My Very First Blog

I am quite fond of Singapore's MediaCorp TV drama series. Sometimes I think they are better than some Hong Kong TVB dramas!



I like the song and had played it on the piano a few years back. Recently, I decided to play it one more time and recorded my playing on SoundCloud. Here's the result. Hope you like it! : )



Over the years, I have played some other theme songs on the piano. Here are four of them ....
Cloud Atlas Theme Song
1Malaysia Theme Song
Angry Birds Theme Song
Age Of Glory Theme Song

During our fifth day in Hong Kong, my friend and I visited the famous giant Tian Tan Buddha (also known as Big Buddha) at Po Lin Monastery in Ngong Ping, Lantau Island.

After our yummy breakfast at Kam Wah Cafe in Mongkok, we took the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) to Tung Chung Station, which is the last stop on the Tung Chung line. As we were departing from Mongkok, we needed to switch to the Tung Chung line at the Lai King MTR Interchange Station. Refer to the MTR map HERE.

By the way, the Tung Chung Station is just one station away from Sunny Bay Station which leads to Hong Kong Disneyland and 2 stations away from Tsing Yi Interchange Station that leads to Hong Kong International Airport.

Alighting from the Tung Chung MTR Station via Exit B, we were greeted with the Citygate Outlets which is a discount shoppers' paradise.





Citygate Outlets offers year-round discounts ranging from 30% - 70% on all merchandise, which are mainly off-season branded goods, so if you are planning to shop in Hong Kong, make sure you shop here! I did not mind the goods being off-season because whatever that is 'off-season' in Hong Kong is still considered 'new arrival' in Malaysia. Haha!

As we were planning to go to Tian Tan Buddha, we did not step into Citygate Outlets that morning. Luckily, we managed to do some shopping here on our return journey later in the evening.

There are 2 modes of transportation from Tung Chung to Tian Tan Buddha. You can either take the bus or the cable car. The bus station is just next to the Citygate Outlets. Of course the bus is much cheaper but it takes a longer time to reach there, about 45 minutes to an hour. In contrast, the cable car ride takes only 25 minutes.

My friend and I decided on the best of both worlds. We opted for the cable car on our journey there and the bus on our return journey. I could not remember the exact fare for the bus and the cable car but we paid HK$98 (US$12.60 / RM41.70) each for this combination.


The escalator leading up to the cable car station

There are 2 different kinds of cable car to choose from - the Standard Cabin and the Crystal Cabin. The difference is that the Crystal Cabin is equipped with a glass bottom, meaning you are standing on a transparent glass floor!

As someone with a fear of heights, I must be crazy to choose the Crystal Cabin which was of course, more expensive than the Standard Cabin. But I guess I just needed to experience it and face my fear!



There's actually a third and more expensive option which is Private Cabin, whereby you are given priority boarding and queue-free ticketing, but I think that's really quite unnecessary. We did not really have to queue that long for our cable car anyway.

This is my second cable car ride during my 6-day Hong Kong trip. The first was at Ocean Park. Read about it HERE.

Compared to the 15 minutes cable car ride from The Waterfront to The Summit at Ocean Park, this 25 minutes Ngong Ping cable car ride was more impressive and breathtaking.

Oh look! I could see tiny people jogging below me : )



Rumors about one of the cable cars falling off the ropeway during an extreme testing in 2007 made me a little nervous but I tried to focus on the beautiful view around me. If it's any consolation, I heard that since the MTR Corporation (which manages the MTR system) took over the running of this cable car, no major incident had been reported.

For added safety, the cable car stops operating during strong winds so be prepared to take the bus or postpone the trip if it's an extremely windy day!



The 360 degree views around me was stunning. No wonder they called this cable car project the Ngong Ping 360 - a tourism project that involves not only the cable car but also the Ngong Ping village near the Tian Tan Buddha. Check out the map of the Ngong Ping 360 system HERE.



I have totally no regrets choosing this cable car ride.



Just look at the amazing view of Tung Chung Bay! Awesome!



The Ngong Ping cable car is actually a 5.7 km long bi-cable gondola lift system. Quite similar to the cable car system in Genting Highlands although the one at Genting is only 3.38 km long. Do you know what's the difference between a cable car and a gondola? I have no idea, but they call this a cable car anyway.



The weather was just perfect to take photos from inside the cable car. Although the reflections from the glass windows were a bit of a hindrance.



We soon reached an angle station at Airport Island. Yes, this is the area near the Hong Kong International Airport. Why angle station? That's because at this station, the cableway makes a 60 degree angle turn!



Surprisingly, the transparent glass floor of the Crystal Cabin did not seem too frightening for me. Well, I did not purposely try and jump to see if the force of my weight would break the glass, but I was pretty calm. LOL.



I thought the glass bottom was a great way to see uncluttered bird's eye view of the ground below.

This is the view ahead of us as we moved away from the angle station at the Airport Island.



The vast scenery of the South China Seas and the high rise buildings were fantastic sights to behold!



One of the many cable cars that passed us going the opposite direction towards Tung Chung.



Ahead of us was the green mountainous terrain landscape of Lantau Island. Beautiful!



That's the Hong Kong International Airport on the left of the angle station which we left behind. I guess the planes were too tiny to be seen in this photo?



Can you see the 60 degree angle turn of the cableway?



If not mistaken, I think there were altogether 2 angle stations and 8 towers supporting this cable car system. That's one of the towers in the photo below.



Each cable car can carry up to 17 people with a seating for 10. During our trip, there were only 4 people (including my friend and I) in our Crystal Cabin. I was glad I could move around freely to take photos.



This is one reason why you should never visit Hong Kong during the peak periods. Imagine sitting in a crammed cable car, unable to take photos of the surrounding 360 degree view! Besides, a crammed cable car with glass bottoms sound a bit risky and scary to me. LOL!



I remember we also went through another angle station although I did not take any photos of it.



I would say the best view is from this photo below where you can see the serene South China Sea and the green verdant landscape of the mountains.



Soon, the Tian Tan Buddha statue came into view. It is one of the biggest Buddha statues in the world although it seemed tiny from here.



As we got nearer to Ngong Ping Station, the Tian Tan Buddha statue appeared larger.



After riding the impressive cable car for about 25 minutes, we reached our destination. I could not wait to visit the Ngong Ping village and the Tian Tan Buddha!



For more information on Ngong Ping 360, visit this official website.

Jerry glanced at the table clock beside his bed. It was 9.15 pm.

One of the best breakfasts I had in Hong Kong was at Kam Wah Cafe.

Located at 47, Bute Street in Mongkok, Kam Wah Cafe is a very well known and popular cha chaan teng in Hong Kong. It is even patronized by famous Hong Kong TVB stars!

Cha chaan teng, by the way, is something like a cafe or local eatery in Hong Kong that serves comfort food at reasonable prices. They can be found almost everywhere in the streets of Hong Kong and the locals love to go there for their breakfast, lunch, tea and even dinner!



On my 5th day in Hong Kong, my friend and I decided to check out this famous cafe. We had planned to visit the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery in Lantau Island that day, so we decided to wake up early for a good breakfast before the trip.

The cafe was quite full but not full enough for my friend and I to share table with others like what we did at another excellent cha chaan teng - Australia Dairy Company. Read about it HERE.

Kam Wah Cafe is famous for their polo bao (also spelt as boluo bao lit. pineapple bun) so that was something we made sure we order. We also ordered their egg tarts and milk tea.



The egg tart was one of the most delicious I have ever eaten! The filling was soft and smooth and the thickness of the crust was just right. Definitely beats Malaysia's famous Tong Kee egg tarts in my opinion.



The polo bun was absolutely awesome! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, it was the best polo bun I have ever eaten in my life! No kidding!

For the uninitiated, there is no pineapple in the polo bun. It is so called because the top of the bun resembles pineapple skin. So please do not search for the pineapple and make the mistake of asking the waiter where the pineapple is. LOL!



There are many ways to eat this polo bun. You can just eat it plain as it's slightly sweet on its own. Or you can eat it with eggs sandwiched in the middle.

But the most delicious is to eat it with salted butter! Polo bao with a thick slab of butter wedged in the center is known as polo yau. This can be found in a lot of cafes throughout Hong Kong, but the best is probably at Kam Wah Cafe. Somehow, the saltiness of the butter mixed with the sweetness of the polo bun's crust makes it taste oh, so heavenly.

Gosh, I'm drooling even as I'm writing this!



I've forgotten to take a photo of the polo yau - must be too hungry that I gobbled it up before realizing I did not take a shot! LOL!

We also ate another version of polo bun which came with char siew (barbecued pork), shredded lettuce and mayonnaise sauce.  It was super delicious!! But I still think nothing beats the simple polo yau.



By the way, they provide forks for you to eat the polo bun. You need the fork to press down and compress the bun before putting in your mouth. At least that's how I see the locals eat their polo buns. Please do not use your hand and eat it like you are eating a McDonald's burger. LOL!

As for the milk tea, I have tasted many milk teas in Hong Kong during my trip and I have to say this one is the best so far!! Of course I have not been to enough places to say it's really the best, but I think you will not be disappointed with the milk tea at Kam Wah.



Their milk tea has strong tea aroma and very smooth on the throat. It's also not sweet because they use evaporated milk, not sweet condensed milk. For me, it was even better than the one I drank at Australia Dairy Company which is another cafe I highly recommend.

The brand of milk they use is the Black & White Milk from Holland as seen from the cups and also the plaques hanging on the wall.



By the way, I have to say that the pairing of the milk tea and the polo bun was just perfect! Add an egg tart to this combination and you will have the most delightful breakfast ever! I've forgotten the price but I think this set (picture below) will not cost you more than HK$50 (US$6.50 / RM21.00).



My friend and I were so satisfied with our meal here that we decided to return for breakfast again the next day!  One thing good about Kam Wah Cafe is that despite being crowded most of the time, the service is prompt and the waiters and waitresses are not rude, unlike in many other eateries in Hong Kong.

It was our 6th and last day in Hong Kong, so we made absolutely sure we would not miss another round of breakfast at Kam Wah Cafe.

This time, we went for egg tarts, thick toast and milk tea.



The egg tarts were so delicious I was tempted to take away some but in the end, I did not.



The thick toast came with melted butter. This was not my favorite as I felt it was too unhealthy with the excess fat, sugar and oil.



Of course, we also ordered the polo bun. How could we not? LOL!



I heard that pork lard were used for the top crust of this polo bun - probably that explains why it was so delicious! Further more, it was no ordinary pork lard. The pork lard was imported all the way from Holland!



Can you see the char siew (barbecued pork) and shredded lettuce with some mayonnaise sauce? Yummy! If you only eat ONE thing at Kam Wah Cafe, make sure it's the polo bun!



Besides the polo buns and egg tarts, the cafe also serves noodles, macaroni and ham in soup, and also instant noodles with luncheon meat and egg which the locals seem to love so much.

There's also a counter at the shop front where you can buy the buns and egg tarts for take-away.



I missed the Hong Kong polo buns and milk tea so much that when I came back to Malaysia, I went on a desperate search for them. Unfortunately, I could not find any that could match the quality and taste of the ones I had in Hong Kong.

The polo bun I had at OldTown White Coffee was horrendous to say the least, and the milk tea was no where near the Hong Kong standards. Even the polo buns sold at most bakery shops were far from good. Looks like I have to fly to Hong Kong again just for their yummy polo buns, egg tarts and milk tea!

If you ever go Hong Kong, do not miss this Kam Wah Cafe. It may not be the best cafe in Hong Kong, but it's absolutely one of the very best!

Having eaten roast goose rice in the morning for breakfast before my friend and I visited Hong Kong Disneyland, we were craving for roast goose rice again for dinner.

So as soon as we reached Mongkok after a whole day at Disneyland, we searched for a restaurant selling roast goose rice and ended up at Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant located at Fa Yuen Street.



The roast goose was yummy as expected. Eating the meat dipped in plum sauce was heavenly.



I saw rows of geese hanging near the kitchen area.



The plate of roast goose rice cost me HK$43 (US$5.55 / RM18.15).



After dinner, we went to Hui Lau Shan again for dessert. Yes, we actually love Hui Lau Shan so much we went there every night! But it's a different outlet each time as there were practically one Hui Lau Shan outlet at almost every street! You can read about it HERE.

That night, we passed by a stall selling these.



It looked yummy so we bought a few to eat.



Strangely, I could not remember how they tasted like and how much they cost. I guess they were probably not that delicious after all otherwise I would remember them right? LOL!



It's also possible that they did not taste delicious because I ate them cold. If you spot this stall and buy the cakes, remember to eat them while still warm!

Coming Up Next : My Yummy Breakfast At Kam Wah Cafe