Here’s Part 2 of my 2025 Spring vacation!
April 2nd: Continuing from the last post, the flight itself was pretty smooth, and we landed a little early! Hong Kong airport is huge, as you need to take a tram from one terminal to another. The actual immigration process is easy, with no prior documents needed, and nothing to do except walk out of customs.
My aunt and uncle picked me up at the airport (big thanks!) and we immediately headed to dinner. They planned Chinese-style hot pot at this well-known mainland chain. It was a big feast, with a ton of stuff I can’t get at Japanese shabu shabu restaurants.
It was all very yummy, and I think the first time I’ve had hot pot with not-thin cut beef. The three-colored noodles were also interesting!
For dessert, we headed upstairs for a classic Hong Kong treat. Mango pomelo sago, among other mango things, is a very Hong Kong thing. There’s a branch of Honeymoon Dessert, a big chain, at the same mall we had dinner, which made it super convenient.
I liked how the portions here weren’t too big, and perfect as a sweet treat. As with how asian desserts should be, the soup wasn’t too sweet, and was a creamy mango flavor. There was also bits of pomelo and chunks of mango throughout, in addition to the baby tapioca pearls. It also came out super fast!
April 3rd: My first full day in Hong Kong! The main plan of the day was to go to West Kowloon Cultural District, get dim sum for lunch, check out Tsim Sha Tsui, walk along the harbor, and then take the ferry over to Hong Kong island.
But first breakfast! Bakehouse is this bakery chain that has gone viral in Hong Kong for their pastries. There’s typically a line, but we were planning on going in the morning on a Thursday, so we were hoping there wouldn’t be a crowd. Arriving around 10am, we barely managed to get a table for 3 people!
Their full-on breakfast menu was pretty fancy and comprehensive, but I’m typically not a huge Western breakfast person. I was more intrigued by how amazing their pastries looked, and luckily they had an option for a pastry set on the menu. 2 pastries of choice, plus a drink. I inadvertendly ended up with 2 danishes, but honestly, these looked the best to my taste. And, a fancy matcha latte with purple potato, lavender, and two types of matcha!
Both pastries were super flaky and crispy! The apple crumble had a sort of swet cinnamon crumble on top , and the strawberry vanilla had a custard cream in the middle. The matcha latte was super nice and refreshing, with a perfect balance of matcha and lavender flavor.
My aunt needed to go to work, so my uncle came and drove my great-aunt and I to West Kowloon Cultural District to hang for the morning. Supposedly it’s a recently newly renovated area now home to an art park, and two museums: Palace Museum, and M+.
We had some time until our lunch reservation, and none of us were feeling particularly hungry, so my uncle asked me if I preferred one museum over the other. I’m more of an artsy person over history, so I chose the M+ (never mind the fact that my favorite actor visited the M+ a few years ago…).
Pretty cool museum, with art of all types and historical pieces. There was also some kind of Chinese Picasso exhibit?
Around 1:30, we headed over to our dim sum reservation at The Starview. It was on the top building of a mall complex, and had an open patio that had a really nice view of the city. Apparently, a bunch of weddings and banquets take place here, so it’s quite a famous picture spot.
For dim sum, we ordered a variety of things including my favorite chicken feet, the cutest soup dumplings, cha siu buns, siu mai, veggies, and the fanciest rice rolls I’ve ever seen. All of my relatives look at me funny when I say I like chicken feet. Real dim sum conoisseurs know it’s a must-get.
After lunch, my aunt and uncle took me exploring around the Tsim Sha Tsui area. This included a stop by Red Tea, a classic Hong-Kong style cafe, to buy a bolo bun. We managed to get a fresh one!
This bolo bun was also very good. The top had a nice crunch, a bit softer than the one I had in Singapore. Inside was soft and fluffy, and a bit sweet throughout.
We reached the K11 Art Mall area, and came across three milk tea shops next to each other. I opted for Chagee, after failing to get it multiple times in Singapore…Read about my drink here!
We also spotted the famous Mister Softee ice cream truck. Apparently this ice cream truck can be spotted all over Hong Kong, and is quite a tourist attraction in its own right. According to my uncle, it’s not very good ice cream, but people keep lining up for it. I was offered to try it, but I had a drink and just finished a bolo bun…
The K11 Art Mall is pretty cool. There’s the usual high-end brands, some restaurants, but also some small shops with cute goods.
We made our way to Victoria Harbour, which is the iconic view of Hong Kong. The harbor is pretty big, with a ton of places to take photos, and many iconic landmarks and things to see. The promenade is home to the Avenue of Stars, kind of like Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood walk of fame. Along the promenade are handprints of famous Hong Kong actors.
After walking along the pier, we boarded a ferry to Hong Kong island. There are quite a few ferries and boats that go to the island and other places, including the pirate ship-looking one. We did not go on it, but rather the Star Ferry, which runs regularly every 10 minutes or so. It’s a pretty short ride, but nice and scenic.
After taking some pictures on the island and walking around, we actually hopped back onto the ferry to the mainland. Tomorrow was the actual Hong Kong island day, and we had dinner plans elsewhere anyway.
After picking up my cousin from school, we stopped by the Ladies’ Market to see if there were any interesting souvenirs I wanted to buy. Ladies’ Market is this night market with affordable prices for items, and also things of all kinds. Maybe some luxury knockoffs…I did find my Hong Kong cards of the trip, so ’twas a success!
We met up with my uncle’s family at the dinner restaurant. The restaurant supposedly has Michelin status, but my uncle said he heard it was closing later this year…Our dinner consisted of a spread of many fancy items, including char siu pork, oil chicken, a baked baby pig, Peking duck, fried rice, rice noodles, and other dishes. We chose from their dessert selection at the end, and I opted for this red bean milk pudding. Quite interesting, bouncy, with a texture like a soft gummy, and light flavor. I also tried some of their house vinegar ice cream, which is better than how it sounds…
April 4th: This day was actually a national holiday! I spent the day hanging around Hong Kong Island doing all the tourist things with my uncle’s family. We saw a bunch of murals, did some historic sightseeing, and ended the day on the iconic Victoria Peak!
We attempted to eat at Australia Dairy Company for breakfast, but failed to account for them taking holidays off. I mean, good for them, everyone deserves a holiday break. Instead for breakfast, we went to Red Tea, the place I got a bolo bun the day before. I opted for a baked cha siu bun and a milk tea, and relatives game me some abalone ham macaroni soup and (not pictured) satay beef instant noodle soup to try.
The macaroni soup was quite interesting, filled with slices of ham, (what I presume is) thin slices of abalone, and macaroni, in a slightly thick, vague nostalgic tasting soup (yet I don’t think I’ve ever had it before). The beef noodle soup was also pretty good, with tender slices of flavorful beef in a light broth with instant noodles. The bun was soft on the inside, with chunks of meat on the inside. Surprisingly, the milk tea wasn’t sweet at all, which was an interesting experience. Sugar is there to add to your liking, but I just went with unsweetened. I had this notion that Hong Kong milk tea was rich and sweet, but was actually the opposite.
We took the MRT and walked to the Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Supposedly it’s one of the last buildings standing from the 1880s with this style of architecture.
Then we walked down the hill to Tai Kwun. Tai Kwun used to be a prison and police headquarters back in the day, but after being retired, they turned it into a cultural center. I guess there was an event pop-up that day. We did a postcard stamp rally, one of those where you layer different colored stamps to create a complete picture!
There’s an area where you can tour the historic prison! It was simultaneously cool and sad…
I can’t tell you where exactly all these murals are, but here’s a compilation of the murals we saw throughout the day. Hopefully the names are correct…
Around 1:30, we headed to Tsim Chai Kee Noodle for some wonton noodles! This place is quite famous, and a repeat Michelin recipient. There was a bit of a line when we arrived, but the line moves pretty fast because of Hong Kong efficiency. I actually opted for the fishball, because I’m not a huge fan of shrimp. There’s an option to mix and match toppings, and choose a different noodle.
The wontons and fishballs were huge here! The fishball is unlike a typical smooth, bouncy, round one, and instead, this one is a giant clump of fish paste, reminiscent of a giant meatball. Some parts were slightly crunchy from the veg inside, and I got a kind of herby flavor the entire time I was eating it. The noodles were super thin egg noodles, and the broth was a bit shrimpy, almost like a less rich shrimp ramen broth.
After lunch, we headed to Central Market for some dessert! Central Market used to be a historic wholesale market, but also has now been remodeled into a hip shopping plaza with small eats and cool souvenir shops. We bought a couple egg waffles, one in chocolate chip, and one original.
The egg waffles were crispy on the outside, but warm and chewy on the inside. The original was definitely a lot eggier in flavor, and as a chocolate girlie, I think my cousin who picked the chocolate has good taste.
We went for dessert Part 2 at my cousin’s favorite gelato shop! Unfortunately, this place used to shape gelato like a rose, but apparently recently changed management, so they did away with it. Nevertheless, the gelato was still good. After sampling the flavors, I went with peach and mango. They added a baby scoop on top too!
Gelato was very yummy! Super creamy, and what you’d expect from a peach and mango ice cream. There were a couple of huge lines underneath the window from where we were sitting, as I think there’s a couple of viral bakeries located right here too. I had Bakehouse at another location, but I heard the matcha tarts at Vission are good…
After dessert, we headed over to PMQ. This is another historic building, which used to house married police, that’s been since converted into another cute artsy building for hanging out, eating at cute cafes, and doing souvenir shopping. If you’re an overseas tourist, find the information center on the first floor for a free spin at a souvenir gacha!
After we explored the shops a bit, our next pit stop was an classic Chinese-style temple. It’s quite old, and students still come to pray for good results to the god of literature.
Pmq and cards
Finally, it was time to ride up the Peak Tram up to Victoria Peak. Or so was the plan, until we saw the massive line to get on the tram, at least an hour wait. We did expect a line, but not this long…Giving up the touristy tram option, we opted to take the bus up. Except, it seems other people had the same idea, and the bus stop was also overcrowded. One of the tram staff suggested we call a taxi over an app if really wanted to go up, because calling one off the street would result in super overcharged prices. So that’s what we ended up doing
We arrived at the peak when it had become completely dark. On one side of the observation deck was a view of the ocean, and on the other, was the lit up city. I will say, there was quite a bit of fog, which apparently is normal. The city view was pretty though.
For dinner, my family reserved The Peak Lookout. Although most of us ordered individual dishes, we ended up kind of sharing everything family style. This included my uncle’s steak, some pasta, some pad thai, an appetizer plate, and the barbeque baby ribs that I picked. The portions were huge, and they had a variety of cuisine. At the end, we also got the creme brulee, banana pudding, and tiramisu for dessert.
Since we ended dinner arond 10, my family was trying to see if I could get the tram experience and ride it on the way down. The line was decently substantial, but it was moving pretty quickly, so we hopped on the tram! It’s definitely a big part of the experience, but unfortunately a lot of the view is blocked by trees…
April 5th: My last full day in Hong Kong! We started off by attempting popular breakfast again, spent the day at Ocean Park, and ended the trip with fancy claypot rice!
For breakfast we decided to challenge Australia Dairy Company once again. Because it was raining, we didn’t think there’d be too much of a line, but there was quite a line around 10am. The line moves pretty fast because the food comes out instantly, so it took about 30 minutes in line total. My aunt recommended I get the set, which comes with the macaroni noodles from the day before, toast, eggs of choice, and a drink. I went with scrambled eggs, because it seems like that’s the specialty, and a hot milk tea. My uncle also recommended I get the [not pictured] milk pudding, so I opted for the cold one.
The macaroni soup tasted the same as the one from yesterday, though this one didn’t come with abalone. A little less special, but makes me wonder what the price discrepancy is (forever grateful my relatives paid for most of my expenses on this trip). I’m not usually a scrambled eggs person, but my god were these eggs soft, fluffy, and creamy, and went well with the toast. Speaking of, the thick toast was perfectly toasted, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. Apparently it’s so popular that other places have started copying the thick toast trend. The milk pudding was quite interesting, with a soft pudding-like texture. My uncle said it’s achieved by mixing egg white with milk and then steaming it, and I could definitely taste the egg.
Afterward, we met up with with my aunt and cousin and took the MRT to Ocean Park! Ocean Park is a sort of zoo/aquarium combined with theme park amusement park, and most recently popular for the baby twin pandas. We bought a couple rice balls each at a stand at the station, so we could eat on the go. I found it quite amusing that a lot of the flavors were Hokkaido inspired…
Unfortunately, the baby panda tickets were sold out for the day, but we still got to see the giant pandas on display along with the Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed monkies! The aquarium was quite cool and informative too.
After my uncle and other cousin met up with us, we took the cable car from the main entrance over the mountain to the other side of Ocean Park, where the more amusement park-like area was. Perhaps it was the rainy weather, but there was no line for the cable car at all! The view was super pretty.
When we arrived on the other side, we got in line for a few of the rides. Arctic Blast was quite chill, but a little slow for a roller coaster (and I’m not a scary rides person). Whirly Bird was pretty cool, and you get to adjust if you want to go higher or lower while in the air! My cousin’s favorite is the thrill-type Hair Raiser, which doesn’t have a floor and goes upside down a few times. Not my favorite, but I wish there was a sweet spot between Arctic Blast and Hair Raiser.
We chilled a bit after the rides, and got some snacks, including fries, onion rings, tiramisu, and my cousins had a Korean corn dog-looking hot dog. The fries were crispy, although a bit spicy, and the tiramisu was light anf fluffy. For some reason the drinks here come in this paper cup with flaps for a lid…
A little before 6, we decided to head out for dinner. We rode the cable car back, which had a bit of a line at the end of the day, and the MRT back to central Hong Kong. My aunt was determined to get me boba (thanks aunt!), and we stopped by a drink place on the way to the restaurant. Read about my boba here!
Along the way, we passed by Temple Street Night Market. Unfortunately I didn’t have time on this trip to explore it, but this will be on the list for next time!
I had mentioned to my family that I wanted to eat claypot rice, and my uncle found a fancy restaurant that specialized in it. In addition to two claypots, we also got a egg yolk fried shrimp, sweet and sour pork, and a veggie soup.
Everything was really good! Personally, the shrimp had a bit of a gritty batter, and I’m not a huge fan of shrimp anyway, but I’m glad I tried the dish. The claypot rice both came out hot, and the staff came to mix it once with sauce, and then came back to mix in the crispy bits on the side. I love me some crispy bits, and the rice was really good. I think if I was by myself I would have opted for something similar to the preserved meats one, but I liked the flavor profile of the chicken and mushroom one better. The presrved meats were too salty for me, but perhaps I should have eaten more rice with it…
We made an emergency pit stop at Kee Wah Bakery so I could buy some souvenirs to give out to my coworkers (thanks to my aunt for the recommendation). They turned out sucessful! As one last sweet treat of the trip, my aunt ordered dessert delivery, and I got the red bean, mochi ball, sago mango soup. Very good and refreshing!
April 6th: Time to say goodbye to Hong Kong and head back to Hokkaido!
Although my flight was at 8:50, boarding was supposed to be at 8, so it seemed like a good idea to get to the airport at 7. My uncle reserved an airport taxi for 6:15, so thanks to him for getting the taxi! Arriving around 6:50, I took a bit of a look around the departures area, but decided I didn’t need anything. It was early in the morning, and an hour isn’t too much time to explore the airport anyway, so I went straight for security.
Like my relatives said, security here is also super fast. Immigrations is automated at a gate where you scan your passport and face. There’s a few shops and a food court, but I wanted to get to my gate first and see what was around there. Turns out like arrival, I had to take a tram to my gate.
The area itself was pretty isolated, and had a mini food court operating breakfast, a couple souvenir shops, and then a Starbucks next to the gate. I didn’t want to spend time on a full meal, so I bought a couple things from Starbucks. The first was a latte version of this cocoa black tea that I’ve never seen anywhere else, and a “BLT”. The plane information said there would be snacks and drinks, but in case there wasn’t a meal, I bought myself a lunch.
The latte tasted like cocoa mixed with an herbal black tea, and made slightly milky. It was an interesting flavor, and I wonder what about Hong Kong makes this a necessary menu addition. As for the sandwich, I ate it towards the end of the plane ride, as a lunch of sorts, and also because we were landing and you can’t bring meat into another country, ha! I wouldn’t call this a BLT, as it definitely had the lettuce and tomato, but included ham instead of bacon, and a mayo egg of sorts. As a sandwich it was fine, but not a BLT (though I knew that when I bought it). The bread is a wheat bread, with the crust still attached.
Boarding happened early and fast, and there weren’t that many people on my flight anyway. I noticed that 90% of the passengers were seated at the back (likely the budget ticket I had purchased too), and the monitors in our area weren’t working, but the ones in the economy(?) section in front of us were on the entire flight. About an hour into take-off, meal service started. I was pleasantly surprised, and expected just snacks. The options were between dim sum and scrambled eggs, to which I asked, What kind of dim sum? You can’t just say dim sum and expect me to know what it’ll be. The attendant kindly unwrapped one to show me, and I knew I’d take this over scrambled eggs any day.
Is this dim sum? Not in my opinion, but it was an okay meal. Aside from the stir-fried noodles and the single slice of napa cabbage, the main portion was balls of fish or meat attached to a slice of vegetable, like an eggplant. Overall it was ok, but I quite liked the flavor of the noodles.
We actually started descending about an hour earlier than planned, so I at my sandwich. It was around noon anyway, so it worked out for lunch. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, with immigrations being smooth, customs was fast because of no luggage to retrieve, and I rode the 2:50 train to Sapporo. I can’t end the day without boba, so I got one for the bus home. Read about my boba here!
And I took the bus at 4 to go home!
Some things I noticed about Hong Kong as an American living in Japan who just came from Singapore: double decker busses nd the use of “lift” are the same here (which make total sense). People stand on the left on escalators in Singapore, but on the right in Hong Kong. I’ve heard things about the impatient customer service attitude, and I don’t entirely mind it. You don’t have to rush eating either. I did witness the cleaning tableware with hot water yourself, and it seems like at fancier restaurants you’re given two pairs of chopsticks: one for eating, and one for serving. Hong Kong also seems pretty into the whole paper utensils thing. Great for the Earth, but I hate paper straws.
And that was my spring break! The first day of school was the next day.
This is Part 2. Part 1 is here.
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