Hong Kong felt like yesterday. Even now when I look at the pictures, they bring back fond memories like it just happened. Even though we have been to Hong Kong many times over the past years, but this is definitely the most memorable trip ever 🙂 We took a red eye flight to Hong Kong via Scoot. It was too early and too painful, cos we couldn’t really catch much sleep which resulted in mega tiredness on day 1. I don’t remember my trip on Scoot to Tokyo was this bad. Hmmm anyway mental note to self never take red eye Scoot again. We crashed in at our friend’s place who lived at Prince Edward which was pretty accessible to anywhere. And after dropping our luggages, we went to to hunt for breakfast! First stop, Capital Cafe!

Capital cafe (華星冰室) is an Australia Dairy Company alike that serves toast, eggs and macaroni. We took the breakfast set to share cos we thought it would be enough for us. But what amazes us was the locals can really eat and the two of us felt full just by sharing. Ha

A queue forms outside when it gets later

A very small and compact cha chang teng

Breakfast set, HK$34

that comes with toast, eggs (you can choose fried or scrambled), coffee or tea and macaroni with ham

The toast was good. The fragrance of the butter as you savour the toast was simple and delicious. The eggs were really oily and.. tasted like eggs. The friend said maybe we should be have ordered the scrambled version instead but oh wells, too late. Haha coffee was forgettable though

and I don’t like macaroni. So Z finished this whole plate. hee

I didn’t like Australia Dairy Company, don’t ask why, just personal preference. Capital Cafe felt like a place that just keeps your stomach full, nothing memorable nor fantastic if you ask me but service will definitely be better than Australia Dairy Company. So for those who love ADC, you might like Capital too

Capital Cafe

G/F, 107 Sai Yeung Choi Street South,
Mong Kok

And cos it was still early with not many shops opened plus we were really in need of caffeine, we went to The Coffee Academics located at Harbour City. It’s a small little kiosk at the far end of the shopping centre (nearer to all the expensive brands) and after buying the coffee, we decided we shall just space out for the next half an hour. Lol, case in point, we were really tired

Flat White, HK$42

I realized coffee in Hong Kong is really expensive man. HKD42 for one small cup, equivalent to SGD7.20 which I could probably get a large and awesome cup of coffee in Singapore. *shakes head* I would think the coffee culture here is not that strong or maybe the cafe culture here is not that abundant

The flat white was very light and milky. It didn’t give me a lasting impression. The place here uses peaberry coffee beans from Nyeri, Kenya which is more fruity and earthy. Interesting, but not my cup of coffee

Lets pose and smile, and stone for the next 30 mins. yay

The Coffee Academics

Kiosk 1, Level 2, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Spent the next hour or so shopping before deciding that we were going back to Star cafe (星座冰室) for lunch. Had previously went there on one of our trips and we missed their instant noodles tremendously. Their instant noodles were different cos they add tomato broth to it, and you rarely find tomato noodles in Hong Kong, much less anywhere else. Locating the shop needed some direction cos it’s an entrance besides Mira hotel and you have to walk down some stairs to some ulu basement where you will be asking yourself if you are even at the right place

The cafe is still as retro as ever, sprouting with school students and/or working adults

Watercress with honey and Ice Lemon Tea

Tomato Noodles with Sausages, HK$30

They have a variety of options. Tomato noodles with egg, cheese, sausage, ham etc. Though you can only choose one option to go with the noodles. I would think you can add on, but we never asked for extra toppings every time we went cos sometimes less is more

We shared a bowl of tomato noodles with sausages, which was delicious much. Don’t underestimate how a simple bowl of instant noodles can be so surprisingly yummy and filling. You should give this a try when you are in Tsim Sha Tsui area

Star Cafe

40 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

There was nothing else to shop on our agenda so we crossed the harbour to Hong Kong island to cafe hop. There were many interesting cafes we saw on our way to Tai Ping Shan street (where all the new cafes are)

This feels very French. Well they sell crepes, just fyi. Nope we didn’t try, but if you pass by and tried, you can tell me how is it like. haha

We walked up ladder street and yes, it’s filled with never ending steps. So we decided to take a break and take ootds

Mrs Pound is one interesting place cos you will spend 5 minutes staring at the exterior and figuring how to enter. There are no door knobs nor handles and the door won’t budge if you push or pull. I’m not telling you where’s the secret cos you have to go find out yourself 🙂

Teakha (茶.家) is hidden at one corner on one of the branched out alleys. The main shop area is small and compact, okay maybe most places in Hong Kong are just small and compact. They have outdoor seatings, lined with cushions for those who just want to laze around in the lazy afternoon. But if you preferred some aircon, they have an annex next door where you can sit and enjoy too

I love it when staffs decide to photobomb my photos. Ha

Homemade pies for sale

Teatime!

Hojicha Au Lait, HK$48

Hojicha, Fresh Milk

The aroma of the tea is very strong. You can smell the fragrance and also taste the well bodied tea taste when you savour it. I love hojicha, for its roasted and aromatic flavour

Keemun Rose Tea, HK$58

Keemun Tea, Frothed Milk, Rose, Local Honey from Wing Ho Bee Farm

We were struggling between the sea salt tea and rose tea but the latter won. This black tea-based drink emits a strong rose flavour which complements the Keemun tea well. And the caffeine surprisingly keep us awake for the rest of the day, though for HK$58 it’s not considered very cheap either

Scone +HK$10

We topped up extra HK$10 for a tea set. The scone however doesn’t taste like scones and I was kinda regretting getting it

Apple Rose Pie, HK$58

This new item on the menu is definitely worth trying. Each slice of apple is infused with rose taste and the rose foam is just delicious. I can still remember the taste in my mouth..

It’s a very nice and cozy place to chill, catch up or just do some work. Though it can get pretty crowded during peak period, but I think their homemade pies are worth coming back for. They are handmade with love and awesome goodness

Teakha

18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Hong Kong

Dinner was planned to be at Little Bao, which is down Tai Ping Shan street, all the way on the other side. But we were so full, we walked down to Central, around and up back to Staunton street again and decided to walk around at PMQ which was just opposite Little Bao. PMQ, Police Married Quaters, is an old heritage building being conserved and used now as a place as a creative hub, focused on designs. There are many interesting design-related shops there. Well, we just window shopped cos the items felt like they will cost a bomb and in any case, we just wanted to pass time.

Little Bao

We were lucky we snapped the last 3 seats in the house. The servers there speak English, pretty well so, don’t worry, no communication barrier

Truffle Fries, HK$98

Shitake Tempeh, Truffled Mayo, Picked Daikon

An interesting interpretation of truffle fries

And you have to mix it to eat it.  I will say, I prefer my usual truffle fries with shaved truffle and truffle mayo sauce. This dish is too funky in the sense that it’s everywhere but nowhere

Hot Chicken, HK$148

Batter Crust, Szechuan Spice, Prawn Chips

The fried chicken skin really was infused with Szechuan spice, which was hot and spicy. Nothing spectacular if you ask me

Beef, HK$88

Pork Belly, HK$78

Fish Tempura, HK$78

We all have our own favourites. R loved the beef, Z eyed the pork belly and I claimed the fish tempura. The buns were really soft and I enjoyed how each protein brings out the best in them. It’s a little strange how the servers say they don’t cut the buns cos we initially thought the portion was too small. But it actually turned out fine

They will actually ask if you want to order desserts while you are still at your mains cos the desserts require a waiting time of 20 minutes so yes, what’s a completion to a meal without desserts right? The portion of the desserts is actually much smaller but still filling enough (cos of the icecream)

LB Icecream Bao, HK$48

Salt Icecream w Caramel

LB Icecream Bao, HK$48

Green Tea Icecream w Condensed Milk

I preferred the sea salt caramel icecream cos the taste of green tea wasn’t very strong. The buns at desserts are deep fried and coated with sugar so it tasted somewhat like fried mantou, which is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. And when you eat it altogether with the icecream, the coldness of the icecream set off an alarm in your mouth (and teeth)

We would thought the buns will not cause us to be full, but it is surprisingly filling enough. I think this concept is different and new. The buns are good, but I wouldn’t say the same for the starters

Little Bao

66 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong

We call it a day, cos we were exhausted and needed much rest for the next few days. Ending with a picture of the pretty sky I took that night 🙂