Hong Kong Day 5 – Dim Sum, Stanley Market, Yung Kee & Lan Kwai Fong

Day 5! Before I continue, let me show you a picture of Saucer’s prized possessions! Well, ONE of them anyway. Remember I mentioned in my previous post that he ended up buying a good 4 pairs of shoes??? Here is his favourite! Bought them from Timberland outlet for only HKD250 (~RM120)! So very cheap right! And it’s apparently as light as air. *LOL*

Timberland Golite shoes

For breakfast, our plan was to try the famous Hong Kong dim sum in the restaurants. But before that, Saucer spotted something he wanted to try. The Pacific Coffee Company! We actually saw quite a number of this shop around in Hong Kong, and Saucer vowed that he simply had to try it one of the days. Since we saw it in 1Peking mall, he wasted no time and purchased this mocha drink (I think).

Pacific Coffee Company at 1Peking, TST

I personally found it nothing too special compared to the typical Starbucks or Coffee Bean ice-blended. It was more expensive too, with the smallest size already costing around HKD30.

Ice-blended mocha

After that, we went to Royal Palace restaurant at 1 Peking, Tsim Sha Tsui, as recommended by one of the locals there. Located on the 9th floor, this place was posh with chandeliers and a magnificent view of the ocean. We were there after 10am, where there was a promotion going on with each plate of dim sum (except special dishes) costing only HKD13.80.

Glass panels everywhere overlooking the sea

Wedding banquet preparation

Chandeliers

Promotion menu

Table settings

Bless me for knowing how to read a teeny weeny bit of Chinese! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what the promotion went. Alas, my knowledge only went that far, for after that, we had to tick our orders on an order chit, which was in Chinese! *gasp* It was a list of gibberish to me, with the price on the right, and we’re supposed to put down the quantity that we wanted on the side. How was I going to order without knowing how to read? I asked for help from a waitress but she kept pointing me to the most expensive items on the menu. *sigh* In the end, I had to thicken my face and asked her to read to me line by line, what the items meant. Of course, it went without saying that her face started to grow blacker and blacker, but ah, who cares!

We started with ‘har kau’, or prawn dumplings, which is a must-order dish in dim sum outlets. The ‘har kau’ here was magnificent. So huge and filled with huge shrimps which were succulent and fresh! The skin was translucent, something that required high level of skills. Simply balls of paradise, in the dim sum world.

Enjoying har kow

We also had the Shanghai xiao long bau, which was quite terrible! The skin was too thick, and once it’s cold, it became almost rock-hard! Plus there was no soup inside the dumpling also. A mistake order.

Shanghai xiao long bau

The fried prawn rolls with sesame seeds were pretty good. Very crispy skin and succulent prawns, as with anything with prawns there. I came to believe that anything with prawns wouldn’t go wrong in dim sum places.

Fried prawn roll with sesame seeds

Next, another failed order – cheong fun with BBQ pork (char siew) filling. The cheong fun (rice sheet) was just too thick and bland. Plus, the char siew was nothing special too. I think we didn’t even finish this dish.

Cheong fun with BBQ pork filling

The siew mai, on the other hand, was fabulous! The size was huge and the filling was generous! Layers of pork, prawn and more pork, wrapped with care and topped with fish eggs on top. Very fulfilling and delicious.

Siew mai

We ordered the vegetarian ‘woh tip’/gyoza/dumplings that we saw from a neighbouring table. They turned out to be not bad, though a little on the oily side. Fillings were pretty generous though, with water chestnut and ‘kow choy’ (I wonder what’s that in English).

Vegetarian dumpling

Of course, how could I miss ordering the famous ‘char siew pow’ when I was in a dim sum restaurant! Luckily, the buns here were pretty good! The fillings were flavourful and the bread was firm but soft. Makes sense?

Char siew pow (BBQ pork dumpling)

Royal Palace restaurant, located at 1Peking mall in TST. My advice, just order the ‘har kow’, ‘siew mai’ and ‘char siew pow’ and you’ll thank me for them.

Royal Palace restaurant

Royal Palace restaurant
9F, 1 Peking Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui

After the filling meal, we’re off to take the bus! This time, we’re headed towards Stanley market. To get there, the only public transport available is the bus service. 3 alternatives to get there:

1. MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D and take bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 at Exchange Square Bus Terminus.
2. MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B, walk to Tang Lung Street then take green minibus 40.
3. Bus 973 from Tsim Sha Tsui East Bus Terminus or Canton Road outside Silvercord Centre.

The bus ride took about 40 minutes and the journey was very similar to the road going towards Batu Feringghi in Penang! Uncanny! A little winding, narrow road, with sea view on the right.

witch at Stanley Market

Stanley market was also very similar to the Batu Feringghi night market, except that it only opens during the day time. I enjoyed walking along the quiet stretch of sidewalk along the sea, with the sea breeze blowing to my face. The place was generally filled with tourists since it’s a tourist attraction centre. Stalls and stalls selling souvenirs, clothes, bags, shoes, etc were found in the market.

Surroundings of Stanley

Although not many people might find Stanley interesting, I actually enjoyed the atmosphere there. The peace, the serenity, the silence, a total opposite from the always bustling HK centre. In fact, I saw a couple taking wedding photographs at Stanley! So very cute! Truth be told, there’s nothing much to be done here except for walking by the sea, shopping at the market or eating at the row of restaurants facing the sea. If you’re very rich, perhaps you might have the chance to go sailing in the sea, just like in the boat below.

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Rich man’s boat

Serene walkway

Calm waters

And if you’re like us, who wanted to get a drink by the sea but didn’t want to pay exorbitant prices at the bars, you can choose to buy drinks from the nearby supermarket, and drink them wherever you want.

Saucer with San Miguel beer

Drink beer while enjoying soothing scenery, waters and fishing boats.

Fishing boats near the pier

View of the rocky seaside

witch and half-drunk Saucer

Before leaving Stanley, we thought we had to do at least once what most Hongkies do, well, at least, on TV. We ate the instant food from 7-11! I chose the chicken mushroom rice, which came out to be quite a huge portion.

Saucer preparing chicken mushroom rice

Pouring sauce over cooked rice

Yum! The rice turned out to be not that bad. I know it’s not something new, but the experience definitely was!

We then took a bus back to the city, this time to Central. Ah look at this giant Coach store blazing the city night view. So pretty.

Coach store

While hunting for where to eat, we stumbled upon Yung Kee without having the intention to! In fact, we’re trying to look for something new to try, then we saw the giant Yung Kee signboard, and we couldn’t help but stop to take a look. I have read too much about this famous restaurant to know that they charge cutthroat prices for their goose. We thought of just buying half a goose and takeaway, but once we’re in, ah, the heck with it! So we just sat down, amidst of an almost full-house restaurant. Hongkies are really rich!

Table settings

The menu

The grand entrance and receptionist

We browsed through the menu and indeed, everything was super expensive! We ordered 1/4 of a roasted goose for HKD140. *gasp* But it was extremely juicy and delicious. The skin was roasted perfectly, and the layer of fat just beneath the skin was just so sinful.

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1/4 roasted goose

Closer look at the expensive goose

Apart from that, we also ordered a plate of ‘choy sum’, which was very fresh and green.

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Choy sum vegetables

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Yung Kee at Central

Roasted geese at Yung Kee

Yung Kee
32-40 Wellington Street
Central

Last stop for the night was at Lan Kwai Fong, famous for their late night entertainment. We were there at about 9pm but the streets were still relatively quiet.

Saucer and witch at Lan Kwai Fong

Frankly, I didn’t find Lan Kwai Fong to be too interesting. It’s just like Bangsar, with lots of pubs, bars and clubs. Perhaps it was still too early, so I wasn’t in the mood for drinks.

Lan Kwai Fong

Quiet streets

Another angle of Lan Kwai Fong

witch with the red HK taxi

Oh and guess what? I saw California Fitness there too! It’s exactly the same logo with the one we have in Malaysia. Or should I say, ‘Had’. California Fitness had since been bought over by Celebrity Fitness, hence marking its demise in Malaysia. *aww*

California Fitness in Central

The California Fitness in Central is HUGE!

California Fitness gym

That marked the end of our 5th day outing. We actually went back and came out again for desserts of ‘tong sui’ but I forgot to bring out my camera then. No pictures! Anyway, this was the MTR we took on the way back. Relatively quiet at night compared to the sardine-packed trains in the morning.