Eating, Shopping - I love Hong Kong - 买东西吃东西

在这繁忙的现代都市里，一家人要一起去旅行是一件不容易的事。上班族要配合拿假一起出游实在难得。 很幸运这次去香港能四人行。
It was indeed a very rare opportunity for the ordinary working class within the family to coordinate their annual leaves and made it possible for the whole family to go on an overseas holidays together. We were considered lucky. We were able to confirm the air tickets and hotel accommodations on-line within a very short time frame. Our destination this time was Hong Kong 香港 and Zhu Hai 珠海. We left on 26 Dec 2011 and returned on 31 Dec 2011. In accordance with the orginal flight schedule, the return flight was supposed to touch down at the Singapore Changi International airport at 2355hr. on 31 Dec 2011. Instead we had our 2012 new year count down in mid air 二零一二 新年在空中倒数 due to the flight delay for 2 hours . I guessed the flight delay was due to changing of plane from the bigger Airbus 330 空中巴士 三三零 to a smaller Boeing 737 波音 七三七.

                                                            

                                 Hong Kong airport 香港机场

                                                                            Hong Kong airport 香港机场
                                     

                                                                               Airport Express 机场快线

                                                                                 Hong Kong Station 香港站

                                                                            Airport Express line 机场快线

                                                                                  Central Station Interchange
                                                                                  中环转驳站

                                                                                   Sheung Wan line 上环线


26-12-2011 Monday
We left Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 2 to Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Airline flight HX784. The airplane took off at 0740 hr and touched down at Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1 at 1135 hr. Our hotel accommodation was at Sheung Wan 上环 - Hong Kong 香港。The hotel name was Bauhinia 宝轩. It was situated at 119-121 Connaught Road Central 香港干诺道中。The airport MTR express train 香港航空机场快线 will terminate at the Hong Kong Station 香港站 which was the inter-change station 转驳站. It was connected to the Central Station 中环站 and to the Sheung Wan Station 上环站。The airport line had 5 stations in total. They were the Airport Station 机场站, Disney land Station 迪士尼站, Qing Yi Station 清衣站, Kowloon Station 九龙站 and Hong Kong Station 香港站. We took the airport MTR express train 机场快铁 to our hotel. The train fare was HK$62.50 (S$10.50) pax one way. Metal racks were provided in the train for the luggage to free the passengers' knee space. The train ride was fast and very comfortable. When we arrived at the Hong Kong Station, we were delighted to discover that there were airline check-in counters. A special privilege for the airport MTR train commuters. We decided to take advantage of the facility and checked-in our luggage there on our return trip. After checking in at Bauhinia 宝轩，we went to a nearby local cafe 茶餐廳 to have our lunch 午餐。We had wanton noddles 云吞腼 and coffee 咖啡. By Hong Kong standard, the wanton noddles were classified as fair. The coffee served was good. We proceeded to explore Sheung Wan area上环 区 after the lunch break. We visited a preserved old building named Western Market. The design was similar to the old colonial building in Singapore. The merchants were mainly selling textile. The place was rather quiet. Not many customers were around. We visited the Victoria Peak 维多利亚山顶 and the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum 名人蜡人馆 in the evening. The crowd was huge at the tram station 纜车站. It could be due the holiday season in Hong Kong. The night scenery was beautiful. We had the full view of the Victoria Harbour 维多利亚港口. I took a few shots with Deng Xiao Ping邓小平，Hu Jintao 胡锦涛，Wen Jiabao 温家宝, Jian Zemin 江泽民 and of course our 1st Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew  李光耀总理.
We had dinner at the famous restaurant Yong Ji 镛记。This restaurant was popular with their Roast Goose 烧鹅. There was a confirmed case of bird flu H1N1 discovered in Hong Kong during that period. But going to Hong Kong without trying the roast goose will be a great disappointment. So despite the on going bird flu case, it was the die die must try attitude over ruled the rational. After tasting the Yong Ji Roast Goose 镛记烧鹅, we confirmed that it was worth the risk and trouble. The goose meat with the crispy skin was delicious (oyishi).  The Yong Ji restaurant was full house when we arrived. We waited for a while before we were shown to our table. To my surprise, I met an ex- UOB staff from Singapore 前新加坡大华银行职员. His name is Jin Jiang Joo. His table was just next to mine. He told me that he had retired too. He said we hardly meet each other in Singapore but instead we met in Hong Kong. I was very happy to meet a friend in the foreign land. All I can said it was mere coincidence. 华人有一
句话：有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢。大盖就是这个意思吧!

                                                                                   Bauhinia hotel 宝轩旅馆

                                                                                 Bauhinia hotel 宝轩旅馆

                                                                          Man Wa Lane - Bauhinia hotel side road
                                                                          文华里- 宝轩旅馆横巷

                                                                           Wing On Departmental store next to Bauhinia
                                                                            永安百货在宝轩旅店对面

                                                                                        Bauhinia 宝轩

                                                                                    Xin Zhao Ji cafe
                                                                                    新钊记 茶餐厅

                                                                                Wanton noddle 云吞腼

                                                                                  Coffe with milk 奶咖啡

                                                                              Western Market 西市场

                                                                         Buildings along the way to the Peak
                                                                         去山顶徒中的建筑物
     

                                                                            Mr Lee Kuan Yew 李光耀先生

                                                                           Mr Hu Jintao 胡锦涛先生

                                                                              Mr Jiang Zemin 江泽民先生

                                                                              Mr Wen Jiabao 温家宝先生

                                                                               Mr Deng Xiaoping 邓小平先生

                                                                            Kung Fu star 功夫名星阿布

                                                                               NBA star Yao Ming 姚明

                                                                               Night scene from the Peak 山顶夜景

                                                                              Night scene from the Peak 山顶夜景

                                                                               Yong Ji restaurant 镛记餐馆

                                                                                  Roast goose meat 烧鹅肉

                                                                                  Vegetable 豆苗

                                                                                 Fried bean curd 豆腐

                                                                            Roast goose meat - empty plate
                                                                            烧鹅肉空盘


27-12-2011 Tuesday
We had breakfast at the hotel vicinity Cafe de Coral 大家乐快餐店。After breakfast we took the electric tram 电车 to Causeway Bay 铜锣湾. We window shopped at the departmental store Diamaru 大丸百货商店。We also visited the street stalls at Jadine's Crescent 渣甸坊。Lunch was a simple local fish porridge 鱼粥在五谷香粥店。After lunch break, we continued to explore Lee Garden Road 利园山道 and Pak Sha Road 白沙道. For tea break we had  steam milk with ginger juice 礓汁牛奶 at the Yee Shun Milk Company 义顺牛奶公司。The dessert was indeed very good. As we had a dinner appointment with my uncle 六舅父（my mother's younger brother) that evening, the senior citizens went back to hotel for a short break while the 2 young citizens carried on to look for the famous Chris Pattern 彭定康 (Hong Kong last colonial  Chief Minister) egg tart 蛋挞。They got it at Tai Cheong Bakery 泰昌饼家established in 1954 .
Dinner was at Tsim Sha Tsui East 尖沙咀东，Shanghai Min 上海小南国。It served Shanghai-nese cuisine 上海菜. The restaurant was facing the popular tourist attraction Star Walk 星光大道。Our meet up with Uncle 六舅父 and his son and daughter in law (my cousin and his wife 表弟 和表弟妹) was indeed a very happy and touching occasion 聚会非常温辛和感 动 .  We had not seen each other for years. My cousin accompanied us strolling the Star Walk after dinner.

                                                                               Cafe De Coral breakfast 大家乐早餐

                                                                                     Electric tram 电车

                                                                                 Electric tram antique light 电车古老灯

                                                                                   Causeway Bay 铜锣湾

                                                                                Hawker protest banner 小贩抗议布条

                                                                               Causeway Bay lunch 铜锣湾午餐

                                                                                      Fish porridge 鱼粥

                                                                                    Rice roll 猪肠粉

                                                                                       You Tiao 油条

                                                                                    The Chef 厨师

                                                                              Causeway Bay side street
                                                                              铜锣湾支路

                                                                                       Tea break 下午茶

                                                                                   Ginger steam milk 姜墩牛奶

                                                                                       Egg tard 蛋挞

                                                                                View from ferry terminal 马头风景

                       Uncle 六舅父

                                                                       Back row from left: J-kai, Pai Tse, Lai Fong, Bonnie
                                                                       Front row from left: Ven Kong, Uncle, Sie Ming(cousin)
                                                                      后排左起：捷凯，佩诗，丽芳，表弟妹
                                                                      前排左起：文刚，六舅父，思明  (表弟)

                                                                            Night scene at Star Walk 星光大道夜景

28-12-2011 Wednesday
We were heading for Lantau Island 大屿山。We took the MTR to Tung Chung Station 东涌站。We were surprised that there was a huge crowd queuing up for the cable car ride. We queued for 2 hours before we had a chance to take the cable car. We opted for the crystal base cable car . The see through car base gave us a new experience. It enabled us to view the scenery below our feet. We had dessert as lunch at Honey Moon Dessert Store 满记甜品店 before we climbed steps to reach for the big Buddha. We queued another 1 hour for the cable car on the return trip. We had dinner at the City Gate Outlet 东會名店仓. City Gate Outlet shops were selling  branded goods like ZARA, NIKE, PUMA, ADIDAS. I noticed many customers brought along their trolley luggage for bargain hunting.

                                                                              High rise building at Tung Chung
                                                                              东涌区高楼

                                                                                    Crystal base cable car 玻璃揽车底

                                                                                    Honey Moon dessert store 满记甜品店

                                                                                   Dessert for lunch 甜品午餐

                                                                                    Dessert for lunch 甜品午餐

                                                                                          Big Buddha 大佛

                                                                                      Devotee 信徒

                                                                                Dinner at City Gate 东会城晚餐

29-12-2011 Thursday
We had Wanton noddles 云吞腼 and porridge 粥 for breakfast at the famous Luo Fu Ji 罗富记. So far this was the best wanton noddles and porridges we had in Hong Kong. On the way to the Central MTR Station, we dropped by the UOB Hong Kong Branch 大华银行香港分行 at De Voeux Road 在德富道中/ Pottinger street 波典乍街. I told my children that was the project I was seconded to work for 2.5 months in 1984 (27 years ago). Our itinerary for the day was Sham Shui Po 深水埗。Our first stop was at the Kun Ji store 坤记士多. We tried the local soft cake. The next stop was at Kung Woo 公和 豆品. We tried their home made bean curd 家制豆花 and their fried bean curd stuffed with fish paste 酿豆腐. The bean curd was silky smooth and the fried bean curd was tasty. The next stop was at Ba Xian bakery shop 八仙饼家. We bought many variety of Chinese cookies from this shop.  Lunch was at the Fei Niu Seafood Restaurant 肥牛火锅海鲜酒家. We had Dian Sin 点心and Chinese tea 中国茶. It was a very relax lunch. Many of the local spent time reading news paper after meal. Some chit-chat with friends while  enjoying the free flow of Chinese tea. This relaxing life style was envied by the busy city dwellers. The Ya Liao street 鸭寮街 had many electronic products. The computer fare was on going. My son bought an external hard disc and a head phone at the price cheaper than he can get back home. I bought a winter jacket for S$10 and an aluminium adjustable hiking stick for S$4.00 from a street stall. What a bargain!

                                                                               Breakfast at Luo Fu Ji 罗富记早餐

                                                                                Vegetable with oyster sauce 油菜

                                                                                      Wanton noodle 云吞腼

                                                                                 Meat ball porridge 猪肉丸粥

                                                                                UOB Hong Kong 大华银行香港分行

                                                                               Sham Shui Po Station 深水埗站

                                                                                  Kun Ji store 坤记士多

                                                                                   Local delights 香港小吃

                                                                                  Sham Shui Po 深水埗

                                                                                   Bean Curd 豆花

                                                                                 Ba Xian bakery 八仙饼家

                                                                                  Dian Xin lunch 点心午餐
                                                                                  肥牛火锅海鲜酒家

                                                                                Salted fish stall Song Ji Sea Food
                                                                                松记海味- 醎鱼

                                                                                       Salted fish 醎鱼

                                                                                       Apilu Street 鸭寮街

                                                                                 Fried bean curd 煎豆腐

                                                                               Set dinner at Cafe De Coral
                                                                               大家乐晚餐 - 套餐

                                                                                Baked pork chop rice 锔猪排饭

30-12-2011 Friday
Our destination was Zhu Hai 珠海.
We checked out of Bauhinia hotel early and left behind our bulky luggage with them. With the hand carry bag, we walked to the ferry terminal. The ferry -Hai Wei 海威 took 45 minutes to reach Zhu Hai 珠海. Taxi fare from Zhu Hai ferry terminal 珠海渡轮马头 to our hotel Jin Jiang 锦江之星 was RMB$10. After checked-in, we took a taxi (RMB$18.00) to Gong Bei port 拱北岸 . The cross border between Zhu Hai 珠海 and Maccu 澳门. There was a very big underground shopping mall. We spent the whole day shopping.

                                                                                 Zhu Hai ferry ticketing office
                                                                                 珠海船票公司- 珠江客运

                                                                           Ferry boarding gate 渡轮闸口

                                                                                 Hai Wei ferry 海威渡轮

                                                                                  Taxi point - 计程车站

                                                                              Zhu Hai Jiu Zhou ferry terminal
                                                                              珠海九州马头
    

                                                                            Jin Jiang Hotel 锦江之星旅店

                                                                                      Hotel lobby 旅店大厅

                                                                                         Hotel cafe 旅店餐厅

                                                                                   Hotel room 旅店房间

                                                                                         Lunch at Kung Fu
                                                                                        午餐在真功夫

                                                                            Gong Bei Port check point 栱北口岸

                                                                             Building at Zhu Hai 珠海建筑物


31-12-2011 Saturday
We took the 1000 hr ferry back to Hong Kong.  After collecting our luggage from the Bauhinia hotel, we checked-in our luggage at the Airport Express Train - Hong Kong Station before we went for lunch. My wife and I had lunch in one of the restaurant at the IFC building while my daughter and son when back to Sham Shui Po 深水埗 for their last minute shopping. Our flight was scheduled at 2010 hr but was eventually delayed till 2220hr. We had our 2012 new year count down in mid air 二零一二年在空中倒数. Hehehe........

                                                                              Lunch at Zhen Dou 正斗腼家

                                                                            Lunch queue no. 90 午餐排号九十号

                                                                                       Queue no. calling at 66
                                                                                       当时叫号是六十六

                                                                                  Fried Hor Fun  炒河粉

                                                                                    Vegetable 油菜

                                                                         Hong Kong Station check-in counter
                                                                         香港站机场柜台

                                                                               Kee Wah bakery airport outlet
                                                                               奇华饼家机场分店

                                                                                Flight HX783 to Singapore

                                                                                    航班 HX783 飞新加坡

                                                                                  Hong Kong airline 香港航空


I later came to know that this trip was my last chance seeing my Uncle 六舅父, my mother's brother. My cousin told me that his dad was suffering from cancer. After knowing that my family was visiting Hong Kong, He requested the Doctor discharging him temporary so that he can meet us for dinner. He went back to hospital after dinner. None of us had noticed that he was ill as he behaviour was normal. Moral of the story is that we should treasure every moment we have with our love ones and also try to spend more time with them before it is too late. In this modern society, most people struggle to make a living and find little time to be with the love ones.