Tuesday 25 December 2012

day 12

Christmas Day was spent travelling around HK, riding on trams and drinking Starbucks overlooking Victoria Harbour. It's been a long day, ending with an extended family dinner at Mei Foo's Foo Lum restaurant; the chicken was HK$1 each! Took the taxi back home and craving some sleep!
 
Foggy Victoria Harbour at noon, the whole place was filled with tourists of several nationalities, tugging their Canon and Nikon cameras. This is the destination thousands will flock to for the New Year's Eve fireworks display.

Took a break after strolling down the Avenue of Stars. Ordered two mocha pralines and an iced chocolate.
 
Enjoyed the view from the second floor! It was lovely albeit foggy; would have been better on a sunny and less windy day.
 
Took the 'Star Ferry' from Tsim Sha Tsui to Wan Chai which was about a 10 minute ride across the harbour. Went to the convention centre expecting an abundance of food, but look at those heads! It was extremely hot in there and you had to push through the crowd to get to the exit. After that, I really just wanted to get out of that place.

The HK$10 entrance fee, while cheap as chips, did not compensate for the boredom I can say I experienced in there.

Trekked from Wan Chai to Causeway Bay which was the biggest trek ever :( Took a lot of snaps of the decaying buildings in the area.

Owning a flashy car in HK is like asking for it to be vandalised, wrecked or stolen. But then on the upside, you can always have it featured in touristy photos!

Lunch... not mine though - snake soup. It was my first time trying this delicacy and I'll say I prefer shark fin soup more. Not like it's any more humane!

Now this was ducking yum.

On a tram to our dinner destination - Mei Foo in the New Territories. See how far we trekked?



Monday 24 December 2012

day 11

Wishing all my Australian readers a Merry Christmas! Hope you people have a lovely day celebrating with your family and friends :) As for me, I still have one hour of Christmas Eve to go and I'm excited for tomorrow's events! We're going to a food convention in Wan Chai; mum said there's a lot of food so it should be a swell day. I got back from a Christmas Eve dinner with my relatives at a (you guessed it) Chinese restaurant! I felt like dressing up because nobody seems to be in the Christmas mood in HK, it's a bit sad. Far from being a high roller! I guess it shows that you don't have to spend heaps and buy from top brands to put together an outfit for the festive season. 
 

 

I like making a fool of myself!

All my love! X



Saturday 22 December 2012

day 9

I wasn't blogging yesterday because I was exhausted from shopping my sorrows away but I'm back again! Hopefully I'll be able to blog for the rest of my trip :) Today we were going to head out to Tsim Sha Tsui but due to exhaustion, I wanted to go somewhere closer. So we went to Metro City.
 
Alive and well, a day after the ATAR release!!

Lunch, at KFC! HK$116 consisted of three bowls of rice, fried stuff, egg tarts, chicken and drinks. I was a bit surprised to be eating American fast food in HK where cafes and restaurants are plentiful!


My brother spent HK$50 on jelly belly and isn't giving me any
 
My purchases; clearly I am obsessed with H&M, the sales are really good at the moment. Their sheer, chiffon tops with lace/cut outs are great for colourblocking and for standing out among people wearing head to toe HK clothing styles. I've bought so much from H&M because it fits my Euro taste in clothes; I'm not such a big fan of what people are wearing in HK. It's so good to find a store that sells quality pieces and differs from the crazy textures and odd prints that are commonly found.
 
I went inside ZARA again and spotted some leather shorts with a paperbag waist (HK$499). I would probably wear them to parties paired with a blouse and thick-heeled booties for a classier look, rather than wear them to uni! Unfortunately they didn't complement my body in the best way so I abandoned them. There's a lot of leather actually, at ZARA. From leather accents on pants and shirts to full on leather skirts, there really is something to suit everyone's taste if they're into the trend!

Thursday 20 December 2012

day 7

This was my breakfast before leaving for Diamond Hill. It was from a bakery near my place and it was nice!
 
After taking the bus and MTR, we arrived at Hollywood Plaza. We shopped around at clothing stores and were pestered by the shopkeepers. It's something I dislike about HK; they just don't stop recommending clothes for you and asking you whether you like something or not! Some of them aren't so nice and bitch about you if you don't buy enough clothes from their store.
 
Had tea at Riso Cafe, a set for two: salad, pizza, spaghetti, earl grey, coffee, ice cream with brownie
 
On the ground level of Hollywood Plaza, there was a whole section of food stalls. Ended up buying a few containers of dried beef and some floss candy.


Near the MTR station, there was a sushi takeaway place full of people grabbing pieces of wrapped sashimi and sushi. It was real stuffy in there but the sushi was great value, HK$3 a piece and we bought two boxes, totalling HK$60. That's a bargain no place in Australia can beat!

Feast for back home!
 

The sights back home on the MTR

Another pair of boots and purchases from H&M

Wednesday 19 December 2012

day 6

This morning, people were awake at the crack of dawn to find out their HSC results. As for me, I woke up at noon to find out I didn't actually have my HSC pin with me and had no idea what it was! As a result, my results remain a mystery to me but I just need to know my ATAR. My desperation was quite tiring so I dropped it and went out to Telford Gardens, Kowloon Bay. All those Chanel, Dior, Kiehl's, Benefit, ZARA etc. stores! My brother wanted to get a white iPad mini but they were all sold out, to his utter dismay.
 

Had lunch at Maxim's fast food chain


 
My BBQ duck and egg noodles, Maxim 

Brother got a new pair of high tops

The EasyWay of HK - Happy Lemon!

My lemon green tea with aloe vera, brother's peach tea

Look at those moustache leggings! Awesome, but a tad pricey

Bought two circle scarves from Aldo, my first ever purchase from there

Tuesday 18 December 2012

day 5

Festivities at Tseung Kwan O's Metro City mall

Some of the 11 dishes from yum cha with the gran

The oversized H&M shopping bag was so cute! It was just fun to wear

Doubt anyone could actually look that good with those undies ;(

Pho for tea, this was the lemongrass pork one

I was so excited when I saw Zara because it wasn't open at Metro City two years ago. So I had to purchase something!

HK$199... bit pricey for a tee but it's ZARA and MOUSTACHES! Mum didn't want me to get it so I was a little hesistant.

But then I found these cute ankle boots from the Zara A/W 2012 collection and fell in love! They're suede, like the ones I bought earlier today. The heel is easy to walk in and would be a nice transitioning shoe from autumn to winter.

Considering the amount of time we walked around the shops, I didn't end up getting that much. A shimmery sweater from H&M, ankle boots from ZARA and calf boots from some Korean based store.

Monday 17 December 2012

day 4

Went to APM mall today for a spot of shopping and didn't come home empty-handed. There was a Steve Madden store but the shoes are double the price of those in the US, what a shame!
 


APM mall festivities, Kwun Tong
 
 

So many levels, there are escalators crossing them a la Hogwarts!
 
UNIQLO haul, due to the massive sales spent approx HK$1000. That is what post-HSC holidays does to you!

Fluffy green cake HK$14

Having breakfast/lunch/tea at Toast Box HK$32

Hanging around in an old, almost abandoned warehouse. This was taken from underground! I was creeped out by the lift that required you to slide open the door in order to get in, i.e. not a modern lift which is the only kind of lift I will get in! Mum and I were creeped out by the atmosphere so we ran away.
 
People rushing around after work

Double decker buses and vans everywhere!

An old theatre that's now replaced below with miscellaneous stores. Mum said she used to go there to see films. Interesting how there's a modern skyscraper in the background, such a contrast.

Many of these old buildings are going to be demolished soon... I wonder what they used to look like and what kind of people lived in them. I adore anything from the past because it all tells a story.
 
Quenching my thirst at a 7-11 outlet
 
Back in Lam Tin, at the coin laundry to pick up our washing (AU$5 for a whole bag of clothes!)
 
Going for dessert at midnight; shaved ice with all sorts of things added, brother's

Mine: mango ice with green tea syrup, watermelon, sultanas, dragonfruit pulp, lychee squirting balls

 Cousin's

Tick what you want!

Soy bean drink

Fried dough stick