Hong Kong March 2016 - PMQ

Continued from
Hong Kong March 2016 Introduction
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail I Cha Chaan Teng
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail II Roasted Goose, Noodles, Congee, Dim Sum
Hong Kong March 2016 - Day trip to Sai Kung
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail III Dining at Sai Kung


My precious impression of Hong Kong has always been mainly food and shopping, probably because the stays were usually short.

This time, I had the opportunity to explore new places and one of them is PMQ, which stands for Police Married Quarters; it is actually a former dormitory for Chinese rank and file police officers (in 1950s), and the historical site has since been revitalized (in 2009) as a creative hub for local design talents. It's stated that there are about 100 design and creative enterprises specialising in areas such as fashion, accessories, home/furniture, food, design services/galleries etc, housed in PMQ. PMQ also organises programs and events regularly such as exhibitions, performances, talks, bazaars etc.

PMQ is located at a quiet area of Soho, Central Hong Kong. Luckily I had data roaming and able to locate the place easily using google map.

Reached there 11 plus, whole place felt serene and quiet. There are two main blocks of 7 floors. Unfortunately most of the shops didn't open till after 1 or 2pm and by then I had completed my rounds (yes, I covered the entire place!).

Even though most of the shops and galleries were not opened yet, I was happy to window-shop, browse the various art installations, and basically just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and admire the scenery.

There are two street pianos (located at different locations) and visitors welcome to play them :) Resonance of piano music while strolling the grounds. Lovely!

There are many interesting concept shops, cafes and eateries. Oh, the uber popular Japanese ABC Cooking Studio is housed here too.

But I merely window-shopped and browsed through briefly because the prices were *ahem* quite costly.

When I was there, PMQ had this interesting art installation "Hong Kong on Steps". 7 artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, South Korea and Japan collaborated and featured their creative art work on 20 flights of stairs around PMQ.

For visitors, we could partake by taking photos of the art work and upload them on social media like Instagram or FB. Upon completion, we could even redeem a souvenir (by showing the post on social media to organiser). This is certainly an effective way of promoting the place and create awareness for the artists.

There's no specifications on number of steps/photos to cover, but since I was browsing the area anyway, I covered all the 20 flights of stairs spanning 6 stairways, 7 floors! Great workout! Luckily the weather was comfortable, else I would just take the lifts.

Overall, I enjoyed the visit to PMQ, didn't know there's such an interesting place in Hong Kong. It would have been even better if my visit coincides with some exhibitions or bazaar (like upcoming there's a food truck festival), but it's a nice place to visit if you have a few hours to spare and keen in the creative industries.

PMQ - http://www.pmq.org.hk/

Stay tuned for upcoming post on Teakha, a tea cafe specialising in teas and tea-infused food.

Hong Kong Mar 2016 - Food Trail III Dining at Sai Kung

Continued from
Hong Kong March 2016 Introduction
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail I Cha Chaan Teng
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail II Roasted Goose, Noodles, Congee, Dim Sum
Hong Kong March 2016 - Day trip to Sai Kung

Sai Kung is famous for seafood and needless to say, we've got to try one of the seafood restaurants there. There are many renowned ones recommended by various food blogs, like Chuen Kee 全記海鮮菜館, Sing Kee 勝記海鮮酒家 and Loaf On 六福菜館. We opted for Loaf On based on recommendation from a chef (whom I attended his cooking classes before).

Actually customers could purchase live seafood from the fishermen and bring the seafood to the restaurant for preparation (a cooking fee will be charged), but we were not sure about seasonal prices and didn't want to go into selection and bargaining mode, so just opted to order from the restaurant menu directly. 

Loaf On Restaurant is located at a street behind the main seafood street, but it's quite easy to find. Apparently it was awarded one Michelin Star before and the only seafood restaurant in Sai Kung to be awarded. We were ushered to level 3 of the restaurant.

Decided to order a just a few dishes as we intended to try some other food/eateries we came across.

First up, Fish Soup with Potatoes and Tomatoes. I must say this was the best fish soup I've ever tried. The milky broth was so sweet and refreshing without any fishy taste. Perfect for the cold weather as well.

Razor Clams in black bean sauce. I was impressed by how the clams and vegetables were cooked just nicely; the clam meat was chewy and sweet and the sauce slightly spicy and very flavourful. Couldn't resist ordering a bowl of rice to go along (even though we didn't want to over-indulge in this meal).

Steamed Scallops with garlic and glass vermicelli. With this dish, we could taste the freshness and sweetness of the large-size scallop. The glass vermicelli soaked up the juice of the scallop and was so yummy.

Baked Salt and Pepper Abalone. I super love this abalone! Crispy outside and super tender inside! I thought it would be tasteless but the salt and pepper helped to bring out the sweetness and flavour of the abalone. Have never tasted anything so decadent before, almost wanted to order another piece!

Stir-fried Kailan in garlic. This vegetable dish was a little disappointing though. Mainly the stems were served (I guessed this is the usual method of serving Kailan in HK?) which we felt a little too much. And some of the stems were a bit on the tough side.

Overall, an enjoyable and decadent seafood lunch. Service was good, but a little bit on the slow side. Since we were there to relax, didn't mind it given the nice ambience. Probably if there's a chance to return to Sai Kung again, we would try the other seafood restaurants like Chuen Kee (for the experience of ordering seafood from the fish tank displays).

After our lunch, we took a stroll along the coastline and soon was attracted by the alluring aroma of some freshly baked pastries. We followed the aroma and discovered this Sai Kung Cafe & Bakery. Even though it was barely 10 mins after our lunch, we couldn't resist ordering some pastries :p

There's a small area for dine-in, so we ordered a milk tea to share, and two types of egg tarts, fresh milk egg tart and Portuguese egg tart, and a traditional bo luo bun.

The fresh milk egg tart was freshly out of the oven and smelled heavenly, tasted heavenly too! The pastry was flaky and crispy and the fresh milk custard so creamy and smooth, as good as the one I had at Honolulu Cafe! The Portuguese egg tart was good but normal, a tad to sweet. The bo luo bun was soft and fluffy with a crispy crust, a pity that it's a bit cold already. If it's warmed up or fresh from oven, I reckoned it would be perfect.

Luckily we dined earlier, because when we passed by the bakery in the late afternoon, there was a long queue and the dine-in area was full.

Anyways, after we had the egg tarts, we spotted this Burger Deli selling burgers. After a week of chinese food, suddenly some greasy burgers and fries sounded so good! But we were too full by then, so decided to walk and shop around before returning later to try the burger.

And so we returned in the late afternoon and shared a Classic Beef Burger and Skinny Fries.

Besides burgers, there are other items like hot dogs, chicken, fish and side dishes.

The beef burger looked good indeed, came with medium done beef patty, lettuce, melted cheese, tomato, onion and pickle.

The burger bun was fluffy and soft, beef patty was succulent and juicy and the generous slice of melted cheese simply enhanced the overall taste of the burger. And even though the fries was supposedly skinny, they weren't at all, they were quite thick and fat, crispy on the outside yet moist and fluffy inside. Thumbs up.

We only managed to try a few eateries/food in Sai Kung, but there are actually many other choices available. Besides seafood, there are the Cha Chaan Teng, trendy cafes, retro cafes selling traditional HK snacks (there's a popular shop super crowded and long queue so we didn't try), hole-in-a-wall shop selling Fish & Chips (long queue, we didn't try) etc.

Besides dining, there are also some interesting shops selling knick knacks, household items, sports wear, ornaments etc.

Sai Kung is definitely worth at least half a day visit, and given the chance, we would love to return next time!

Next post, I'll be covering PMQ Creative Hub in Central HK. Stay tuned!

Hong Kong March 2016 - Day trip to Sai Kung

Continued from
Hong Kong March 2016 Introduction
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail I Cha Chaan Teng
Hong Kong March 2016 - Food Trail II Roasted Goose, Noodles, Congee, Dim Sum


Hubby and I have never been to Sai Kung 西貢 before, although we've heard much about it from TVB dramas. Therefore, this time we decided to extend a day (after hb's official trip) to explore Sai Kung located in the New Territories 新界. Initially I thought it would be complicated to get there using public transport and we might have to take a cab, but surprisingly the journey was pretty smooth and faster than expected.

We took the Kwun Tong Line, starting from Yau Ma Tei station and alighted at Choi Hong station. From there, exit at C2, and you'll see a green bus stop sign to the left of the exit. The green mini bus A1 goes directly to Sai Kung Pier. Alternatively, KMB Bus no. 92, located to the right of the exit (slightly further down the road).

We hopped onto the green mini bus and the journey took us about 25-30 mins, along a mountainous, windy road. Be sure to put on the safety belt as I realised that the drivers (both to and fro journeys) tend to drive at rather high speeds.

After about 25-30 mins, the bus arrived at the Sai Kung Pier bus terminal!

The seaside town felt serene and quiet, probably because we arrived early before noon.

Made our way towards the pier where we saw hundreds of boats big and small dotted along and around the coastline.

Towards the left of the pier, we could see several small islands in the distant. Many locals and avid hikers go tracking/hiking around the Sai Wan Ting and beach area.

Along the pier is a floating seafood market, where many seafood lovers get to bargain and buy the freshest seafood directly from the fishermen/boatmen. When we reached at around 11.30am, the whole place was still quite quiet but the crowd started to stream in after 3pm.

People were peering over the railings, looking at the fishermen peddling their fresh seafood.

Here's one boat selling mostly dried seafood products, like salted fish, dried octopus, dried oysters etc.

Fisherman loading up fresh catch from the sea.

All sorts of fresh seafood, from different species of fish to clams to crustaceans, displayed for customers to take their pick (and bargain).

Customers simply shout what they want to the fishermen, bargain for the best price and the seafood will be freshly prepared. It's amazing how the boat was gently rocking and this lady boss was steadily shucking the scallops and scaling/slicing the fish for customers.

After the seafood is prepared and bagged, the boatman would "pass" the bag to the customer using a fishing scoop net. The customer then placed the money into the net.

Here's another fishing boat shucking fresh sea urchin. HK$190 for a bowl!

Towards the right of the coastline, we could see several housing estates.

The highlight of the trip was seafood for us! There's a whole stretch of seafood restaurants along this "seafood street".

I think Chuen Kee Seafood being the most famous among them. A seafood galore was on display in large glass tanks where customers could see what they would like to order. This sight is certainly an attraction by itself. Almost wanted to dine here, but settled for another restaurant, Loaf On which is highly recommended and Michelin-starred. Will blog about that in the next post.

It's quite interesting to explore the streets and alleys with very retro buildings and shops.

Like this one.

Yet there are also several trendy-looking cafes dotted around the old-school area.

Noticed that this seaside town is a popular place for locals to walk their dogs. During our half day visit there, we saw countless dogs and puppies that come in different sizes and costumes :) Most of the eateries are pet-friendly probably that's the reason.

Some street-art as well, like wall murals.

And this cool looking water art installation of 3 "paper" boats and 2 sculpture ducks.

I spotted this ice-cream truck and couldn't resist trying a cone of soft-serve ice-cream.

The ice-cream was so creamy and smooth and the cone super crispy, so much better than the usual soft-serve cone I tried before! Eating ice-cream in cold weather made it even better :p

Sai Kung is definitely worth a half day visit, just to soak in the relaxing seaside atmosphere, as well as the food which I'm going to blog about in the next post. Stay tuned!