Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Hong Kong Flower Show

Every year for about 10 days in March, Victoria Park plays host to the annual Hong Kong Flower Show.  This year it’s on from Mar 11 – 20.   If you don’t mind the crowds and if you want to score some really good deals on orchids (or other plants) and other planting paraphernalia (pots, soil, seeds, fertilizer, tools, etc.) without having to trek all the way to Prince Edward for the Flower Market, this is definitely a must-see.

Flower-Show

 

Perhaps don’t go on the first day or even the first weekend as there would be long lines and LOTS of people.  I went on a Wednesday morning.  There were still a lot of people. but I did not have to queue up just to get my entrance ticket.   There were a lot of elderly people (senior citizens get free entry on weekdays).  There were many photographers.  There always are at the show.  They pull out the fancy equipment –big lens, tripod, etc., –all in the hopes of capturing the perfect macro.

Camera

 

This year’s theme is Symphony of Spring Flowers and there are many “flower sculptures" designed to the theme.  Apart from music notes, there were flower animals, too!  Apart from these flower displays, there are also floral arrangement exhibits from local organizations as well as overseas ones.

Flower-collage

 

Many people go on the last day of the show, because that is when they can snag plenty of bargains on the plants that the vendors don’t want to have to take back to their nurseries and shops.   Although you won’t get as much choice or selection on the last day, you could still potentially get some really good deals.

Venue : Victoria Park, Hong Kong

Date & Time : 11 - 20 March 2011 (10 days), 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Theme Flower : Primula

Theme : Symphony of Spring Flowers

Admission Fees

Adults : $14

Children, students and senior citizens aged 60 or above : $7

Persons with disabilities and minder (each person can enjoy the concessionary rate with one minder only) : $7

Concessionary Rate during Monday to Friday

  • Free admission for senior citizens aged 60 or above
  • Free admission for persons with disabilities and minder(each person can enjoy the concessionary rate with one minder only).
  • Adults in a group of 30 persons or above will be admitted at half rate.

 

 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mui Wo

Mui Wo is a quaint rustic town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island - still a part of Hong Kong but far removed from the concrete jungle of the city. It's a great place to visit to get away to view the simple charm of a rural village. The easiest way to reach Mui Wo is to take the ferry from Central (Hong Kong Island) or from Discovery Bay (Lantau Island).

Since we were visiting from Lantau Island we took the ferry from Discovery Bay.
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View of Discovery Bay from the boat.


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You can also hike there from Discovery Bay. It's a hilly 2 hour hike and along the way you pass by the Trappist Haven Monastery. You can see the steeple in the hills in the picture above. The Trappist Monastery is known for making the cream rich Trappist milk, although the farms are no longer located here and have instead been relocated within the New Territories.

At Miu Wo:
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You can rent lovely colorful bikes to pedal around the town.

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Part of Silver River flows down a canal that passes through part of the town.


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They have a wet market here where you can purchase fresh local produce and seafood.




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Right next to the wet market is a small temple.

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There is also an cooked food market with small restaurants to choose from if you are feeling peckish.

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Dragon boats along Silvermine Beach. We didn't have time to visit, but the Silvermine Bay Waterfall is located within a 5 minute hike from the beach.


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The real reason we went to Mui Wo. All our friends raved about Bahce, a Turkish restaurant, which we had to try. We had a mix of hot and cold mezze and some beef kofta. It was pretty yummy.


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Bahce provides crayons and paper for children to draw on and also offers a children's menu.


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View from the pier.


How to get there:
From Central, take ferry at Pier 6 which is located behind the IFC mall.
From Discovery Bay, take ferry from Kai-to Pier which is next to the Marina Club.
From Tung Chung (MTR Tung Chung, Station Exit B), take bus 3M from Tung Chung Town Centre Bus Terminus.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Star Ferry



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When in HK, riding the Star Ferry is a rite of passage. The Star Ferry shuttles you between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and thousands of people cross Victoria's Harbour this way, whether it is for their daily commute or just a great way to enjoy the view of the harbour, especially in the evening when the light displays on the buildings are active. Fares range from only $2-3 HKD, depending on if you are riding the upper or lower deck of the ferry or if it is a weekday versus the weekend.


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Even the buoys are personalized. Most boats are green but there is one red boat in the feet called the Morning Star.





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The deck of the ferry.





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The back rest on each row of seats can be flipped so that passengers can ride forwards or backwards.





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Enjoying the ride!


When the Star Ferry first operated they were only 4 coal fueled boats in the fleet. Today, the boats are diesel powered and there are now 8 boats in operation, each named after a particular star. The crew still sport the same sailor uniforms though! It's amazing to see them in action, as the rope in and dock the boat.

As the boat crosses Victoria's Harbour, you can see the convention center in Wanchai and above it the Central Plaza, the IFC building (tallest building in Hong Kong), the Back of China, and the HSBC building. At the Tsim Sha Tsui ferry pier you can see the landmark clocktower which is the last remnant of the old Kowloon railway station.



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Source: Star Ferry Website



Quick Facts:
Routes: The ferry runs from Centra/TST, Wanchai/TST, Hung Hom/Central and Hung Hom/Wanchai. There is also the Harbour Tour which is a tourist cruise that makes a circular route to all the stops.
Hours: Hours of operation vary per route. Please refer to schedule on the Star Ferry Website.
Cost: Fare information can be found on the Star Ferry Website.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tim Ho Wan | Michelin-Star. Great Value. Worth the Wait

Cheong-Fun

Yes, this is another post about food.  Yes, it’s dimsum, which I’ve written about before (here and here).  But trust me, this is dimsum not like any I’ve tasted before.  Dimsum at Tim Ho Wan.  Where my friend and I waited for close to an hour just to get a table.  Tim Ho Wan, the world’s cheapest Michelin-star restaurant.  It’s owned and operated by a former chef who used to work at a three-star restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel.  He apparently decided to branch out and open his own dimsum place offering his mouth-watering creations at bargain prices.

I can’t remember from where I’d first heard about the place, but I was determined to find it and try it out.  Which meant quite a trek for me, all the way over to the Kowloon side.  But anything for great dimsum.  My friend and I were there at a little before 10:30am and already there were plenty of people milling outside waiting for a table.  We quickly went over and put our names down, was handed an order slip with #23 written on it, and was told that the wait would be approximately 45 minutes before we could get seated.

tim-ho-wan

After browsing through some of the enlarged news write-ups they had posted on the window, we decided to go around the block to a Starbucks to sit and wait there instead of just standing outside on the street, waiting for our number to be called.
news-write-ups

We made our way back and waited outside the place for about 10 minutes and then our table was ready.  We handed over the order slip where we had already ticked what we wanted (they have bilingual order slips, so no need to worry if you don’t read Chinese). 

It is a tiny place and you pretty much have to share tables with other patrons.  We sat down, was poured some tea, and we waited.  But not for long.  Our food, hot and steaming, straight from the kitchen arrived one after another.  Between the two of us, we’d ordered five items:

Hargow (Shrimp dumplings)Har-gow

Fried turnip cakeFried-Turnip-Cake

Radish dumplings with celeryRadish-dumpling-with-celery-and-mushrooms

Steamed beef ballsBeef-balls

…and the rice noodles with bbq pork in the first photo above.  Five dishes that were delicious, hot, and fresh.  Normally after eating dimsum, I would feel thirsty (from all the MSG), but the dimsum at Tim Ho Wan did not leave me thirsty at all.

Guess how much our total bill was?Bill 
Around US$9.00 --so that’s less than US$5 per person, for a most yummy dimsum in a Michelin (1-star) restaurant!  With food and prices that are incredibly great, it’s definitely worth the one hour (up to three hours sometimes!) just to get a table.  I will definitely be going back to try some of their other dishes.  But next time, maybe I’ll try to arrive by 10am!
~~--~~
TIM HO WAN
Address:  Flat 8, G/F, Phase 2 – Tsui Yuen Mansion, 2-20 Kwong Wah Street, Mongkok, Kowloon (MTR:  Yau Ma Tei station, Exit A2)
Hours:  10am – 10pm
Note:  I did not receive any form of compensation for this write-up about Tim Ho Wan.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

On Lee Noodle Shop…. Since 1966

 

We decided to try somewhere new, somewhere more local tonight. Chris took me to a small noodle shop where a friend had taken him before. It was on Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, the same street as the Tin Hau Temple. Although you will not find this noodle shop mentioned in any of the tourist booklets, it is apparently well-known for its fish ball noodles and is quite popular amongst the locals.

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They even have boards up on their walls where “famous” people sign their names and write their comments.

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The noodle shop is set up like a “cha chan teng” (tea house). You can see the “kitchen” as you go in the restaurant: The big soup container, the stacks of bowls, the different ingredients, etc.

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You go in, sit down at any available table or if there are no free tables, you share a table with other people already seated, if there are free seats next to them at their table. Condiments are shared. You get your own pair of chopsticks from a chopsticks container on the table. As with most local dining places here, you bring your own paper napkins.

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On Lee has on lee only a few items on its main menu: Different types of noodles (flat, white, fine, etc.) + wonton, fish balls, fish cakes, beef brisket, beef balls. That’s all they serve, apart from the usual afternoon tea fare of buttered toast and milk tea.

Chris ordered this: Flat noodles with sliced beef and fish cakes. With soup on the side. Apparently, this was what he and his friend would order when they would go there.

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This was what I ordered: Noodles in soup, with wonton, beef slices, fish cake, fish balls, and beef balls. What? I wanted to try everything, okay?

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Mine was pretty good. The beef was so tender, but I have to say, though, I liked Chris’ noodles better. Next time, if we go there again, I would order what he had ordered tonight.

Lee On is open daily from 7am – 7pm. It’s on a short street lined with similar noodle shops –at least three that I’d noticed, -- and dessert places. People usually park in the street, go in for a quick meal, and leave. I reckon it’s not too far to walk if one would take the MTR or the tram to get there, either.

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The food is cheap and cheerful. For two noodle dishes and a glass of milk tea,

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our final bill came to HK$71 (less than US$10!).DSC04467

Dimsum Delight | New Star Seafood Restaurant

 

I love dimsum… and I am lucky that I live here in Hong Kong where one gets the best dimsum in the world. Nothing beats Hong Kong dimsum.

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After church on Christmas morning and after all the presents have been unwrapped, we decided to go have dimsum at the restaurant that my parents had tried out in their previous visits here – the New Star Seafood Restaurant in Causeway Bay.

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It was a most satisfying dimsum, because unlike dimsum with only just Chris, me and the children, with my parents and my aunt around, we could order a whole lot more variety. Here is a sampling of what we had:


Har Gow (Steamed shrimp dumplings) – A staple dimsum fare.DSC05051


Siu Mai (燒賣)- Another type of dumpling. This one made with pork and shrimps, with crab roe on top. Both Josh and Zoë love these.DSC05061

 

Fried turnip cake (蘿蔔糕). I love these with hoisin sauce. DSC05042


Cheong Fun (腸粉)- Rice noodle rolls with barbecued pork stuffing. We also love the one with the prawn stuffing.DSC05041

 

Taro puffs (芋角) – Stuffed with mashed taro, some bits of mushrooms, shrimps and pork --deep-fried in crispy batter. I love these!DSC05047

 

“Salt-Water” Stuffed Dumpling (鹹水角) – Sweet and sticky on the outside and a bit salty on the inside. Stuffed with pork and chopped vegetables. I’m not a fan of these, but Chris loves them.DSC05046

 

Crispy pork with mustard on the side. One plate of these is not enough. Sinful, sinful, but my parents love these, so do both Josh and Zoë, and so do I!DSC05053

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bau - 叉燒包). Another dimsum staple.DSC05056


Steamed meatballs (牛肉球). Really tender and juicy.DSC05060

 

Fish congee with century egg. Congee (粥)= Chinese comfort food.DSC05044

 

Lap Mei Fun (臘味饭). Artery-clogging, sinful, but oozing with flavor, absolutely yummy. Made with cured meat (pork sausages, liver sausages and duck – meat that has been ‘wind-dried’ and preserved).

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Yes, I indulged. Much. Too much.

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