Hong Kong Trip, Day 4 (Central, Causeway Bay & Tsim Sha Tsui)

Music: Norah Jones- The Nearness Of You Mood: Lazy


Here we are again at Jordan for breakfast at Australian Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司, 白加士街47號地下). Get out at C1 exit, the restaurant is just a street away at Parkes Street. Australian Dairy Company is one of the most sought after breakfast dining place voted by picky Hongkies at www.openrice.com .



The restaurant is jam-packed with people, we were seated at once when someone left their table, and being attended almost immediately in 30 seconds. Needless to say I placed our orders at top speed without thinking.


Buttered Bread with Double Fried Eggs (牛油方包＋西煎双蛋)
I REGRETTED for not using my brains before ordering- I wanted SCRAMBLE eggs!! !!Not FRIED eggs!!! This wasn't bad but there goes my legendary heard-it-all-about, melt-in-your-mouth scramble eggs *Pounds head on table*

Shredded Ham with Macaroni in Soup (火腿通粉)
The soup is a bit salty but I enjoyed the soft ham, at least the macaroni is cooked till al dente.


Almond Steamed Milk (杏汁燉蛋)
The aromatic whiff of almond calmed my bad mood a little. Almost like a milk pudding, you can start singing praises to the smooth texture.



Hot Fresh Milk (热鲜奶)
What is a breakfast without fresh milk at ADC? The milk is so fresh, I almost forgot I’m lactose intolerance. (That explains how my gastric lasted one whole week)




First stop- Central (中环)
Take MTR and get off at Central Station, then get out at D2 exit, You will be at Queen’s Road Central (皇后大道中). Follow this main road to find Cochrane Street (阁麟街), then there will be signs that lead you to Central Mid-Levels Travelator (中环至半山自动扶梯). According to Guinness Book of Records, this is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world which consists of 20 escalators and 3 moving sidewalks. The escalator runs downhill from 6am to 10am and uphill from 10.30am to midnight daily. So be aware of your arrival time, if not you might risk walking all the way uphill if you arrived too early.


They call this tramcar "Ding Ding Car" (叮叮车).



Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum (孙中山纪念馆)
We actually didn’t plan to come here, but dad insisted on ‘paying-the-great-man-a-visit’, so here we are~



Actually they forbid photo taking, this is the only place at the ground floor that they allowed for photos, or can we…?? They mentioned ‘only with the statue’, hmmm, I think we got it wrong :P

Spotted this animal hospital with a really adorable name along the way.




Man Mo Temple (文武庙)
This is Hong Kong Island’s oldest and most important Taoist temple, named after two gods- the God of Literature, Man Tai (文帝), Man Cheong (文昌) and the God of War, Mo Tai (武帝), better known as Kuan Yu (关羽).


These incense coils can burn up to 3 weeks.


We then proceeded to this famous street- Hollywood Road (荷李活道古董街). The place has no whatsoever connections with the Hollywood movies; instead, it was named after the Hollywood Trees (冬青树) that used to grow everywhere around this area.




Hollywood Road is filled with antique shops of all sorts from Chinese to Western or Japanese. They are VERY pricey but still, it’s an eye opening experience to stroll down the streets.


If you put up a sign that forbids photo-taking, we will gladly do as we are told. This stall did not hang a sign or whatsoever note anywhere, so I snap a few pictures outside and this is when the lady in the picture, the owner walked out and screamed like a mad woman at us, ‘CANNOT TAKE PICTURE!CANNOT TAKE PICTURE! YOU ARE ALL VERY RUDE!! NEVER ASK FOR PERMISSION THEN SIMPLY TAKE PICTURES!!!’ At the same time, another lady owner beside her stall also came out and joined the scream feast, ‘YA LOH!! YA LOH!! SO RUDE!!’

These HAVE to be the worst mannered Hongkies I’ve ever encounter. If you despise the photo taking act, just put up a sign and we will definitely abide, no need to scream as we are not deaf! And what the effing hell is the second one scolding for?? That bloody absent minded crazy woman! No wonder there is almost no business going on here! Serve them right >.<

Lunch- Lin Heung Tea House (莲香楼, 中環威靈頓街160~164號)
Luckily is lunch time and we headed our way to the renowned Dim Sum shop around the corner. Lin Heung Tea House is one of the most sough- after restaurants in Hong Kong to enjoy dim sum, mention ‘dim sum’, people will say ‘Lin Heung Lau’!


Tables are forever occupied with diners at any point of time, you will have to adapt to the table sharing culture here; if not, you may end up standing for hours without a seat. Just stand beside a ‘potential’ table, preferably the size that suits closely to your crowd size and LOCK your target- this is to avoid having too many unknown diners to share the same table with you. Once your targets stand and prepare to leave, SIT down immediately once you get hold of the stool.

Once you are seated, the waiter will give you card that marks your ordered foodstuff. You see, Lin Heung don’t practice the normal Malaysian dim sum culture. If you see the dim sum cart being pushed out from kitchen, grab your card and RUN AFTER the cart. You have to SQUEEZE your way through the crowd for your food. Don’t just stand and look at the lady sweetly and expecting her to serve you, GRAB your choice of dim sum as soon as you get a view of them!


Char Siew Bao (叉烧包)
Soft and generously stuffed, not the extra-sweet char siew fillings that may taste rather bogus.


Siew Mai (烧卖)
The minced pork is really good, not gamey at all and its skin does not tear easily when one removes it from the paper film.


Pig’s Liver Siew Mai (猪肝烧卖)
Didn’t tried this, but they thought it’s a little too ‘heavy’ for their liking.


Chee Cheong Fun (猪肠粉)
Ordinary level, the skin could be smoother…


Rice Steamed in Lotus Leaves (荷叶饭)
Too plain, not much fillings can be found inside.


Har Gao (虾饺)
This is awesome! It taste as nice as it looks- two shrimps can be found in one har gao, very fresh and tender.


Next stop- Causeway Bay (铜锣湾)
Travel via MTR and get off at Causeway Bay. Your shopping experience at Hong Kong will not be completed without stopping by this area. Causeway Bay gathers round some of HK’s most expensive, biggest and diversified shopping malls, also known to have one of the most expensive rents in the world.


The bustling streets of Causeway Bay, the never ending crowd.


Times Square (时代广场)
Voted as one of the top ten places to visit in Hong Kong, Times Square is also the biggest shopping mall in Causeway Bay.


Lee Theatre Plaza (利舞台广场)
Situated near Times Square, it used to be HK’s most famous theatre. The building was renovated in 1990 and serves a new purpose as a shopping mall since then. The nostalgic Plaza is also a must- go spot among HK visitors.


The anchor stores of the mall- Uniqlo, a Japanese chain superstore and MUJI.


Sogo (崇光百货)


Dessert- Hui Lau Shan (许留山)
You can never miss this dessert shop in Hong Kong, it’s at every corner of the streets! The shop started off in 60’s selling just Guai Leng Gou (龟苓糕), their popularity increased since the creation of Mango Sago (芒果西米露) during the 90’s and emerged as the most sought after dessert shop in Hong Kong since then. The crowd is unbelievable in every single outlet, especially popular ones like this at shopping hotspots.


Black Glutinous Rice with Vanilla Ice Cream + Fruits Platter (鲜果海捞黑糯米) -$38
I love ‘em mangoes sooo much!! The fruits are darn sweet, no wonder almost all tables ordered one fruits platter.


Mango + watermelon Juice (鸳鸯果汁)
This comes together with the set above. It is about 355ml, damn thick and stodgy!


Pudding with Pomelo and Mango (杨枝金捞布丁)- $32
Pomelo taste a little bitter, but the sweet mango totally overcome the bitter aftertaste.


Island Beverly Shopping Centre (金百利)
Looking for uniqueness, diversity and budgeted for spending money? I can assure your money will be well spent here. This shopping centre is made up of many small boutiques, sort of like a Sungei Wang of Hong Kong. One can find the trendiest clothes and accessories here and uniqueness is well assured since most owners designed their own clothes.



Dinner- Mak’s Noodle (麦奀云吞面世家)
This should be HK’s most well known Wonton Noodle. One may say ‘think of wanton noodle, you’ll get Mak’s Noodle’. Their main shop is located at Central (中环), which still serves the best wanton noodles compared to the rest of their branches.


This place has not only been recommended by famous food critics like Choi Lan, So-Sze Wong (the host of So Far So Good!) and being featured on countless magazines, Anthony Bourdain also contributed by featuring it on Discovery channel’s Travel and Living.


Mak’s Wonton Noodle (世家云吞面)- $28
$28 for one measly bowl!! No wonder the shop literary means ‘Mak’s Stingy Noodle’, means you can devour a bowl in a few mouths. The noodle taste too alkaline whereas the wontons were just so-so. However, they did presented their wonton noodles in the most original way: Noodles on TOP and Wonton at the BOTTOM.


Shui Gao & Wonton (水饺云吞) - $30
Too over-priced for something this standard- not bad but nothing to shout about.


Porridge with Sliced Fish and Lettuce (鱼片生菜粥) - $38
They were generous with the fish slices, too bad it taste fishy.


Judging from the ‘overly good’ comments I read online, I can only figure that the main shop at Central must have served much better quality noodles. The Favourite Food Award sticker should be stripped of its eligibility at this particular outlet!


Last stop- Avenue of Stars, Tsim Sha Tsui (星光大道)






“A Symphony of Lights” (幻彩咏香江) has been awarded the world’s largest permanent light and sound show by the Guiness World Record. It’s a thematic synchronization of lights and laser featuring 44 buildings along Victoria Harbour alongside with music. The show has been broadcasted since year 2004, every night at 8pm along the Avenue of Stars.

We are supposed to be at Harbour City (海港城) right after the light show but we were dead on our feet, can hardly feel them as we crawled back to hotel and into bed~

End of Day 4