Little Adventures in Hong Kong with Daisann McLane
eat, walk, drink, explore
Daisann McLane
Daisann McLane fell in love with Hong Kong's streets and food in 2002, when she came here to study Cantonese at the Chinese University of HK. The celebrated travel writer and photographer writes an award-winning column for National Geographic Traveler. She's also an expert on city's culture and politics, with articles in the New York Times Magazine, the International Herald Tribune and Slate.com. McLane consults and provides cultural orientation services to corporations and executives in Hong Kong. If you are a traveler who wants a sophisticated, informed and culturally savvy immersion in Asia's most fascinating and cosmopolitan city.(and some great Won Ton noodle soup, too!).look no further: Daisann is your Hong Kong connection.Become a Fan!
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Little Adventures in Hong Kong--Private Walking and Food Tours
Hong Kong Snapshots
Snapshots. Unexpected moments. A door opens, and suddenly you find yourself immersed in someone else's life. For an instant, you're floating in a different world, inhabiting a different skin, wondering how you could have lived so long without understanding, feeling, thinking...like this.
This is the pot of gold at the end of every traveler's rainbow.
And it's why we love Hong Kong.
At Little Adventures in Hong Kong we like to think of ourselves as cultural facilitators. Every foreigner in Hong Kong faces the problem of how to get past the hype, the guidebook cliches, the "official" tourism board attractions. How to make sense of an overload of information, languages, smells and sights.
That's what we're here for. We help you find these moments. We give the doors a little push.
We give you our city, so you can make it yours.
For more information on our food, cultural enrichment programs and walking tours of Hong Kong, email us now at:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
This is the pot of gold at the end of every traveler's rainbow.
And it's why we love Hong Kong.
At Little Adventures in Hong Kong we like to think of ourselves as cultural facilitators. Every foreigner in Hong Kong faces the problem of how to get past the hype, the guidebook cliches, the "official" tourism board attractions. How to make sense of an overload of information, languages, smells and sights.
That's what we're here for. We help you find these moments. We give the doors a little push.
We give you our city, so you can make it yours.
For more information on our food, cultural enrichment programs and walking tours of Hong Kong, email us now at:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Get Your Free Little Adventure in Hong Kong Every Day
We don't like to brag, but we are quite tickled by the warm response to our new Facebook page, Little Adventures in Hong Kong.
Every day, day after day, we're posting a tiny story and photo on Facebook, a snapshot in miniature of life in Asia's greatest city.
It's a notebook of Hong Kong moments that we think are special. Moments and experiences which, of course, we incorporate into our private programs.
Check it out today. Oh, and if you prefer getting your daily bites of Hong Kong on Twitter instead of Facebook, you can follow us there too.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong today. Email us now and we'll tell you all about our personalized cultural enrichment programs, walking and food tours:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Raise the Red Lampshade!
In our endless quest to discover the most interesting, unsung attractions of our favorite city for our personally hosted Hong Kong walks, we often find ourselves pausing to admire the vast landscape of consumable commodities which surrounds, indeed threatens to devour us, with its variety and plentitude.
Yeah, we like to go shopping.
Not just any shopping, though. I am always on the alert for things to buy that have local flavor, that are Made in Hong Kong. Things that have some connection to this place, and this culture.
Even though Hong Kong is a much touted "Shoppers Paradise", that's not always easy. Hong Kong is awash in designer brands and luxury items, but the everyday local treasures aren't always visible at first glance.
That's why I've compiled my own lists of shops and stores that "think locally."
Some you may already have heard of, like the terrific hip housewares and lifestyle store G.O.D.
These guys have a terrific eye for Hong Kong design, and a great sense of humor too (their store name is even a Cantonese pun--jyu ho di means "Live a little better"). I love their notebooks and stationery decorated with photos of Hong Kong building facades.
I also like to introduce our Little Adventures in Hong Kong clients to the stores and shops where Hong Kong folks buy their life's necessities. Everyday household items like a handmade toilet brush, or a woven straw carrying basket ring with authentic beauty. In hardware stores, you will also find classics like the famous Hong Kong red plastic lampshade.
Yes, it's the same one you see hanging over the fruits and veggies in all the open air markets. It makes a great souvenir of the Hong Kong streets, and it only costs about $3.50 USD in any hardware store.
(The lamps are 100% made and designed in Hong Kong by the Red-A Star Industrial Company).
This is the kind of Hong Kong item that really appeals to my inner shopper. (I also love the cheap and cheerful "rice grain" china, the beautifully labelled sauces by local purveyor Pat Chun, and the wonderous range of Chinese and Japanese cookware sold in the basement of the marvellous Wing On department store.)
These are the things we love to put in our shopping bags here at Little Adventures in Hong Kong (and of course we are carrying our own cloth bags now that the government has levied an environmental tax on those nasty plastic ones!)
Email us for more information:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Fish Ball Noodles and Salt Sea Air
The Hong Kong weather right now is clear and breezy--perfect for a Little Adventure from Shau Kei Wan to Shek O. We start in the terrific Shau Kei Wan market, and explore the small shops and 100 year old temples along the main street. The road leads right to the old typhoon shelter on the waterfront--where pirates once hid out.
Next time we go I'm going to see about hitching a ride home on one of these local boats!
The best yu daan ho fan I have ever tasted is made right here in Shau Kei Wan. Yesterday, we tried it garnished with some crunchy and delicious fried fish skin (ja yu pei) on top--super yummy!
Yvonne and Mike, from London, were terrific companions for the afternoon. We hopped on a red minibus from Shau Kei Wan to Big Wave Bay, a cool little village that is also the home to Hong Kong's weekend surfer dudes. We climbed up the path to a terrific view of rocks and the bay at sunset, then prowled around the little village.
Last stop was Shek O, at the end of the peninsula, where a wide, sandy beach attracts the Sunday crowds for--what else?--BBQ parties (in Hong Kong, eating is always more popular than swimming!). But we didn't linger on the beach. Instead we followed the secret path behind the Art Deco Shek O bus station, wound our way past the basketball courts and through the hole-in-the-wall to emerge at the best bar in Hong Kong: the Back Beach Bar.
And guess what they're serving at Back Beach Bar these days...
That's right--Brooklyn Beer, manufactured about a mile away from my "other" home town in the USA.
I must say, it is even more tasty 8,000 miles from its origin! Or maybe it's just the great ocean views and breezes at Shek O that make it taste so good.
Thanks to Yvonne and Mike for joining me on this mellow Sunday afternoon of little adventures. (And good luck to you in your studies of Gwong-Dung-Wah!). Juk neih deih sing gung!
Are you planning a trip to Hong Kong? There are lots of little adventures waiting for you here in the Big Lychee.
email me now and start planning one of your own!:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Presenting...the Won Ton-a-Thon!
By popular demand, Little Adventures in Hong Kong has created a unique new food and walking experience:
Won Ton-a-Thon!
What is a Won Ton-a-thon? It's the most unique food challenge in Hong Kong: a marathon, epic foodie quest to eat the best won ton noodles in Hong Kong! And it's only at Little Adventures in Hong Kong.
Four hours of Hong Kong island's most beloved noodle shops, from Shau Kei Wan to Sheung Wan. Won ton noodles, beef brisket, fish balls. Famous local classic shops like Mak's Noodles and Wing Wah. Go elbow to elbow with Hong Kongers at some of the last remaining outdoor dai pai dongs in Central Hong Kong.
Noodles are to Hong Kong what pizza is to New York: the signature dish at the heart of a great metropolitan city. When you finish your Won Ton-a-Thon with Little Adventures in Hong Kong you'll really feel like you've been to Hong Kong.
Come hungry! Contact us now to find out more about the Hong Kong Won Ton-a-Thon:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
The Hong Kong You Want To Know
You've been thinking about going to Hong Kong for ages. But you don't want to see the same Hong Kong that everybody else does. You want to prowl the back streets without getting lost, smell the weird and wonderful things in the marketplace and find out what they actually are, eat the best won ton noodle soup and roast goose. You want to eat, explore, feel Hong Kong like a local.
Give us three hours, and we'll give you that Hong Kong.
Coming to HK on business or a short work trip? Instead of wandering around aimlessly during your one free morning or afternoon, spend it with us. We'll explore corners of Hong Kong you never imagined existed. Like this one.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong now. Email us for more details:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Give us three hours, and we'll give you that Hong Kong.
Coming to HK on business or a short work trip? Instead of wandering around aimlessly during your one free morning or afternoon, spend it with us. We'll explore corners of Hong Kong you never imagined existed. Like this one.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong now. Email us for more details:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Happy New Year From Hong Kong
Happy new year...hope to meet you in Hong Kong in 2009!