A Short Trip to Hong Kong

So, I thought I'd take a break from talking about job hustling, and share a little about a recent short family trip to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is the the place beyond Singapore that I most frequently visit. It's mainly because of familial ties: my father is a born-and-bred Hong Konger (he is a Singapore citizen now) and his parents still live there. We visit my grandparents about once every year or two years.

You'd think that I'd be super familiar with Hong Kong after countless visits, but nope, I am afraid I only know just a tad more than your average tourist. I can't even speak fluent Cantonese, just a few random words and phrases. Still, I consider Hong Kong a second home of sorts, given my blood ties to the city and the fact that I am a Hong Kong PR. I always looks forward to every visit to Hong Kong and hope to do a work stint there someday.

This year's trip was a pretty short one but we still managed to have loads of fun! Like Singapore, Hong Kong is a modern and highly urbanized city with tall buildings everywhere. Its CBD is also situated by the sea:

The ferry terminal near Hong Kong station.

Despite being really modern, there are still pockets of rusticity within Hong Kong. We visited the little village of Tai O, located in Lantau Island, for the first time. It is a stark contrast to the bustling metropolis that comes to mind when people normally think of Hong Kong:

The little village of Tai O, AKA Venice of the East. Reminds me more of Penang, actually.

There's not much to do in tiny little Tai O, except strolling along the sea, exploring the rustic neighborhood, visiting the markets and eating delicious street food. A particularly popular street food stall in Tai O, and one that I definitely recommend, is this place run by a cool dude in shades who makes Hong Kong style egg waffles over a charcoal stove:

Most shops in Hong Kong make egg waffles with an electric grill pan. This dude does it the old school way!

Speaking of food! Every time we visit Hong Kong, my family and I always have fun trying all kinds of delicious Hong Kong food. My ideal traditional Hong Kong breakfast is either dim sum with my family, or a bowl of Hong-Kong style Congee and Zha Liang (dough fritters wrapped in rice sheet) on the side:

I love Zha Liang! This delicious Zha Liang is sold at a popular Congee shop in the Fortress Hill neighborhood called Congee Wonderland.

For lunch or dinner, I recommend a bowl of Prawn Wanton Noodles at Mak Siu Kee (Traditional) Wonton Noodle. They have several outlets in various parts of Hong Kong, but we have only tried the Fortress Hill outlet. This is their specialty Prawn Wonton Noodle:

On this trip, I learnt that one of the special ingredients used to make the Prawn Wonton Noodles savory is dried prawn roe.

Finally, if it is desserts that you crave, pop in one of the several Hui Lau Shan outlets all over Hong Kong! Hui Lau Shan specializes in desserts made using fruits (particularly mangoes):

Beat the hot and humid Hong Kong summer with cold fruity desserts! 

Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart (and stomach :P). I thought I had seen most of it already. but Dad said that we have not covered some of the small islands as well as the New Territories area yet. Excellent, plenty to look forward to for the next trip!

Image credit: All photos were taken by me.