Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Hong Kong Trip Nov '09 (Hotel & Food)

We were in Hong Kong from 21st to 27th November. Stayed 3 nights in Hong Kong island and 3 nights in Disneyland Hotel. We took the 9:15 am flight with MAS. Although the kids woke up at 6+, they didn't want to nap in the plane coz they were hooked on to the in-flight electronic games. Their batteries only ran out after breakfast and they napped for about an hour. The choice for breakfast was omelette with potato and sausage or nasi lemak. The food was quite yummy.

~ in-flight food ~

At Hong Kong airport, we bought four Octopus cards (for 2 adults and 2 children) as it can be used on MTRs and at selected merchants like 7-Eleven, Mannings (Guardian) and food outlets. We took a cab to our hotel, The Park Lane in Causeway Bay (HKD340). We travelled by cab most at the time as it's more convenient with young children. Although their MTR system is very efficient, the distance between the entrance/exit and the train itself can be quite far, especially for a 3 year-old. It's even worse when the little boy demanded to be carried. PaPa and I suffered backaches at the end of everyday (what a torture :p).

The hotel is strategically located, with shopping malls and food outlets nearby and the MTR station within 5-10 minutes walk. Our room overlooks the Victoria Park and has a partial sea view. It's quite spacious (by Hong Kong standard) -- big enough to fit a king-size bed, an extra single bed and a lazy chair.


Everywhere you look, there are high-rise buildings with large and small businesses such as a reseller hosting company. And they can be quite near to each other. Also there are many people on the street. It's usually very crowded, especially at intersections, where the pedestrians wait and cross the roads at the same time.

~ look at the amount of people on the street at 10+ at night ~

The weather was quite cold on the first few days. But it was very sunny when we were in Disneyland. I guess with the sudden change of temperature, lack of rest and insufficient water intake, it was hard not to fall sick. Luckily the kids only fell sick on day 5 and it was a mild case (didi had fever which went away after one dose of paracetamol). Thank you for all your well wishes. We are almost fully recovered already.

The air was also very dry. I washed didi's jeans and let it air-dry in the bathroom. It dried within a day. Our lips were dry and cracking. The skin too -- my hands are very rough now.

Hong Kong is a food haven but we didn't indulge much. Didn't particularly go in search for the famous and must-have food. We ate at odd hours most of the time -- late breakfast (after 10 am), late lunch (after 2 pm) and late dinner (after 9 pm). The servings are quite big so I usually order 2 portions to be shared among the kids and I. I really like their fish balls (nice and huge) and wantans (with big prawns). During the trip, we ate a lot of fish balls and wantan noodles coz these won't go wrong with the kids.

Here are some of the restaurants/shops we went to :

Tsui Wah ~ hor fun (flat rice noodles) soup with fish balls, fish cakes and wantans, hainanese chicken rice and pork chop udon soup. This restaurant is right opposite Yung Kee Restaurant, which is famous for roast goose. I read the reviews that it's overrated but their century eggs are really good. However, we don't fancy that so we went to Tsui Wah instead.

Café De Coral ~ fast food chain. Serves western and chinese food. It's like our Kim Gary or Wong Kok Char Chan Teng. Had American breakfast of toast, eggs and sausage, fried noodles, porridge and pau.

~ fried noodles in soy sauce : a bit dry ~

Hong Kong Day ~ stir-fried rice noodles with sliced beef (so-so only) and nissin noodle soup with ham and egg. This is one of the restaurants at The Peak Tower. We didn't go for those restaurants with a view. But I'm sure it'd be a memorable experience dining while overlooking the great view of Victoria Harbour.


Fung Shing Restaurant ~ dim sum. Their selection is quite different from what we have here. The bowl of porridge was really huge. And the glutinous rice is quite special, looked like a hamburger and it's fried. Don't like their fish balls though.


Jardine's Bazaar ~ this street has many local restaurants. Ate fish and pork porridge, sticky rice, pancake and fried rice.

Food Republic ~ food court in Tung Chung. We ordered fish ball hor fun, fried rice, braised pork (and braised what-nots) with rice.

Next up : Places we visited.

30 comments:

Anggie's Journal said...

Hi .. thanks for sharing :P i m sure is a very nice trips for u all, lucky the kids was fall sick towards end of the trips ...maybe sudden change of temperature and weather cos this .... whatmore to say on a kids ??
Heh.. the fried Lor mai kai sound special to me .
wait for ur next post ya ... cant wait to see on the Disneyland ... but take your time .. :P

Reanaclaire said...

wow.. u also went on holiday.. i guess this is the time we go for our breakaways after a long tiring year! i will be going off next week too .. and now i m starting to worry about my blogsss.. hahaha.. crazy me..

Irene said...

wah, the good fooooood, and the hotel bed! oooh heaven!

Priscilla said...

Wow! Looks like you all covered a lot on the trip! Well done mummy & daddy! The food looks so yummy too! me just 3 days in Genting only already want to go crazy! :)

Lemonjude said...

I'm sure all of you enjoy the trip. I went HK beginning of this year and I love their big portion food and many are quite ok. Worth for the price. Your hotel in HK have a nice view and spacious.

Wait for your disneyland post.

Oliveoylz said...

Great choice with the Park Lane. Smack in the center of Causeway Bay. First time I'm seeing pix of the rooms...Hey really luxurious and big for a hotel in HK ok??? How nice to go back to a spacious room after a hectic day sightseeing...You didn't try Tao Heung ah? It's just opposite Park Lane leh...saw the pix of the fried lor mai kai...never tried not seen this b4. Got to try one day...Better slap on more moisturiser on your dry skin...Good thing didi recovered from fever after one dose of paracetemol, phew! So, how many times did you go see Mickey's Philharmagic? Didi scared or not with the flying ducks? and did you bump into TVB actor/actress?

Mummy Gwen said...

Wow..you guys stayed a week in Hong Kong..nice. The hotel room looks expensive. Very nice and spacious room. I bet the kids had a swell time in Disneyland.

The food looks yummy too. Glad to hear you guys are recovering well.

Linda said...

Very long and informative post. I like your pictures layout. Dip yourself into lots of lotion to revive the dryness in your skin..
Me too always choose to eat @ odd hours when travelling with kids.. less crowded.
Couldn't wait for your stay @ Disneyland post... :)

wenn said...

i was there too..just love it..

Mummy Moon said...

Woh, the hotel room is so big, with lazy chair some more! Hard to see in HK! It is really not easy to travel with small kids ya! So you guys go HK without following any group tour?

michelle@mybabybay said...

This brings back memory. I love Park Lane hotel too. That is a good price you are getting.

NomadicMom said...

HKD 340 a nite for a room in Causeway Bay...that's a good deal!

LittleLamb said...

nice holiday..except for getting sick... more pic to show? u make me wanna go holiday too soon

cre8tone said...

Yummy food!~ Makes me feels like wanna go HK...

jacss said...

hey..i thot u needed longer rest, so fast up edi :D good that everyone recovered!!
u r absolutely right abt traveling in cab with kids in HK...exactly what we did too! else u'll suffer more :)

that hotel is really HUGE & i don't think HK340 is the hotel rate, shd be taxi fare, kan??

as for their food, guess again with kids around, u can't go too adventurous abt it unless u hv 'foodie' around & an all adults trip hor :D

slavemom said...

Anggie, the fried lor mai kai is yummy but of coz, cannot eat a lot. :)

Claire, enjoy ur hols! Y worry abt ur blogs? We'll still be waiting for u here. :)

Irene, hotel beds r always heavenly. :D

Priscilla, ur case different. U've got 13 kids altogether. Havoc! hehehe

Judy, give me some more time ya.

Olive, couldn't c Tao Heung wor. Shld hv asked the concierge. Anyway, Fung Shing is oso vy near.
Philharmagic... the kids really enjoyed it. But didi din want to wear the specs. It's quite scary eh... like gonna hit u, so close. :D We oni watched 1 time. XY wanted to go again the next day but we jes din hv time for it.
Nope, din bump into any famous ppl.

Mummy Gwen, the kids (esp XY) jes couldn't wait to go to Disneyland (Day 5).

Linda, we din purposely do that. But u're right, it's def less crowded at odd hrs.

Wenn, u went to so many plcs.

Bee Moon, we went on our own. With young kids, difficult to follow tour grp (hectic schedule).

Mich & NomadicMom, that's the cab fare. The hotel is HKD1,000 per nite.

Rachel, will post up on the plcs we visited later.

Kylie, start planning! :)

Jac, bit by bit loh. Still got lots of composing to do n pics to sort out.
Bingo! That's the cab fare. Hotel is 3x of that. :p

mc said...

your hotel looks very nice! look forward to seeing the disney photos and how the kids enjoyed it:)

Chinneeq said...

having adapt to weather change is the most difficult thing to do, especially the kids. can't wait to see the pictures of mickey mouse coming up soon.

andrewjune said...

good to hear that you guys hv recovered :-)
wow, the food looks good, HK is not only a food haven , it's also a shopping paradise!

no wonder you guys got sick...prob bcos of the suuden change of weather!

do you mind to share with us how much per night for the Park lane Hotel & also the Disneyland Hotel?

chanelwong said...

another person to get tips when I plan our hongkong trip in future hi hi...when ar? hi hi...

thanks for the detail sharing....

Angeline said...

You got prepare lip balm with you? Drinking more water under such weather can be really disturbing, especially when Hong Kong is a country of GREAT FOOD!!!
Yum!

LHS said...

the air is very dry now, but after chinese new year, it will become very wet, even the wall drops water..

Health Freak Mommy said...

The fried lor mai kai is special, I've not seen this before. Can't wait to see your pix taken at Disneyland!
PS - when I travel, I always bring along lip balm for me and the kids coz in the plane, the air is really dry and in the hotel room too. It's a must have item for me.

Alicia said...

we stay in park lane as well wen we were there n the rooms were bigger than wat we expected... im sure the kids enjoyed themselves very much

slavemom said...

mc, by HK std, it's really vy nice. :)

Chin Nee, luckily it wasn't vy vy cold there.

June, tax incl, Park Lane is HKD1000 and Disneyland Hotel is HKD1430 per night. We bot a child Annual Pass (park ticket), so can get 35% off hotel rate in Disneyland.

Chanel, plan for it and it'll happen. :)

Angeline, got lip balm but din put for XY on the 1st few days coz din wanna share with her (for hygiene purpose). But in the end, I applied for her too coz her lips were cracking edi.

Hui Sia, i see...

Shireen, yeah, next time I must prepare 1 for the kids too.

Alicia, quite surprised with such a spacious room in HK hor.

Nina @ BabyBoon said...

i'm jealous of the dimsums u had! love dimsums. yum..

MAS undeniably has better food than most other airlines. i've flown many airlines and still MAS food is best. and i'm not saying it coz i grew up flying MAS! :p

andrewjune said...

thks for the infos :-)

2ma said...

i just came back from hk & macau with the boys too :D it is really tiring! somehow, it didn't cross my mind to stay in disneyland hotel at all *haha* maybe 2 yrs later when shan rae is slightly older, and appreciates it

Sarah's Daddy and Mommy said...

The nissin noodle soup looks like maggie mee. Taste nice?

slavemom said...

BabyBooned, I think airline food has improved tremendously since last time (say, 20 yrs ago?).

June, no problem. ;)

2ma, it's easier to stay in Disneyland -- less travelling. And also for the experience. :)

Joanne, yup, it's maggie mee. Vy nice. My kids love it!