Hong Kong – Around Kowloon : Kowloon – Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Prince Edward (part 2) – Funky Shops, Cheap and Chinese Eats

Down the Peninsula

Early Morning

Take the MTR to Prince Edward to start at the top of the Kowloon Peninsula, near the old Chinese border at Boundary Street. Take Exit B2 and head to the Bird Garden via the flower shops and stalls on
Flower Market Road
. Testament to the Chinese love of
exotic goldfish, the stalls at the top of Tung Choi Street sell a
surprising variety of shapes and colours.

Cheap shops and
market stalls abound a short walk away to the south on the streets below
Argyle Street and east of Nathan Road. Pedestrians also abound – some
150,000 souls live in every square kilometre of this part of the
Peninsula.

Crossing Nathan Road, head to the Jade Market
for jewellery and figurines. If you want the best choice of jade,
arrive before lunchtime because some of the stallholders pack up after
this.

Early Afternoon

Take a breather in the
small, pleasant square across the way and watch the world go by with the
elderly locals, or peep inside the busy
Tin Hau Temple
. Then break for a rough and ready cheap Chinese lunch in the covered canteens on the corner of Pak Hoi and Temple streets.

After lunch explore the produce stalls along Reclamation Street and the old Chinese district around Shanghai Street.

Funky Shops

Cheap and Chinese Eats

1. Tak Fook Heen

   Decent Cantonese food including good, cheap dim sum, but soft drinks are charged at hotel prices.

   • B/F, Stanford Hotel, 118 Soy St

   • 2710 4213

2. Tai Ping Koon

   Hong Kong’s version of western food at a branch of a century-old chain. Try the “Swiss” (sweet) sauce chicken.

   • 19–21 Mau Lam St

   • 2384 3385

3. Mui Chai Kee

   A
   great stop for a pot of tea and some fruit jellies and lotus paste
   buns. The adventurous might try the bird’s nest and egg tarts or double
   boiled frog’s oviduct with coconut milk.

   • G/F, 120 Parkes St

   • 2388 8468

   • No credit cards

4. Peking Restaurant

   Peking duck is the speciality, or try Yangzhou fried rice with ham and peas at this gently ageing, charming restaurant.

   • F/F 227 Nathan Rd

   • 2735 1315

   • No credit cards

5. Saint’s Alp Teahouse

   Quirky snacks and an intriguing menu of teas in a modern Taiwan-style Chinese teahouse, which is one of an extensive chain.

   • 61a Shantung St

   • 2782 1438

   • No credit cards

   
   

   
   
   

   Saint’s Alp Teahouse

6. Ming Ya Fe

   Mainly
   Shanghainese, but also Sichuan and Cantonese specialities are served in
   this modern space at the top of the Langham Place mall.

   • 13/F, Langham Place, Shanghai St

   • 2782 2200

7. Ah Long Pakistan Halal Food

   A good bet if you fancy a spicy curry, although the surroundings aren’t pretty.

   • G/F, Tak Lee Bldg, 95B Woosung St

   • 2782 1635

   • No credit cards

   • 
     
     
     

8. Fairwood

   Part of a large Chinese fast-food chain, this branch has CD listening posts and some Internet terminals.

   • B/F, King Wah Centre, 620-628 Nathan Rd

   • 2302 1003

   • No credit cards

9. The Lobby Lounge

   Deserves a mention for its glass atrium, outdoor seating, terrific coffee and afternoon tea menus.

   • 4/F, The Eaton Hotel, 380 Nathan Rd

   • 2710 1863

   
   

   
   
   

   The Lobby Lounge

10. Light Vegetarian

    Familiar
    mock-meat dishes on the à la carte menu, but the real steal is the
    ample lunchtime buffet, which includes desserts and a pot of tea.

    • 13 Jordan Rd

    • 2384 2833

    • No credit cards