My Very First Blog

If you have never been to Hong Kong and are planning to go there, you have probably come to the right place! Today, I would like to share with you the top 5 places to visit in Hong Kong.

Personally, I do not think it's necessary to follow a tour group. You can easily do some research online, plan your itinerary and explore Hong Kong all on your own without much problem. For first timers to Hong Kong, these are the top 5 places I recommend visiting.

1. Ocean Park

Located at the southern part of Hong Kong Island, Ocean Park is a marine park, amusement park and educational theme park all rolled into one! It's really huge and you need to spend at least a whole day here.



Ocean Park is divided into 2 areas - The Waterfront and The Summit, which are separated by a mountain. You need to either sit the cable car or the Ocean Express train to commute between these two areas.

At The Waterfront, you can see real giant pandas at The Giant Panda Habitat, enjoy underwater sea creatures at the Grand Aquarium, entertained by birds at the Amazing Bird Theatre, go up a hot air balloon at SkyFair and relive the olden days of Hong Kong at The Old Hong Kong.



If you are into adrenaline pumping rides, The Summit is the place for you! Besides the thrilling rides, you can also enjoy watching the beautiful sea jellies at the Sea Jelly Spectacular and explore the history and culture of China's Yangtze River at the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium.



After a whole day of fun, don't forget to watch two dragons fight at the amazing 360 degrees water screen fountain show called The Symbio Water Screen Show scheduled at 7.30pm daily. I highly recommend Ocean Park and do not mind going there again in future!

Check out my experience at Ocean Park in a series of posts HERE.

2. The Peak

As the highest mountain at Hong Kong Island, The Peak is an ideal place to escape the heat and to catch the panoramic view of Hong Kong city. To reach the top, you will need to ride the Peak Tram, which is an experience in itself!



You can shop, dine and visit Madame Tussauds Wax Museum inside The Peak's unique building known as the Peak Tower. And on top of this tower is the Sky Terrace 428 which boasts the highest 360 degrees viewing platform in Hong Kong!



Do not miss the night views of Hong Kong city from the Sky Terrace - it's an amazingly beautiful sight from up there!



I would suggest half a day should be spent at The Peak probably going up there in the early afternoon, and time your itinerary well so that you end up at the Sky Terrace at night. Check out my activities at The Peak HERE.

3. Hong Kong Disneyland

Located at Lantau Island, Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest Disneyland in the world.



I did not quite enjoy myself at Hong Kong Disneyland. But if you are a kid or you are an adult but a huge fan of Disney characters, then it might be a different experience for you. While you are there, do not miss the Flight Of Fantasy Parade, which is a scheduled daytime parade of Disney characters.



I did not fancy any of the rides there but then again, if you are a kid, you will most probably love all the rides! However, I highly recommend the 3D animated film at Mickey's PhilharMagic and the Festival Of The Lion King musical - they were pretty awesome!

And of course, you have not really visited Disneyland if you did not catch the nightly fireworks display with the Sleeping Beauty Castle as the backdrop.



If you have been to Disneyland in other parts of the world, I suggest you skip Hong Kong Disneyland. Unless you really have no other places to go. LOL! Read more about my visit to Hong Kong Disneyland HERE.

4. Avenue Of Stars

The Avenue Of Stars, located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, is a tourist attraction that honors celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.



Besides enjoying the stunning panoramic view of the Hong Kong Island skyline here, you can see plaques of Hong Kong celebrities complete with handprints and autographs, modeled after Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Below is a photo of Jackie Chan's plaque.



At night, you can catch the famous Symphony Of Lights from here. Performed nightly at 8pm for a duration of 14 minutes, this Symphony Of Lights is a synchronised multimedia light and sound show that should not be missed for a first timer to Hong Kong.



Read more about The Avenue Of Stars and The Symphony Of Lights HERE.

5. The Big Buddha

Also known as the Tian Tan Buddha, the Big Buddha is a popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Located at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, the Big Buddha is just next to the Po Lin Monastery.

To go there, I highly recommend riding the cable car which will bring you across the picturesque South China Seas and the green verdant mountains of Lantau Island.



However, I do not really like the Ngong Ping Village which to me, is like a tourist trap. Still, it's just a short walk across the village to reach the Big Buddha.



The sight of the Big Buddha sitting on a lotus flower at the top will blow you away. After visiting the Big Buddha, do not miss the yummy vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery nearby.



Check out my trip to Big Buddha HERE.

Of course, there are many more places to visit in Hong Kong, but the above are my Top 5. If you have more time, do visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple as well. It's really quite interesting!

For shopping, I recommend the Ladies Market at Mongkok for cheap souvenirs and other products and the CityGate Outlets at Tung Chung for discounted high quality branded goods.

And if you are interested in the culture and heritage of Hong Kong, do check out the brochures provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.



In fact, for my next visit to Hong Kong, I will explore more non-touristy areas on foot guided by this Hong Kong Walks booklet.



If you are a first timer to Hong Kong, don't miss some of the yummiest food on this side of the planet! Check out the food I ate during my Hong Kong trip!

Hong Kong is a food paradise. To me at least. During my 6 days in Hong Kong back in 2011 (yes that's how long it took me to blog about the trip LOL!) I had enjoyed most of the food there.

Despite the inconvenience of sharing tables with complete strangers and having to put up with rude waiters, I still find eating in Hong Kong a pleasurable experience. I guess tasty and quality food really matters. And the big portion is definitely a plus point!

Anyway, here is a round up of most of the food I ate in Hong Kong.

1. Beef Ball Noodles at Lok Yuen



Oops! I think I forgot to blog about this one! Maybe because it was pretty forgettable. LOL!



So it's true not all food are nice in Hong Kong. But the not-so-nice food are clearly in the minority. I guess I have eaten better beef noodles in Malaysia, so this did not impress me much.



Located at Fa Yuen street in Mongkok, Lok Yuen has other types of food in their menu, but they are most famous for their beef balls.

2. Scrambled Egg Sandwich at Australia Dairy Company



One of the best cha chaan tengs (cafes) in Hong Kong, Australia Dairy Company offers the yummiest scrambled egg sandwich, egg custard and fantastic milk tea!



I still do not know how they make their scrambled egg sandwich but it tasted heavenly!!


Located at Parkes Street in Jordan, Australia Dairy Company is a MUST VISIT! Read more about my breakfast at this place HERE.

3. Mango Desserts at Hui Lau Shan

Easily one of the best desserts I had in Hong Kong was at Hui Lau Shan. They have the best mango desserts ever!



The mango ice cream was something to die for!



I ate at Hui Lau Shan almost every night in Hong Kong. Or was it EVERY single night? I could not really remember hahaha!



Hui Lau Shan can be found at almost every street in Mongkok. No kidding. Check out the various types of desserts I ate at Hui Lau Shan HERE.

4. Dim Sum at Dao Xiang Restaurant

It is a MUST to eat dim sum in Hong Kong or you will be missing out on this fine Cantonese cuisine. Hong Kong does serve one of the best dim sums in the world!



Although I did not visit enough dim sum restaurants to say that Dao Xiang has the best dim sum in Hong Kong, I think they were pretty good! Of course, I do have my fair share of not-so-nice dim sum in Hong Kong like the one I ate at Dim Sum Specialist.

Anyway, one dim sum that really stood out for me at Dao Xiang was this red dates dim sum! So yummy!!



Located at Nathan Road in Mongkok, Dao Xiang Restaurant also serve steamboat meals.



You can read more about my experience eating dim sum at Dao Xiang HERE.

5. Wonton Noodles at Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant

I fell in love with wonton noodles during my trip in Hong Kong. The wontons were big and juicy, the noodles were springy and the glass lettuce was tasty!



My favorite wonton noodles were at Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant located at Soy Street, Mongkok.



If you like to eat innards and liver, they do serve some very delicious ones, although I must say I do not like eating innards!



Read more about this Ming Yuen Noodles Restaurant HERE.

6. Polo Bun and Milk Tea at Kam Wah Cafe

Hong Kong is famous for their polo buns so do not miss these yummy food when you are there. One of the best polo buns I tasted was at Kam Wah Cafe.



Eating polo buns with a cup of hot milk tea is one of the best breakfasts I had in Hong Kong! Adding an egg tart made it totally awesome! If you fancy polo bun with barbecued pork, then this is THE place  to go!



Located at Bute Street in Mongkok, Kam Wah Cafe is another of my favorite cha chaan teng besides the Australia Dairy Company mentioned earlier.



For more details about Kam Wah Cafe and their yummy food, read HERE.

7. Roast Goose Rice at Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant

I went on a wild goose chase trying to locate good roast goose rice in Hong Kong but ended up at this Kowloon Chinese Style Restaurant in Mongkok.



The roast goose was yummy and dipping the meat into the plum sauce was heavenly!



It looks as if a lot of yummy food can be found in Mongkok itself, so staying here may be a good choice if all you want to do in Hong Kong is to eat, eat and eat! LOL!

For more details on the roast goose rice, click HERE.

8. Deluxe Vegetarian Meal at Po Lin Monastery

If you are searching for vegetarian food in Hong Kong, look no further than the Deluxe Vegetarian Meal at Po Lin Monastery in Ngong Ping, Lantau Island!



After climbing the steps to reach Big Buddha, you will surely get hungry and will appreciate the vegetarian meal at this monastery.



Check out the awesome vegetarian lunch I had at Po Lin Monastery HERE.

Besides the food mentioned in this post, I also ate some street food like stinky tofu, pancakes and fried food on skewers but they did not really stand out for me. Of course, there are many more food and restaurants in Hong Kong that I have yet to try, so I hope I will be able to try them the next time I visit Hong Kong!