acostello

I shall be visiting HKG in January. It has been a few years since I was there. What I,m looking for is:

DimSim I should not miss:
Restaurant (High end Chinese - haute cuisine)
Pub that has Jamesons
and late-late night eateries.

I have not decide wehere I will stay - TST (Old Regents) or on the Island @ M/Oriental

Thanks in advance

jorgelito

Hi,

First off, are you traveling with friends, family, or do you know people who live there?

For night life, you can check out "Lam Kwai Fong". It's in Central, Hong Kong side. Very walkable, trendy etc. There should be a quite a few Irish pubs and most pubs should serve Jamesons.

For Dim Sum, I gotta tell you: it's all very good (at least to me). I guess it depends on what kind of style you like. How open minded and tolerant are you? (I am assuming you are caucasian). You can check out local places or go to the ones more "tourist friendly" All very good (in my opinion).

High end cuisine is best consumed with a group of at least 4-6 for maximum effect. You can check out hotel restaurants.

Late night eating is everywhere, especially near nightspots. Try Lam Kwai Fong and Wan Chai (Wan Chai is a bit "seedier", more suited for military personnel if you catch my drift. Mostly foreigners looking for hookers and tatoos etc. But it can be fun still, just depends on what you like. Some bars, pubs, clubs are open til 7am. (mostly in Wan Chai if I remember correctly.

I am going to Hong Kong for Christmas for 10 days. Since you won't be ther til Janyuary I can give you a more detailed report.

For more info: Pick up a "Lonely Planet: Hong Kong" and/or "Culture Shock Hong Kong". Both are excellent.

I can give you more info, just ask some more specific questions.

jorgelito

Oh yeah,

Mandarin Oriental is NICE! The bar on the first floor is great. I saw Richard Branson and Jeremy Irons there back in '97. That bar would definitely serve Jamesons, good cigars too. So it looks like to me that you have:

1. Adequate funds
2. High end taste

If that is true, then sky's the limit!

Definitely go for tea at The Peninsula (TST). that's kind of neat. Then hop the ferry and go to Central and walk around Lam Kwai Fong (during the day, early evening there are lots of restaurants and cafes to check out. From Tibetan to Ecuadorean Eurasian fusion etc. At night, it's club life.

A good day trip: Go to Stanley - Fresh seafood and cool market bazaars. It's more of an "off the beaten path" type of thing.

I like to go to the Peak and either eat at Cafe Deco or whatever else they have there now and watch the fog roll in during the early evening. Then the city lights come on and it's an amazing view.

oops, I'm writing too much here. I can go one forever. Let me knwo if ther's anything more specific.

Take care.

Cheers.

acostello

1. Adequate funds - No, just the Airplane tix has subsidized my splurge.
2. High end taste - It was on my first HKG trip, I was introduced to Chinese Huate cuisine - Wow.

I've done the initial standard touristy thing, including Stanley market+Peak etc. I'm looking for more - Things not found in guidebooks

Thanks

jorgelito

Hmmm.....let's see. You can try and check out one of the outlying islands but it may be a bit chilly that time of year (rainy too). Take a boat ride from either Central Ferry or Yau Ma Tei ( I think, I'm not sure) and check out one of the many outlying islands. There are like old fishing villages and stuff like that, shrimp farms.

You could always do a day trip to Macau, rent a bike or hike a bit. I like biking around Macau, into the quieter neighborhoods away from the gambling spots, checking out churches, architecture etc, and having lunch (Portuguese Chicken) and maybe picking up a bottle of wine. If you like gambling (it's not Vegas at all but it may have changed) the Hotel Balboa is neat to check out. There's an interesting variety of "female companionship" around, Russians, Portuguese, East Europeans, Asians etc. Check out the lower level.

Hong Kong is a lot of shopping type stuff. But you always head up to New Territories. The MTR goes direct there now, no need to change to the KCR. Get off Shatin and walk towards Ikea (out of the station), there's a small hike up a hill to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery/temple.

Or, get off at the race track. (closed Mondays, I think) walk into the middle of the track (there's a tunnel) and it's a wildlife bird santuary. Really cool. There's a freakin' wildlife paradise in the middle of the race track!

You know, you also might want to consider crossing the border into Shenzhen (China) for the day.

I'm a bit rusty but I hope this helps a bit. It's just a loose guide.

Goo Luck and have fun!

Charlatan

I will second the call for a trip to Stanely and the Peak...

You should also just go for a walk. Seriously. I just started walking one morning and ended up finding the botanical gardens (which I hadn't even read about)... it was one of the more pleasant surprises of the trip...

__________________
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acostello

Thanks for the island suggestion - I would really love to see the fishermen get in their early morning haul. Nostalgic of the scene early morning @ Marblehead.

klo

You need money, lots of money. The MTR is really expensive now, but unless you know how to take the bus, you're probably going to take the MTR and if you decide to go to Shenzen you'll need a visa, if you're not a resident of Hong Kong. There are some nice hot spring areas just across the border of Hong Kong in China. I'm going there during Christmas time, and I'll be going to the Hot Springs.

jorgelito

Hey Klo I'll be there Christmas time too: Where are the hot springs? Are there any in the New Territories?

And acostello, Marblehead? Are you from Massachusetts?

klo

It's somewhere in China near shenzen, suppose to be one of the nices ones in the world. My parents are showing going with me, because a family friend lives around there. I'm not sure if there are any in New Territories, I usually only go to Kowloon and Hong Kong.

acostello

Was , lived in MA many years ago.

I am intersted in the hot Springs too.