Disney Land

If you haven't been to any Disney Land, then probably Hong Kong's one is a good try. But if you have been to the other Disneylands... you may not find this one interesting. Why? Because this one is the smallest Disneyland in the world.

What are the must see in HK Disneyland?
The parade was good. I love Space Mountain. Fireworks at night was awesome. My mom love the River Cruise in Adventure Land and the flying Dumbo. But the park's logistic still have room to be improved!

There're 2 shows at the park, Golden Mickeys & Lion Kings, however, I didn't manage to see any show. I was there on Sep7 Wed, the park was not packed, but all Fast Pass for Golden Mickeys ran out and there was a LONG queue (100 mins), so I didn't queue for the show. Got a Fast Pass for 7pm Lion King show (I went there at 5pm, and all 6pm shows' pass finished, have to take the 7pm last show). We arrived at 7:05pm at the door, and we're not allowed to get in because the show already started and they do not have any break for late comer! Alright, still 2 hours to go before fireworks start, what to do? Just when we remembered we haven't try the Buss Light Year shooting game, their machine was broken down and the game closed for the night!

Hong Kong Disneyland
Address: Disneyland, Lantau Island East, Hong Kong. [MAP]
Opening Hour: 10:00-20:00 (closed at 21:00 on weekends)
Directions: take MTR to Sunny Bay Station, and interchange for the Disneyland Line.
Entrance Fee:
Regular Day - Adult HK$295 / Child (3-11) HK$210 / Senior (65 or above) HK$170
Peak / Special Day - Adult HK$350 / Child (3-11) HK$250 / Senior (65 or above) HK$200

Best Moroccan food in Town

Restaurant Name: Sahara Mezz Bar

Independently owned, serving Egyptian & Moroccan food, this cocktail restaurant was for people to relax and enjoy good time with friends over quality food & drinks. I love this place very much. Indeed, I shall not call it "restaurant" as it doesn't have proper restaurant setting. This is more like a bar / lounge that serve food. However, many people come here to eat because the food is good. Decorations & music are trendy and colorful Middle Eastern theme. Staff services depends on weather the owner Dodi is there. He really know how to work the crowd. But if he's not there, other staff may not be so attending.

Price: HK$150-200 per person including drinks. Shisha (water pipe) with fruit flavoured tobacco for HK$100 per serving (pipe) and you can share among 2-4 friends.

Favourite dish: Pigeon Pastella is a must-eat every time I visit here.

Food Review: Appetiser platter is a good start to try out many different items on the menu, including pita bread, egg plant mud (bread spread), pea mud (bread spread), felafel, green salad, cheese, spring rolls, etc. The portion is big enough for 2-4 persons. There are a few different Tangine dishes here, I love the meat balls and the fish. Although a bit too salty for my taste, but they goes very well with pita bread or cous cous. Cous Cous were cooked with fish stock (I guess) the flavour is so nice that I can eat it alone without accompany.

Phone: +852 2291 6060
Address: Gound Floor, No. 11 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTR

Sweet Shanghainese Cuisine

Restaurant Name: King's Lodge

I am not a fan of this restaurant, but if you craze for Shanghai Xiao Lung Bao and love wine chicken, and is looking for food in Tsimshatsui area, you can check this place out. Do not expect any good service or nice settings. The environment is noisy and a bit crowded. Suitable for lunch or a quick dinner. Typical Shanghainese taste, food here are a bit too sweet and oily for my tastebud.

Price: HK$50 - 150 per person

Food Review: Shanghai Xiao Lung Bao (小籠包) was one of the two dish that worth a try. It came in 4 buns in a bamboo steam basket, hot & juicy when biting. Another worht-trying dish is Wine Chicken (醉雞), It served cold, with chicken soaked in good quality yellow Chinese wine. The flavour of wine was strong, love it. However, the taste was a bit too sweet. too much bones in the chicken, with some cold white fat attached to the skin, not very tempting. Fried River Shrimps (清炒河蝦仁) had no taste at all, only crunchy. Fried Rice (霸王炒飯) only have eggs & spinr onion, very simple ingredients which is easy for one to do at home. It was very dry, if you like it dry, you'll love it. Deep Fried Shrimp Toast (蝦多士), very oily, not chrunchy enough, again the shrimps were tasteless. Cold Eggplant Salad (涼拌茄子) was OK, nice, though a bit too sweet for my taste.

Phone: +852 2723 1003

Address: G/F, Oriental Centre 67-71 Chatham Road South, TsimShaTsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. [MAP]

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Tsimshatsui MTR

Local Cheap Eat 2

Restaurant Name: Macau Restaurant

My 2 favourites "Char Chan Tang" (HK style eating house) are Tsui Wah and this one, Macau Restaurant. Selling points of this place are: Fast, Good, Cheap! Besides serving high quality of food, they always change their menu and launch some new dishes. It is not a decent place to take your date for fine dinning as noisy and crowded, expect to share tables with strangers. Do not expect good service here, and you probably have to queue up outside the restaurant during peak hour.

Price: Less than HK$50 per person

Favourite dish: Pork Chop Bun is a must try here. Taste & texture like French baguette, very crunchy, sandwich in the middle was a juicy & steaming pork chop and some fried onion, HK$17. Only limited to sell 200 buns per day. First come first serve.

Food Review: Another signature dish is the Roasted Pigeon, HK$28. Custard Tard, HK$6, very crispy but also oily, sugar was a little burn on purpose so it looks dark brownish. I love the Iced Coffee here, served in cold stainless steel cup with some chocolate power sprinkled on top, HK$12.

Phone: +852 2366 8148

Address: G/F, 25-27 Lock Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong (MAP)

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Tsimshatsui MTR

Local Cheap Eat

Restaurant Name: Tsui Wah Restaurant


This is one of my favourite local eating house (Char Chan Tang). How to tell if a restaurant is good? A good indication is that this 24-hour restaurant is always packed with people. Food served faster then you can imagine. The menu is so diverse that you can find almost anything... from local style fish ball / wonton noodles, porridge, Indian curry, Singaporean Hainan chicken rice, Japanese noodles, Chinese Char-Siew (roasted pork) Rice, fried rice, Western pasta, sandwiches, Western roasted spring chicken, etc. Be prepared to share table with strangers. Do not expect any customer service. Definitely not a romantic dine out but, it's the place to go when you truly need to grub!

Price: Less than HK$50 per person.

Favourite dish: Soup Noodles with Stewed Pork Rib, pork rib was cooked until very soft and well flavoured, with a bit fat & soft bone tissue attached, rich in collagen :) Noodles were crunchy, not over cooked.

Food Review: Fish Broth Fish Ball with Tofu Noodles is my other favourite.

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: 15-19 Wellington street, Central, Hong Kong (MAP)
Website: http://www.tsuiwahrestaurant.com/
How to get there: 5 mins walk from Central MTR

Best Roast Goose in Town

Restaurant Name: Yung Kee Restaurant

Yung Kee has been in business for decades and has the awards to prove it. Recently been selected as one of the ten best restaurants in Hong Kong. It's famous for it's roast goose, probably the best in town. This is authentic upper class Cantonese cusine. They may need to dust off the English menu, but they do have one.

Price: HK$150-300 per person

Favourite dish: Roast goose of course! The meat was so tender and juicy, not too oily, not too dry, just nice. Skin was a little crispy... almost perfect!

Food Review: Pluck up your courage and give one of their famous Pi-Dan (Thousand Year Eggs) a try. Egg white was black and transperant jelly like. Egg york was like pudding not as hard as normal Pi-Dan. Best to eat with sour ginger. Fried Milk was good too

Phone: +852 2522 1624

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]

How to get there: 5 mins walk from Central MTR

Fresh Seafood in Lamma Island

Restaurant Name: Rainbow Seafood Resturant

What is the best way to treat your friends? "Enjoy seafood and Go cruising" can well be an illustration to the wonderful moment if you are visiting Hong Kong - the Gourmet Paradise. This restaurant provides a very original way for eating fresh seafood by the natural country side and a free boat ride to enojoy the scenery of Hong Kong's nature. And you'll discover Hong Kong actually have something nice to offer besides the skyscrapers. Good quality, moderate priced. Rainbow Seafood Restaurant was among the first batch of restaurants to be awarded the "Quality Tourism Services Decal" in 2000. This award reconfirms our assurance both in the quality of food and service. You can pick swimming seafood from the tank, restaurnat will catch it and cook it in anyway you want.

Price: HK$80-200 per person

Favourite dish: Steam Bamboo Clam with Garlic. The clam was as big as 6-7 inches, and you can eat it with fork & knife!

Food Review: Deep Fried Sliced Squids (Calamari) is easy to eat with you don't prefer a whole animal with head lying on your table. Boiled Prawns in water filled with rice wine & ginger is another good choice, prawns tasted crunchy & sweet, dip it lightly with soya sauce and it's all I need for a nice evening. Best to go with beer!

Phone: +852 2982 8100

Address: Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island

Website: www.rainbowrest.com.hk

How to get there: Located at Lamma Island. The restaurant provide free ferry services to and from Central or TsimShaTsui public pier to Lamma Island.

French Private Kitchen

Restaurant Name: Voyager

A family style cozy & small French bistro in Soho, only can seat around 16 guests. Run by 2 French guys from Brittany, serving their hometown food. You will find Brittany flag all over the place... postcards & flag hang up on the wall, old map, there's even a small Brittany flag on the dessert! Not many choices from the menu though. Very friendly service, reasonable price, good quality of food are th selling points.

Price: HK$270 for a 3-course set dinner including starter, main course and dessert, good deal!

Favourite dish: The Veal Steak with Mushroom Mustard Gravy was FANTASTIC! The steak was very juicy & tender, no need to chew hard, felt like melt in the mouth!

Food Review: I love the complementary rose water they serve, lovely! Bread was freshly baked, crispy and warm! Starter (Voyager's signature dish) was Brittany Mussels & Clams baked with butter, garlic & lots of pasley, served hot on plate. It was a little bit too salty fo me, but fresh & juicy & well spiced. Duck Breast was good too, I love it medium rare, a little bit raw, nicely cooked, the gravy goes very well with the meat, just nice! Fish Fillet was not impressive, you can skip that, dry & overcooked, still prefer Catonese style of fish cooking. For desserts I tried the Hot Apple Cake, nice & special!

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: G/F, 49 Graham Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTRwww.rainbowrest.com.hk

Classic Itaian Restaurant in Soho

Restaurant Name: Cenacolo Steak & Pasta

A classic-type Italian restaurant, this newly opened branch restaurant of the famous "Al Dente" is a good go for Italian food. Good quality of food, reasonable price, nicely decorated and comfortable environment, however, the restaurant manager was very pushy when ordering. I didn't feel comfortable on this one as I want to take my time in deciding. Chinese community love to share food, the staff here understand and they'd serve plates accordingly if you tell them food ordered are for sharing. But the Italian manager obviously didn't like his customers to do so. I like the serving speed, not typical fast speed in most Hong Kong restaurant. Good place to spend 2 hours with friends for the dinner.

Price: HK$200-400 per person

Favourite dish: It must be the warm pudding, it was AWESOME. Served with wild berries, berries were cooked with rum served warm surrounding the pudding. While pudding was super creamy, smooth & rich. Must try!

Food Review: Appetier was Parma Ham with Honey Melon. This is an easy-to-do dish, with high quality parma ham imported from Italy (or Spain?) and sweet juicy melon, it's hard to go wrong. Beef Steak Steloin was very good, very juicy & tender, and nicely done. Although I still like the veal steak better at "Voyager", it's difficult to compare them as different texture. Steak served on top of potato mash, grilled vegetables (broccoli, red pepper, pumpkin, carrot and 2 green beans), big portion. HK$148 for 300g, good deal. The signature pasta dish and risotto were good too.

Phone: +852 2525 2624
Address: G/F, 49 Graham Street, Soho, Hong Kong [MAP]
How to get there: 10 mins walk up hill from Central MTR

www.rainbowrest.com.hk

Drum Jam

After participating in this African hand drum jamming circle, you may gt addicted like me. It's a 100% hands-on drumming session. No matter you are a professional drummer, or you never drum before, everybody can join this jamming session and have fun. Highly recommended that you take part in at least once in your life time. Drumming is a powerful activity to motivate, energise, heal and connect people.

The jamming session is hosted by Kumi Masunaga, one of the most famous African drum instructors in HK, and her facilitators.

There is a monthly free drum jam session in Fringe Club. And every alternate Sunday at the Tom Lee Music Carnival at HK Cultural Centre Piazza, right next to the starferry in the waterfront.

Drum Jam Hong Kong
Price: Free admission. Drums provided.
Check out the monthly schedule here.

Getting Chinese Visa in Hong Kong

The easiest way to get there is to take the Star Ferry from TST to Wanchai. When you get of the ferry, and cross over the footbridge, the China Resources Building is behind the first set of buildings in front of you. When you see the Chinese Arts & Crafts Centre, you need to go to the right of that building and go down to the ground floor.

A Chinese Visa takes two days to process. IE Put the application in on Monday and you can pick it up Wednesday. You need one passport photo. The costs for overseas tourists are as follows:

HK$150 - single visa
HK$220 - double visa

But, and there's always a but, the following nationals have to pay more because of reciprocal fees:

HK$450 - single visa - UK
HK$410 - ditto - Netherlands
HK$390 - ditto - USA

or

HK$670 - double visa - UK
HK$630 - ditto - Netherlands
HK$390 - ditto - USA

The Visa Office is at 7/F Lower, China Resources Building, 26 Harbour Road Wanchai. [MAP]

Big Buddha @ Po Lin Monastery

In the Precious Lotus Monastery, in the mountainous interior of Lantau island, is the world's tallest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha, more than 100 feet high and weighing 275 tons. The adjacent monastery is also famous for the vegetarian meals served in the temple refectory.