I love Hongkong - Sights, Smells and Tastes

Happy New Year! Yes it's coming to the end of 2013, which is also the 1 year anniversary of this humble blog (clap clap clap). Incidentally the 1st post in this blog was about Hongkong Wilson Trail, on 13 Dec 2012. So it's quite apt that one year later, I will also post about Hongkong, this time it's about the other aspects of HK. 

As mentioned in my previous HK post, I have a special affiliation to this former colony, from the TV programmes, movies, songs, celebrities, and having visited this place many times since I was a kid, and this being my 4th Dec in a row in HK. However this is the 1st time I didn't book a return air tic - flew to HK by Jetstar, returned by Scoot. I was advised by cheapfares.com (or was it lowfares.com?) to fly by such, and true enough the total was cheaper than any return ticket. Give it a try on your next trip.

First meal in HK was disappointing. Ordered roasted goose with rice at the airport because I was hungry. That could be the worst roasted goose rice in the whole of HK. Actually the meat was ok but the rice was too dry. Anyway it's good to start badly so all the later meals will be good in comparison. 

First meal in HK, Roasted Goose rice at Maxim Cafe at the airport. It didn't look so good without photo editing, and the rice was very dry. Just to fill the stomach.

Usually when I'm in HK I will stay in Yesinn (if I have friends with me, it's a really nice and cozy backpacker lodging) or Chungking Mansions (the unofficial African quarter of HK) if I'm alone. This time I'm alone but I decided to give Chungking Mansions a miss and stay at Sincere House instead. Price and room wise both are comparable, but Chungking is located at upmarket Tsim Sha Tsui whereas Sincere is at heartland Mongkok. I prefer the latter. Using Trip Advisor I came across Oi Suen Guesthouse on the internet and booked it. Turned out to be a real blessing as the staff (English name Rainbow) was really friendly and helpful. She even carried my luggage up 2 levels over 2 flights of stairs to my room! That's one way to make a good impression on your customer. :) 

Btw to get to Mongkok, you can take A21 bus from the bus terminal beside the airport. Takes about 45min to reach, alight at Mongkok bus stop (there's a screen in front of the bus to tell you the next destination). After alighting walk 3mins to Sincere House (could have been 1min if not for the crowded pedestrian walkway). Alternatively take the MTR to Mongkok, but not recommended as you will need to change train, and I suspect the bus is faster. Plus the trains are usually crowded. Then there's the airport express, which is relatively much more expensive. Of course there's always the option of taking a cab. Be sure to get your Octopus Card before you leave the airport, which is your transport card for buses and MTR, can also use for 7-11 purchases.

Sincere House sits between Mong Kok and Mong Kok East Stations, although it's nearer to Mong kok Station. The very popular night market at Tong Choi Street (Ladies Street) and other adjacent streets are just across Argyle Street. 

There are 2 lift lobbies to Sincere House, one of them closes at midnight. The food stall beside the 12mn lobby used to sell fermented bean curd, which is really smelly but tasty once in your mouth. In the past when I couldn't find my way back I just had to follow the smell of the bean curd. 

Ground floor of Sincere House. Man Kei food stall stopped frying fermented bean curd, which is good. 

Backpacker rooms in HK are really tiny. You have to understand that in HK land is scarce and expensive, in the 60s and 70s many big families were cramped into tiny rooms like these, many still live in such rooms. You many get a culture shock if you come from a country where land is vast, eg China. At Oi Suen I was rotated among 3 rooms in total, look at the toilet, the space is so cramped that you would have to sit sideways on the toilet bowl! However I loved the small-ness of the room, it meant I could reach for all my things without the need to walk around, there's no space to walk around anyway! I could touch all 4 walls without leaving my bed. 

Top left: TV in every room. Mid left: Free wifi, very important. Top right: Attached bathroom/toilet for every room. Bottom: The entire width of the room, with the length just long enough to fit a single-sized bed. 

One of the many old residential buildings in Mongkok. 

In HK you can find food almost everywhere, even late at night. One of my favourite cha chan teng (loosely translated as tea cafe) for  breakfast was just across the street from Sincere House. It has really awesome porridge, with pig blood, beef, pig liver, century egg etc. In HK there's a special dish called "zha leong", which is fried fritters wrapped with rice flour. It's not available in Singapore, don't think it's in China too. Totally delicious! And the staff were friendly and patient, can't say the same for all the waiters/waitresses in HK. 

Sea View Restaurant, across the street from Sincere House. The porridge is good, the fritters are great! 

Top left: Porridge with pig blood. "Zha Leong" (fried fritters wrapped with rice flour) in the background. Top right: Spicy and sour chicken. Bottom left: Roasted Goose rice. Bottom right: Dinner at Ervin's place, with roasted duck, chicken, veggies, fish balls  etc. Hearty meal! 

Also near Sincere House, within walking distance near the junction of Tong Choi and Bute Street, is the famous Kam Wah Cha Chan Teng. That's where I arranged to meet up with Francis, my buddy whom I've not met for more than 10 years.

Kam Wah Cha Chan Teng, one of the most famous in HK. The "por lor" bun is to die for, but the queue can also kill you. The staff will shoo you off once you have finished your food. 

On the other side of Tong Choi Street, across Argyle Street, is the stretch popularly known as Ladies Street, a night bazaar that's not just for ladies. In fact the stalls open by noon, so strictly it's not a night bazaar. I'm curious why they even bother to dismantle the stalls after midnight only to set them up again the next day. Lots of little things to buy when you have very little time left in HK and want to expand your cash, which was what happened to me on the last day.

Top: The crowd comes early at Tong Choi Street. Middle/Bottom right: Small dark lanes join the adjacent streets. Popular locations for HK triad movies.  

At the junction of Tong Choi Street and Nelson Street is Chamonix Alpine Equipment shop, my favourite kind of shopping. Hanging on the walls of the stairs leading to the 2nd level, were pictures of the owner in his mountaineering expeditions, Mr Chung Kin Man. His story is quite inspirational, starting as a young street delinquent, he didn't know what to do with his life. Until he chanced upon mountaineering and it changed his life. On December 28 2005, he completed his South Pole Expedition, thus completing the "7 + 2" Mission, i.e summiting all 7 continental peaks, including the highest peak in the world Mt Everest, and trekking across the North and South poles, becoming the first Hong Kong citizen to do so. Please read what he has to say about climate change.

"Over the next few decades, I believe the climate issue will worsen and glacier retreat will become even more serious. I am worried that our next generation will never be able to climb across the snow of mountains again. The beautiful scenery of snow-covered mountain summits will be forgotten, to be found only in old photographs." - Mr Chung Kin Man 

Mr Chung Kin Man, first HK citizen to complete the "7+2" mission.
From peegaboo.com

 There is also a mountaineering training centre further down the road at Fa Yuen Street (Point 1). 

Anyway Chamonix was giving 30% discount for all cash transactions on almost every brand, mouth watering! First thing I secured was this Lowe Alpine 55L backpack, to store all the other stuff. I'm so glad I bought a 15kg luggage check-in for the return journey (I went HK with only carry-on bag).

Another favourite outdoor shop along Tong Choi Street is RC Outfitters. This shop has many branches but I have only been to the Mongkok one, which is 2 storeys worth of goods. The entrance is not easy to find, as it's located in the small alley joining Tong Choi and Sai Yeung Choi South Streets. Their website has a very good detailed instruction on how to get there. Although I have a lifetime VIP membership here, I only get 15% discount. Quite disappointing. 

Running parallel to Tong Choi Street is Sai Yeung Choi South Street. This street doesn't have those roadside stalls set up, so it's easier to walk along the street, and there's space for street performers to do their stuff. My favourite was this uncle band with the funny dancer.

Sai Yeung Choi South Street has a few attractions of its own, like the healthy dessert shop Hui Lau Shan, here's a nice blog about it. This was what I had, steamed egg with bird's nest, totally yummy!

Something I really liked about this street is that there's a movie theatre! Yeah HK movies in cantonese! In Singapore the HK movies are dubbed in mandarin, which feels quite weird. The first movie I watched was Firestorm, starring Andy Lau and Lam Ka-Tong. It's a typical robber-cop movie with lots of explosions, gunshots and street fights. When watching in the cinema be sure to book the vibrating seats! They will vibrate (much like a handphone on vibration mode) whenever there is a loud explosion, gunshot or any loud sound in the movie. Plus....this movie is in 3D. :)

The 2nd movie I watched was almost like an X-rated movie, in fact it was a Category IIB, which I think just meant Cat III movie without nudity. The non-nudity made the scenes 10 x more steamy, you know what I mean? Anyway this was the 3rd installation of the popular HK movie Lan Kwai Fong, no prizes for guessing why it's so popular. Of course I booked the vibrating seats, no explosions here but they vibrated together with the beat of the disco music.
Check out the link, there's a movie trailer (however the trailer doesn't work, haha!).

If you're checking out Lan Kwai Fong (the pub street, not the movie), don't expect the same level of raunchiness and shown in the movie. And in reality the girls are more....real.

This is Sai Yeung Choi South Street.

Top left: Auntie writing the chinese symbol "Fu" (fortune) with white powdery substance. Middle left: Movie at Mongkok Broadway Theatre starring Andy Lau. Bottom: Buskers jamming away.