Hong Kong

I knew I would love Hong Kong before I visited, there’s a lot of ground to cover for such small area but it’s teeming with character and charm. I felt like I was just scratching the surface when I went, there’s still so many amazing things left to to see and eat. I really do look forward to going back one day. One of the things that remains etched in my mind are the bright neon lights that were hovering above, they just seem encapsulate the dynamic energy of this fast moving city perfectly. What I also liked about Hong Kong was how everything felt connected, there were overhead walkways everywhere, I felt like I was in some sort of ant colony at times.

In Hong Kong, like many other cities the best way to get around is the Metro. They have a good, reliable network. When you land, simply pick up an Octopus Card after Arrivals. You can load this up with the amount you desire, if you’re heading there for about 3 days I would recommend loading it up with about 500HKD  (roughly £50). You can always top this up at any Metro station if you need a bit more – when you scan the card to exit it will always tell you how much you have left anyway. Pus, if you don’t end up using it all you will get this back in cash (minus a small service fee) when you return it back at the airport. You can also use this for the Star Ferry and on buses too, the only difference is you only need scan it when you get on but not when you get off. It’s also accepted as payment at places like 7 Eleven which is convenient!

I stayed in Jordan and felt like everything was in reach. The Temple Night Market and Kowloon Park were only a short walk away and there were quite a few Metro stations dotted around nearby. Victoria Harbour and Mong Kok were both only 2 Metro stops away, you could probably walk to either of these if you just go along Nathan Road.

One Dim Sum is an amazing little place to stop at for a bite and it’s conveniently located quite close to Prince Edward Station. It has earned a Michelin Star in the past and each dish is only around 30HKD (about £3). Menus are in both Chinese and English so it’s very easy to order, service is friendly and the tea comes free! I loved their Siomai and Custard Buns! I would recommend getting here just before lunch time since it’s popular with both locals and visitors.

Even if you’re not staying here, Jordan is a great little area to wander around – especially at night! You can find the Temple Street Night Market here which opens daily from 5 – 11 pm. It’s also an amazing place to look up and admire all the beautiful neon signs! For all you bubble tea lovers there is a Tiger Sugar quite close to the market which, in my opinion, does the best brown sugar milk tea! Once you’ve made a bubble tea order you can pop across the road to Mammy Pancake and buy an Egg Waffle to acommpany it, then wander around a bit more!

As mentioned above, the Temple Street Night Market is a great place to look around, particularly if you are on the hunt for some souvenirs. Everywhere I go I always try and pick up a magnet as a souvenir for myself, but I also managed to find these cute little keyrings for friends at home too! I didn’t get the chance to try the street food here, but there are also a lot of stalls in this area and I’ve heard they’re pretty good!

During the day, Kowloon Park is another nice place to walk around near Jordan. The trees help to obscure some of the traffic and busyness of the city, giving it an overall tranquil, Central Park kind of feel. Inside there are quite a few benches to relax on, there’s a small lake where you can go and see the family of flamingoes that live there.

Roast goose in Hong Kong is a must and, as you can imagine, there are quite a lot of places that have been perfecting this for years. Names that seem to keep coming up were Kam’s Roast Goose, Joy Hing and Yat Lok. In the end I decided to try Yung Kee after reading that it was one of the brothers from Kam’s who had started it up. It was on the pricer side but I knew I was only in Hong Kong for a bit so I didn’t mind paying a bit more for something good. Unfortunately, I felt like it didn’t live up to the hype, but there are plenty of other places to try!

One of the more well-known attractions of Hong Kong is The Peak (or Victoria Peak). It gives you panoramic views of Hong Kong’s skyline and harbour. To get here you can either catch the Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui to the Central Pier or get the Metro to ‘Admiralty’. From here you can walk to the Peak Tram stop and purchase tram tickets. If you have an Octopus card, there’s no need to buy a separate tram ticket, you can get through the gates by scanning that. A return ticket is 99HKD – there is the option to buy a single ticket but given how steep it is, a return is definitely the best option.

No visit to Hong Kong is complete without a trip to Victoria Harbour at night, Asia loves a light show and Hong Kong is no different. It might be a good idea to head here after coming back from the Peak, it starts at 8pm every night and lasts around 10 minutes.

Quite close to the Harbour area in Tsim Sha Tsui is a Mammy’s Pancake – if you’ve not had the chance to try this in Jordan this is another place you can go! Mine was cakey and crispy with chocolate chips melted into the batter, a perfect way to end the day after so much walking!