Insider’s City Guide: Hong Kong
Anne Christine Persson, Wednesday 28 December 2016This Insider’s City Guide Hong Kong was created by my dear friend John Christopher Correll. John works with fashion and beauty public relations in New York and is a master of yoga. Namaste. John has strong ties to Hong Kong and he has been exploring this magnificent Chinese city extensively and is giving some of his best tips from the city.
Hong Kong is the shining star of the Far East and the true city that never sleeps.
Just picture it; Eight million people crammed onto a small island (2,755 km2 / 1,064 sq mi.) and something’s gotta give… In the vertical city where everything is available at any hour of the day, Hong Kong offers the cliches of East meets West, endless shopping, gastronomy, big city life, sky bars, beach getaways and island sanctuaries.
Where to Eat
Din Tai Fung
Dumpling lovers unite! On a quest for the best dumplings? Hong Kong is an intertwined inferno of street food, noodle shops, and dim sum restaurants all offering dumplings in various shapes, sizes, forms and flavors.
With several restaurants located around Hong Kong the dumpling specialist, Dim Tai Fung, is a master of the iconic dough packets. Most notably Dim Tai Fung’s soup dumplings are a gastronomic adventure of flavours.
www.dintaifung.tw/store/en-hkmacau.html
Colonial Style Dining: Maxim’s Palace
Traditional yum cha is the chinese equivalent of going to brunch. Yum Cha, which means with tea, is where you have dim sum, a variety of mainly steamed dishes. The chinese save the fried food for later in the day.
Again Hong Kong has thousand of restaurants offering yum cha and dim sum. A personal favorite is Maxim’s Palace at City Hall, though. The restaurant has a colonial style arts-deco decor with massive chandeliers and lush burgundy carpeting. Serving handmade dumplings from the waitresses trolley cars that traffic the tables adding to the lively atmosphere. 2/F, Low Block, City Hall
Ozone Sky Bar
They don’t call it a sky bar for nothing. Ozone is the name of the rooftop bar at The Ritz Carlton Hotel. Almost 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level on the 118th floor one can enjoy drinks with a side a magnificent view over Victoria Harbor – with only the open sky above. 118th Flor, International Commerce Centre (ICC), 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon
www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/china/hong-kong/dining/ozone
What to see
The Peak
The ultimate Hong Kong tourist destination is The Peak. The viewing point observation deck from where one can catch the spectacular view high above the Hong Kong skyscrapers.
Feeling adventurous? Then walk the Peak Trail. The 5K trail leads one around the tip of the mountain with magnificent views of the city skyline on one side and the archipelago on the other. Address for the tram station for the peak: 33 Garden Road, Central
www.thepeak.com.hk/en/home.asp
Go to the islands
Sometime one needs a good getaway from the the crowds and the urban jungle. Luckily leaving the big city behind is as easy as jumping onboard a ferry and heading to one of the islands in the archipelago. Try a day trip to Lamma Island or Cheung Chau to see the fishing villages, enjoy the beaches or hike the mountain trails of the islands.
www.discoverhongkong.com/au/see-do/great-outdoors/outlying-islands/index.jsp
Big Buddha
Lantau Island’s Tian Tan Big Buddha Temple can be reached by fast ferry or by cable car. Opt for the Crystal Glass Bottom Cable Car to make the 30 minute trip even more daring and adventurous and enjoy the magnificent view of the fog rolling in over the mountains from the South China Sea. The Tian Tan Temple is an impressive structure incorporating the life of the Buddha with modern day living.
Where to shop
JOYCE
Fun fact; Apart from being one of the most densely populated places on earth, Hong Kong also has the most Prada flagship stores per capita in the world. You can’t help but notice the massive array of shopping malls, flagship stores and luxury department stores.
One stand out store is the iconic JOYCE store, named after Mrs. Joyce Ma who is often credited as a leading pioneer of the multi brand store. JOYCE stores, which can be found throughout Asia, offers an exclusive curated mix of luxury designers from Europe, the US and Asia in stores that challenge conventional concept of retail as known in the Western hemisphere. The JOYCE flagship store on Queen’s Road, Central, is an experience in itself. 16-18 Queen’s Road Central, Central
www.joyce.com
www.joyce.com
Mong Kok
The Northern Hong Kong district of Mong Kok is mostly renown for its night market, which offers blinking gadgets, gimmicks and everything Hello Kitty and Pokemon under the midnight moon. Other objects for sale include electronics, clothing, “designer” handbags and more surprisingly the goldfish market is a quirky and untraditional way of seeing fish on display.
The Mong Kok district is a teenage dream and where Hong Kong Millennials come to hang out on the streets, eat desserts and street style shop on Fa Yuen Street, which is the ultimate destination for any sneaker head in town.
Lane Crawford Outlet
Any bargain hunter will appreciate a great find. And saving money is virtue, indeed.
The Hong Kong based department store, Lane Crawford, specializes in luxury ready-to-wear, evening wear, accessories, shoes and cosmetics. Naturally this beacon in retail is always on the forefront of fashion – meaning that the old has to give way for the new; introducing the Lane Crawford Outlet. A cornucopia of designer labels and previous collections. As for every outlet, there are more pieces of coal than diamonds, but believe me there are many gems out there.
2 Lee Wing Street, South Horizons, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong On the go;
Star Ferry
Maybe the most iconic Hong Kong form of transportation. The Star Ferry has chucked across the Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. For a century the green ferris have been a breath of fresh air and added some calmness to this high-tech multicultural metropolis. Take advantage of this break and take in the skyline.
Happy Valley
Another Hong Kong institution is the racecourse at Happy Valley. Wednesday evenings brings the people in, and with free admittance experience a close up of what excites the Hong Kong Chinese.
Ladies and Gents; place your bets! And let the rush from the crowd win you over as the racehorses approach the finish line. In Hong Kong this is big bucks and betting is not mandatory… but every now and then you’ve gotta try your luck.
