HK: The Summary

So here is my long awaited post on Hong Kong! A month passed by in the blink of an eye and before long, I flew back to the UK and away from the land of 24hr dim sum, late night shopping and where taxis are as cheap as buses! Hong Kong is a city that feels like home because up until the age of 18 my parents still lived there and where some of my family still reside. My dad has always said that when he retires he will move back there, I guess he'll just have to convince my mum! Maybe I'll live there some day or maybe it will forever be a holiday destination. Who knows?

I took so many photos (mainly consisting of my meals) that I thought I would put together a picture post of what best represents HK for me!

Starting with the epic 12 hour journey from Heathrow to Hong Kong International Airport.

This is the most awesome feeling when you realise you are about to arrive and the map is hovering over the city. Plus I quite enjoy getting to use my HK ID card with a quick scan of a fingerprint to enter the country, rather than join the long queues at immigration. The long process of getting that organised when I was 18 was a bit of a pain but worth it in the end. However it meant that I didn't get to add any stamps in my passport, oh well!

Hong Kong is of course famed for it's Dim Sum and even though I have Dim Sum (or 'yum cha' as we call it in Cantonese) every Sunday, it is so much better in HK! The Cantonese love good food (as is obvious from the many food shows that they broadcast there) and in HK there is every single Asian cuisine you can think of. Asian food is my absolute favourite (not that I'm biased or anything haha) so I have several more food posts which I will definitely be sharing!

東海/East Ocean Restaurant, Tai koo Shing.

In HK, my sister and I spent about $200 (£16) on Sushi Lunch a couple of times and we could barely move from the amount of sushi we consumed. So coming back home to the UK where Yo Sushi can easily set us back £40, it's kind of ridiculous!

Soft Shell crab at Mi Ne Sushi, Causeway Bay

It is also the land where table reservations must be made! In HK, while you do have occasional meals at home, it's the norm to eat out so restaurants are always bursting with people. I also love buying such fresh tropical fruit from the local fruit stalls...lychees by the bunch!

It is also the land of Chinese pastries and it was awesome to walk downstairs from my family's apartment to buy freshly baked pineapple buns.

I also miss the beep-beepbeep of the octopus cards in the MTR and er...spending the colourful HK dollars.

I love Instagram and I'm Diamondcanopy on there!

Hong Kong has the best public transport. There is the MTR (underground) and below you can see a bus, light bus, taxi and tramlines. All of which are pretty cheap and convenient to use.

I miss hanging out at the apartment where my aunts and grandparents live. They live pretty close to the Sanyo sign on Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong is pretty built up and commercial buildings can look right into residential buildings which means blinds/curtains are a necessity! Even though it's easy to forget when you're there, the majority of HK is pretty green and you can see the mountains peeking through in the background of the photo below.

Speaking of the apartment, one of my favourite things to do is shelter from the insane heat outside (36c and 90% humidity while I was there!) and have traditional Congee (rice porridge) at home. Usually we add a few side dishes bought locally including noodles, rice noodle rolls and the chinese version of croutons (油炸粿).

I also love the fact that ice tea is served everywhere and I've been obsessed with recreating it in the UK but it's never quite the same is it?

I love the little cafes that solely serve Chinese desserts, mainly consisting of sweet soups. I am a sucker for anything black sesame flavoured and this black sesame sago Tofu pudding with black sesame ice cream is right up my street.

甜姨姨/Sweet Auntie in Tin Hau

As we live relatively near the shopping mecca that is Causeway Bay, I inevitably spend a lot of time wandering around in the local malls there.

We ventured over to Mong Kok on several occassions. My dad loves it for the streets that specifically sell model toys but there are also streets that sell soley flowers, trainers, aquarium supplies, pets, lighting and home improvement. It's a fun area to shop (until you get a whiff of the stalls that sell stinky tofu). I bought a fair share of iPhone cases there and spent far too much time browsing stationary at the famous Ladies Market. I also stocked up on cheap Fuji Instax film at the electronics/computer mall which is a must if you own the Instax.

I wasn't going to visit the Peak this time round as I've been up there so many times. However since I had friends visiting HK for the first time it is definitely the no.1 Tourist attraction. I asked my friend who lives in HK if she ever gets bored of the skyline and she smiled and shook her head. Yeah. it's pretty awesome.

We always order local favourites in HK including the Red Bean Ice drink. We also love the butter rolls which are known as 豬仔包 or 'piggy rolls' and no wonder because they're rolls which are 'buttered' with condensed milk. I know it sounds strange but it's so good!

I mustn't forget won ton noodle soup either. It feels wrong if I go back to HK and don't sit in a local cafe restaurant and slurp these with my family.

I also love drinking Bubble Milk Tea and eating the HK favourite of 雞蛋仔 aka egg waffles! Wow, Hong Kong really is ALL about food huh?

There are soooo many other things I adore about HK but I think the most important to me is my family! Hopefully I'll be back there next Summer...