Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan:

Tim Ho Wan is located on a random street in Hong Kong on the Kowloon side in the Mong Kok area...  It is the worlds cheapest Michelin starred restaurant and if you go be prepared to find someone who can translate and make sure you are prepared to wait at least an hour...  Make sure you order the BBQ Pork Buns from what I've been told.

We actually went and got our # to wait, but at 8pm... I couldn't imagine waiting to eat for another hour or more... especially after looking at the menu knowing I would only eat the bbq buns...  Do I regret not giving it a try? Yeah, a bit... but oh well...  I'm sure all the chicken feet being served and eaten around me would have grossed me out.  I just don't eat feet.

The line to get into Tim Ho Wan

The menu for Tim Ho Wan

Hong Kong: A shoppers paradise and more

Hong Kong: A shoppers paradise and more

View of Hong Kong from our hotel.

Hong Kong is way different than Beijing.
I'll try to break it all down for you to give you an idea of what Hong Kong is like...

Peasants Margarita at Cafe Gray Deluxe - 49th Floor of Upper House Hotel

I'll begin by breaking down the area. So basically you have Kowloon on one side of the harbor and the Central side on the other.  We stayed on the Kowloon side, an area called Mong Kok to be exact and from what I read once I got there it is the most densely populated area in the world.  Kowloon is the side you'll want to be when you watch the daily light show that starts at 8pm. A spot on the Avenue of Stars is best.  In my opinion the light show is a bit lame though. Just my opinion...  Hotels in Hong Kong are terribly expensive. We didn't know this until after we booked our trip. I recommend looking/pricing before you book your flight.

Bathroom at Cafe Gray Deluxe @ Upper House Hotel ~ Best bathroom view ever!

Kowloon side consists of tons of markets such as the electronic, ladies and men market. As well as the Avenue of stars, the worlds cheapest Michelin starred restaurant "Tim Ho Wan" (BBQ Pork Buns), Nathan Road, a ton of upscale malls like 1881 Hermitage, Elements, and many more.  I think the Kowloon/Mong Kok side has more character than the central side, but that's just my opinion. Both sides are good.  As long as you are near a subway station you will be great.

Central side consists of all kinds of upscale malls, Pacific Place, The Landmark and International Finance Center which houses Lane Crawford department store.  There is a zillion more which are all basically attached by bridges (pretty amazing). You never even have to go outside if you don't want too.  Some popular areas on the central side are: Causeway Bay, Lan Kwai Fang (night life) Soho (night life), Admiralty, and Wan Chai.

Hong Kong Ladies Market

Ok, so now I'll chat about some of the places we ate and drank at that are worth a visit:

poolside at the Four Seasons... dont think you can tell in the picture but that is a fabulous infinity pool over looking the harbor. View was incredible and the staff were superb! It was raining so that really helped with the crowd.

• We had Mexican at this place called Agave and it was well worth a visit.  Good food and a 2 for 1 beers Happy Hour.
• The poolside bar at the Four Seasons Hotel (8 Finance Street) is fabulous! Coldest beer ever and very tasty cheese crackers. Incredible view! Infinity pool! (Its attached to the IFC)
• Upper House Hotel! Amazing! You gotta go to the bar and snag a window seat at the bar of their 49th floor "Cafe Gray Deluxe". Their Peasants Margarita is DELICIOUS.  If I could get my hands on one right now I'd drink it. The bar food is the best in the world. Seriously! The beef tips, the chicken flatbread and the polenta fries are delicious! Mike was also a big fan of their martini's.  The view from the ladies bathroom is the best in this world or at least that I have ever experienced. They even have a vanity area for each stall. Simply perfect. You gotta go! Upper House is attached to Pacific Place (on the central side)
• The Peak: Cable car to the top. Decent view, but it was hazy when we were there so we could barely see anything (sad face) Several old school movies were filmed at the top of this peak.  To be honest once at the top it is very cheesy.
• We stayed at the Langham Place Hotel in Mong Kok and were happy with it. The bars were terribly over priced so we only made that mistake once.  Its attached to Langham Place Mall which is ridiculously huge.  Its located right across the street from the subway so the location was perfect.  We stayed on the 28th floor so the view was incredible.  If we ever go back I can be found at the Upper House Hotel. I totally feel in love with that place.

Yummy dinner at Agave in Wan Chai? I think?

Now for the people:

• Customer service was the best of any place that I have ever visited. Seriously. Excellent customer service.  The rest of the world could learn a thing or two from these guys.
• No crazy coughing or spitting 
• No shoving. Very polite on the sidewalks.
• Strangers were so friendly. Kindly helping translate when it was needed. So helpful!

Tram car to get us up the peak

View of Hong Kong from the top of the Peak.

Another great perk of Hong Kong besides all the fabulous skyscraper views.... NO SALES TAX!
We were basically purchasing in USD prices again and it FELT GREAT!

China: Any suggestions?

CHINA: Any suggestions?

I'll start this blog by saying that Mike once said in response to me wanting us to go to Asia, "I never want to go to Asia"....

Now let's begin...

The McCooeys are headed to China (Mike finally came around) for the first time in about a week and are terribly excited! Not only to see China, but I am sure I will starve along the way which will cause me to lose some weight! Yay! Just in time for summer!

If you watch the show "An Idiot Abroad", I'm sure I'll be just like Karl and eat chips aka crisps the majority of the time.  He was forced to eat toad at one point. He didn't like it thought. He also walked through a food market and there were a lot of fried insects on a stick on offer. I'm not sure I ever want to eat a fried scorpion on a stick. Heck, I won't even eat a corn dog on a stick.

We are going to Beijing and Hong Kong to be exact.  So I'm looking for suggestions...

If you've been and would like to tell me about "you must go here" ,"see this", "eat this", or "dont do this" please leave a comment or just email me directly. (Thanks in advance)

By the way, I'm pretty sure we already know about the Great Wall so no need to tell me about it (insert giggle here).

I did read that Hong Kong has a Disneyland and since I've never been to a Disneyland I'm toying with the idea of going. When I say this Mike just looks at me with this weird look... They even have their own Disney Train line just for their Disneyland. How convenient is that?!

By the way, did you know that fortune cookies are not popular there? They aren't according to the Food Network... I will see for myself.

We, of course, do not know any Chinese so I will be making signs and looking up words like: toilet, water, Great Wall, taxi, help, airport, please take me to my hotel, etc...  This would have been very helpful in Thailand.  I did finally start carrying around the word toilet with me which I actually used a couple of times. Hey, when you gotta go you gotta go.

I like to ramble on sometimes... can you tell?