|
HK 2024: Rainy
posted : Sunday, May 26, 2024
Day 2!
Started the day with skies still looking gloomy, I think it rained overnight. Well that ain’t gonna stop me and my long list of places to go to, so off we go to our first stop - dim sum. On a Sunday morning. In a traditional tea house where all the HK uncles and aunties gather. The last time round I went to this place called 蓮香樓 and I remembered I didn’t like it that much, in terms of food, but am willing to give it another shot. I remembered reading online about how it closed down during (or was it after) pandemic then how the ex workers banded together to reopen it, under a new name but essentially nothing changed. Turns out there’s a 蓮香樓and a 蓮香居 who I think were sort of related and also suffered the same fate, but 樓 reopened under the same name and 居 was the one that got rebranded to 六安居. Anyway, I ended up at 六安居 and I quite like it actually. Aside from the fact that I stumbled at the very first question I got asked about what tea I would like to drink, I went with my default 菊花 and was told off by the uncle, and he asked me in his broken HK-Chinese if I wanted 茉莉花茶instead which was a better choice hahah.  The Sai Ying Pun neighborhood is apparently a rather hipster one too, but couldn’t fit it anywhere in my itinerary  First siew mai sighting, it’s good  Push cart, tap toi  Teahouse interior Plan for the day was to explore the Central and Sheung Wan area so headed over from Sai Ying Pun on a 叮叮 after breakfast! First time one one haha, cue suaku noises. Alighted somewhere near the Central Escalators to start, I guess pictures and captions to tell the story of how the day unfold.  Onboard 叮叮  Shifted to front row seat  Central Escalators  Oh queuing already? Let’s join, by the time finish queuing probably hungry already  Fishball was hugeeee but so so nia, wantons are great  Tsim Chai Kee  Scammed into queueing only to find that they don’t sell individual pieces (wanted to sample first before deciding if should buy more) for the day coz it’s sold out? Only in boxes and only if you order in advance  Seeing lemon tea everywhere so bought to try, got the free duck despite not signing up!  I don’t know why this intersection piqued my interest but I stood there in the rain observing it for a while  Off to coffee!  This storefront was quite iconic So this was also the part where I gained a travel partner for the day. Saw from IG that uni classmate Eveline is in HK, figured out that sooner or later she’d realize I’m around too so just reached out to her and told her maybe we’d bump into each other. What I didn’t count on was that she was also in the area, and invited me over to join her for lunch coz she’s struggling to finish. So this was the part which I dreaded the most - not so much about interacting but the part where my plans had to change because I needed to accommodate someone else which goes against the very spirit of solo travel, the part which I enjoyed so much. Much as Yat Lok was on my todo list of the day, I was still kind of full and I really would have wanted to chill in the cafe more, catch up on my Telegram group chats and posting my stories, but I can’t really say no right? So off I went. And here’s the kicker - we realized, very belatedly (like last day of the trip or something) that she wasn’t even following me on IG which sort of explains why she was a bit slow to reply me at first (coz it appeared as a stranger texting her), and I was wondering why IG was telling me about invitation to messaging and all. Which means, she wouldn’t have known I was in HK at all (if we didn’t bump into each other physically, that is) and I wouldn’t have to go through all this dilemma sigh. Because the first day was a bit traumatic for me already, I sort of went out of the way to avoid her for the next couple of days - for one, I invented an imaginary friend that I had to meet for dinner the next day, and the day after I declined an invitation to join her for a day trip to Shenzhen (because that would have been a really massive change for me and I can’t have that). It was only the final day when I met her briefly to pass her egg tarts which I offered to help her buy coz I’m getting some myself. Do I feel guilty? Maybe, but I really don’t think our objectives for the trip gelled (she was whining about not knowing what to do and where to visit) and I am not compromising, so yeah it is what it is. So back to Yat Lok. Trying roasted goose for the first time and well I think it’s just a much fattier version of duck? It’s still not bad, though this particular restaurant with all its Michelin accolades is obscenely expensive (my 燒腩肉燒鵝比飯 costs about $30 wtf) that I shall never return because I’m sure there are cheaper ones which are just as good.  Sooooo expensive  Developed a liking for HK storefronts Post-meal (coz I don’t know what meal to classify this as) - we decided to explore PMQ. Which was some historical building (Police Married Quarters) now repurposed as some artsy place with popups, exhibitions, art souvenirs etc. Which was interesting somewhat but I supposed I’ve ran out of space to display such stuff at home and they’re kind of expensive anyway so no damage in the end.  This was an iconic staircase  Perks of having travel partner I guess. Free photographer  PMQ  Went to explore this 文武庙 Parted ways after that, coz she wanted to check out some art museum on another end of the island and I said I’d head over to K11 Musee for some light shopping, which she had already visited the day before. And my plan for the evening was to catch the Symphony of Light Show which she said she saw before during her previous trip, but she don’t mind meeting me in the area. So went our separate ways. I ended up not going K11 (heh heh) but close enough, went to Harbour City in search of a Muji store coz friend asked me to help buy something (side note - this I can tolerate because it’s kind of OTOT and not something I needed to deliberately change plans to accommodate, just to clarify). And I actually just sat down on a bench in the mall to rest a bit coz legs were tired, before heading out to the Harbour.  Peninsula Hotel is also quite iconic  Victoria Harbour day edition Had more time to myself, before E joined me and while my plan was to walk along the Avenue of Stars, the poor girl was so windswept halfway through (the wind was pretty strong to be fair) that we had to take cover, and chat for a bit. Decided to find a dessert place to sit down for a bit but the timing now a bit 不三不四 - if we go Kai Kai for example, I wouldn’t make it back in time for my Light Show and hell hath no fury as SY missing his Light Show. So googled for a random dessert store nearby which wasn’t good at all, whoops. Headed back to the Harbour after dessert, she figured she won’t join since she has seen it so hallelujah 我自由了. And got a half decent spot for the show, not that a good spot would have saved it actually but the show was indeed quite underwhelming. But it’s night scenery at Victoria Harbour, one of my favourite night skylines and I can’t complain.  Night edition, featuring the light show but can’t really tell. Decided to drop by Lan Kwai Fong on my way back because, lol. Had good memories from the last time round, actually i ended up in an emotional mess that day but the happy drunk portion was very memorable. But of course it wasn’t going to be fun going alone and I didn’t go in to any of the bars in the end, it looked somewhat daunting actually.  Sunday night so maybe not as happening?  Everybody was taking picture from front so of course I took from back instead So went back to hotel and called it a day instead! |
