A couple of weekends ago, I traveled with college friends to Singapore and Malaysia but since we flew via Cathay Pacific, we stayed in Hongkong overnight before heading back to Manila.
We only had less than 36 hours in Hongkong but going over what we did, it looks like more than 2 days! Haha...
Sharing with you some tips, discoveries and learnings from my recent trip:
1. When you realize you lost something, don't easily give up. Ask for help.
When we arrived at the HK airport, we bought some pasalubong since we weren't sure if we'll have enough time on our way back. I particularly had to buy something at Pages for my nieces.
Anyway, when we were already onboard the Airport Express train, my friend realized her bag of Godiva chocolates was missing. It was more than USD100 worth of chocolates and it would be such a waste of money if we don't at least try to recover them.
So when we got off the train, we proceeded to the customer service counter and explained that my friend may have accidentally left a paper bag at the airport ticket counter. The attendants then contacted the ticket counter and guess what? They found the paper bag! Yay! Thank you for honest people at the HK airport. :)
2. When you go on a food trip, research or ask someone living there what their favorite restaurants are so you don't end up in touristy places.
Usually, when I travel, I just eat whichever resto is near when I get hungry! Haha... But since my friend researched online and also asked her HK-based brother for some recos, our meals were well-planned. Here are the restaurants we tried:
Minh & Kok is a Vietnamese Restaurant in the Causeway Bay area. We tried the pomelo salad, sate and noodle soup.
Simply Life is a French inspired cafe at the IFC mall. You have an option to dine at the cafe or the restaurant. In the cafe, you can choose from the salads and sandwiches and in the restaurant, they have ala carte and set lunches.
Since we were in a rush, we opted to grab salad and sandwiches from the cafe. I love this beet and green apple salad we got. Yum!
Angelina Cafe is located inside Lane Crawford in IFC Mall. Angelina's originated in Paris (near the Louvre) and it has been baking and serving coffee and tea for over a century (it started in 1903)! :)
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| Angelina's Mont Blanc |
Be warned though - a cup of tea at Angelina's costs HKD60 or about Php380, and this small serving of Mont Blanc is HKD90 or about Php500+.
Muji Cafe - this wasn't part of the reco places but we stumbled upon it while inside a Muji store and thought it would be a good break to rest our tired feet. Haha...
The cafe serves meals but since we had lunch already, we opted for a Green Tea cheesecake. Yum!
Since it's fine dining and we were just being treated out, no food pics. :) Here's the only pic I was able to take and there's not even a trace that it's a restaurant. Haha...
I researched online and Mott 32 is named after the first Chinese convenience store in New York City located at #32 Mott Street which was established by some Hong Kong migrants.
Mott 32's chef came from a Michelin-star Chinese Restaurant which means the food is certified uber delicious. We tried the xiao long bao, barbecued Iberico pork, string bean dish and Peking Duck. All yum!
Based on Asia Tatler, a sumptuous dinner for 2 with cocktails at Mott 32 costs around HKD1,600 or about Php9,200! Whoa... I would have ended up washing the dishes if I were presented with the bill for 4 pax. Haha...
3. If you have limited time, do purposeful shopping.
My friend and I have different interests and tastes so we had to split when it came to shopping to maximize our time. Our only common interest is Ikea! Haha...
I used to frequent HK (for work) years ago. I only realized I super missed Hong Kong once I set foot on Causeway Bay. Haha....
Check out Times Square -
and its gigantic Big Hero 6 Christmas display - which reminds me I haven't watched the movie yet. :(
Can you guess what time is it here? It's past 10pm but with all the lights and billboards, it feels like it's day time!
Christmas is everywhere. Check out the giant Snowglobe display at the Hysan Place.
I didn't shop a lot but my friend did so she had to ship some of her stuff. I think a box like this costs about Php3,000+ to ship to Manila. The staff said delivery usually takes 2 weeks but with the Christmas season, delays are expected.
The building where LBC is located (World-Wide Plaza) is a haven for Pinoys. Check out the chichirya being sold in some of the stalls!:)
4. If your flight is in the late afternoon or evening, do Airport express check-in, so you can have more time to go around.
You could also opt to leave your luggage in the hotel concierge but airport express check-in is so much better since you don't have to worry about your luggage and you're able to secure your boarding pass already (just make sure to check your boarding gate once you get to the airport).
After the express check-in, you could easily go to the IFC Mall.
Or explore nearby places. In our case, we quickly visited the ongoing Pradasphere exhibit. Beautiful exhibit even if I don't own any Prada item. Haha...
5. Be armed with a book (and lots of patience) just in case your flight gets delayed.
Our original flight was at 8pm which got moved to 10pm, but we only finally boarded past 11pm.
If you have something productive to do, it helps you keep your mind busy and prevents you from being swayed by the negative emotions of angry passengers. :)
That was our HK trip in < 36 hours. :)
