeur and ambience which is The Pen. There you are sitting beneath the arches of the lobby, listening to The Lobby String quartet, sipping tea like ladies of leisure. A tad bit chi-chi, and not exactly my cup of tea, so it won’t be a repeat visit. But at least I could tick it off the list.

The Peninsula
Address: Salisbury Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Hong Kong
Afternoon Tea is served daily from 2pm to 7pm
Dress code: Casual – smart casual

Close

Food, Travel Afternoon Tea, Hi-tea, High tea, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, The Peninsula

Some people find it very strange that I like birds as pets, the fascination started when I took part in a Children’s Art competition organised by the Jurong Bird Park. One of the prizes I received was a book on the different species of birds at the Park.

That’s when I learnt about Parrots. I still remember clearly the species that caught my attention: Blue Hyacinth Macaw, Scarlett Macaw, African Grey, Cockatoos, Cockatiels, and Parakeets/Budgerigars. On my birthday, I convinced my mum to buy me a Budgie and I aptly and boringly named it Tweety.

In Mong Kong, one of the themed streets was Hong Lok Street (Bird Street雀仔街) although correct me if I’m wrong but all the bird stores now sit in Yuen Po Street Garden, still in the same vicinity.

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden is where songbird owners gather to pageant their feathered friends in their intricately crafted cages. The garden encloses some 70 bird stalls selling cages, birds, bird feed, crickets, worms and toys.

Brian and I didn’t spend too much time here, because the smell of bird poo was making me a bit sick. But still glad I got some nice photos in. The only thing which made my heart sink is the number of birds they packed into a cage. I know it’s a shop, but I just think that regardless, they should be given a more humane living condition albeit temporary.

Yuen Po Street Garden (Bird Street)
Directions:
- Get off at the Prince Edward MTR stationTake exit B1 and walk East
- Turn left at Sai Yee Street, then turn at first right into Flower Market Road.
- After walking the length of Flower Market Rd, on the left you will see Yuen Po Street
Opening hours: 7 am – 8 pm daily

Close

Travel Bird Street, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Yuen Po Street Garden

After walking past countless plastic bags of fish on Goldfish street, we finally reached Flower Market Street.

I like to think I have green fingers, so the thought of walking through a jungle of plants, flowers and horticulture accessories excites me. It’s the same sort of excitement I get when I’m at a stationery or kitchen store… such a geek moment.

Flower Market Street is lined with endless rows of flower shops touting all kinds of flowers and potted plants. Each store overflowing with buckets of peonies, poinsettias, chrysanthemums and carnations spilling out onto the sidewalk.

Storeowners are regularly fined for putting their plants on the sidewalk, but will risk it in hopes to lure you to their colourful display of nature at its best. We had to meander through the already narrow sidewalks and our best to stay out of the way of women scrambling to pick the best blooms in the bucket. My only purchase from there were a few pink peonies for Auntie Mieke. Hope she liked it!

Did you know, that peonies are one of my favourite flowers?

Flower Market Road (花墟道)
Opening hours: Daily 7 AM-7:30 PM
Directions:
- MTR Prince Edward Station Exit B1 and walk east along Prince Edward Road West.
- MTR Mong Kok East Station Exit C. Walk to Sai Yee Street via footbridge and follow the signs.

Close

Travel Flower Market, Flower Market Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

While the Lies spent some family time together, I met up with Brian to explore Hong Kong one afternoon. I was raving about the amazing beef noodles in Mong Kok the night before, so we decided to hit it up one more time. It’s funny how in such a short period of time, I’ve become the tour guide as opposed to the tourist.

I read up about the different themed streets in Mong Kok: Ladies street, Goldfish Street, Bird Street, Flower Market Road, Tile Street and Photocopy Street. And since the first few listed were all relatively close to one another, we thought it would be a good idea to have a walk about.

Let’s talk about the Goldfish or Fish Street first. I’m not too sure what the official name is, but there are a few floating around the internet: The Goldfish Market, Goldfish Street and Fish Street. I’ll just call it Goldfish Street because that’s what I found on wikipedia.

Goldfish Street is on Tung Choi Street, South of Prince Edward Road West. It’s the place to go for anything aquarium related. There are dozens and dozens of shops selling fishes in all shapes and hues and everything else to give them a pretty home. From tanks, corals, rocks, plants and food. You can also find them tortoise and sea horse friends. A couple of shops had more critters like Guinea pigs on sale as well.

We walked past a store with plastic tubs of tortoises in direct sunlight! Brian was not pleased by that at all, being the terrapin lover that he is. On closer inspection, there were a few little guys who have already keeled over. Poor lil fellas

The wall of fish in plastic bags makes good pictures, but it must be awful living in a plastic bag of water the whole day. Then again I’m sure most of these goldfish won’t even remember.

GoldFish Market
Address: Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok
Opening hours: 10:30am – 10pm
Directions:
- MTR Prince Edward Station Exit B2 and walk east along Prince Edward Road West.
- MTR Mong Kok East Station Exit C. Walk to Sai Yee Street via footbridge and follow the sign

Close

Travel Goldfish Market, Goldfish Street, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Mong Kok

Was waiting all day for Dru to be done with work, so I took the liberty to find a Mexican place for dinner. I scoured through the internet and found somewhere nearby at Soho, Central Hong Kong.

El Taco Loco is a small little Mexican place that sits on the corner and on a slope, right next to the Soho escalators. Because of its location and price, it gets a steady flow of customers.

They serve the usual burritos and tacos (duh!), but don’t expect it to be plated nicely. They come in tin foil bowls and plates, and plastic sauce dishes. But that’s what you’d expect for the price you pay!

Good place to satisfy the craving, but not really comfortable for long sit down dinners.

El Taco Loco
Address: G/F, SOHO, Central
Tel: +852 2522 1262
Opening hours: 12:00pm to 10:00pm. 7 days a week

Close

Food, Travel El Taco Loco, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

Favourite meal of the day is Brunch and even better if its a place that serves All-Day breakfasts.

It was Mothers’ Day, and the Lies were looking for a place to take Auntie Mieke. Again, I did a little research to find a decent brunch place. Judging criteria: Do they have a website, ratings on review sites, interior shots of the restaurant, menu and price.

First of all, the website was well designed. Ratings were pretty good. Interior shots of the restaurant had a P.S. Cafe vibe (I like!). And the menu was huge! Not only was it huge, items like these won me over:
- Wild mushroom soup with truffle cream
- Lobster risotto
- Roquefort & Bacon burger
- Blueberry pancakes
- Eggs Royale with Smoke Salmon
- Freshly baked scones
- Macaroni Au Gratin

SOLD. I forwarded the site to Dru, next thing Boom! Booked for 6 on Mothers’ Day. Food was great, atmosphere was casual and lively, service good. Definitely a repeat location. I reckon its a great place for hangover brunches, and the owner probably thinks so too, offering “hangover cures” and “pick me up” drinks on the menu.

The Press Club
Address: 108 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
Tel: +852 2525 3444
Website: http://www.thepressroom.com.hk/

Food, Travel Brunch, Food, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, The Press Room

Photos taken at Wan Chai District

Hong Kong skyline from rooftop of J-residences at Wan Chai District.

Snaps & Clips, Travel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Photography

While we’re still in Central Hong Kong, I should bring to your attention what made my eyes light up. A WHOLE STREET OF FANCY DRESS SHOPS! My only regret is not BUYING ANYTHING! You can buy all sorts of accessories, costumes, wigs, hats and face paints at bargain-able prices.

It’s at the pedestrian section of Pottinger Street 砵典乍街 or also known as Stone Slabs Street (石板街) by the locals. Just walk up from Queens Road at Central.

Close

Fashion, Travel Fancy Dress, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Pottinger Street

Probably one of the best Kebab’s I’ve ever had, second to the Altos Kebab in Perth. But then again everything tastes freakin amazing after a night out on the crawl.

Ebeneezers are spread across the island with outlets in Wanchai, Central, discovery bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and New Territories. The one I visited most was the Wanchai outlet on Lockhart Road.

I recommend ordering:
- Mix (Lamb and Chicken Kebab) HK$62
Roasted Chicken and Lamb, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings
- Gyros (Chicken Kebab) HK$52
Roasted Chicken, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings

Ebeneezers (Wan Chai)
G/F, 52 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2157 0009
Opening Hours: 10am – 6am (Sun-Thur), 10am – 7am (Fri-Sat)
Website: http://www.ebeneezers.com/

Close

Food, Travel Ebeneezers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Kebabs

With friends in Hong Kong over the weekend, I’m forced to reminisce the 4 trips I made to the island last year. It was 4 freakin amazing trips I must add.

What I love most about travelling is eating like the locals, or finding that hole-in-the-wall place which serves up authentic, tasty and affordable local cuisine. So one of such places I visit repeatedly in Hong Kong is this porridge/congee stall in Stanley Market.

It’s a bit hard to find, and will involve a bit of map skills to get you there. Best time to go is early in the morning before it gets too hot and crowded, but if you’re dying for a taste and you got out of bed late, it’s still open at lunch.

Wai Kee is most well-known for their Yiu Tiao 油條 which is also known as yiu cha kway or Fried dough fritters. Their yiu tiao are made on the spot and comes to your table hot and crispy on the outside, but the inside is as light and soft as a warm croissant.

Here’s what we had, and what I recommend you order:
- Lean pork with Century Egg porridge
- Yiu tiao (油條)
- 炸兩 which is basically Yiu tiao wrapped in Chee Cheong Fun

Note about ordering: Decide what you want before you order. And when you get hold of the lady boss, give your orders quick and loud. Because she has a habit of coming to your table, and while you begin with your orders, she will start walking off. It’s quite amusing, but don’t worry, she’s still listening.

Wai Kee Congee Shop (威记粥店)
Address: G/F, 82 Stanley St., Central
Tel:+852 2551 5564
Directions: Central MTR Station, Exit D1 & D2

Close

Food, Travel Food, HK, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

One of the must do items on our itinerary was a day trip to Shen Zhen.

Danli was telling us about the bargain shopping, cheap massages, and manicures just across the border. And at that point of time, the 45min journey to Shen Zhen didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

That day turned out to be one of the worst day of our holiday.

Here’s a summary of what went down

• Evan woke up late, so me and Danz went out first
• Miscommunication on where to meet left us both waiting at different MTR stations. I was at Mong Kok, Danli was at Wanchai.
• Plan A: Was supposed to have Dim Sum at Wanchai.
• Change of plans, Danli came to Mong Kok. We converted some currency from HKD to RMB
• Plan B: Was set on eating Dim Sum, walked for an hour and couldn’t find a place in Mong Kok
• Just as we found one, I realized I left my passport behind
• Took a cab back to Wanchai to get passport
• Danli accidently left her Ray Bans in the cab. This was preceded with 30mins of cursing and swearing on her part
• Back to Plan A, walked to original Dim Sum restaurant
• Evan finally met us, it was 2pm
• So by the time we headed to Shen Zhen, half the day was already gone.

Talking about passport, this is my little rant about visas.

If you’re a Singaporean, you don’t need a visa when you cross over to Shen Zhen. I, on the other hand, am holding an EU passport. After checking the Chinese Embassy website, I went down to process my visa.

I left enough days to process the visa in time for my trip, what the website failed to tell you was that following Monday was a public holiday in China! So, instead of the normal price, I had to pay express! It cost me SG$80 FOR A ONE TIME VISA TO VISIT SHEN ZHEN FOR ONE DAY!

*gulp*

Always give yourself enough EXTRA time to get your visa.

Here’s how we got to Shen Zhen from Hong Kong:
Take the East Rail Line MTR from East Tsim Sha Tsui station (Kowloon side) to Lo Wu.

Lo Wu is the Hong Kong/Chinese border crossing, go through border formalities and you’re in the Peoples Republic of China.

Out the door and on your right you’ll see a big modern shopping centre, the Lo Wu Commercial Center. That’s where you want to go if you’re looking for fake goods, cheap shoes, beads, tailors and manicures.

You HAVE to bargain. One third to one half of the original price is about right.
If you need some time to think about buying something, remember to ask the for their business card. Because trust me, you WILL get lost.

The first train leaves East Tsim Sha Tsui at 5:28am and from Lo Wu the last train at 12:30am. Trains from Tsim Sha Tsui East to Lo Wu run every five to eight minutes.

Price: A single ticket costs HK$36.50

Food & Travel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Massage, Shen Zhen

Yup you guessed it, froyo again.

Anyone has the calorie breakdown for a Yo Mama froyo?

Food & Travel Froyo, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Yo Mama

I find great joy in discovering new hole-in-the-wall restaurants with tasty local food. Maybe it’s because of its rustic décor and local flavours, it so satisfying finding a rare gem of an eatery amongst old shop houses hidden in small alleyways.

Our recent quest led us to a small little place in Wanchai called “Crowd Restaurant (群 众小厨)”.

Most Hong Kong eating-places like this are small and floor space is maximized by cramping as many tables and chairs as possible. More often than not, you’ll have to share your table with complete strangers.

What I love about Chinese food is that your meal is cooked when you order it, so it’s served hot and fresh out of the kitchen. Huge demerit points to restaurants that opt for the easy way out of reheating/microwaving your food. On a side note, most of the time this theory holds true: the grumpier the 老板, the tastier the food! Discuss!

Back to the restaurant. The menu was all in Chinese, so it took awhile for me to figure out what was what. Maybe it would have helped if I turned the menu the right way up. Thank goodness for the pictures of some specialty dishes on the wall, all I had to do was point to it and say “一碗”.

Dru made the safe choice of ordering the sweet and sour pork with rice. Ironic because the non-angmoh was ordering what I consider a very Western-Chinese dish.

I opted for the scallop vermicelli. At this point, it also occurred to me that the pictures of food on the wall were probably the most expensive dishes too. I fell for their marketing ploy. What a Dupe!

But all was redeemed when I was presented with this massive claypot bowl of noodles with a generous amount of scallops (some were hidden under the noodles, can’t see from the picture). And all for just something as little as HKD75 (approx SGD15) But don’t quote me on this, I didn’t keep the receipt so I can’t remember how much it was exactly. Portion size was double of what we were used to, so we had to 打包 it.

It tasted great, I’d definitely go back there for seconds.

群众小厨／群眾小廚
Address: Shop A, 14 Gresson Street, Wanchai
Tel: +852 2866 8088

Food & Travel Food, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Restaurants, Wanchai

I love travelling on the ‘Ding Dings’!

The tram line has been carrying passengers from the East to the West of Hong Kong Island since 1904 (more specifically travelling from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan).

It’s a wonderful way to explore the city, because you’re not going too fast, which allows you time to take in the sights (and smells). And the best part? All for just HK$2 which is equivalent to approximately SG$0.40!!! It was especially convenient for me because it took me about 10mins to get to Central. Sweet!

How to travel on the ding ding

1. When you’re at the tram stop, find out which direction you should be going by looking at the tram guide
2. When the tram comes to a stop, ENTRY is from the back door.
3. No payment until you EXIT the tram
4. When you’re near your stop, I’d suggest you start making your way (or more like wiggling and squeezing your way) to the front
5. There’s a coin box or Octopus card scanner next to the tram operator at the front. Pay when you exit.

If you want to know why it’s called the ‘Ding Ding’, visit the Discover Hong Kong tram guide website and the flash splash page will give you your answer.

Loved the adidas branded Ding Ding!

Food & Travel Ding Ding, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Tram

In Singapore we have our Cold Storage, Giant, Marketplace,NTUC Fairprice. In Hong Kong they have Wellcome, Taste, Great Food Hall and ParknShop.

The other day, I went into the Great Food Hall at Pacific Place, and was surprised with the variety of food available at this supermarket.

They had a huge deli and bakery section, with freshly baked breads, plus well stocked rows of food from around the world.

I spent a good 20mins just in the vegetable section, looking at the fresh produce and finding fruits or greens I’ve never before.

Check out the size of that Artichoke!

And talking about weird produce, check out this fruit! It’s called Kiwano fruit or Horned Melon.

The horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus), also called African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, melano, or kiwano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family. It is grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horn-like spines. The fruit of this plant is edible, but it is used as often for decoration as for food. Though the horned melon is native to Africa, it is now grown in California and New Zealand as well.

Source: Wikipedia

I didn’t buy it, but this is what was said about the horned melon online:

It tastes like a sour cucumber with hints of kiwi and lemon, and the texture resembles an aloe plant’s gelatinous, gooey guts, but full of semi-rigid, pumpkin-like seeds. The seeds are hard enough that we don’t think we’re supposed to eat them, but because they’re suspended in the gelatinous goo, it would be very hard to eat around them.

Hhhmmmmm….. thank goodness I didn’t!?! Doesn’t sound very appetising to me!

Food & Travel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Supermarket

Right next to Lei Garden at IFC Mall hides a small Chinese dessert place called Honeymoon Dessert.

We were full from dinner, so we ordered dessert to share. We had tang yuen in sesame & walnut soup, and mango pomelo & sago soup. (I find it weird calling it soup, because I’d always associate soup with savoury)

It was all right, just like your regular Hong Kong dessert shop.

And of course, after all the eating, we needed to walk it off. For a great view of Kowloon, head up to the top of IFC mall. There are a few bars there if you’d like a night cap.

Honeymoon Dessert
Shop 3013
Tel: (852) 2868 9799
Opening hours: 11:00-23:00 Mon-Sun & public holidays

Food & Travel Honeymoon Dessert, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

There’s always a sense of mystery and obscurity when you turn the corner into an alley in Hong Kong. You never know what you’d find or see. It also makes for great photographs.

Wan Chai Alley

Food & Travel Alley, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

Shopping for perfume sticks at Lane Crawford IFC, Central.

Food & Travel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Lane Crawford

Before we came to Hong Kong, we tried to compile a food/restaurant hit list. That’s when Evan’s foodie friend Paul stepped in and sent her a comprehensive restaurant list sorted by cuisine. To take it a step further, he even highlighted the must have dishes at each restaurant.

So on one of our nights here, we met Paul for dinner at Lei Garden.

You might be familiar with the name, because they have an outlet in Singapore as well. The group has 7 outlets in Hong Kong alone, 2 in Singapore, 2 in Guang Zhou, and 1 in Beijing.

Lei Garden, famous for its Cantonese cuisine, was awarded a one star in the 2009 Michelin Guide Hong Kong, and was selected as one of the 100 must visit restaurants in Hong Kong.

We started the evening with the house soup, which was boiled and served in a ceramic pot until the meats were soft and crumbly. The broth was clear and fragrant, and a great way to whet our appetite.

Evan was craving for some barbecue meats, unfortunately they ran out of their signature crispy roasted pork. So we settled for the juicy and succulent char siew and crispy Peking duck.

We added a dish of seasonal steam fish and a first for me – Sweet and Sour pork with strawberries.

The food was lovely. No doubt the restaurant uses the finest ingredients, and the food was great. But personally, for a restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star, attention should also be given to food presentation. And frankly, the food looked like it was just slapped on a plate like it was served in any ordinary Chinese restaurant.

But I’ll still go back.

Lei Garden Restaurant
Address: Shop No. 3007-3011, 3/F.
International Finance Centre, Central, Hongkong
Tel. No.: (852) 2295 0238

Sunday
Lunch: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Food & Travel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Lei Garden