Hong Kong is known for its impressive skyline, high population density and busy streets that offer travellers endless shopping and eating possibilities. It’s a city with a unique cultural blend of the East and the West. We had the change to live here for a couple of months in which we really could enjoy the city as a whole. There are a couple of must-sees like Victorias Peak, Star Ferry, the Island Tramways and the longest escalator in the world which you can find in any Hong Kong guide on the internet so we won’t go into details here. Instead, we will share some of our favourite places where you can eat, drink and relax.
Eating
Hong Kong is Asia’s kitchen. Nowhere on earth, you can find so many great restaurants and bars that offer so many different cuisines. You can even have a nice and affordable Michelin’s Star experience at Din Tai Fung. Here you can taste one of the best Dim Sums and Dumplings in town. Don’t miss the Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Rice Wine 😉
For a great Ramen experience, you need to go to Ichiran. It offers a unique experience, especially for Western travellers because of two reasons. First, every guest gets his or her own “eating booth”. You won’t be sharing a table with your friends or other guests. You even won’t be making eye contact with the waiter. Sounds crazy? It is :). Second, you need to customise your Ramen dish by filling in a form. You need to address how strong you want the flavour of your broth, how many garlic you want to have in your dish, if you want to have green onions, etc.
Another great place we went to was Noodleholic. It’s an affordable Hot Pot place that even offers “medicinal” Hot Pot dishes ;).
Another great Michelin Guide favourite of ours was Tim Ho Wan, a perfect place to try Chinese traditional dishes. They have some great dumplings and their signature dish, sweet buns with BBQ pork is delicious. If you feel adventurous you can try their Pidan dish (wiki: preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg, millennium egg, century egg – they cannot seem to decide how many years these eggs need to be preserved ;)) It actually tastes quite good, a bit jelly-like.
Hong Kong offers also many traditional restaurants from all over Asia. We had some great Yakitoris (traditional Japanese skewers) combined with some amazing Sake at a restaurant called, surprise, Sake and Yakatori.
Other mouthwatering shots 😉
Drinking
We enjoyed some great cocktails at Ashley Sutton’s Iron Fairies and Ophelia. Both bars are quite unique due to the great interior design. At the Iron Fairies, you can see thousands of butterflies hanging from the ceiling and Orphelia is completely peacock themed. Both are great places to spend a Friday or Saturday night.
If you’re looking for a place where you can enjoy the view next to a drink, go to Wooloomooloo in the Wan Chai district. It offers a stunning 180 degrees view of Hong Kong. The steaks there are pretty decent too.
Chill
Hong Kong is busy, very very busy indeed. But, surprisingly, you can escape the city life and be at a tranquil beach just within 30 minutes by local bus. We enjoyed Repulse Bay very much in the weekends. In contrast to Stanley Beach (and its promenade), it is not overcrowded with tourists and it offers some nice places to have a coffee and some lovely food.
Another relaxing location is Victoria Park. Here you can do some exercise like running and watching locals racing their small boats in the pond.
If you are into hiking, Hong Kong and its surrounding offers some nice trails. The Peak Trail is a 1,5-hour walk from Victorias Peak to Mid Levels and if you are looking for something more challenging you can hike the Dragons Back. Do you have some time left in Hong Kong? Visit the Big Buddha and enjoy its trail towards it.
If you have an additional spare day, visit Macau. We ensure you that is much more than a gambling city 😉
