Saturday, 24 December 2016

Hong Kong Trip - A lovely day in Wanchai




Happy holidays, everybody! I am spending my vacation in Hong Kong now. I love this service apartment very much because it faces Victoria harbour and the sea view is amazing.  The location is good,  it is only 8-minute walk to the Wanchai MTR station.  There are over 20 restaurants and cafes nearby.  Also it is clean and has a kitchenette. I enjoy buying local ingredients and cooking even in a trip. 



In a very good morning, the first thing to do is to have local breakfast in a congee store on Hennessy Road.  It is called “Chung Kee” which provides a variety of traditional Cantonese congee, rice-sheet rolls and deep fried Chinese crisps.  I order a bowl of minced beef congee and a plate of Zhaliang.  The prices are good and they are tasty










My journey starts in Wanchai.  I take tram to Tai Yuen Street.  The best way to explore Hong Kong Island is to take tram which is called Ding Ding by the locals.  It is the oldest and cheapest transport system and has been run about 112 years.  When I take Ding Ding, I feel peaceful and have time to take the views in since it travels at a relatively low speed.  It is a must-see attraction in Hong Kong.


                         
If you have kids or are ‘kidults’, you love Tai Yuen Street.  You will find a treasure trove of toys, kids’ collectibles and festive decorations. There are some toys shops selling a wide variety of toys along the street, you can find the latest to the classics.  There are some hawkers around the streets, they sell some daily stuffs, like underwear, towels, flowers, clothes, cooking ingredients at low prices.  Then I spend a half day there and wander through the street to Queen’s Road East. 

















There is a tiny temple which is called Hung Shing Temple on Queen’s Road East.  It was estimated to be built between 1847-1852.  Traditionally, people believed that Hung Shing is the deity who could provide protection at sea, it was worshipped by fishermen, farmers and traders in the old days.  When I go there, I find a few worshippers there.  If you are very interested in ancient Chinese folk religion, you must go to see it.





















‘Happy Cake Shop’ is located just opposite to Hung Shing Temple. It is a classic Hong Kong cake shop which sells pineapple buns, egg tarts and less-often-seen cream buns and palmiers.  I always ate them when I was small.  I missed them a lot.  The shop has been established in the 1970s. Its layout, with the kitchen and ovens at the back, and shop at the front, remains unchanged to this day.  Everything is baked daily on site. The price is cheap and the bakery items are very fresh.  I bought two pineapple buns for lunch.  They are mouth-watering and so tasty!!






Then I keep on walking towards Wanchai Market. It is very crowded since people are buying food and vegetables to celebrate Winter Solstice Festival.  Traditionally, Chinese people would buy a lot of good food and prepare a lavish dinner for the whole family.  This is an important reunion family activity. In addition, ‘Dong Yuen’ is generally included on the menu because its name sound like ‘reunion’ in Cantonese.



















I feel very exhausted after walking around for the whole day. ‘Chuen Kee’ is my last stop.  I have never been there for nearly 20 years. I order a bowl of fish ball noodle in this local small restaurant on Steward Road.  Both fish balls and fish cakes are chewy. The flavour of soup base is relatively light.  Nothing has been changed.  It is still very yummy!!   













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