The Chocolate Reindeer: Eating in Hong Kong

Well, I really have mixed feelings about Hong Kong. On one hand I find it very crowded and polluted, on the other hand I find the eating and shopping way better there.

The food is great because the standard is quite high, even in non-descript hole-in-the wall eateries. I do think that it can get quite salty (because I am not used to taking food that is too salty). Nevertheless, I think I will be back again because of the abundance of cheap and good food, and because the kids had such a great time.

One of the first places we headed to was Mak's, where they have wonton noodles served famously in very small bowls (the theory is that the small bowls prevent the noodles from soaking up the soup and becoming soggy).

And it was certainly a delicious treat. The noodles were firm and had a lovely bite, and the soup was fragrant, redolent of chives and flat fish. And indeed, the noodles were QQ to the very last bite, and were not in the least soggy.

The downside of eating here is that the premises are very cramped and small and the tables are chairs are placed really close to each other. Not very conducive for younger children, but quite ok for my 2 little ones.

Then we tried Yung Kee's famouse roast goose. A one-michelin starred establishment, it was crowded and wouldnt allow diners a seat till more than 2 hours after you arrive. Fine if I were alone and didnt have 2 hungry kids in tow. So we hopped over to a cha chan teng (Tsui Wah) which was also pretty famous and good. No pictures of that meal unfortunately, I literally had my hands full with Cutie and Sweetie. DH was disappointed that we didnt get to eat that roast goose, so we ordered a takeaway box back to the hotel to try. Each roast goose drumstick costs SGD22! We bought 2 boxes, one for DH and one for me. And the total cost of SGD45 (including tax and surcharges) exceeded the cost of our dinner for 3 adults and 2 kids at Tsui Wah. Whoa!!

Still it was quite worth it. Crispy skin, tasty meat, drenched in a sauce of complex flavours (a little sweet, a little savoury, a little smokey) and lots of tasty little chewy hard peanuts. Yum. I think it costs even more if you eat at the restaurant, so maybe it's worth exploring this takeaway option - no queues, same yummy food at a lower price.

Then we tried roast pigeon! It was rather bony without much meat, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.

Sweetie rather liked having something to hold and eat with her hands, and for once it was very manageable because it was just the right size for her!

We tried the roast pigeon at a random restaurant at Ngong Ping 360, a little themed village built on top of a hill.

I originally thought it was a theme park, with a Monkey mascot not unlike Sun Wukong (who at that time was Cutie's favourite martial arts pugilist) but it was really a little village, with a small street of restaurants and shops selling trinkets and souvenirs. Oh there was a big buddha statue too, which we didnt visit.

But it was worth the visit because of the amazing cable car ride that took almost 10 minutes, yes it was that high up in the mountains! Look at that amazing view!

We met up with my dear friend for dinner, at a Japanese restaurant at Jardine House. It was great and the highlight of my meal was getting to catch up with WL!

Then we visited Ocean Park because Cutie insisted. We actually thought we wanted to spend the day shopping, but vehement protests from Cutie ensured that we were speeding towards Ocean Park in double quick time.

The place was huge and there were several attractions. Pandas, goldfish, raccoons, all hot favourites with the kids.

Regrettably the only ride that they were tall enough to sit was the log ride. It was one wet ride I tell you, the kids had their raincoats, which I always pack for rides like these, but DH and I? No such protection. The kids loved it so much we took it twice.

My sweet chinadoll in a chinese pavillion at Ocean Park.

Then we did some shopping. We went to this shop where Sweetie is posing... We just browsed only! We did most of our spending at H&M. The shoes that Sweetie is wearing were from H&M. She picked them out herself and wore them immediately.

Then on the last 2 days, we went to the happiest place on earth - Disneyland!

The obligatory pic outside the castle. It was magical i tell you. Once we sauntered through the Disneyland gates, we were transported into a magical fairytale world!

Took a pic with Buzz Lightyear, Cutie's other favourite superhero. We also took the buzz lightyear ride at least twice. They give you a gun and you sit in a space shuttle that travels through the galaxy and you need to shoot Zurg the enemy. It was easy shooting at the targets. I was space ranger first class!

The people there were simply so nice, everywhere we turned somebody was trying to give Cutie and Sweetie disneyland stickers.. They got a whole stack! Here is Sweetie trying to look for her favourite princess, Princess Aurora. You know who that is? *wink*

Another family favourite, A Small World ride. Where you travel through several countries in a leisurely cruise boat.

I didnt understand why this ride was so popular, we queued for 30 minutes or more! The rest of the more interesting rides like space mountain and buzz lightyear had literally no queues! Still, Sweetie seemed quite pleased to be able to take control of the steering wheel.

We did space mountain twice! Isnt Cutie brave?

Doesnt Cutie look cool and grown up outside the gingerbread village? If you peek into the windows of the cottages, you will be able to guess who lives there. Our favourite was Minnie with all her sweet pink tea sets.

This was perhaps sweetie's favourite, Flying Dumbo.

Sweetie wants to know whether we are buying her some minnie mouse ears... "No Mommy? Why?"

So we capitulated and bought her those ears... which she wore with pride during our 2 days in Disneyland.

And the nicest thing that happened when we were about to leave was that the entire main street started snowing and there were carols and a huge Christmas Tree. It really felt like Christmas!

We stayed in the Disneyland resort itself for these 2 days. And it was really worth it.

They had kids' activity corners in the hotel so that the kids could just spend time playing or drawing.

On our last night, we had the Disney Character buffet dinner, where there was lots of food and lots of fun photo-taking with our favourite characters. Minnie Mouse...