Hong Kong 2016 Itinerary

We had initially planned to visit Hong Kong in May for the Cheung Chau Bao Festival, but unfortunately, we had to cancel the trip at the last minute. 😦

Nonetheless, we found time (and excuse) to visit Hong Kong in December 😀

In order to eat more, we had to burn more calories, so this was a trip which we walked a lot in between destinations (Hong Kong Island is filled with steps and slopes, our poor knees!).

We also took tram and ferry rides quite often during this trip, which can be a cheaper alternative than the MTR sometimes.

Our 6 days itinerary were as followed:

Day 0/1 (7 & 8 Dec 2016 Thu):

• Touched down on SQ868 in Hong Kong International Airport close to midnight (11:40pm on 7 Dec 2016), took bus N11 to Macao Ferry Terminal and strolled to Butterfly on Waterfront Boutique Hotel for check-in. The friendly hotel staff were kind enough to loan us the pocket WiFi despite us only checking in the “next day”, and we could also keep our luggage with the hotel.
• Rested a while at the Butterfly Corner with comfy seats and power outlets, before heading for supper at 永利清湯腩 Weng Lik Beef Brisket and 新興食家 Sun Hing Restaurant around 3 am. We wanted to slot in 可可店 in between, but alas, we missed the closing time by 5 minutes…
• Strolled to 西環泳棚 Sai Wan Swimming Shed.
• Visited 科士街石牆樹 Forbes Street Tree Wall and had caffeine break at The Coftea Shop.
• Visited 魯班先師廟 Lo Pan Temple.
• Lunch at 新嘗滿粥店 Xin Chang Man Porridge Stall, and back to hotel for a much-needed nap.
• Caffeine recharge at Winstons Coffee, and checked out the nearby area.
• Dinner at 坤記煲仔小菜 Kwan Kee Claypot Rice.

Day 2 (9 Dec 2016 Fri):

• Breakfast at 蓮香樓 Lin Heung Tea House (best visit so far – see previous trip here).
• Day trip to 長洲 Cheung Chau.
• Ferry ride to 尖沙咀 Tsim Sha Tsui, and snacked on 利強記北角雞蛋仔 LKK North Point Egglets.
• Tea break at 美都餐室 Mido Cafe.
• Dinner at 四季煲仔飯 Four Seasons Pot Rice.
• Ferry ride and tram ride back to hotel.

Day 3 (10 Dec 2016 Sat):

• Brunch at 一樂燒鵝 Yat Lok Restaurant (still as good as before – see previous trip here).
• Coffee break at Coco Espresso.
• Yummy-licious, freshly baked egg tart snack at 泰昌餅家 Tai Cheong Bakery.
• Got ourselves a queue number at 甘牌燒鵝 Kam’s Roast Goose, and went for pre-lunch at the nearby 檀島咖啡餅店 Honolulu Coffee Shop.
• Lunch at 甘牌燒鵝 Kam’s Roast Goose.
• Had fun with elevator-riding at 合和中心 Hopewell Centre.
• Drinks break at 金鳳茶餐廳 Kam Fung Restaurant.
• Watched Christmas carols and had dinner at 老爺點心 LoYe Dimsum.
• Tram ride back to hotel.

Day 4 (11 Dec 2016 Sun):

• Breakfast at 翠華餐廳 Tsui Wah Restaurant.
• Morning hike at Wilson Trail & lunch at 興記雲吞麵 Xing Ji Noodle Shop.
• Grabbed snacks at 龍津美食 and 金華冰廳 Kam Wah Cafe (both are our favourite – see previous trip here and here), before making our way to 愉景灣 Discovery Bay via MTR and bus.
• Visited Discovery Bay Christmas Market and had dinner at Koh Tomyums.
• Enjoyed Disneyland fireworks display before taking the free ferry ride back to Central.

Day 5 (12 Dec 2016 Mon):

• Breakfast at 海安咖啡室 Hoi On Cafe.
• Chinese sausage hunting at 和興臘味家 Wo Hing Preserved Meat Co
• Lunch at 民聲冰室 Min Sheng Eatery.
• Tea break at 義順牛奶公司 Yee Shun Dairy Company,
• Resting & reading at 想+立刻 Thinkaholic Business Cafe.
• Grabbed a Bake Cheese Tart at SOGO (no queue, and tasted as good as what we tried in Singapore).
• Visited Hong Kong Central Library and Food Street at Fashion Walk.
• Went in search of my favourite 2-in-1 milk tea and ended up with dinner at 盛記大排檔 Sing Kee Dai Pai Dong.

Day 6 (13 Dec 2016 Tue):

• Breakfast at 生記粥品專家 Sang Kee Congee Shop.
• Coffee-break at Barista Jam.
• Checked out of hotel, took bus to airport.
• Checked in Regal Airport Hotel and took the complimentary bus shuttle to Tung Chung Citygate.
• Half day trip to 大澳  Tai-O.
• Shopping at Tung Chung Citygate.
• Dabao-ed dinner from supermarket back to hotel to feast.

Day 7 (14 Dec 2016 Wed):

• Ordered room service for breakfast in hotel.
• Checked out of hotel, and strolled to take our flight.

Some thoughts regarding Airport transport options to and fro Butterfly on Waterfront Boutique Hotel:

• We were out of the airport 1 hour after our plane landed, including clearing immigrations, picking up of luggage, and topping up of Octopus Card.
• Since we just missed the last A11 at 12:30am, we decided to take the slow version of N11 (at 12:50am, estimated 75 min) instead of the express NA11 (at 1:20am, but 35 min journey), as we thought of napping on the bus. Since we were stopping at the terminal, we did not have to worry much during the ride… Ok, I meant that I had a good nap, while hubby stayed awake 😛 The bus berths were side by side, so you could just check the timings before deciding which bus to take.
• We arrived at Macao Ferry Terminal just after 2 am. We walked out along Connaught Road West and used the pedestrian crossing instead of the footbridge. Took us around 12 min to reach the hotel with our luggage. Then… It took us a few minutes to figure out how to contact reception to open the door for us to get to level 1. We actually had to press the metal plate that reads “RECEPTION”… It did not look like a button to this bleary-eyed couple 😛
• Going back to the airport was easier, as the bus stop was under the flyover just outside the hotel. Both A11 and E11 go to the airport, and A11 is actually faster and slightly more expensive (HK$40 vs HK$21). We did not realise that at that point, and simply went up the first bus that arrived, which was the slower E11. It also turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because E11 has a stop nearer to Regal Airport Hotel, which was where we were headed.