Destination 3: Hong Kong, China

Emily James
Aug 24, 2017
6 min read

Hong Kong is a beautiful destination to visit in China. A lot of people explore Hong Kong for their different culture. Hong Kong is a very large area and there are several different things to do that may appeal to you. It's under the cultural influences of Cantonese, Mandarin, British. There are also substantial communities of Hakka, Fujian, and Shanghainese people. All cultures have a unique mind of their own yet are all nicely mixed together at the same time in this area.

Shopping:

If you read my blog post about Thailand, you know i'm a shopaholic. Looks to me like Hong Kong is a great place for shopping! I read that it's a "shopper's paradise." SOLD! I'm a huge bargain shopper. I love getting items for a good price. Hong Kong is huge for their bargain shopping. There are many different trendy boutiques that you can't find anywhere outside of Hong Kong, along with Chinese product stores, luxurious shopping malls, and markets along the streets as well. They have the widest range of different things you can buy in this area. Most of the goods are tax free, except alcohol and cigarettes. Everything is relatively cheap, and they even have different seasons where things are a really good bargain (kind of like "Black Friday" to people in the U.S.) The shopping assistants really love their job and get into the shopping experience with you by putting the customer first and being extremely helpful. The recommended shopping malls are Landmark, Pacific Place, Times Square, Festival Walk, and Harbour City. The most recommended street markets are Ladies' Market, Temple Street Night Market, Stanley Market, Jardine's Crescent, and Li Yuen Street East and West.

International Cuisine:

Hong Kong is named the culinary capital of Asia. They are known for their exquisite, mouth watering dining options. There are many different cuisines that they offer. The local dim sum and fresh seafood are always a must! Dim sum means "to touch the heart." These meals are what tapas are to the Spanish. The classic dim sum dishes include shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, sweet pork buns, and rice noodle rolls. They all sound good to me!

The recommended restaurants for dim sum are listed below:

1. Maxim's Palace City Hall: 2/F, Low Block, City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island

2. Tim Ho Wan: 9–11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon

Lin Heung Tea House: 162 Wellington Street, Central

3. Lei Garden Restaurant Group: 3007–3011, 3/F, International Finance Centre IFC, Central

Chinese Barbecue:

A traditional Hong Kong dining favorite is a Chinese barbecue. If you're a meat lover, this is the type of food you'd enjoy. The Chinese barbecue is a ton of seasoned meats that are roasted over an open fire or a rotisserie oven. Some restaurants have whole ducks, pigs, etc. hanging in the windows cooking. The recommended restaurants for this type of food are listed below:

1. Joy Hing Roasted Meat: 265–267 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island

2. Yat Lok Restaurant: G/F, 34–38 Stanley St, Central, Hong Kong Island

3. Kam's Roast Goose: G/F, Po Wah Commercial Centre, 226–226A Hennessy Rd,

Hong Kong Island

As you can see, there are many different types of food that can be found in this area. Those are the two I'd be most interested in trying. There is a large variety of other foods they have available. I will list them off along with the recommended restaurants for all who are interested.

Seafood: grouper, abalone, crab, shrimp, lobster, and scallops

Recommended restaurants:

1. Ming Court for Gourmet Cantonese Seafood: 6/F, Langham Place Hotel, 555 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon

2. Lei Garden: Unit 3008, IFC Mall, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong Island

3. Under Bridge (Qiao Tei) Spicy Crab Cantonese Seafood: G/F–3/F, Ascot Mansion, 421–425 Lockhart Road, Wanchai District, Hong Kong Island

Noodles and congee: wonton noodles, beef brisket noodles, and rickshaw noodles

Recommended restaurants:

1. Mak’s Wonton Noodles: G/F, 77 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong Island

2. Tsim Chai Kee: 98, Wellington Street, Central

3. Kau Kee: 21 Gough Street, Central

Dessert: sweet red bean soup, tofu pudding, and mango pudding

Recommended restaurants:

1. Honeymoon Dessert: Shop B105B-3, Food Court, B/F Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island

2. Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert: Shop 3, Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay

3. Yee Shun Dairy Company: 506 Lockhard Road, Causeway Bay

As always, there is also a food tasting tour in Hong Kong where you can get almost any of the items listed above in the tour, so that you get a huge variety of different foods!

Nightlife:

Wow, enough about food. I'm hungry now! With so many different things to do in the nightlife of Hong Kong, you will definitely find something that interests you to do. There are many bars and pubs, but most are located in east Tsim Sha Tsui, Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai. These bars, restaurants, pubs, and eateries all have different kinds of wines, beer, alcohol, food, chess, darts, and live music. Sounds like fun to me! Locals go there for socializing and relaxing, whereas tourists go there to visit the different kind of culture the nightlife brings. While visiting there, you get the choice to get a dining package which is suitable for all guests. The dining package includes entertainment such as singing, Opera, folk dancing, and acrobats.

Hong Kong is the world's third largest film producers. There are many different cinemas in the area that, if interested, you could go visit and see a movie of your choice. A lot of filming goes on in the Hong Kong area, so you may just be lucky enough to see a star you know producing in a movie!

Family Destination:

Hong Kong is a great family destination spot to visit the different culture attractions. They offer family tours, different parks, temples, museums, and natural reserves. Disneyland is located here so children and their families would have an awesome experience there, especially if they've been to Disney World in the U.S. It'd be a fun way to compare the two. There are different packages that they offer to families for Disneyland, Ocean Park Tour, and a tour of Disneyland and Hong Kong Island. The packages are the cheaper route to go. (Disneyland is also a lot cheaper in Hong Kong than it is in the U.S. as you can imagine).

There are many festivals and fairs that family's can attend. Whatever festival or fair you decide to attend, you will get a really good glimpse at what it's like to be in their culture. An example would be celebrating the Chinese New Year. This is one of the top 10 holiday extravaganzas in the world. It's a huge celebration! It is celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. During this multiple day celebration, once again, you get a huge idea of what it's like to be in the culture of Hong Kong. There are floats, performances, touring, shopping, fireworks, horse races, etc.

Another great reason Hong Kong is great for families to visit is because of their transportation mechanisms. They are marked on of the best transportation systems in the world. The transportation here is very convenient. They have public buses, shuttles, ferries, trains, subways, trams, and taxis that are always on the go.

Tours:

Tourists actually travel to Hong Kong for their tours. There are many tours available, but the three recommended ones are Half-Day Hong Kong Island Tour, One Day Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Tour, and Ten Day China Family Tour to Beijing, Guilin, Yangshuo, and Hong Kong. All of these are very popular. As mentioned throughout this blog post, Hong Kong is known for it's culture. These tours are a great way to get a sense of their culture.

Half-Day Hong Kong Island Tour: $69 per person, children under 2 are free, 5 hours long, English speaking local guide, transportation between attractions (Victoria Peak, Aberdeen, Stanley Market, TSL Jewelry Factory

One Day Lantau Island and Giant Buddha Tour: $159 per person, children under 2 are free, 6 hours long, English speaking local guide, transportation between attractions (Po Lin Monastery, Buddha Museum, Tai O Fishing Village, stilt houses (a boat trip ride), Ngong Ping Village)

Ten Day China Family Tour to Beijing, Guilin, Yangshuo: $2,829 per person, 10 days long, hike on the Great Wall of China, learn how to make dumplings with local families, acquire Chinese painting skills, relaxing cruise to Yangshuo, take a bamboo raft down the crystal-clear Yulong River, and learn culinary skills