New Yummy Discoveries in Hong Kong

The first order of business as soon as we arrived was lunch Crystal Jade in Harbour City was the first option but the queue was really long. Thus, we just went straight to the food court called City Super. I didn’t like City Super in Times Square and I wasn’t excited having to hit it again for lunch. But then, I found this stall that sells ramen, barbecue rice, and canned soda for only HK$68 [roughly US$9].

Considering that I’m still on the Cohen diet and I’d only be sipping the broth, the whole meal was ideal for me and hubby. I know that this isn’t exactly what a Cohen diet should be but I don’t have the same resilience that some people do possess. I didn’t bring a portable cooker with me, and even if I brought one, there’s no way I’d be allowed to cook inside our suite in Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. My only choice was to eat the least of all evils.

I guess filling up on soup, egg, and veggies wouldn’t hurt that much

Anyhow, after lunch, we headed to Ap Lei Chau to go to Horizon Plaza. Before going to Hong Kong, I found out that there’s a Prada outlet also in Ap Lei Chau!

There’s a lot of Miu Miu choices but Prada, not so much. It’s still better to go to a real Prada store.

Meanwhile, we went to Sift Patisserie again and we discovered a great tasting and really refreshing organic lemonade.

The following day, we were lucky to find seats in Crystal Jade for lunch. I wasn’t able to take pictures of the food though. We ordered spring rolls, some kind of fish soup, radish cakes, steamed veggies, a beef dish, etc. But for me, the highlight of the meal were the spicy beef noodle soup and xiao long bao.

photo not mine

photo not mine

We also went to Sha Tin to try to visit the 10,000 Buddhas temple but it was sunny so we just decided to stay inside New Town Plaza and check out Snoopy’s World. While in New Town Plaza, we tried the famous mango desserts from Honeymoon Dessert.

Honeymoon Dessert is located at The Menu @ Level 7 in New Town Plaza. It’s a small space filled with people who literally just eat-and-run. The seats get taken fast so you’ll need a little patience.

We were lucky that we’re just two and it wasn’t that hard for us to squeeze ourselves in between other guests. It might be hard to find seats if you’re in a larger group, else be prepared to be separated from your friends at least for the short time you’re enjoying their desserts

We got mango pudding that they served with a small container of evaporated milk. Delicious

We also got another mango-based dessert. It’s made of mango-pomelo soup with mango and pomelo bits then topped with green tea ice cream. Well…. the soup was fine, the green tea ice cream was also fine, but when mixed together especially with the pomelo pulp… well, uhm… it wasn’t that good

Since we discovered Guang Dong Barbecue Restaurant in Cameron Road, we made it a point to always go there to have a meal. As always, hubby ordered the barbecue pork along with a black noodle dish which was also very yummy.

Before going back to Manila, we stopped by Pasteleria Koi Kei and grabbed almond pastry and Phoenix egg rolls for pasalubong

And that wraps up our yummy discoveries in Hong Kong during our last trip! Our food discoveries this time may not be as varied as those from our previous trips but I’m still glad that we’re able to discover something new and yet not overeat

For those of you who are on the Cohen diet and wondering what the hell am I doing, I’m sorry. This is not to encourage you to cheat. I won’t advise you to do that. But as for me, I know that despite the cheats I’ve had, I’m still able to control my portions and that going back to the diet plan would be as easy as switching a light bulb on. I wouldn’t have to struggle again like I used to with the other diets I tried.

Again, don’t cheat because it’s not the right thing to do. And if ever you do, don’t blame yourself. Just be prepared to accept the slow weight loss and be ready to get back to it as soon as possible.

With that said, hope you had a happy Christmas and may you have a prosperous New Year!

Hong Kong December 2011

WARNING: Me in camwhoring mode incoming!!!

~o~

Here are some photos of myself and hubby taken during our recent visit to Hong Kong. Next post will be all about food. Stay tuned

at Queen's Road Central to visit three flagship stores, i.e., Longchamp, Marks & Spencer, H&M

Harbour City

Sha Tin station, New Town Plaza

Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel

Snoopy's World, entrance

still in Snoopy's World

Snoopy Theatre, Snoopy's World

New Town Plaza, Sha Tin

Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel

on our way to dinner at Guang Dong Barbecue in Cameron Road

Avenue of the Stars, Victoria Harbour

wardrobe check, Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel

Louis Vuitton, Harbour City

Tom Lee Music, Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong Again! New Discoveries in Hong Kong & Macau.

Hello friends! I know I keep telling this every time I post but I swear, I am so swamped lately. Anyhoo, I managed to squeeze in a weekend for an out of the country trip and guess where! Of course, Hong Kong!

If you remember, I was in Hong Kong for a post-Christmas trip with my in-laws last December. Last weekend, I went back to Hong Kong but this time with my hubby, my parents who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, and my cousins. I love discovering things in Hong Kong and that is why I love to go there at least twice a year. Some friends would react, “HK again?!” I know! It’s HK again and I love it!

For this trip, we spent our first night at the Venetian Resort Macao and got two non-smoking Bella Suites with Cotai View for our family. As always, we went around the Venetian Resort and visited the usual tourist attractions. I won’t be discussing tourist attractions in detail but if you wanna know the places to hit in Macau, you can visit the website of the Macau Government Tourist Office. You may also want to check out my posts about the Senado Square and Ruins of St. Paul and the Taipa Houses Museum.

As for food trippin’ in Macau, I have already posted about Bambu, one of the best Asian buffets in Venetian Macao. I also talked about the free jerky taste test in Pasteleria Koi Kei, as well as the best shrimp roe noodles in Macau from Wong Chi Kei. Let me now share with you my three recent food discoveries in Macau

Next Time You’re In Hong Kong and Macau…

HONG KONG

If it’s your first time in Hong Kong, you probably will be having your complimentary City tour and then go check out Victoria Peak, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland and maybe take a tram to cross borders and head to Shenzhen, China. If you’ve been there before, you probably will think that you’ve seen everything in Hong Kong and won’t be doing anything but shop.

Actually, there’s a lot of things to do in Hong Kong and even if I go there almost every year, I’d say I’ll be coming back over and over again to discover new things.

So, the next time you’re in Hong Kong…

1) Go out of the City and head to Lantau Island which is just a 25-minute cable car ride away and see the biggest outdoor bronze Buddha in the world.

2) Leave the hustle and bustle of the City and head to Diamond Hill via their MTR to see a beautiful and peaceful garden that uses Tang Dynasty architecture and design.

3) Discover food.

• Have a cup of warm milk tea.
• Be a kid again and meet Charlie Brown.
• Shop at one of the biggest outlet malls and eat at their food court.
• Have a taste of the best honey roast pork in Tsim Sha Tsui.
• And head to Central to try the best egg tarts in Hong Kong.

MACAU

Next time you’re in Macau, don’t just get mesmerized by the glitz and glamour of the Cotai Strip. Take time to go out and see the nearby villages of Coloane and Taipa.

1) Go visit Senado Square and the Ruins of St. Paul.

2) Check out the UNESCO World Heritage site in Taipa village featuring Macanese houses.

3) Discover food.

• Eat at a great buffet in one of the luxury hotels.
• Eat free samples and grab some egg tarts and pork jerkies.
• Try the best shrimp roe noodles/shrimp noodle soup in Macau.

And of course, don’t forget to have fun!

Food Trippin’ in Hongkong: TAI CHEONG BAKERY

After a million discussions with taxi drivers that eventually ended up with a raise in my blood pressure… after an outburst and an almost-imminent altercation with some rude people who didn’t care to help us with directions despite showing them the name of the street in Chinese characters… and after a long, tiring and futile search for the elusive Gough Street… we fortunately found ourselves locating one of the things I listed in our must-visits.

I don’t want to write exactly how I felt during that time when we were looking for Gough Street because I might end up saying something really bad. I’m still reminded by this blogging etiquette that you don’t need to post something online that you won’t say to a friend. But to say that I was pissed at blogs who mislead by saying that Gough Street is just right outside Central Station is an understatement.

It’s not anyway near Central Station, puh-leeez. And that misinformation led us to walk from Central to Sheung Wan Station. Ah yes, it’s nothing major. When did plantar fasciitis and blisters become major, anyway?

If there’s anything good that happened though, we saw Tai Cheong Bakery over at Lyndhurst Terrace. I believe there are a couple of branches around Hong Kong but the main store is at Lyndhurst Terrace in Central. The bestseller from Tai Cheong is, of course, their Egg Tarts!

Egg tart is famous in Hong Kong and the ones from Tai Cheong became famous when HK’s last British governor, Chris Pattern, declared Tai Cheong’s to be the best egg tarts in the world.

I believe that Tai Cheong egg tarts are really famous because the lines at their store don’t seem to have an ending. When I went there, it’s not crowded and the lines were not long but the lines just don’t end. People come in and fall in line one after the other.

Their egg tarts sell for HK$5 per piece. If you’re buying a lot, you can get their boxes which can hold 5 or 8 pieces per box. I got two boxes of 8′s. There are two types of egg tarts. There’s one with the cookie crust, and there’s another one with the puff pastry crust. I got the latter.

The puff pastery was delicous and really flaky. The egg custard was warm and very smooth. It wasn’t so sweet and has a rich aroma of egg as you hold it close to have a bite.

For all the efforts exerted and walking done to reach Tai Cheong over at Lyndhurst Terrace, I’d say that the yummy egg tarts were all worth it!   The egg custard was still smooth and intact even after two days. They even made it to our New Year’s Eve dinner back home!

Don’t miss Tai Cheong’s egg tarts next time you are in Hong Kong.

Tai Cheong Bakery, #35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong.