HK changes on every visit. It constantly surprises, challenges and delights me. Here is my pick of the best places I went to in April 2012 and some tips for visitors heading over soon!
Bonjour - look out for this chain of very well-lit chemist-looking stores. They sell discounted cosmetics and skincare from brands like Nivea and Neutrogena to Elizabeth Arden and Clinique. Best of all they sell the mini samples that you often get at beauty counters or 'free' from Clinique if you spend over a certain amount. I bought mini Clinique cleansers, Kiehl hand cream and body wash for HK$25 or AUD$3.30!
Sasa - same as Bonjour but bigger, more variety and more branches.
Sasa - same as Bonjour but bigger, more variety and more branches.
Crema - serves real, good and strong coffee in Tsim Sha Tsui (or TST as the locals call it!) which is a rarity for HK$25. I had to search far and wide amongst the sea of Starbucks, Delifrance and other chains that serve extremely weak overly-heated milk with a mild coffee flavor masquerading as 'coffee'. As a bonus, they also make cute coffee art! Holly Brown is a local chain that serves real coffee but is HK$36 for a latte, although nice and strong. I'm told that if you're on HK Island, then check out Fuel espresso in the Landmark building.
Lamma Island - is worth going to if you've done The Peak and Lantau Island which are more popular because there are actual sights to see. Lamma is lesser known but charming in its' own way for the natural beauty. A ferry to one end of the island costs less than HK$20 and at Yung Shue Wan ferry terminal, where I started, there are a number of restaurants and shops. The 'Family Walk' takes just over an hour and leads to the other ferry terminal at Sok Kwu Wan, where there are also a number of restaurants but less shops. Seaside dining is cheap here!
Ritz Carlton's Ozone Bar on level 118 - has an incredible view from Tsim Tsa Tsui across to HK Island and it's only the cost of a drink. On Sundays they close at 3pm and re-open at 5pm. We arrived at 2.30pm and convinced them to let us sit at the big corner table usually reserved for a minimum spend of HK$20,000 since it was close to closing.
K11 - describes itself as an 'Art Mall' at Tsim Tsa Tsui and has art displayed on walls amongst the shops, art workshops and even at the toilet entrances. Selected funky designers including Yohji Yamamoto for Adidas, Museum Design Stores, Holly Brown gelato and real coffee, Illy Espresso cafe and a Dymocks English bookstore.
Elements mall - is huge and there's hardly anyone there ever which makes for no queuing at all stores and only a small queue at Zara.
Landmark Cafe at Central - is a pleasant respite inside an exclusive shopping mall full of European designers in the middle of the city. Their set menu lunch for HK$240 is good value for modern international cuisine. See photo of the cafe from above.
Galleries - are all free on Wednesday. The Planet Museum was an impressive dome on the outside but a dated interior and exhibits - not recommended. I also went to the HK Museum of Art which had a good sample of ancient Chinese arts including ceramics, artefacts and drawing. The HK Science Museum didn't open until 1pm so I missed it although it sounded quite good. The HK Museum of History is my pick of the bunch. Good replica displays and English commentary. I learnt the most here.
Sushi Ku - located in the heart of the business district of Central is a popular spot known for its sushi (funny that!). Their lunch sets are varied in price and offerings. I ordered the Chirashi (pictured above) which had cubes of about 5 different types of fish and some pickled vegetables layered over great sushi rice and seaweed. It also came with miso soup for around HK$200. Make a booking or be prepared to wait.
Sky Bar at the Hyatt - has great views of the skyline of HK Island and a good selection of classic cocktails with some Asian twists for around HK$108 or AUD$14. The Yaku Yaku was a mixture of cointreau, vodka, pineapple juice, grenadine and Yakult! Worth it for the view, comfortable seating and free nuts if you feel like it.
Landmark Mandarin Oriental Central - cafe on the 1st floor has a nice selection of iced teas, mocktails, mini cakes and chocolates. I had an iced grapefruit juice, with rose and coconut jelly HK$78 (AUD$10) which sounds nicer than it was but it's still a lovely setting for a girly gossip. They sell a delightful selection of gourmet chocolates, chocolate wafers and nuts packaged as gifts.
Tin Ho Han - is a one Michelin-starred yum cha/ dim sim place in HK and is well worth the award. It's ugly on the outside and inside and probably hasn't been furnished for over 10 years. However, it's all about the food here. The selection is limited to around 20 items and you order them by ticking off a sheet. I tried the steamed prawn dumplings, glutinous rice with chicken and mushrooms, steamed beef balls with bean curd skin, baked bun with BBQ pork, steamed chiu chow dumplings and the tonic medlar & petal jelly for dessert. Each one tasted like it was freshly prepared that day (as they say!) and the BBQ pork bun was up there as one of the best, as well as the beef ball and moreish glutinous rice translated badly on the form as 'glue rice'!
Kenjo - is well known for their exquisite sushi and sashimi and it lived up to the hype. Make a booking and be prepared for pricey but great food. The sushi platter is rather small and included quite a bit of tuna as well as prawn, fish roe, sea urchin, egg, eel and Japanese flounder. In addition, we ordered some of the specials of the day including large oysters grilled with a sweet cream cheese (better than it sounds!), chargrilled giant scallops served wrapped in a seaweed pocket (tasty!), Japanese flounder sliced finely and served with a vinegar and shallot dipping sauce and the medium fatty tuna (luscious as!). We also ordered the seaweed and cucumber salad that was refreshing and surprisingly cut and the agedashi tofu which was soft in texture with a crispy and sticky skin. Yum! You must book since it's a small place.
Nobu - at the Intercontinental has a big reputation that it lived up to on my visit. Lunch can be quite reasonable there, e.g. the cheapest dish of Oyako Don (egg and chicken on rice) comes with miso soup, salad and pickles for HK$130 or AU$17. The Signature Bento Box is where it's at though for HK$328 you get their signature black miso cod on rice that had an amazingly luscious texture and balanced sweet and savoury taste, wonderful seared tuna on salad with a refreshing dressing, 'prawn tempura' which is actually prawn minced, battered and dressed with a citrus mayo, perfect sushi (yellowtail cod was the best), stir-fried vegetables on rice and the tastiest miso soup with tofu and seaweed. Truly wonderful.
Tokio Joe - in Lan Kwai Fong offers good value lunch sets like many other places in HK. The sashimi and grilled cod set was wonderful value for a good-sized plate of really fresh sashimi and the cod had a nice charred flavor although the dark soy sauce lacked taste. A tomato salad cut by the sashimi chefs had the most wonderful soy and sesame oil dressing topped with deep fried leeks. A refreshing platter of fruit and rosewater jelly ended the meal on a high.
Genki sushi - this chain can be found by its distinctive yellow sign with an angry face. It's cheap and tasty with lots of variety and it can get incredibly busy during peak times. The cheapest dishes were just over AUD$1 per plate and went up to around $6 for sashimi. Great value for a quick meal.
Ginza Bairin - specialises in tonkatsu (deep-fried, battered pork) and offers it in about 15 - 20 different ways some with curry, with udon noodles, with rice, with salad and with different sauces, etc. They go into length in the menu about the different types of pork used and the different flavours of each. Everyone loved their meal here! Good value sets that include miso soup, pickles and unlimited rice and cabbage salad (which is nicer than it sounds when doused with the sesame or wasabi dressings on each table).
Agnes B l.p.g. cafes - can be found in the most shopping hubs and like the fashion brand that seems to be more widespread here than its' native France, offers French-influenced, high quality cafe staples such as filled baguettes, quiches, chocolates, desserts and un-French-like, pretty good, real coffee.
Tao Heung - is a chain of high quality restaurants known for their yum cha, seafood and roasted meats I'm told by a local friend and they were certainly right. Each yum cha dish we ordered was so fresh. The roasted duck was particularly juicy.
In summary, HK offers wonderful food and coffee at high and low prices if you look for it. There is such an abundance of choice and variety that if you don't search for something in particular, you may have an average dining and shopping experience but at worst, it's yum cha/dim sum and stir fries, which really isn't so bad a thing! My general tips are to always see if you can make a booking in advance (everyone does it), check out Openrice.com the local equivalent of Urbanspoon for user reviews of restaurants, go to expensive places at lunch where most places have a set menu that offers good value and allows you to try a range of dishes. Note that most places add a 10% service charge/tip to your bill too. Happy travels and fill me in on your experiences!
Sushi Ku - located in the heart of the business district of Central is a popular spot known for its sushi (funny that!). Their lunch sets are varied in price and offerings. I ordered the Chirashi (pictured above) which had cubes of about 5 different types of fish and some pickled vegetables layered over great sushi rice and seaweed. It also came with miso soup for around HK$200. Make a booking or be prepared to wait.
Sky Bar at the Hyatt - has great views of the skyline of HK Island and a good selection of classic cocktails with some Asian twists for around HK$108 or AUD$14. The Yaku Yaku was a mixture of cointreau, vodka, pineapple juice, grenadine and Yakult! Worth it for the view, comfortable seating and free nuts if you feel like it.
Landmark Mandarin Oriental Central - cafe on the 1st floor has a nice selection of iced teas, mocktails, mini cakes and chocolates. I had an iced grapefruit juice, with rose and coconut jelly HK$78 (AUD$10) which sounds nicer than it was but it's still a lovely setting for a girly gossip. They sell a delightful selection of gourmet chocolates, chocolate wafers and nuts packaged as gifts.
Tin Ho Han - is a one Michelin-starred yum cha/ dim sim place in HK and is well worth the award. It's ugly on the outside and inside and probably hasn't been furnished for over 10 years. However, it's all about the food here. The selection is limited to around 20 items and you order them by ticking off a sheet. I tried the steamed prawn dumplings, glutinous rice with chicken and mushrooms, steamed beef balls with bean curd skin, baked bun with BBQ pork, steamed chiu chow dumplings and the tonic medlar & petal jelly for dessert. Each one tasted like it was freshly prepared that day (as they say!) and the BBQ pork bun was up there as one of the best, as well as the beef ball and moreish glutinous rice translated badly on the form as 'glue rice'!
Kenjo - is well known for their exquisite sushi and sashimi and it lived up to the hype. Make a booking and be prepared for pricey but great food. The sushi platter is rather small and included quite a bit of tuna as well as prawn, fish roe, sea urchin, egg, eel and Japanese flounder. In addition, we ordered some of the specials of the day including large oysters grilled with a sweet cream cheese (better than it sounds!), chargrilled giant scallops served wrapped in a seaweed pocket (tasty!), Japanese flounder sliced finely and served with a vinegar and shallot dipping sauce and the medium fatty tuna (luscious as!). We also ordered the seaweed and cucumber salad that was refreshing and surprisingly cut and the agedashi tofu which was soft in texture with a crispy and sticky skin. Yum! You must book since it's a small place.
Nobu - at the Intercontinental has a big reputation that it lived up to on my visit. Lunch can be quite reasonable there, e.g. the cheapest dish of Oyako Don (egg and chicken on rice) comes with miso soup, salad and pickles for HK$130 or AU$17. The Signature Bento Box is where it's at though for HK$328 you get their signature black miso cod on rice that had an amazingly luscious texture and balanced sweet and savoury taste, wonderful seared tuna on salad with a refreshing dressing, 'prawn tempura' which is actually prawn minced, battered and dressed with a citrus mayo, perfect sushi (yellowtail cod was the best), stir-fried vegetables on rice and the tastiest miso soup with tofu and seaweed. Truly wonderful.
Tokio Joe - in Lan Kwai Fong offers good value lunch sets like many other places in HK. The sashimi and grilled cod set was wonderful value for a good-sized plate of really fresh sashimi and the cod had a nice charred flavor although the dark soy sauce lacked taste. A tomato salad cut by the sashimi chefs had the most wonderful soy and sesame oil dressing topped with deep fried leeks. A refreshing platter of fruit and rosewater jelly ended the meal on a high.
Genki sushi - this chain can be found by its distinctive yellow sign with an angry face. It's cheap and tasty with lots of variety and it can get incredibly busy during peak times. The cheapest dishes were just over AUD$1 per plate and went up to around $6 for sashimi. Great value for a quick meal.
Ginza Bairin - specialises in tonkatsu (deep-fried, battered pork) and offers it in about 15 - 20 different ways some with curry, with udon noodles, with rice, with salad and with different sauces, etc. They go into length in the menu about the different types of pork used and the different flavours of each. Everyone loved their meal here! Good value sets that include miso soup, pickles and unlimited rice and cabbage salad (which is nicer than it sounds when doused with the sesame or wasabi dressings on each table).
Agnes B l.p.g. cafes - can be found in the most shopping hubs and like the fashion brand that seems to be more widespread here than its' native France, offers French-influenced, high quality cafe staples such as filled baguettes, quiches, chocolates, desserts and un-French-like, pretty good, real coffee.
Tao Heung - is a chain of high quality restaurants known for their yum cha, seafood and roasted meats I'm told by a local friend and they were certainly right. Each yum cha dish we ordered was so fresh. The roasted duck was particularly juicy.
In summary, HK offers wonderful food and coffee at high and low prices if you look for it. There is such an abundance of choice and variety that if you don't search for something in particular, you may have an average dining and shopping experience but at worst, it's yum cha/dim sum and stir fries, which really isn't so bad a thing! My general tips are to always see if you can make a booking in advance (everyone does it), check out Openrice.com the local equivalent of Urbanspoon for user reviews of restaurants, go to expensive places at lunch where most places have a set menu that offers good value and allows you to try a range of dishes. Note that most places add a 10% service charge/tip to your bill too. Happy travels and fill me in on your experiences!
