Happy Hong Kong

Ahhhhhhh vacation. My brother is home for his annual month-long vacation and we have planned to go somewhere for some r and r. He's supposed to visit me here in Taipei, but since I said I wanted to go some place else, we agreed to do a Hong Kong-Macau trip.

My brother is never the type who will research and make an itinerary. My eldest brother, however, took an extra effort when I visited him in the US few years ago. His flatmates told me he's been preparing for my visit and I really did appreciate that. For this trip though, I'm in charge of the itinerary. The plan was pretty simple: to eat a lot, and shop a little.

I arrived HK early Thursday morning and waited for my mom and brother at the airport. I flew straight from Taipei and agreed to meet them there. After having our US and NT dollars changed, we boarded the Airport Express train to reach the city. Travel time takes around 24 minutes from the airport to Kowloon MTR Station. Safe, reasonably-priced and very convenient.

Day 1 was for some sight-seeing and mostly looking for cheap thrills and good eats. You should have seen the joy in our faces when we spotted the restaurants that I listed for lunch and dinner. They were all soooo delicious. Tsim Chai Kee at MTR Central Station serves delicious wanton noodles- flavorful broth and wantons with huge delectable shrimps (I'm salivating now). Lan Fong Yuen is few blocks away from Tsim Chai Kee and has velvety-smooth Cantonese milk tea. Their polo buns are addictive, toasted edges but soft center drizzled with condensed milk.

For dinner, we headed to MTR Wanchai Station and looked for Joy Hing Roast Meat Restaurant. We've been here during our last visit in 2011, and I knew my brother will like it. Roasted pork bbq, duck, goose, chicken, roasted any thing- my brother said it's one of his best meals.

Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong Harbor City

Lunch at Tsim Chai Kee, 98 Wellington St. Central HK

Lan Fong Yuen's velvety milk tea and polo buns, 2 Gage St. Central HK

Joy Hing Roasted Meat's pork bbq, 265-267 Hennessy Road, Wanchai HK

Florals at 1881 Heritage, Tsim Sha Tsui

Day 2 was our trip to Macau. We took Cotai Jet and arrived Macau at 11:00am. Shuttles from the ferry terminal to different casino hotels are free. We boarded Wynn's shuttle and we got there right on time for the mini dragon show at the lobby, and the water fountain show. From Wynn, we walked to Senado Square (a good 15-20 min walk) and had our lunch at Wong Chi Kei Noodle and Congee House. Their deep fried wantons with sweet and sour sauce were delish, as well as their Yang Chow fried rice.

We took several snaps at the St. Paul Ruins and walked a bit before lining up for the famous Ta Lei Loi Kei Porkchop Buns. Dang those porkchop buns were so simple yet so amazingly good. The meat itself was very tasty, and the bun was crunchy-soft. After our fill, we walked back to the nearest hotel from Senado Square, which is Grand Lisboa. We took a shuttle going to the ferry terminal, and looked for the free bus going to Venetian Hotel. We left Macau around 7:00pm.

Wynn Hotel, Macau

Fountain Show at Wynn Hotel

Wong Chi Kei Noodle and Congee House, 17 Largo de Senado Macau

St. Paul Ruins, Macau

Ta Lei Lo Kei Porkchop Buns

At the Venetian Hotel, Macau

Day 3 was a visit to the happiest place on earth- Disneyland! Believe it or not, it's my brother's first trip to Disneyland. He was quite shocked at how expensive the entrance ticket was. He even thought of staying there the whole day "para daw sulit," to which my mom reacted and said we still have to go to City Gate Outlet Mall for shopping. From City Gate, we took the MTR to Causeway Bay for some more shopping. We dined at Tsui Wah Restaurant and tried their signature baked porkchop dish. My brother and I had to share because the serving was huge, but it was great nonetheless. Last stop for the day was Mongkok night market. By far the most tiresome day.

Tsui Wah Restaurant's famous baked porkchop, 2 Carnarvon Rd. Tsim Sha Tsui HK

Day 4 was our last day in HK. We skipped breakfast at the hotel and went straight to Tim Ho Wan Sham Shui Po dimsum restaurant. TIP: They open at 8:00 am. I suggest you get there before 10:00am, otherwise the waiting time will be more than an hour or two. I'll let the photos do the talking :) Dimsum heaven, really. Until next time, happy Hong Kong! Thank You, Lord for the wonderful four days spent with my mom and my brother.

Hong Kong trip aint complete without dimsum! 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po