wandernut

For spending too much money.

Bought my Timberland waterproof boots! It’s not quite the design I was hoping to find, but this one’s close. And YL could get 10% off on her credit card. Score!

Went on a spree at Uniqlo *heart* and H&M. Bought some wool sweaters, cotton long sleeve tops, a corduroy jacket, a knitted cardigan, a merino wool dress, gloves and stockings. All to layer up for the impending cold weather.

Bought a pair of Teva sandals (not so trendy, but very hardy), a sports bra and running trackbottoms from Fa Yuen St, which is like sportswear and sneakers central.

Got my camera - a Canon EOS 450D with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 from this small little camera shop called Echo on Hankow St in TST. Mr Tommy, the white-haired guy there is very friendly. I told him I was a beginner and he patiently explained the difference between the lenses I could start off with, even before I said I would buy from him. Plus he sold only the original stuff, and not grey imports, so its got some pretty decent warranties. Decently priced too.

Went around Mongkok to survey prices earlier but the crowd and the general bad attitude of some sales people there really put me off. It’s quite obvious they were out to make a buck, and not to share a love for photography. So Mr Tommy at Echo gets a thumbs up in my book.

For overeating.

Siew yoke and sheng jian bao (tapaued from Shanghai) for dinner the first night, AFTER a bowl of beef noodles, mind you).

The next day, it was dim sum at Superstar in Times Square, Causeway Bay with YL, PL, CK and friends - the usual suspects of paus, steamed dumpling, some ribs and fried stuff.

And I had my Tai Cheong egg tarts. *sigh*

I also had Porridge and Char leung and realised not all porridge shops are created equal. The best is still the one on Bute St in Mongkok. Crispy yao char koays. Another little place in Causeway Bay served lovely porridge too.

Check out that vintage cash register in this Causeway Bay porridge shop!

I discovered a fantastic tau fu fa place by accident on Dundas St, at the corner near Portland St. Super smooth beancurd and flavourful soy milk made even better by the smiling owner who had a quirky sense of humour. I also had gwai ling gou or ‘turtle’ herbal jelly next door. I don’t know which part of the turtle they use, but I must say these people make great herbal jelly. It’s more expensive than I remember at HKD50 (it was HKD38 at another place I stopped in 2 years ago).

Very good taufufa shop and a gwailinggou shop next door on Dundas St near Portland St. Uh, the turtle is used to make that gwailinggou.

We had an adventure plus a long wait for famous roast goose in Sam Tseng. It was quite a ride, but thank God for CC and wife as they took us there with baby A in tow. There were a few roast goose institutions in the area, but CC’s wife recommended us Yue Kee, as she said Chan Kee’s standards had fallen of late. And Yue Kee certainly did not disappoint. We ended the night with dessert nearby - the mango pomelo thingy knocked Hui Lau Shan off the HK dessert pedestal for me.

Yue Kee in Sam Tseng.


The dessert place in Sam Tseng

On my last day I revisited the dim sum place on the corner of Haiphong/Canton Rd. And I went back to the Bute St porridge place just to have my last crispy serving of yao char koay and a bowl of warm soy bean milk. Typical HK brekky -so comforting. At night, we cooked up what we could find in YL’s fridge before my trip home.

Don’t worry, ate these 2 bowls on separate occasions. Hee. This is my favourite char leung, YCK and porridge place in Bute St, Mongkok.

It feels good to be home right now.
Feels so good to be with loved ones again.
Really tired. Time to sleep.

Thanks YL for having me!
And thanks to CC and T for taking us all the way to Sam Tseng for goosey goosey.
It was a good trip for me this time cos I got to see more of the places I didn’t get to explore the last 2 times - Causeway Bay, Sam Tseng and Stanley. I love YL’s place. Her simple neighbourhood supermarket is even better than the expat ones in Shanghai. Not to mention tons cheaper!

And I’ll leave you with some jakun pictures taken at the Maglev train (431km/h top speed man!! Reached the airport in 7 mins from the Longyang station). Also a picture I took at the Shanghai Airport. I really like that picture. Even though I’ve got a DSLR now, I still love the camera on my handphone. It still takes mighty sweet pictures.