#kolokoytravels Hong Kong 2016 - Nan Lian Garden

Disneyland, check.

Avenue of the Stars, check.

Tian Tan Buddha, check.

Now, what?

When one thinks of Hong Kong, you can surely bet that images of those three would definitely top the list. More often than not, those three will also eat up a huge chunk of your itineray, leaving you exhausted to the point of just calling it a day.

Since my first trip in Hong Kong was via a package tour, I only get to appreciate the city when I went DIY and searched various guides online. The Internet is really a very powerful tool when planning your travel itinerary. I only came across the Nan Lian garden while doing some research via my Sygic app on less popular but worthy (read: instagrammable) places to visit around the city. Thank God I did.

The garden was literally a breath of fresh air. A wide patch of greens amongst concrete. The very thing that I remember is how tranquil and quiet it is once you’re inside the walls of the garden. Maybe it helps that the weather back then was a gloomy one so walking is a bit easier to take. If not for the skyscrapers in the background, you may forget that you’re actually right in the middle of the city. The highlight of the garden is a spectacular golden pavilion in the middle of a pond crossed by a bright red bridge. There’s also  a big koi fish pond in the middle and a platform beside it where one can sit and rest. Watching the koi fish is fun, but no feeding allowed. Here re some pic I have taken, and hopefully would be able to post more.

Nan Lian Garden

Admission free

60 Fung Tak Rd, Diamond Hill, Hong Kong 

Opening hours: 7.00 to 21.00

http://www.nanliangarden.org

MTR Station: Diamond Hill (Exit C2, then follow the signs to the Garden)

#kolokoytravels - Hong Kong 2016 - Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine

So as I mend my broken heart over my self-imposed hiatus from booking a piso fare flight via Cebu Pacific ongoing promotion, I decided to just reminisce about my previous travels. Since I'm not yet keen on blogging about my already not-so-recent Seoul trip, I'm blogging about a way more not-so-recent trip to Hong Kong way back April 2016. It was my second time in the city, though my first time to have it in DIY mode, and one thing I very much remember is the Hello Kitty restaurant in Canton Road.

I'm not a huge Hello Kitty fan, and neither my companions, but we all loved themed cafes and decided to give this one a try. Note that though there's a lot of Hello Kitty themed restaurants and cafes all over the globe, this they say,  is the world’s first Hello Kitty restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine.

Getting There

Basing from Google Maps, it looks like it is very near Austin Station. However, the exit (F) leading to Canton Road from the station itself was a challenge and we learned the hard way that it is actually nearer if coming from Jordan Station. Here's the complete address:

Shop A-C, G/F, Lee Loy Mansion, 332-338 Canton Road, Jordan, Kowloon

Now that I'm a bit wiser, the should be accessible via MTR Austin Station Exit B2, walk about 3 minutes; or MTR Jordan Station Exit C2, walk about 5 minutes. Why have I not found out about it before? Tsk.

I'm not sure if it's because we got there way past dinner time, but the actual vicinity is not that enticing itself. Located on a corner dilapidated (for lack of better term) building where alleys are not well lit and few pedestrians can come across, the restaurant itself is a breath of fresh air or view. The huge iconic pink bows is a telltale sign that you reached the right place.

Going in by the gift store at the side, you will be greeted by Hello Kitty itself?, herself?, offering a steamed bun. Don't you dare refuse.

The restaurant itself explodes with everything Hello Kitty (duh) but with a strong ancient China feel. Old school Chinese wooden tables, chairs, and lanterns all engraved with Hello Kitty’s face. Every single detail from the windows, chopsticks, table napkins, teapots and tea cups were branded. There are also ancient style paintings of Hello Kitty depicted as some kind of deity, I think.

Foodgasm

It was late dinner time when we reached the place so we were seated almost immediately even though the restaurant itself is still almost full of customers. Ordering took some time, not because of language barrier (I'm not really sure if there was an English menu back then, there is one now, and we rely on pictures) but because there are so many options to choose with so little budget. Haha. Waiting time is standard 20-30 minutes, of which we took the opportunity to go around and be the shutterbugs that we are. When our food were brought out, instagrammable was the first word I thought of. The details are perfect and I don’t think I’ll ever had such cute food for a few months or so. I’m not sure of how many photos we took of our food before we started eating it but it was definitely a lot. 

Lau Sa Bau

Har Gau

Stir Fried Glutinous Rice

 Saffron Fried Rice with Shredded Chicken in Apple Sauce. Whew.

Steamed Egg Whites and Prawns with Hello Kitty Rice

Hello Kitty Pudding with Milk

For die hard Hello Kitty fans, I believe It will take a lot of willpower to actually start eating as it all looked too good to eat. But I'm not one, so here's an obligatory I-ate-Hello-Kitty-and-I'm-not-sorry shots.

And here's one from our birthday boy Yuki:

Price

As far as I remember, we spent almost Php 5,000 (too lazy to check my credit card statement, and wise enough not to try) for all the above dishes, so yeah it's a bit on the pricey side. Be prepared to fork out some cash as these nice kitty dishes do not come cheap after currency conversion and all. But worry not, I just found out that my favorite online travel activity booking site is offering a voucher. For as low as Php 851, one can avail of the 1 person set which consists of:

1pc Hello Kitty Creamy Egg Yolk Bun

1pc Hello Kitty Shrimp Dumplings

1pc Hello Kitty Baked B.B.Q. Pork Cake

1pc Hello Kitty Pan Fried Turnip Cake

Inclusive of service fees and tea fees

Not bad. I wish I knew about this at that time. Oh well. 

Was the food, good?

I honestly don't remember, except that I enjoyed it. I would recommend for first timers and definitely for hardcore Hello Kitty fans. In my humble opinion, whenever going to themed cafes or restaurants, always keep your expectations to a minimum level. You came for the experience, the theme, the bragging rights to actually say been-there-done-that on Instagram or whatever social media account you have. Tasting good is just an extra icing on the cake. Most online reviews say that the food was meh, bland, too pricey, etc, but they are not thinking about that when uploading their pics, are they? Case closed.

More to come! :)

Hong Kong and Macau Series - Itinerary Draft

This is a continuation of my upcoming Hong Kong and Macau travel post. See first post here. It would be a 5D4N adventure for a 3 adult and 1 kid group. We will be staying at Noble Park Hotel from April 11 to April 14 then At Sun Ying Hotel  April 14 to April 15 (We extended 1 day! Haha!). My main references are still Pinoy Exhange's Hong Kong Guide 2014 as it is very informative, Hong Kong Official MTR website for fare calculations and Discover Hong Kong, (Hong Kong's official travel guide) for of course, official and updated information. This is actually a second draft after being advised to revise my first one by one of the top dogs of the forum.

Image from ING Group's Flicker page

April 11 (Day 0)

9 Arrival HKG
10-11 Travel to Hotel
12 Charlie Brown Café
1 Wong Tai Sin Temple
2 Nan Lian Garden
3 Back to TST Avenue of the Stars on the way to Star Ferry to Lower Terminus
4 Peak Tram
5 Wax Museum
6 Trams Museum
7 Victoria Peak
8 Return To TST / Symphony of Lights
9-11 Fa Yuen Street
11 Hotel

April 12 (Day 1)

7 Travel to Macau
8-3 Macau / City of Dreams / Venetian Hotel / St. Paul Ruins / Lunch
4-5 Macau Tower Sky Jump
6 Return To HK
7-11 Dinner / Night Market / Fa Yuen
12 Hotel

April 13 (Day 2)

8 Breakfast /Travel to HK Disneyland
10-9pm Hongkong Disneyland
10pm Back to hotel / dinner

April 14 (Day3)

8am Travel to Ocean Park
10-5pm Ocean Park
6pm Back to Hotel
7pm ?

April 15 (Day 4)
8am Breakfast
10am Central Mid Level Escalator
12pm Checkout from Hotel
1PM Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car / Tian Tan Buddha / Po Lin Monastery / Wisodom Path
6PM Travel to Airport
10pm Departure
12AM Manila

Will be back for more updates!

Hong Kong and Macau Series - Reminiscing + Tips on Pre-planning a DIY Guide

I've already been to Hong Kong and Macau last January 2014. But looking back, have I really done so? It was a packaged tour, wherein every part of our itinerary have been accounted for. I don't know at that time why I didn't opt for a DIY experience. Yes, I've been to Disneyland Hong Kong, Avenue of the Stars, St. Paul Ruins, Venetian Hotel. That's it. I didn't get to use the MTR as transfers are included on our tour. I didn't experience the trams nor visited the Big Buddha. Heck, the only thing I appreciate now is the stamp on my passport because as of March 19, 2013, Hong Kong no longer stamps passport. Tourist are being given landing slips instead.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoyed my stay there as it is my first time to travel outside the Philippines and I was with a close group of friends. The weather way back then was freezing since it was January, and I personally was not prepared for it. Hehe.

Anyway, I'm coming back to Hong Kong this April 2016 for my birthday! And this time, I'm hoping to really experience it DIY. To start off, I was tasked to create our 5 days four nights itinerary. I've been reading Pinoy Exchange's Hong Kong Guide 2014 and would like to share the below tips:

1. Hong Kong is much  more than Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland. But hey, I am still including these two destination as we have a ten year old kid travelling with us (it's his birthday too!).

2. Hong Kong is synonymous to walking, prepare for long walks so bring comfortable shoes. This is what I never experienced the first time I was there so I gotta prepare my self. 

3. A 5 minute walk for Hongkongers means 10 minutes walk for Filipinos (since most of them are briskwalkers). This is not a problem for me as I'm one. I'm not sure about my companions though. 

4. Octopus Card vs Airport Express Travel Pass. The consensus for this is that the travel pass is not worth it. You won't be able to maximize the ride-all-you-can. For those staying for 3-4 days, 150-200HKD is enough (including 50HKD deposit). If you are taking the Airport Express to the city, purchase it separately (preferably as a group so you will have discounts). The Airport Express has free shuttles to selected hotels. 

The Travel Pass is only recommended for travellers who will keep traveling back and forth using the MTR multiple times in a day. This is the only time you can take advantage of the unlimited MTR rides. If you are doing the usual first-timers itinerary which includes theme parks, this will not be worth it.

This is noted. 

5. Golden Crown Guesthouse has the cheapest tickets for everything. So for those who have enough time to buy from them on your first day, just get it from them. I'm actually looking into this as I'm also eyeing Klook.com for discounted tickets (more on this on my next post). 

6. Unless you plan to exhaust yourself, don't go to Disneyland, Ocean Park and Macau in a 4D3N trip. We're on a 5 days 4 nights trip so I guess it's ok. Haha. 

7. Get a WIFI device or a 3g/4g SIM. Every travel abroad requires one. Good for sharing your experiene in real time and helpful when you gt lost. :)

TOP 10 Things to Do in Hong Kong

1. The Peak (includes Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum - BEST SEEN AT SUNSET/DUSK)

2. Ocean Park

3. Disneyland

4. Star Ferry

5. Century Old Ding Ding Tram

6. Nan Lian Gardens and Chilin Nunnery *No Tripods Allowed*

7. Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront (Avenue of Stars)

8. Ngong Ping Village and Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car (Giant Buddha)

9. Causeway Bay and Mongkok Districts

10. Stanley and Aberdeen (Jumbo Floating Restaurant)

Aside from Pinoy Exchange Hong Kong guide, I also use an app called Tripomatic. It is available in iOS and Android. It helps you plan your trip strategically by plotting points of interest like hotels, attractions, and restaurants on a map. It shows you distances between points, enabling you to wisely plan which attractions to visit on which days, and in what order (more o it on a future post).

This is is for now.  

While strolling in Macau

Figuring out on what to order. :)

WiFi dependent.