Anyeong Noona

If you are looking for a place to go at night in Hong Kong after a relaxing walk at the Promenade, don't forget to pop by 1881 Heritage, which is also situated at Tsim Sha Tsui, the same area with the Promenade. 1881 Heritage is a heritage hotel, shopping mall and a exhibition hall which is styled in Victorian-era of Hong Kong. The tall building behind it (which belongs to UBS, it seems) kinda spoil the view though. Hahaha.

The yard of 1881 Heritage is often used for exhibition. When Noona visited 1881 Heritage, there was an exhibition held by the Parlour, which looks to be either an ice cream parlour or a restaurant because there were special menu displayed on the notice. The sundae does look pretty good indeed. 

Since this is an exhibition sponsored by an ice cream parlour, the exhibition of course exhibited various kind of sundaes in big version. Visitors can take picture together with the ice cream sitting inside the cup. 

There were so many people visited the exhibition that night, it was a miracle the ice cream do not melt (okay they would not melt anyway). 

The boy looks like he's gonna lick the ice cream for real. Even Noona feels like eating a real ice cream after visiting this exhibition. 

2A Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

The beats are quite funky and match the fun vibes of summer. The lightshow lasts for about 8 minutes. The Promenade can get pretty much crowded with people who want to catch the show so it's advisable to come slightly earlier before the show to get a nice spot. As the viewer's surrounding may be dark (to make the lightshow even more vibrant), you should be careful of your belongings and your children. The building that is used as the screen projection of the lightshow is Hong Kong Cultural Centre which is located at Tsim Sha Tsui. So you know where to go when you want to watch this. 

You should also spend time walking along the promenade as the night view of Hong Kong city is indeed beautiful. The red boats which passing by regularly are actually cruising boats. You can ride them for a fee. 

Just next to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre lies the iconic Clock Tower. The tower is lit up as well during the lightshow event. It looks so different compared to its look in daytime. Hahaha.

Your fun level is hot, yep, as hot as the weather that day. Hong Kong can get pretty humid in summer days so be prepared to sweat. Winter times, Noona thinks the country will be pretty windy instead. 

Open Piazza, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui

How to get there:

You can walk from East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR (exit L6 or J) or from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR (exit E)

If you see the left side of the store, there is a giant figure of Brown with his usual expression sitting and looking at the customers. Despite his same expression in all life situations, he still manages to look pretty adorable though. :3

At the other corner, you will find Brown and Cony standing up. They are such a cute couple, they makes Noona want to find her own Brown. XD 

There are so many varieties of Line Friends casing but they are all for Iphone (noooooooo!!! U_U). Noona does not and never ever gonna use Iphone because they (and their data plan) are ridiculously expensive. Hikz. Hmm, wait, but Noona's phone casing for her S7 is already Cony anyway so okay, on 2nd thought, she does not need another phone case (self-consolation). 

Final loots from Line Friends store in Hong Kong. Noona saw in Line Friends Choco's instagram (oh yes, all these characters have their own accounts) that there is a figure of Line Friend Choco now in Hong Kong (jealous max). Line does not seem to be so popular here in Singapore, Noona does not understand why people prefer to use Whatsapp for non work-related conversation. She does not want her boss on her LINE though. That would be weird, what if she accidentally send a WTF sticker to her boss. Or the sticker where Brown throw the laptop away. LOL. #endofcareer

2/F, 500 Hennessy Road

Hysan Place

Causeway Bay

Nearest MTR: Causeway Bay 

Opening hours:

Daily 10AM - 10PM

(2) Home Cafe Biscuits

Noona tried this randomly when she and her best pal travelled to Taiwan (there's City Super in Taipei too, woots!) and this cheese biscuits turn out to be very yummy. Since the name of the brand is Home Cafe Biscuits, Noona supposes the biscuits will go well when paired with coffee but they taste good on their own really. One box only contains 7 biscuit bags (one bag contains 2 biscuits). 

(3) Olive Pretz range

Noona has never seen this range of Pretz before and it seems that the usual thin Pretz sticks has been enlarged. There are only two flavours for Olive Pretz range, cheese and basil. Noona has tasted the cheese one and she finds it to be so - so. Will update this post on the basil one once she has tasted it. 

(4) Nutella Ferrero B-ready

Did anyone say Nutella? One word of "nutella" at any kind of snack will definitely be bought. The biscuit is basically filled with nutella and wait a minute, this taste a bit like the hazelnut from Ferrero Rocher. Melted Ferrero Rocher and nutella filled in biscuits. Taste good on its own (anything contains nutella or ferrero rocher will not taste bad) and when paired with a cup of coffee.

5. Galbo Ball

Galbooooooo! My favourite snacks from Japan (tried and tested the green tea flavor during last year trip to Japan) are available in City Super too. Haven't tried this one yet but the banana choco flavor taste yumz. Suggest to chill them for a while in the fridge before eating. 

6. Lindt Creation Chocolate Bars

Noona is sure that both chocolate bars will taste like heaven even though she has not tasted them yet. She has faith in them. LOL.

Brazilian orange, sweet potato, ice cream and salty chocolate? Only three words required: Buy Them All. 

8. Lindt Hello Ranges

Noona bought a lot of these when she travelled to Vienna. The cookies & cream tastes the best but the rest ain't bad either. There are more flavours other than cookies & cream, chocolate sundae and strawberry cheesecake but Noona decided to just stick to these three. 

9. Other stuff

If you love chips, you can find varieties of Kettle Chips (has never seen black peppercorn flavour before in Singapore, not sure about sea salt), Nando's chips (yes, even Nando's come up with chips), and Walkers (has never seen Prawn Cocktail, Worchester Sauce and Bacon flavours in Singapore).

Noona had to carry back two big shopping bags to the hotel but she still managed to buy a glass of Ten Ren's Cha along the way. Superpower obtained for snacks. Hahaha.

City Super's location: 

International Finance Centre Mall

Shop 1041 - 1049, Level 1

Central, Hong Kong

Nearest MTR: Central/ Hong Kong (there's an underpass connecting Central MTR to IFC Mall via Hong Kong MTR)

Opening hours:

10AM - 10PM Daily

Tai O is home to the Tanka people, a community which makes a living by fishing. They have built the houses on stilts above the tidal flats of Lantau Island for generations. This tradition seems to be quite common for a fisherman village, just like the one that Noona has visited before when she came to Phuket, Thailand. The main difference between those fisherman villages and Tai O fishing village is that the latter build their settlement on the right side and left side and then connecting both sides with a canal bridge. As such, fishing boats can come passing by in the midst of the villages carrying both the fishermen and tourists alike. That is how Tai O Fishing Village got its other name, the Venetian of the East (at least, according to the tour guide). 

Noona would say Tai O is a modern fishing village because some of the houses have air-conditioner and guess what, there is wifi connection here. The advancement in technology is not surprising as the residents of Tai O Fishing Village are also earning their income from tourism. 

A guided tour to Tai O Fishing Village will usually include a walk around the fish market and a visit to a small temple in the neighbourhood. Noona was actually not a fan of a temple but there is nothing else to visit here at Tai O so we just followed the tour guide while he's busy explaining the praying custom to the Western tourists. 

Right outside the small temple lies an artsy building worthy of Instagram moment. Hahaha. Don't you think we have a habit of Instagramming everything nowadays?

The fish market is rather entertaining although its size is pretty small compared to the fish market that Noona visited at Yehliu in Taiwan. A lot of dried seafood is on sell here, including omg, is that a dried puffer fish? 

Last but not least, the tour will include a return boat ride from Tai O to the "middle of the sea" in a futile attempt to see white dolphins. To be honest with you, the water looks pretty murky and hence, Noona does not think the white dolphins will like swimming inside it very much. Let's hope they are really still around, probably toward the vast sea where the water may be, hopefully, cleaner.

How to get to Tai O without a tour:

(1)  From MTR Tung Chung station, take bus no. 11 to Tai O bus terminus. The journey will take roughly 50 minutes. 

(2) From MTR Tung Chung station, take cable car to Ngong Ping village. From there, take bus no. 21 to Tai O to bus terminus. The total travelling time taken to reach Tai O is around the same (45 minutes) but you can experience the cable car ride. 

Noona loves eating at Hong Kong (HK) cafe and her favourite HK cafe is Tsui Wah. Just like Xin Wang, Tsui Wah has pages and pages of menu from Western food to local food to comfort food (like instant noodle). She has just had dim sum for lunch and she now prefers something soupy for a change. So her comes the fishball noodle soup. Looks so simple and yet taste so good and comforting. The green drink behind the bowl is actually a mixture of veggie + fruit blended together with ice but it tastes pretty good and refreshing, thankfully. Hahaha. 

Dinner buddy ordered another comfort food, egg + luncheon meat + beef instant noodle soup. If you miss eating instant noodle so bad, you should just come to Tsui Wah because the restaurant sells different variety of instant noodles. 

Another main dish that you must order is definitely the condensed milk buns. Tsui Wah's rendition of condensed milk buns is so yummy (and sinful too but who cares, we are on holiday now). The condensed milk buns at Tsui Wah definitely taste better than the version sold at Lang Fong Yuen. 

Close up view of my fishball noodle again. Just realised that Tsui Wah is pretty generous with the amount of fishballs given plus the two pieces of big tofu. Happy me. 

Tsui Wah's price for the dishes is roughly around the same for Xin Wang. The good thing about Tsui Wah is they have so many branches across Hong Kong so you are bound to see one during your trip. Hahaha. Noona visited the branch situated at Tsim Sha Tsui though. 

Tsui Wah's address in Tsim Sha Tsui: 

2 Carnavon Road

Level G/F

Opening hours: 

Sunday to Thursday: 7AM to 2AM

Friday and Saturday: 7AM to 3AM

Hysan Place is actually one of the shopping malls in Causeway Bay area. Noona has been wanting to visit the store because the range of Line Friends goodies sold here is pretty good (although not as many as the one in Seoul apparently). 

The store is divided into two sections. The first section has many clothes from kids size to adult size. 

The latest range from Line Friends is the Burger & Chips edition which shows characters from Line Friends enjoying junk food. They really know what Noona likes eating. Burger, chips and don't forget the coke. 

Giant size Sally will welcome you at the front part of the store. Oh my gawd, how is Noona supposed to sneak you home if you are this big, Sally? (still cute though)

If Noona is...ahem, slightly younger, she would not mind wearing these cute little bag, really! 

There are more stuff to check out inside the store but Noona will share it in another post so that this one will not be too long. Ok?

Line Friends Store's location:

Level 2 of Hysan Place, Causeway Bay

Opening hours:

Everyday 10AM - 10PM