Little Adventures in Hong Kong with Daisann McLane
eat, walk, drink, explore
Daisann McLane
Daisann McLane is a travel writer,photographer and essayist. Her "Real Travel" column appears in every issue of National Geographic Traveler, and her articles about Hong Kong's food, culture and politics have been published in the New York Times Magazine, the International Herald Tribune and Slate. She's the author of the Society of American Travel Writers award winning book Cheap Hotels and the recent Living In Asia (Taschen). Daisann has lived in Hong Kong since 2002, when she came here to study Cantonese at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She spends part of every day walking in Hong Kong.Become a Fan!
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Real Travel Hong Kong
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 walking tours, 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." When you come along on one of our guided walks at Little Adventures in Hong Kong, I'll introduce them to you.
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 travelers 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!)
Of course, if you want to move on from red lampshades and soy sauce to more (ahem) serious shopping--jade, designer wear, discount outlets, china, handmade cheongsams and shoes--we can help you do that, too.
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 tour:
Won Ton-a-Thon!
What is a Won Ton-a-thon? It's the most unique food tour 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.
In three hours you'll experience up to eight of Hong Kong island's most beloved noodle shops, from Shau Kei Wan to Sheung Wan. You'll visit the classics, like Mak's Noodles and Wing Wah. But you'll also slip into local off-the-map favorites and slurp elbow to elbow with Hong Kongers at some of the last remaining outdoor dai pai dongs in Central Hong Kong.
And just for variety, we'll also sample some of Hong Kong's most beloved beef brisket noodles, and fish ball/fish cake noodles. It's up to you! The Won Ton-a- Thon, like all of our Little Adventures In Hong Kong tours, is custom-tailored to your interests.
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 you'll really feel like you've been to Hong Kong.
Come hungry! Contact us now to book your Hong Kong Won Ton-a-Thon:
realtravelhongkong@gmail.com
The Hong Kong You Want To See
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 me three hours, and I'll give you that Hong Kong.
Contact me now for more info about the walking tours I give in Hong Kong. They're designed just for you. You can come by yourself, or with a maximum of three friends. We eat, shop, walk, explore Hong Kong. It's like having a really savvy local friend, on the ground, to guide you straight to the things you'd really like to see.
Coming to HK on business again? Instead of wandering around aimlessly during your one free morning or afternoon, spend it with me. We'll go to corners of Hong Kong you never imagined existed. Like this one.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong now. Email me for more details:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Give me three hours, and I'll give you that Hong Kong.
Contact me now for more info about the walking tours I give in Hong Kong. They're designed just for you. You can come by yourself, or with a maximum of three friends. We eat, shop, walk, explore Hong Kong. It's like having a really savvy local friend, on the ground, to guide you straight to the things you'd really like to see.
Coming to HK on business again? Instead of wandering around aimlessly during your one free morning or afternoon, spend it with me. We'll go to corners of Hong Kong you never imagined existed. Like this one.
Start planning your little adventure in Hong Kong now. Email me for more details:
realtravelhongkong (at) gmail.com
Let Me Show You My Hong Kong (and my Macau, too)
Walking Tours of Hong Kong (and Macau)--With An Expert Guide
Hong Kong gets 29.5 million tourists a year. They wait in long lines to take the tram up to The Peak, ride to Kowloon on the Star Ferry, eat dim sum and won ton noodles at the same six or seven restaurants every guidebook recommends, and maybe stop off to buy some fake jade Buddhas at the market on Cat Street.But you want to be more than a tourist.
You want to eat at the best Cantonese restaurants. Not the overhyped and pricey hotel restaurants in the new Michelin Guide, the ones that locals know. You want an on the ground insight into the history, architecture and politics of China, and Asia's most multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city.You'd like to visit the authentic, local places that tourists haven't found, meet interesting Hong Kongers in journalism, the arts and politics, get to know Hong Kong's modern architectural gems, and walk through ancient walled Chinese villages that remain standing among groves of urban high-rise apartments.
Maybe you just want to find out, for once and for all, what are all those strange dried things laid out for sale in the market.
You've just found your local connection
If you are coming to Hong Kong and want to have the kind of experience you'd only expect to have after living here for years, drop me an email:RealTravelHongKong@gmail.com
I can teach you some cool Cantonese slang.
Take you to a politicial demonstration or a visit to the only courtrooms in China where the judges and barristers wear horsehair wigs.
Shop for Chinese porcelain dishes and ebony chopsticks in Hong Kong's oldest department store.
Explore Hong Kong's Street Food Paradise
Hong Kong has an endless variety of amazing food that you'd have a hard time ordering on your own if you don't speak or read Chinese. Everything from braised goose webs (they are yummy!) to a cake made of a "thousand" delicate layers of tofu skin.There are secret trails, high above Hong Kong's skyscrapers, cut by Chinese pirates in the 1800s who would sit up there and watch the comings and goings of the boats in the harbour. There are mountain paths leading to splendid Buddhist temples. Little ferry boats that head off to tiny, off-the map islands. Old coffee shops straight out of a Wong Kar-wai movie, and hidden restaurants that sell the best borscht this side of Moscow.
Start Planning your Little Adventure in Hong Kong
If
you are planning a trip to Hong Kong, and want to go "off the map," pop me an email and let me know your dates of
travel, and what you're interested in--food, culture, language,
architecture, history, hiking. Then we can talk or email and plan a tailor-made itinerary for you, based on your interests and travel schedule.
What does it cost?
It's all up to you. My fee varies according to the amount of time you would like to spend out and about (I have a 3 hour minimum), and the number of people who are on board (four people at once, max).
Just tell me what you'd like to do in Hong Kong, and we will create a "Little Adventure" that fits your interests and budget.
To start the ball rolling, email me:
RealTravelHongKong@gmail.com
Look forward to hearing from you. See you in Hong Kong in 2009!
P.S.: I can also show you the real Macau. But better hurry. The government and businessmen in this historic, 400 year old Portuguese city are determined to turn it into the "Las Vegas of the East." There's still time to catch this marvelous place before it folds.
Happy New Year From Hong Kong
Happy new year...hope to meet you in Hong Kong in 2009!