Woke up at 5:30. Played on my phone til up time at 6:00.
At 8:00 we headed out the door to Sham Shui Po for a foodie tour! This was by the same people that we did the foodie tour with last year.
Seems all the wine you get in Hong Kong is from Australia!
Yellow tail, Jacob's Creek, Wolf Blass, Wyndham Estate, Penfolds are just some of the brands
Our first stop was at Kowloon Restaurant, a Hong Kong style cafe, where we had a "pineapple" bun and milk tea. The pineapple bun doesn't have any pineapple in it, but the rough surface on it looks a bit like a pineapple. It was fresh and light and the crunchy topping (a mix of sugar, butter and egg) was much like the topping on the bbq pork buns. Yum yum yum, loved this. The milk tea was ok too, although I did add a little sugar to it.
Pineapple bun and milk tea
Pineapple buns before being baked
Filtering the tea
Our second stop was at Hop Yick Tai for a more Chinese style breakfast. We had these rice rolls which had a silky smooth texture and a lovely peanut and hoisin sauce. Wanted a spoon so I could gobble the rest of the sauce.
Rice rolls with a super yummy sauce
The third stop was the A1 Tofu Company, which is a soy product shop. There we had a "hot tofu dessert" which had a tofu jelly with sugar and ginger sugar that was sweet but not over poweringly so. Very nice. We also got to see out the back where the dude makes the smooth tofu.
Hot tofu dessert
Next was Lu Goose Restaurant for some braised goose and braised pork knuckle. I really liked the goose, but the pork knuckle was a bit too sinewy for my tastes. It didn't help that they don't serve these dishes hot.
Braised goose and braised pork knuckle
Fifth stop was at Eight Angels Cake Shop for some walnut, almond and sesame cookies. I was fairly full at this point, so brought them home to have later (still haven't had them yet, but Stu said his were good).
Eight Angels Cake Shop
Cookies
And the last stop was at Lau Sum Kee Noodle for some egg noodles with shrimp roe. The noodles were a little dry, but had a good firm texture, and a little red vinegar or soup helped with the dryness. The shrimp roe wasn't really my thing. But it was served with a nice soup on the side.
Egg noodles with shrimp roe
In between we looked at various other shops and buildings, it was all really interesting. The whole tour took a little over four hours, but definitely worth it.
Beads!
Shiny things!
Buttons!! This entire store was filled with rows and rows of buttons
Funky buttons
Wet markets - fresh meat
Knife shop. We went out the back and saw the dude sharpening knives
Our tour guide
When we were done, we had a bit of a wander up and down Apliu Street - the "men's" markets. I bought a couple of little cables. Then we went into the Golden Computer Centre. The basement was a rabbit warren of computer and peripherals stores. Quite amazing. We wandered through there for quite a while.
Strip lighting. I sooo want some of this!
Golden Computer Arcade
Bitcoin vending machine!
Inside the Golden Computer Arcade
But then Stu's back was killing him, and our feet hurt, so we went back to the hotel to chillax for a while.
At 16:30 we headed out again - to go up the Sky 100, which I wanted to do last time but we ran out of time. We got there in plenty of time for sunset, but the sun doesn't really set in Hong Kong, it just gets hazed out. Stayed up there while it got dark and enjoyed the lights for quite a while. Didn't have the energy to stay for the Symphony of Lights though :(
Shopping centre done up for Christmas at the bottom of the Sky 100 (ICC) tower
Stu at Sky 100
Hong Kong from the Sky 100
The building on the left is the hotel we stayed in last time we came to Hong Kong
Getting darker
Inside the Sky 100
Hong Kong Convention Centre
Hong Kong by night
Hong Kong by night
Hong Kong by night
Hong Kong by night
Hong Kong by night
View north-west from Sky 100
Stonecutters Bridge
Sky 100
Us in the lift on the way down
Shopping centre done up for Christmas at the bottom of the Sky 100 (ICC) tower
Back to the hotel, then out to find some dinner. We were both exhausted though, so trying to find something that wasn't too complicated was, well, too complicated. In the end we picked up some beer from 7-Eleven and got meat-on-a-stick from a vendor next to the station - duck on one and pork on the other - delicious!
Meat on a stick store!
Beer and meat on a stick! (we didn't drink all that beer in one go!)
Hong Kong currency
Hong Kong currency
Then crashed straight after dinner.