Christmas at Harbour City

It's Christmas already at Harbour City and it is only mid-November!  

It's quite lovely to be hearing Christmas music playing here and there.  I've even been hearing it in my local Park N' Shop, too.  It was a surprise…though, to see that all the decorations were up.  I mean, I've only been here two weeks prior.

As per a little tradition, I like going round to the touristy areas and scoping out the Christmas decorations…especially at the malls.  It really reminds me of Christmas back home.  Plus, there are the Christmas lights on the buildings along Victoria Harbour.  There is definitely a Christmasy sort of feeling that is springing up around Hong Kong!

It is another Disney-esque type of theme on the steps in front of Harbour City.  The theme is actually christened "Happily Ever After."

There are supposedly events where Disney characters will be around and spreading the Christmas/Disney joy.  I'm not sure if I would personally make my way down to TST just to take photos with Elsa and Anna, but it does sound like a wonderful way to entertain the kids!

One of the advertised events is called the "Fantasy Lighting Christmas Present - Silhouette Photo with Disney Friends."

This runs from now until the 3rd of January.

Time
Monday - Friday 6 - 9pm
Weekends and Public Holidays from 6:45 - 8:15 pm.

It's like taking pictures with Santa.

All the proceeds go to the Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation.

I didn't have much time to line up and get into the venue, but there seemed to be a lot of kids waiting to get in and take photos at the various displays with their folks.  The line didn't seem too long when I was here.  It had about 10 groups of people right in front.

The Symphony of Lights is also quite Christmas themed already!  The show, as usual, is at 8 pm every night.  It's actually quite nice to see all the buildings so into the Christmas Spirit!  Too bad my camera doesn't quite focus so well in the evenings!

My next stop, 1881 Heritage Building!  But, I might head down there next weekend…all this Christmas Spirit is making me feel like I have to do some early Christmas Shopping…

Yuen Long Dim Sum

I think this place used to be a furniture shop, but sometime over the summer, a new restaurant opened up right next to the Yuen Long West Bus Terminal.  

I've only been here for dim sum, but, they seem like one of those restaurants that hosts big family banquets.  

I'm talking about Hang Heung Seafood Restaurant:

Location

Shop L, G/F - 1/F Shun Fat Mansion

17 Kik Yeung Road

Yuen Long

Hours

7:00 am - 11:30 pm daily

Tel.

3568 - 9138

How to get here:

1.  From Long Ping MTR Station Exit B, walk along the skyway all the way to the the Yuen Long West Bus Terminal

2.  The restaurant can be seen on the left side (2 - 3 minutes walk)

3.  Walk down the stairs to the Yuen Long West Bus Terminal

4.  7-Eleven will be on the left side

5.  Walk past 7-Eleven 

6.  Hang Heung Seafood Restaurant is left around the corner from 7-Eleven (30 second - 1 minute walk)

This place is like your usual dim sum restaurant.  When you first sit down, the wait staff ask you what type of tea that you want.  When you get your teapot and hot water pot, then you sit and clean the cups, bowls, spoons, etc.

I was told that it was a sort of tradition.  Or it was just apart of the eating culture.  When we eat out at the dai pai dongs, we also wash all of our eat-ware with hot tea.  I think, nowadays, it is just to rinse the dishwashing machine detergent off, perhaps...

This place gets pretty packed in the mornings for dim sum.  Like most dim sum places, as well, there are tables where you are sat with other patrons.  It's quite the fun experience.  We just read newspapers, people watch, and enjoy the morning of drinking tea and eating.

To order the dim sum dishes, you usually have to tick a bunch of boxes of the dishes that you like.  I don't read Chinese, but my husband does.  So, usually he orders all the usual things that I love.  Since there were four of us this morning, we were able to try a bunch more dishes.

Some new dishes that we tried…rice noodles with side sauces...

…chicken's feet…which one of my friends got me into when I last went to Tim Ho Wan with her and her husband.

…fish stomach with bits of shrimp…

…and a veggie dumpling…

It's always nice to try out new dim sum dishes.

I've been to Hang Heung Seafood Restaurant quite a few mornings since the place opened.  It's sort of become a regular dim sum joint for us.  So, if you are looking for a dim sum place other than the Yuen Long Plaza, this is a good one to try.  The dishes are quite inexpensive, the environment is pretty chilled, and there is a beautiful "display" of fish as you enter the eating area.

***Display = fish on display that will later be cooked up

Girls' Night Out

I love having a Girls' Night Out.  It makes me feel like I'm in an episode of Sex and the City most times because there are four of us and, most of the time, we are talking about everything under the sun over a meal.

Tonight, we headed over to Jordan, upon someone's recommendation and tried out Ah Lung Pakistan Halal Food.  It was quite near to Jordan MTR Exit A.  And it was quite easy to find along the small neighborhood streets of Jordan.

Ah Lung Pakistan Halal Food Info:

Location

G/F 95B Woosung Street

Jordon, Kowloon

Tel.

2782 - 1635

People eat and go here, so the wait isn't more than 10 minutes (in my one night's experience)!

We actually ordered two curry dishes (both came with rice).  We got a potato curry and one beef curry (the beef curry is in the photo below).

The potato was probably my favorite because it retained more of the spice level that we asked for.  The beef curry was pretty all right, but it had too much fat on it for my liking.

 Overall:
1.  I loved the cozy cramped style of the restaurant.  It really felt quite local.  There was a line, but, again, it wasn't that long of a wait.

2.  The food was pretty good.  I'm not too fussy about the taste of my food, but I'd totally return here because the taste was all right.

3.  The proportions were perfect for us.  I think we all have quite small stomachs, so splitting two curries with rice amongst the four of us was perfect.

Afterwards, we took a walk along Jordon and over to Austin (about) and looked for our next destination:  Royal Dessert!

There's always room for dessert…!

The wait for seats here was about 10 minutes as well.  This place was just as packed as the Pakistani restaurant we had dinner at.  Mind, this was a Friday night around 9 or 10 pm.  So, it was the peak time for people to be out and about dining and enjoying life!

This place also came highly recommended by one of my friend's friends.

Royal Dessert Info:
Location
G/F 23 Man Wai Street
Jordon, Kowloon

Tel.
2782 - 2278

There were so many things recommended and so many other options available on the menu.  It was quite overwhelming.

Each of us got a different dessert, so we could share the experience of having four different desserts!

The first was a milk pudding with sesame tang yuan in a coconut.

The second was another milky dessert with watermelons, vanilla ice cream, and tapioca pearls.

Mine was a Taiwanese ice chocolate ice cream dessert with red beans, mini mochi balls, and sprinkles.

The last one was a mini chocolate volcano cake with chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

Overall:
1.  I loved this dessert house.  I really loved the cramped space.  It gives quite the Hong Kong-local-neighborhood type of feel.

2.  The desserts were awesome…I am totally up for ice cream all day every day….as the Fall weather is finally approaching and Ice Cream's time is almost up!

3.  There was no rush for us to order.  There was no rush for us to eat.  And there was no rush for us to go.  Though people came, ate, and left quite frequently, there seemed to be enough space for everyone.

It's been quite a busy couple of weeks for me, so it was so incredibly lovely to get out with the girls and just catch up with everything.

This little adventure into Jordan makes me want to see what else that district has to offer.

Squirrel Burger, Yuen Long

We probably discovered this place in the summer, but didn't really think it was anything special.  But, we went out for a celebratory dinner and decided to check out Squirrel Burger in Yuen Long.  

The name is a bit odd ball…which is probably a bit of what drew us there.

The locale is really nice…which is also what probably drew us there.

The fact that you can sit outdoors is also one of the draws…especially on a lovely Fall Hong Kong evening.

And we were in the mood for a burger.

Squirrel Burger Info:

Location

Ground Floor, Block A Yee Fung Garden

38 Ma Tin Road

Yuen Long

How to get here

1.  From the Long Ping MTR Station Exit D, you'll notice the little watercourse that runs through the center of Yuen Long

2.  Walk along the watercourse (also known as Po Fai Path)

3.  Continue along Po Fai Path, pass Castle Peak Road…

4.  Continue along Po Fai Path, then pass Kau Yuk Road…

5.  Pretty soon, you'll hit Squirrel Burger on your right

***It is about a 10 minute walk from the Long Ping MTR Station

We got an autumnal squash soup, which was pretty good.  And we got a slice of garlic bread, which was also quite good.

But, the main thing we wanted to try was one of the burgers.  We ordered the classic burger, which came with a burger patty, tomato, cheddar cheese, and some onions.

The burger was actually quite good.  It was juicy and had a perfect balance of bun to filling.  It was really nice.  We also got a side of fries, which are always delicious!

To be a bit more healthy, we got a side "salad" which was the portobello mushroom drenched in tomato sauce.  This was pretty good.  It made me wonder if I could just make it myself, though.

 For dessert, we opted for hot chocolate, since it is Fall.  It made the entire meal feel quite autumnal and special.  I rarely drink hot chocolate, so that was a nice treat…

It was nice to try a new place in Yuen Long.  I think, over the summer, we've pretty much been eating at all our regular places.  It's just been a busy time, so selecting the reliable options seemed the best option.  

Overall, I think I wouldn't mind returning to this place when my family comes to visit.  I'm not sure if they'd be up for a burger because it's quite the norm back in the States.  But, this is totally a place I wouldn't mind returning to.  Hopefully, it'll be around in the coming months…years to come.

Some things I loved:

1.  The lounge vibe with a mix of elevator music and some pop music in the background…

2.  The outdoor feeling of the restaurant

3.  The cool trendy atmosphere of young couples and families hitting up this burger joint…

4.  The romantic lighting and mood that the watercourse provided…

5.  The selection of food available!

Afternoon Eating: Harbour City

I found myself back at the Carolyn Robb The Royal Touch Cafe again!  Actually, it's been awhile since I've hung out at Harbour City.  So, it was nice to be able to walk the mall and also revisit some places that I really liked.

Instead of getting the afternoon tea set, I got an pineapple juice…

…and the fish and chips a la carte.

It was a nice little afternoon tea/late lunch meal.  I'm not an expert on fish and chips, but I sort of felt like the fish was a bit mushy.  I might be quite bias against fish and chips, but I have had better…especially from Spuds on Alki!!!

Ha!  I love how fish and chips reminds me of Seattle!

After shopping around the mall, we stopped at i Cremeria Dolce Giapponese.  It's a Japanese ice cream shop basically.

There is quite a bit of options on the menu, but I got the basic melon green tea ice cream mix.  And it was simply heavenly!  It's one of those things that make you really believe that THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR DESSERT.

I'd never been to this place before, but, like the Carolyn Robb Cafe, it had a really nice atmosphere.

Outside of Harbour City, the Christmas displays are being set up right now.  The weather is lovely and fine.  It's feeling like Fall and I love it!