An Afternoon Out
After Lunch
Catch the MTR to
Wong Tai Sin
and brave the crowds of earnest
worshippers at the temple. Some of the fortune tellers in the nearby
stalls speak English. Try to bargain them down to a third or quarter of
the price given. Some use numbered sticks, others prefer curved bits of
wood known as Buddha’s lips.
If you’re feeling fit, tackle
Lion Rock
. It’s a demanding climb, but the
views are superb. The steep inclines towards the top are for the stout
of heart only. Take plenty of water on a warm day.
A ten-minute taxi ride will take you to the Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong’s loveliest urban park. The tranquil green space contains eight different gardens.
Late Afternoon
By late afternoon you should have worked up an appetite, so take a cab to the seafood restaurants on the waterfront at Lei Yue Mun.
Watch the sun paint the skyscrapers pink and orange as it sinks into
the harbour, while you crack open crabs and munch on giant shrimps, all
washed down with wine or an icy Tsing Tao beer.
With two huge stone
lions guarding its front door, one restaurant that is difficult to miss
while strolling around Lei Yue Mun is Kong Lung Seafood. Here you can feast on a range of seafood dishes, including deep-roasted crab and steamed abalone with orange crust.
Places to Shop
-
Golden Shopping Centre
Cheap
computer equipment here, and nearby shops have a massive range of VCDs
and DVDs. Take care – many are poor-quality pirate recordings.
Festival Walk shopping mall
-
Dragon Centre
Soaring
glassy mall in the midst of Sham Shui Po’s grime and dust. Good food
hall, computer stuff and a terrifying roller-coaster.
Dragon Centre
-
Log-On
The
household goods division of the stylish City-Super supermarket chain.
The best part of this store is called The Gadget – row upon row of
well-designed gizmos for the discerning homemaker.
-
Yuet Chung China Works
The
place to come for all kinds of china objects – tableware, decorative,
personalized or monogrammed. Orders may take four weeks but shipping is
arranged.
-
Lancôme
Take your pick from the skin check-up, the 45-minute VIP consultation, or go straight for a one-hour facial in a private cabin.
-
Page One
Massive
branch of Hong Kong’s great bookshop chain. Top marks for stacking
books with the covers facing outward, saving readers badly kinked necks.
Good coffee shop, too.
Page One
-
Yu Chau Street and Nam Cheong Street
The
small shops that line these two streets sell an enormous range of
laces, zippers, ribbons, beads and buttons – a wider choice than you
might have imagined could exist.
-
Crabtree and Evelyn
More
sweet-smelling goodies to pamper yourself with here. The smell of
lavender pot-pourri nearly knocks you over as you step over the
threshold.
-
Bang & Olufsen
Audophiles will drool over the sleek designs and crystal clarity from one of the most distinguished names in sound.
-
Artemis
Great range of shoes, particularly their eponymous label.
Places to Eat and Drink
-
Combo Thai
Kowloon
City is famous for its cheap and tasty Thai food. Be warned that you
may need a couple of beers to put out the fire from the beef salad.
-
Caffe’Cova
For
a taste of authentic Italian patisserie, head to Caffe’Cova. The first
shop was opened in 1817 in Milan, and the panettone recipe has not
changed since then.
-
Exp
The
health-conscious will be pleased to find unexpected combinations of
tried and tested noodles with offbeat additions such as grapefruit.
-
Chong Fat Chiu Chow Restaurant
If you want to try traditional Chiu Chow seafood this restaurant serves some of the best. Go for the crab or goose dishes.
-
Wing Lai Yuen Sichuan Noodles
Traditional Sichuan food in a plain setting. The dan dan noodles are the most delicious thing on the menu.
-
Amaroni’s Little Italy
Hong Kongers love Italian, and they have taken this place to heart. Share plates and make yourself at home.
-
Tso Choi
Literally
“rough food”, this is one for those prepared to take some culinary
risks to experience the real Hong Kong. Are you up to sauteed pig’s
intestines and fried pig’s brains?
-
Festive China
In fact, the festivities are fairly muted here, but the food is good. Northern-style Chinese cooking and glossy interiors.
-
House of Canton
The
full range of Cantonese dishes, from shark’s fin and abalone to an
exhaustive assortment of dim sum snacks are available here.
-
Kong Lung Seafood
You
can’t miss this place – two huge stone lions guard the front door.
Deep-roasted crab and steamed abalone with orange crust rate highly.