Hong Kong Trip 4 Day 3 (15/3/15)

When I woke up at 6am, I realized with shock that mum was already up and sitting on the sofa playing her online games. Gosh! I sat up for a while to update my blog, then went back to snooze until 8+.

Took this shot outside One Dim Sum at 10am but the queue was too long :(

We were all ready to go out by 9.20, the plan was to get to One Dim Sum before it open at 10am, queue and be the first batch of customers inside. I've tried it with ww during my previous trip and I guess my parents will love the cheap and good dim sum there. After I got out the room, I happened to test the door handle expecting the room to be locked but I was surprised that the door could be opened. We tried a few times and realised that the door is faulty, it could be unlocked all the time and we didn't realise it! The chambermaid happened to be a few rooms away and she helped us get help from the front desk while we went back into the room to wait. The technician came to repair the card scanning mechanism so that the room can be locked once we close the door. Our room cards were not able to work but they assured us that they will fix it and we do not need to stay around to wait. The folks were getting restless so we finally set off from the hotel.

Ended up at Kam Wah Cafe at Mongkok, recommended by my friend San

We took a cab from the hotel as I thought it should be easier for the folks instead of getting them to do two train transfer (there's usually cabs waiting around just outside the main lobby). It looked like a easy trip on my Google apps which mentioned that it is just 15min ride, but it took longer than that, cost us 100HKD and we reached the place exactly at 10am. There was a short queue outside and I quickly joined the queue and got a queue number, there was a couple of people behind me and they're obviously tourists as well. Unfortunately, after the crowd started filling up the restaurant with only 25 seats, it stopped with us being second in queue. With the first batch of customers for the day just seated down, the staff gave us an estimation of 40min wait time. I was kind of disappointed as mum did not want to wait, but since I've already tried the dim sum there and this trip is solely for bringing them around, I was thinking I'll just bring them back again when its off peak hours. Luckily I did some research beforehand, and I have a backup eatery near the vicinity.

Their pineapple bun is a best seller

I used Google map to bring me to this 金华冰厅just ten minutes walk away. It was crowded but we managed to get seats immediately, the place is similar to the first 茶餐厅 where we had our breakfast the previous day, but at least this is a recommendation by my friend San so I guess the food quality should be better. The 菠萝油 was indeed much less oily and crispier than the one I had the previous day, I could see that it is their specialty and almost every table ordered that. The egg tart was not too bad too. Dad stuck to the same beef noodles that worked well for him the previous day and I ordered a 榨菜肉丝 macaroni as I really liked the dish from Din Tai Fung. The beef noodles was great but not the 榨菜肉丝 as it was dried and hard and there was only a few pieces of meat. The breakfast set came with sausages, ham and a sunny side-up. Like the milk tea from most 茶餐厅, the tea was too strong and too bitter for my liking, we requested for hot water to dilute it a little and the taste improved.

I love soupy macaroni, too bad this one did not tasted good

Happy folks after the breakfast

After we left the restaurant, we found our way to Mongkok Station, took a train to Tung Chung to head to Lantau Island. This is my fourth trip to Hong Kong but it was only my first to Lantau. The Citygate factory outlets was a popular spot for shopping but it's too far for me to venture there during my previous trips, therefore it was also my first time there. The factory outlet was rather crowded, we only went into Nike and realised the prices were still quite steep, therefore we lost any interest in shopping and decided to just head to Lantau island.

My funky mum in hippie clothes

Friend recommended shopping there but nothing appealed to us

Took the bus up Lantau instead, which was a cost saving way

We happened to be at Hong Kong when the cable car to Lantau island was due for maintenance, and the service was closed for a week. We found an alternative way which was to take the bus (No. 23) up, the queue was super long as there was hoards of tourists heading to Lantau, but it was constantly moving as the buses arrived one after the other, but just needed time to load the passengers. We paid for the trip using our Octopus card so it was hassle free, there were some staff doing head count to ensure exactly 60 passengers boarded each bus so there were nobody standing on the way up. I found the trip up quite similar to taking the bus up the Victoria Peak, except that the trip took an even longer time (about 40min) and the road kept winding up and up before it came to a complete stop. It was still early when we reached, it was not even noon but there were already a lot of tourists walking around. The wind was quite strong, for the first time I felt that my thin cardigan was not enough to keep away the cold. We came across this small shop selling bean curd and other steamy food, perfect for such chilly weather. Mum was always in an adventurous spirit so we decided to stop for some food and warm ourselves up. There were some tables and chairs around the place so we could also rest our feet (although we had not walk that much) before we started our pilgrimage up the steps leading to the Big Buddha.

Ngong Ping Village which is quite touristy

These tasted good during the cold weather

These are the stuff they sell (quite taiwan feel)

The Big Buddha statue is the icon of Lantau and Hong Kong, and I've always seen it in pictures and brochures. There were many steps leading up to the statue, it was quite foggy that day so we could not really get a clear shot even when we got quite near. I'm just glad that Mum and Dad are still healthy and able to go up those flights of steps without much difficulties although I was already panting. After we reached the top, we walked around the place and I realised that it was a columbarium inside and there were tablets of the dead. Just like me, Mum had a sweet tooth even in this chilly weather so we bought an ice cream to share between us. Tourists were milling around taking photographs, the sky cleared a little so the Tian Tan Buddha statue became clearer, we took the chance to take some selfies as we walked down the steps again.

Mum posing about halfway up the steps

The folks with foggy Big Buddha

Shot of mum nearer the top

Weather cleared a little before we headed down

A wefie with Ngong Ping village behind us

Just realised that my mum loves posing and taking pictures

Various shots around Ngong Ping village

The other side of the Giant Buddha was Po Lin Monastery where many people were praying and making offerings using gigantic joss sticks. Somehow, the folks are not really religious and not interested in the temple, so we just briefly walked past the place. The other side of the path led to this touristy street with interesting shops and building structure that are perfect for taking photos. We walked around for awhile, visited the clean washrooms and then decided to head down to Tung Chung. I slept for the 30min on the way down and had a good rest, Mum spotted a bake sweet potato cart and we bought one to try since we could not find something like this on the streets at home.

Baked sweet potatoes and these were really huge!

It was well past lunch time but we were not hungry yet, we decided to try our luck at One Dim Sum as the timing was just right after we left Lantau, it will be quite off peak by the time we get back to Mongkok, (about 4pm) and I was crossing my fingers there will be no queue. We went back the way we came, took the train back to Prince Edward MTR station where we could easily walk to the shop (just a short 5min walk). There was still a short queue outside, this shows how popular the ex one Michelin star restaurant is, but we were okay with waiting for 15min. As we were queueing, there were stools outside so we could actually sit and wait (like Tim Ho Wan here), I was busy reading reviews and looking for the best stuff to order.

Back to One Dim Sum and the queue is manageable now

After awhile, we got seated and passed the ordering slip to the wait staff. Finally! We conquered One Dim Sum on our second try! The effort was well worth it as we ordered a total of 8-9 dishes and every one of them were really yummy. The last time I was here, I was not really hungry so it was difficult for the two of us to enjoy most of the stuff, we even left feeling really bloated. However this time round, we came with our stomach empty and left the place feeling fulfilled.

The paper menu which was like a place mat on every table

Loved every single dish

Lovely dim sum

The soup 老火汤 was yummy and we finished every single drop, it is a tradition for Cantonese to brew delicious soup and they have different flavours everyday, the one we tried was the old melon soup. Both the rice dishes were really good too, simple and fresh ingredients and not too oily, almost like home cooked stuff that tasted just right for us. The barbecue pork bun, the siew mai, the dumpling with salted meat... I loved everything that we had ordered, and my folks did too. I noticed the queue stopped for awhile at 5pm, but soon it was approaching dinner time and people started to queue up again.
After we finally had dim sum checked off the list, we took a walk towards Mongkok MTR to look around. We had ran out of HKD and the folks were also looking for money changers, from a quick search online there should be plenty of those at Mongkok area. The good thing about going overseas with the folks was I did not spend a single cent, sis paid for most of the expenses and the folks brought extra to spend. While they were changing their remaining RMB to HKD, I spotted this next door.

Spotted Yee Shun Milk company along Mongkok

Weiwei and I had tried their 双皮炖奶 during our previous trip and I remember the hot one tasted really good, so I suggested we go in for some desserts. Luckily, the folks were gamed for more food although we were already feeling full. We finished the two bowls of desserts 双皮炖奶 and 姜汁炖奶 (both hot version) in a short while and they agreed that it was good. Even though we enjoyed the food, I've noticed that food price in Hong Kong is not as cheap as we imagined, two bowls of these desserts in a normal shop setting cost 60 HKD and that's more than 10SGD.

Best hot desserts ever

We walked around for awhile more, Mum got some instant noodles that we can snack on as supper (her noodles are really a hit) and we decided to get back to rest early. It was only 7pm but we headed out early and I guess we were kind of tired from the amount of walking we did in the day. We took a cab to One Dim Sum earlier but it was actually quite convenient by MTR, after two stops from Mongkok, we alighted and changed to blue line at Kawloon Tong station, two more stops and we reached Sha Tin.

Our loot from H & M

Sha Tin MTR was actually linked by the overhead walkway to our hotel, we just had to keep walking for 10min or so before we'll get to our hotel lifts. We erroneously rode the escalator up and Mum spotted a H& M outlet, I was wearing my new H& M pants earlier (bought during sales at Kallang Wave mall) and she really loved the prints. Oh my funky mum! I cant imagine my mum actually liked those printed pants and have the same taste in style as me. New Town Plaza mall is quite popular for shoppers so it was quite crowded in the outlet at that time, with a long queue for the changing room, so we decided to visit again another day when its quieter.

Later that night, after we showered and rested for awhile, we realised it was only 9pm. Mum suggested we go back to H&M to take a look since it is still too early to sleep, it was a really good idea as there was really much fewer people in the shop when we got there. The printed pants (my latest fave after the rompers) were going for 99 HKD each and its considered cheap as I got mine for 19.90 SGD during sales. Mum picked out 3 pieces and I managed to get myself 2 pieces (avoiding the prints she had chosen) and we walked out as very happy ladies with 5 H& M pants for 496HKD! It also solved my wardrobe problem for the next day as I did not have enough long pants for the trips, I've forgotten that it is still kind of cold in HK and my rompers will not come into use in such weather.