Day 1
Another trip to Hong Kong for toy-shopping. I took Jetstar, just like last time, but I booked the ticket rather late and it cost almost S$360, which was quite expensive for a budget airline flight to Hong Kong. But fortunately I had free accommodation, because I was staying with a colleague who was there for work. The Mira was located around 4 minutes' walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, so it was quite convenient (though I still prefer The Cityview, which was not as luxurious but so much closer to the toy haunts!)
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| First time I saw a safe packed in a drawer, facing upwards |
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| Free smartphone usage! |
This was a really nice touch. A smartphone was provided for the room, and usage is free - even for overseas calls! And of course, most importantly, data was free too, so we used its tethering function to enable our own phones to surf the net.
I reached the hotel at around noon, so I grabbed a quick lunch, took a short nap, then set off to shop for toys before meeting my friend for dinner.
Dinner was at one of those 大排档s recommended by a Hong Konger, called 强记小厨. The food was pretty cheap and good, and one dish was worth a special mention here.
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| 金稻穗香牛柳粒, HKD88 (S$14.43) |
It consisted of beef cubes that were stir fried just nice such that the insides were still a bit rare, and mixed with eggplant, mushroom cubes (I think!), spring onion, and bits of crispy rice. It was damn good!
The place is quite popular and can get packed even on weekday nights, so it is recommended to make a reservation.
Location: 旺角甘霖街31-33号地铺
Nearest MTR: Mong Kok, around 5 to 7 minutes' walk
Tel: 2899-0820
Day 2
My colleague went to office in the morning, and I went to McDonald's for breakfast. It was quite enjoyable to have breakfast in solitude, only with the company of my Kindle. Their sausage muffin patties were made of pork, so they tasted better than Singapore's. I sat there sipping my coffee and read... until the person from the next table let out a loud fart. I then decided it was time to go.
Went to Jenny Bakery, a place that sells cookies. Our HK colleagues had brought some over to Singapore several times before, and the cookies were definitely the best I have ever had, without a doubt. It tasted homemade and the "freshly-baked" taste - something which was sorely lacking in those Danish cookies you can get in supermarkets.
Jenny Bakery had two outlets, one at Tsim Sha Tsui and the other at Sheung Wan, so I went to the former, which was just several minutes' walk from my hotel.
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| Jenny Bakery, Tsim Sha Tsui outlet |
I have heard stories about the long queues there, so I thought I was quite early, being there at around 1030am (it opens at 10am). I saw a queue of about ten people in front and thought "that's not too bad" - and proceeded to join the queue. Someone came out from the shop and started spewing Cantonese harshly (I don't understand Cantonese), with gestures towards another direction. I then realised that this was just part of the queue - the rest was outside the building. And there were definitely more than 60 people in front of me.
So I queued for a total of 1 hour and 11 minutes (yes I was measuring the time taken) under the rain. Thank goodness for my Kindle, which kept me entertained throughout!
When it was finally my turn, the lady asked me brusquely what I wanted while rummaging through some receipts and order lists on the table. When I said I wanted eight, she stopped her work and stared at me. "Where are you from?" she asked in a slightly unfriendly and suspicious manner. I told her I was from Singapore. She paused for a while, then nodded and collected my money.
My friend told me later that they are quite wary of people buying their cookies in big quantities, because there have been quite a few incidents of people re-selling the cookies. People from the mainland supposedly made up most of the culprits, so once I said I was from Singapore, they didn't pursue further.
The cookies were not cheap - a large box of 4-mix cookies cost HKD120 (S$19.67), so eight of them cost close to S$160. More importantly, they weighed more than 6kg in total!
Location: 54-64 Nathan Road, Mirador Mansion, Shop 24 Ground Floor
Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui (Exit D2), around 3 minutes' walk
Tel: 2813-8568
Opening hours: 10am to 8pm
I went back to the hotel room to offload the cookies and hit the gym before walking to Australian Dairy Co. for lunch. Since it wasn't breakfast timing and I was alone, I went in almost without having to queue. This is really a must-visit place for me, the scrambled eggs are really the best ever.
Following that, I went down the streets of Mong Kok for the usual toy shopping, starting from In's Point to Sino Centre and finally Richmond Centre. My spoils listed below:
Richmond Centre:
- Chogokin Archer from Fate Zero, HKD588 (S$96.39)
- G.E.M Souko Okita from Gintama, HKD520 (S$85.25)
- Revoltech Fraulein 020 Makinami Mari Illustrious old-type plugsuit version, HKD190 (S$31.15)
- Figma 079 Makinami Mari Illustrious, HKD230 (S$37.70)
In's Point:
- Figma 032 Haruhi Suzumiya, HKD255 (S$41.80)
- Figma 033 Mikuru, HKD255 (S$41.80)
- Figma 100 Mitsune Haku, HKD425 (S$69.67)
- Figma 117 Index, HKD255 (S$41.80)
Day 3
It was a Saturday, so my friend could finally join me. We went to the Tim Ho Wan outlet at their CBD area, hoping to avoid the crowd as much as possible. The place opened at 9am and we arrived at around 845am, and managed to get in once they opened.
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| Short queue outside Tim Ho Wan 15 minutes before it opening |
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| 煎腊味罗白糕, HKD14 (S$2.30) |
This was pretty good - I could taste the fresh turnip inside. The taste wasn't as strong compared to the normal ones I tried before in Singapore, but this actually allowed the turnip flavour to have more emphasis.
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| 美味鲍汁凤爪, HKD26 (S$4.26) |
This was significantly different from the ones I am used to. The flesh was much firmer, for one thing - and the chicken feet were also much bigger. I actually find this better as there is more bite and chew to it, and the seasoning was also good.
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| 酥皮焗叉烧包, HKD18 (S$2.95) |
Tim Ho Wan's trademark dish. This was superb. The crust was warm and slightly crispy, and once you sink your teeth in, the taste of the delicious char siew fills up your mouth immediately. Definitely a must-order here.
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| The inside of the bun |
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| 黄沙猪润肠, HKD20 (S$3.28) |
This looked nice - the skin was shimmering and seemed to promise an even better filling inside. Unfortunately, it failed to satisfy. The skin was too thick, and I felt that the pig liver filling didn't seem to go well with it.
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| 鲜虾鸭胸金刚, HKD24 (S$3.93) |
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| 鼓汁蒸排骨, HKD26 (S$4.26) |
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| 鲜虾烧卖皇, HKD24 (S$3.93) |
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| 晶莹鲜虾饺, HKD24 (S$3.93) |
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| 香滑马拉糕, HKD14 (S$2.30) |
This was quite highly recommended, so I ordered it despite not fancying such cakes. I was quite impressed; the cake was extremely light, fluffy, and went down very smoothly.
Location: Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central
Nearest MTR: Hong Kong, around 10 minutes' walk
Opening hours: 9am to 9pm
After Tim Ho Wan, we went to Wan Chai to check out a toy shop which we saw from a toy magazine. The shops in that area turned out to be more expensive than those in Mong Kok, so we didn't spend much time there. We then proceeded to 长洲 to visit a colleague.
长洲 (an island) was located around half an hour from Central via ferry. The weather was scorching hot, and the colleague's home was located on top of mountain. By the time we reached his place, which was around ten minutes, we were both hot and sweaty.
The island reminded me very strongly of 淡水 in Taiwan. The buildings were old, and the most modern-looking thing there was a McDonald's outlet.
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| View from my colleague's home, on top of a mountain |
It was toy shopping again at the usual place after this.
Richmond Centre:
- Figma SP002 Lelouch + Figma SP003 Suzaku, HKD$980 (S$160.66)
- Figma SP034 Takanashi Yomi, HKD168 (S$27.54)
- Super Robot Chogokin God Reideen, HKD280 (S$45.90)
Figma Lelouch and Suzaku (from Code Geass) were both quite difficult to find, so I had to fork out quite a bit to buy them. The Katsura and Elizabeth from Gintama that I saw yesterday were gone today, damn it! Oh well, they were really expensive (HKD$1,500 - around S$245.90 for both) so maybe it's not such a bad thing after all...
In's Point:
- Super Robot Chogokin Gold Solar Aquarion, HKD480 (S$78.69)
- Revoltech 134 EVA Unit 08, HKD280 (S$45.90)
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| My spoils from Hong Kong |
Day 4
The initial plan for today was to have roast goose for an early lunch, but only at the last moment did I realise that I had mixed up my flight timing. So I had to forgo the roast goose lunch (sigh), buy some 老婆饼 from 恒香 (requested from my mother to give some relatives and friends), and back to the hotel to pack.
Packing was challenging, as I had 14 boxes of toys, 8 boxes of cookies, and 5 boxes of wife biscuits. It took me almost an hour to pack everything, and in the end I had one backpack, two check-in luggage, and two hand-carry bags. The total weight wasn't too heavy, but the sheer bulkiness of everything made it very difficult to carry. I intended to take the Airport Express to the airport, but after carrying my stuff from my hotel room to the lift - I decided to take a cab instead. It cost me HKD235.50 (S$38.61) but I knew there was totally no way I could manage all these by myself!
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| Five bags |
1) Bring more cash to Hong Kong next time. I brought around HKD5,000 and it was totally insufficient - I had to borrow quite a bit from my friend.
2) I really need to bring a bigger luggage bag next time.
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