Hong Kong in 6 Days (Day 04)

Day 4

Day 4 is a more adventurous day as we are more daring to try out other areas that are not so touristy that way, savouring the local culture of the country state. We had intended to travel from one MTR to another since we bought the 3-days unlimited octopus card. We traveled from Prince all the way down to Kowloon for the light show in the evening and ended it off with a ride on the ferry across the Hong Kong straits.

The gem lying in the dust... Apliu Street

We decided to have breakfast at Apliu Street which is the flea market area of Hong Kong. This place in IMO is pretty localised with plenty of wet market and second-hand goods stalls. Initially l wanted to try the roast meat stalls but since it is full and right beside the drain... we moved on and found this little eatery which turns out to be a real gem! Prices are reasonably cheap and the food tasted great! If you happen to be there, do try out this eatery.

Considered cheap for the kind of quality/portion you get!

Silky smooth beancurd (3/5)
Ok, take your eyes off the chipped soup spoon and focus on the beancurd instead.
This bowl of beancurd is very well done as it is truly smooth to the tongue and still retain the
fragrant of the soya bean. It is a norm to get beancurd that is smooth and not as fragrant
i.e. sort of diluted and to simultaneously possessed both smoothness and fragrance,
it is a bowl to die for.

Wan Ton (Dumpling) soup (3.5/5)
Its my first trip to Hong Kong and my wife had raved about the dumplings that she ate in Hong
Kong all the time. Prior to this stall, we had a couple of bowls in other part of Hong Kong but I
was not impressed and even to the point of disappointment. This bowl revived my expectation of Hong Kong as the culinary heaven! On a side note... Wan Ton is not wanton.

All in all, it cost us around HK$55. It is a real steal!
Oh, the bowl of rice on the bottom left of the photo is a signature dish by this eatery and
doesn't really have a name as they say its name is "Chew Pie Fun" which means signature rice...

After the meal, we just stroll around the flea market and make our way to other areas such as the Goldfish Street, flower Street and the likes. For lunch, we just settle for some street side pao (Steamed bun) but the new thing about it is that after being steamed, the buns are fried on both top+bottom to give it a golden brown crust on both sides. I forgotten what they call these sort of pao but I am pretty sure I have read it in Terri's blog before.

When the time is about right, we headed to Kowloon's Avenue of Stars to wait for the starting of the light show at 8pm. This is truly Hong Kong, I am not sure of other countries but I reckon Hong Kong is the first in the world to utilise its high rise to lite up the sky and to make it into such a beautiful display! Although we managed to catch the light show from The Peak, but you only get the commentaries while watching it from the Avenue of Stars. Be sure to catch this light show and you won't regret it!

Hong Kong island lightshow
This photo doesn't do it justice!
You have to experience it on your own!

Can't resist the fragrance of the cuttle fish barbecued on a bed of charcoal.
It is yummy especially during this cold season.

Right after the light show, we headed to the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier to board the ferry back to Hong Kong island. Hungered for more Hong Kong fare, we tried one of the roast meat eatery at Wan Chai but was kinda disappointed. The number of patrons is there and everyone seemed to enjoy their food pretty well but I am definitely let down as the char siew (Honey roast pork) was so-so and the stir-fried beef hor fun was only OK to me... I guess I still prefer the Singapore char siew more. As for the stir-fried beef hor fun, I am pretty darn sure it is lurking somewhere in Hong Kong, its just a matter of finding it, that's all. Due to the suckiness of this restaurant, I shall not name it.

Roasted pork +crackling with char siew (2/5)
By reputation, Hong Kong roasted dishes are one of the best.
This dish almost murdered the reputation and left me wondering what went wrong.

Stir-fried beef hor fun (1.5/5)
Not very good. Firstly, too oily for my liking and lack of wok hei.
Maybe the chef is on MC and the apprentice took over.

Its ok, I still have plenty of time in Hong Kong, haven't I?

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