Travel: Japan 2014: Pre-Flight + HongKong

This year is destination Japan for 1/2heart and I. Well, there were only a few countries I could choose given the dates with my Asiamiles points, and AUD/YEN is actually pretty good, so Japan it is.
However, as with points redemption, we couldn't really be fussy. The only flight available was to fly to Kansai International Airport (other airport destinations in Japan such as Narita or Sapporo were already blacked out) via HongKong with Cathay Pacific, and I was pretty lucky to still able to find flights and redeem the points with only 2 months prior the intended date. It worked out pretty good for 1/2heart and I anyway, as we had been to Tokyo before, and exploring central Japan sounds wonderful with lots of cultural destinations we planned for.
So with that, let's start another journey with me as I update this blog daily as I move along through my days :)

Cathay Pacific flight to HongKong was delayed by over an hour, but the captain must have zoomed so fast to make for lost time, our arrival in HongKong International airport was only delayed by 1/2 hour.

in-flight economy class menu. Yep, economy only this time :P 

With 6 hours layover until our flight to KIX airport, we headed out to MongKok to look for some grub. Tired (flight was super bumpy. I was a bit shocked myself I could hold out pretty well - usually I would probably already puked my guts out) and not in the mood looking around, we settled for this place:

Well the food were pretty cheap, I guess that's part of the reason why the place was packed. 'Tossed' noodles dish costed HK$40-HK$43. But taste-wise? Let's just say when the food came, I thought they were indomie. Kinda tasted like one, too. Ah well... .
I also ordered Lemon Tea with Agar (HK$20), which turned out to be more like lemon water with coconut jelly. Jasmine Green Tea (HK$16) was OK, and my tossed noodle dish came with smoked duck and sausage (HK$43). 1/2heart ordered something based on the waitress' recommendation and I wasn't paying attention to the name of the dish - it came with beef and some sort of white sauce you probably would normally find in pasta.

Portion was quite generous, so it definitely filled our hungry stomachs. I was still working on my noodles when two petite girls came inside the restaurant and bumped our drinks and spilled all the contents when they tried to squeeze through the gap between the tables to sit. And guess who was the lucky girl that got wet? Let's just say I walked around looking like I have pissed my pants.

Then in a bid to dry my pants by walking around more - we headed to the Goldfish Market to see some puppies. Gosh - they had my favourite breeds all in one shop! Mini dachshunds, beagle, shiba inu, schnauzer, and scottish folds for cats! Finished oogling over the puppies and kitties (and feeling somewhat sad to leave them :( ), we headed to Tsim Tsa Shui and stayed by the harbour before headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Kansai.

Hong Kong 2011 Part 2

Happy New Year 2012 everyone.

And on to the continuation of the Hong Kong travel blog...

Day 2: Breakfast

We went to Luk Yu Teahouse in Central for an early yum cha (they open at 7 a.m.) breakfast session. So excited to try all the new things you normally would not find in the mainstream yum cha places. But, being chickens that we were, we finally succumbed to our usual routine of har gow, shu mai, bai kut, loh mai kai etc... . There were some unusual dumplings that we tried (though we didn't know what's in them), but in the end of the day, 1/2heart and I agree that the whole fare was nothing special.

And they are expensive.

It was pretty quiet when we popped in, and we enjoyed looking at the locals sipping their tea, spending hours of their time chatting away and reading newspaper. (the food is secondary). As for us? We ordered, ordered, and ordered, ate quickly, then left. :P

We love the egg tart though; they definitely get it right in this department. The portion is bite size - small enough to be taken per piece into your eager mouth. And the pastry, delicate egg custard mixture inside, the sweetness just melt in your mouth.

Luk Yu Tea House

24 Stanley St, Central, Hong Kong

Day 2: Ngong Ping360 and the Big Buddha

We arrived at Tung Chung station at precisely 10 a.m. and after getting distracted by the local 7/11 (yes, I know, we are weird), we joined the long winded queue at the cable car station at around 10.15 a.m. Mind you, correct me if I am wrong, but the station opens at 10 a.m., and the queue was maaaddd... . 

I slapped myself for not buying the ticket online and just bit my lips when I saw all the smarter people jumping the queue with their online ticket receipts... . The journey to the other side took around 20-25 minutes. 

And when we got closer, the buddha could be seen saying hi from the distance.

Upon arriving at Ngong Ping village, it was packed as well, of course, though luckily it's a bit more spread, so we could take our time visiting the shops (and resisting buying some trinkets), before heading towards Po Lin Monastery for our lunch.

After passing through the gate above, we were greeted by 12 guardian statues of the chinese zodiac. So naturally, I took a picture of my zodiac's guardian statue:

My 1/2heart's zodiac is 'horse', but he was less than impressed when he found out that the guardian statue was not holding any 'cool' weapon, but a big cone shell instead. Haha. 

We had lunch at Po Lin Monastery. They offer set vegetarian menu. Nothing to shout about, but oh God, the portion! I have never eaten that much veggies in one go in my life. And although the set we bought was just for 'two', I bet that could easily fed 4 people. 

From top in clockwise direction:

Soft Tofu with corn & peas, Vegetarian Spring Rolls, Celery & Cucumber with artificial meat, Black mushroom with Bok Choy

(wise words to think about)

There is also a smaller food stall in the monastery vicinity (just keep walking past the main lunch area, and you will see another stall selling vegetarian meat and various vegetarian dessert), which we missed since we were too full. So off we went to lighten up our vegetable belly by burning some green calories... relatively easy and short walk to the Wisdom Path and the not so short climb to the Big Buddha. I really love how the hills and mountains seem to stretch endlessly, and looking at the various walking paths available, it looks like a good place to spend an extra day or two just to do the bush-walking.

After the exercise, off to Honeymoon Dessert we go (located at Ngong Ping Village).

Durian rice cake and Mango Sago dessert. 

Day 2: Dinner at Shui Hu Ju

We had dinner relatively late (around 8.30 p.m.), since we got stuck at Citygate Mall (Tung Chung MTR) after returning from Ngong Ping. I thought I wouldn't buy anything at Citygate, but oh boy, how wrong I was. All those shops and on-sale signage beckoned me to come hither and coaxed me to burn some cash... .

And so, swipe and swipe the magic card away, I did.

Anyway, for dinner, we went to Shui Hu Ju, located at Central. Finding this small restaurant was a challenge, with uphill cobestoned pathways and small alleys (all the while carrying my Citygate loot). 

The main attraction here (I said 'main' because every table in the restaurant seemed to have one of this dish) is the deep fried black chicken with chilli. Now, I am a self-proclaimed chilli-nazi; and I have to admit that this dish is burningly hot - but not really the kind of hot I prefer (Indonesians and Malaysians would know what I mean). I usually like the spiciness that would make my tongue numb and where the taste lingers inside my throat and warm up my belly for the long minutes after devouring the dish.

As for this dish: it is hot, granted, but more of Szechuan peppery hot taste. It would burn and make you choke, but the sensation quickly dissipate. 

Nevertheless, it is quite an interesting dish. 

Duck and Cucumber salad. Refreshing and yummy appetizer

The Deep Fried Black Chicken with Chilli

The leftover chilli

Spicy Eel. ( It is hardly spicy... more to sweet and sour... . )

Shui Hu Ju

68 Peel St, Central

Hong Kong 2011 Part 1

There was a bit of a story for this trip. I have had a tough time at work for the past months and desperately needed some recharging. So, what would be an enjoyable but short trip, where I could de-stress a bit. (Mind you, my idea of de-stressing involves a lot of eating and sightseeing).

Groupon had an offer for a 5 night in Hong Kong for A$700 for 2 people, including 2 Disneyland tickets. I had a choice of this and another offer to Bali for 5 nights for slightly cheaper. Since neither me & my 1/2heart had ever been to Hong Kong, off we went to the land of good food, chaotic roads, and beckoning shops asking you to splurge your hard-earned money at.
(My father was slightly against us travelling all the time and would much prefer us popping out off-springs first, then travel later when we are done with our 'duties'. My brain and mental condition could not simply wait that long)

Day 1 - dinner


We arrived in Hong Kong noon time. I quickly booked for our first dinner at Peking Garden for some of their famous peking duck. May I just remind that this restaurant is really famous and it is highly recommended that you book for your table, especially on the weekends. Although we preferred an earlier meal time (we were very famished from airline food), they could only accommodate us for 8 p.m. booking, since they were full.

I forgot to snap a picture of the full duck when the waiter brought it to our table *facepalm*. But this was the cut, we received two full plates of these: (along with a stack of pancake rolls to eat the duck with)

May I just say, after devouring two full plates of that, we both swore we don't want to see another duck for at least 6 months. Nevertheless, it was one juicy duck with perfectly crisp skin. There was hardly chunky amount of fat underneath, so easy to eat with the pancakes provided. 

We also ordered shark fin's soup and some mix vegetable. Nothing to shout about them. After all, you would come here for the almighty duck.

Peking Garden

Star House 3rd floor.

3 Salisbury Rd. Tsim Sha Tsui

+852 2735 8211

Day 2 - Breakfast

We managed to wake up pretty early to get some money exchanged at Chung King Mansion. I do not really like the environment, neither does 1/2heart. If you are mainly staying in the kowloon peninsula, I guess there is not much choice. But if you manage to go to Hong Kong Island and ever need to get some foreign exchange, may I suggest to go here (their rate is as good if not better):

Berlin Company Exchange Ltd

Room 1703 Chinese Bank Bldg

61-65 Des Voeux Rd, Central

Then off we went to Yau Ma Tei for some breakfast at Ocean Empire. Beautiful congee, char leong (rice roll with fried dough), and loh ma kai (glutinous rice):

Ocean Empire (Yau Ma Tei branch)

G/F 497A Nathan Rd, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon

(they have a lot of branches throughout Hong Kong, check this out)

Day 2 - Disneyland

Please please please, do yourself a favor if you plan to go here and buy yourself a bottled water. The water sold in the theme park is at exorbitant value, and they don't taste any better than the ones you buy at 7/11.

Take MTR Tung Chung line, alight at Sunny Bay, and take the Disneyland Resort line.

We arrived at around 11.30 a.m. (they open at 10), and was gobsmacked at the amount of people at the theme park. I mean, it was Monday, for God's sake. I couldnot imagine what it would be like on the weekend.
Although I must say the Disney theme parks (the DisneyLand and DisneySea) in Japan are much bigger (and therefore, much more attractions and better in my opinion), Hong Kong Disneyland fares quite well. Their attractions and performances were all interesting and professional. 1/2heart was impressed with the Lion King live theatrical performance, and I simply adored Stitch encounter.

Not to mention, it was Christmas, so the vibrant red & green decorations were everywhere, and the Sleeping Beauty castle was illuminated gorgeously.

Being glutton that we are, we managed to squeeze in some NomsNoms:

Cheesecake combo @ Corner Cafe, Main Street USA, Disneyland

Parade: