Of course, Hong Kong is more than just about food. This is the place famous for Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and its entertainment industry. It's a financial powerhouse filled with modern skyscrapers, yet still retain remnants of its colonial past. And it's THE ideal place for shopaholics with year round sales.
Planning for my Hong Kong flights and accommodation had begun one year earlier. That's how long it took me to plan for this trip, and in fact most trips. And there's always no regrets in planning early. You almost always get the cheapest flights and the best hotel price!
And so on that beautiful morning, I found myself on board the plane heading to Hong Kong with my good friend. This is a photo I took from inside the plane.
I could hardly contain my excitement. Imagine all the good food, the shopping and wonderful places to see for the next 5 days!
Once we landed at Hong Kong International Airport, we wasted no time in going through the immigration and collecting our luggage. The first impression when I stepped out of the airport was the weather. It was cold! Not freezing cold, but cold enough to make me put on a jacket.
According to my research, the coldest month in Hong Kong is in February. We were there during the last week of March so I did not expect it to be this cold. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the cold weather since most of my other trips were to hot tropical countries. Later, we found out that it had been raining the last couple of days in Hong Kong - so that explained the abnormally cold temperature!
If you do not like the cold, then you might want to visit Hong Kong sometime in May or June. The months of July till September are not recommended times to visit Hong Kong since it is most likely affected by tropical cyclones during those months.
My friend and I took a taxi to our hotel which was located at Argyle Street in Mongkok. The location was really ideal for me as it was within short walking distance to the MTR stations, and to all the food stalls and restaurants.
The first thing we did after checking into our hotel was to walk around Mongkok and look for something to eat! We passed by a small shop called Dim Sum Specialist at Tung Choi Street and decided to give it a try.
We had the BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Roll which was quite good.
The prawn dumplings were just OK to me. The dim light in the restaurant did not allow me to take good pictures.
Not sure what to call this - cream custard bun maybe?
The sweet creamy fillings inside the buns were yummy!
We also ordered ma lai gou or steamed egg cake.
Overall, we spent about HK$72 (US$9.30) on these dim sum. I found the food to be average, certainly not up to my expectation of how a Hong Kong dim sum should be. I guess we went to the wrong place for dim sum, but you won't know if you don't try right? : )
So what did we do after filling our tummies with our very first Hong Kong food? We went shopping at Ladies Market and then it's time for more food!
In case you are curious to know, the Ladies Market is not just for ladies! I bought something 'naughty' at the Ladies Market and if you want to know what it is, stay tuned for the post coming up next!
