[Macau - Hong Kong] Day 9 : Regal Airport Hotel & Citygate Outlets

August 7th, 2014

Today we will move to Regal Airport Hotel. Tomorrow we have a morning flight, and we don't want to rush to go to airport from Tsim Sha Tsui. So we booked a room in Regal Airport Hotel, because the hotel is connected with the airport.

To go to the Regal Airport Hotel, we rented a car with the driver (contact me to ask his number). He can pick up us from / to the airport. I told him to pick up us at 2pm. That means i still have a half day to stroll at Tsim Sha Tsui. And we decided to go to Harbour City.

Last time take a picture at Canton Road

We wouldn't shopping again today. We just walked around (and took some pictures) while we're waiting for the driver.

When we walked around, we saw a long queue in front of Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao restaurant. In my opinion, long queue means yummy food!!! ^^ So i decided to have a lunch there. 

Xiao Long Bao

La Mian with Fried Pork

Overall, the foods quite delicious. The price also not too expensive, about HKD50 for a bowl of La Mian. Maybe that's the reason why people like to eat there. 

After lunch, it almost 2 pm. It means we have to go back to hotel. While we were walking, we saw Laduree store and tempted to buy :P

Laduree store at Harbour City 

The macarons tasted amazing. It's not too sweet and the texture is really good. I tried all the flavors, and i like that all. Especially the Rose Petal flavor. When i ate that, i could feel and smell the rose. I know, it sounds weird to eat macaron with rose flavour. I thought like that at the first time, so i only bought 1 pc of Rose Petal. Not unexpectedly turned out it felt really good.

When we arrived at Guangdong hotel, it turns out the driver was already waiting. We put our luggage into the car, then left the hotel. Bye Tsim Sha Tsui :(

It only took 1 hour to reach Regal Airport Hotel. The hotel is really big, but they don't have a lot of guests. Perhaps because the location is too far from the city. 

Regal Airport Hotel lobby

After checked in, we took a shuttle bus to go to Citygate Outlets. Citygate Outlets is the largest outlet mall in Hong Kong. It features more than 80 international brand names that offer year-round discounts of 30 - 70%.  Shop categories include designer fashion, accessories, sports, children's wear, beauty and home accessories. This is a very good place for tourists who only have a short time to shopping. 

Actually, we had a plan to go to Ngong Ping with cable car, which the location in front of the Citygate. Unfortunately it's already closed. So we couldn't go to Ngong Ping. 

Before we went back, we had a dinner at Food Republic. It's located at 2/F Citygate Outlets. I ate a korean set menu with bulgogi. It tasted good and the price also quite cheap. 

Bulgogi

That's the end of our trip in Hong Kong. Tomorrow we have to go to the airport in the morning. See ya~~

Jenny Bakery at Tsim Sha Tsui

Hello everyone!! At this post, i will share with you about the famous Jenny Bakery in Hong Kong. Before i went to Hong Kong, i've been searching about this bakery. I found that the location is not far from our hotel, which is located in Tsim Sha Tsui. But i couldn't find a place exactly.

First time i walked at Nathan road, i saw many people hold a board / paper written "Jenny Bakery" in front of CKE Shopping mall. Don't ask them and don't trust them!! They are selling a fake Jenny Bakery. And the price also more expensive than the real Jenny Bakery.

Finally i asked a staff at our hotel about the location of Jenny bakery. He told me that the location Is in Mirador Mansion, next to Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hotel. At 9 am,  i went to Mirador Mansion, and hope there would be no long queues in the morning. But i was wrong. The queue was really long although it was raining at that time.

As you can see from the picture above, they're queueing in the heavy rain only for Jenny Bakery. And it's only the half of the queue. I became more curious, how delicious cookies jenny bakery so that people are willing to queue for more than 1 hour in the pouring rain.

When you get in front of the Mirador Mansion, you will be given a queue number as a ticket to buy cookies. You will not be able to buy if you do not have the ticket. 1 ticket can only be used to purchase a maximum of 3 tins of cookies. So, if you want to buy more than 3 tins, you have to wait in line again to get the ticket.

They have 2 kinds of cookies, butter cookies and nuts cookies. And other food they sell is nougat candy. But they were sold out at that time. So i only got 1 tin of nuts cookies and the rest is butter cookies :(

So, how's the taste of this famous cookies??? It's sooo delicious. It's not too sweet, but you can feel the milky flavour from the cookies. The texture also pretty good. Not too hard, but enough for a crunchy cookies. When you're biting, you'll feel it melting in your mouth. I like the nuts cookies more than butter cookies. Actually they both have the same taste. Only if you eat nuts cookies, you can feel the crunchiness of the nuts in the middle of this yummy cookies.

Jenny Bakery ( official store ) 
1. Tsim Sha Tsui: Shop 24 Ground Floor, Mirador Mansion, 54-64 Nathan Road
2. Sheung Wan: 15 Wing Wo Street, Ground Floor

[Macau - Hong Kong] Day 6 : Shopping at Causeway Bay part 1

August 4th, 2014

This is the day where I would shop as much in Causeway bay. Actually, today we're planning to go to Disneyland. But, it was raining in the morning. So we cancel it. I had a bad experience with a rainy day at the theme park :(

We're going out from our hotel at 10 am. The first place is Fashion Walk . I came too early so I only found a few stores that have been open.

Bally store at Fashion Walk

Actually, there are so many stores at Fashion Walk. But most of them are open at 12 pm. So, if you want to see the "real" crowd of Fashion Walk, just go in the afternoon. 

We didn't take a long time at Fashion Walk. After that, we're going to Windsor House. Its located in front of The Park Lane Hotel, not far from the Fashion Walk. If you have children, Windsor House is a place you should visit. At this place, you can found over than 20 stores who selling kids clothes, toys, books, and other stuff for babies. 

Next to the Windsor House, you can found Causeway Place. This isn't the big shopping mall who sells international brand. Its just a mini mall with boutiques that sell local, Korean and Japanese fashion, toys and cosmetics. The price is not too expensive but also not cheap. This is a good place to check out the best of local trends.  In addition to Causeway Place, there are two other mini mall that you can find in Causeway Bay: Laforet and Island Beverly Center.

Tiger Clutch Bag at Laforet 

For today's lunch, we're going to Chuen Cheung Kui. This is one of the Bib Gourmand restaurants in Hong Kong 2011 Michelin Guide. Chuen Cheung Kui opened several decades ago and offers quality traditional Hakka cuisine at affordable price. This restaurant located at 7th & 8th floor Causeway Bay Plaza 1 , 489 Hennesy Road, Causeway Bay. Actually, i'm not a big fan of Hakka food. But i'm so curious with the Salted Baked Chicken. Every people said they have the best chicken. And i loveee salty food. 

Baked Salted Chicken

People said this is the best salted chicken. For me, it's not!! It's not salty as i thought. And i don't like the texture of the chicken,  because they're using broiler chicken. In Jakarta, i always eat salted chicken that using village chicken. Its more delicious....

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables 

But this pork belly is really amazing. I really like its flavour. I can feel the saltiness from the preserved vegetables. Everything on this food are cooked very well.

The other foods i ordered are sauteed kailan with garlic and a tofu dishes. I forget the name of that tofu  but that's really delicious. It cooked with meat and red bean. 

Enough with the yummy food, its time to continue our shopping time ^^ The next place is World Trade Center (WTC more). This Causeway Bay mall is housed on the former site of the Palace Theatre cinema. It’s located at 280 Gloucester Road, next to The Excelsior hotel. It's best known as a top spot for mid-priced youth fashion. With its 14 floors, WTC more is the right place for trendsetters, fashionistas, and style fans. One of my favorite store in WTC more is Spur. Spur is a brand for Korean handmade shoes. They have a very comfortable shoes. You also can found a large and well stocked Muji store in here.

My comfy shoes from Spur

Around that area, there's a place who sells Hong Kong street food snack named Ying Heong Yuen. But i'm not looking for the snack. Because i want to eat the best street food at Mongkok another day. Now, i'm looking for coconut sago. This a very very tasty drink i ever had beside Hui Lau Shan. 

The last stop is SOGO. SOGO is a department store from Japan. You can find anything you want in here, such as clothes, make up, food, etc. But for now, i'm not going to buy any clothes in SOGO. I'm looking for the famous wife cake from Hang Heung Cake shop, which located at the basement of SOGO. I never eat wife cake before. So this is the first time for me. In my opinion, the cake is not as good as people say. Its not sweet and the texture is too dry. When i ate that, i only can feel the plain taste of the pastry. Big disappointment for me. 

At this floor you'll found so many shops are selling cake, cookies, snack, ginseng, tea, even Godiva!! Looking at Godiva, make me want to buy the chocolate ice cream again. But i saw the other interesting beverage at Godiva. It was White Chocolate Matcha drink. They said this was limited edition. So i tried it. I'm a matcha lover ♡ The main drink itself is composed of green tea taste rather than the rich white chocolate. Drink it consists of green tea flavor than rich white chocolate. Not sweet at all, in fact it feels a little bitter. Perhaps of flavor caused by matcha.

White Chocolate Matcha 

Still at the same floor, there's another interesting food, Morozoff. They're selling cookies and another snack, most of them made from nuts and chocolate. My favorite is the feuillage. It is thin snack with a thin layer of chocolate in it, and they also mix it with a sliced of almonds, so it is very crispy.

Morozoff at SOGO Causeway Bay 

Cookies and feuillage

Before we ended this day, we had a dinner at Yoshinoya. Not like at Jakarta, they have a pork menu here. I ordered a rice package with pork belly and beef. The beef is too salty and not sweet like at Jakarta. I don't like it. But the pork belly, is really tasty. The sweetness and the saltiness from the sauce is perfect. (Sorry, i don't have the picture. Because my battery was low at that time).

[Macau - Hong Kong] Day 5 : IFC, Central, and 1881 Heritage

August 3rd, 2014

Today i will do another shopping trip to Central. First stop is IFC mall. IFC is really big shopping mall. You can found a lot of luxury branded store here. But its not too crowded like at Harbour City.
If you're looking for complete Zara store, this is the right place. They have a huge store at IFC and the clothes are really complete. Although its sale season. Actually Zara is not my favorite brand. They have casual style which i don't like, and their size is too big for me. But in here, they have my size. So, if you're going to Hong Kong in July, don't forget to go to Zara at IFC mall. Its sale season, and you can get a lot in here.

I also found Diptyque store at IFC mall. Diptyque known as Paris brand for scented candles, perfumes, and face and body care. They have an unique scent on their products. I chose Eau Rose Eau de Toilette.

If you're looking for Garrett popcorn at Hong Kong, just come to IFC. Its located at Podium level 1, next to City'Super Grocery store.  I really like Garrett popcorn especially caramel flavour mixed with macadamia, almond, and cashew nuts.

Popcorn addict

My hubby told me that he wanted to go to Apple store. As i was saying, IFC mall is really big. We have to walk little bit far to reach Apple store. On my way to Apple Store, we found Godiva. I bought the chocolate ice cream and for me, this is the best chocolate ice cream i ever taste. No wonder everyone likes Godiva.

Enough with this ice cream, we're going to Apple Store. This is the biggest Apple Store i ever seen. It has 2 level. My hubby bought Iphone 5S there. After paying, there will be a people come, and he will help you to do a setting on your gadget. 

Its lunch time!! What you gonna eat when you're in IFC??? You must be answer "Tim Ho Wan", the best dim sum in Hong Kong. Actually Tim Ho Wan not located inside the IFC mall, but it's under the mall. Just follow the sign to Airport Express (Hong Kong station). That's the same way to go to Tim Ho Wan.

If you just have a short time, just take away the food. They have different queue for eat there and take away. It just take 20 minutes for take away foods. There are 2 types of menus : in Cantonese and in English. If you can't read Cantonese, just ask them for the English menu.

I just ordered Baked Bun with Barbecued Pork. I read a lot of reviews of Tim Ho Wan and they said the Baked Bun really recommended. Another dim sum's taste not really good. Otherwise, i want to go to Tsim Chai Kee. So we just take away the Baked Bun.

If you're looking for the best wonton noodle in Hong Kong, people must be said "Tsim Chai Kee". That's why I'm so curious with this wonton noodles. We're walking little bit far from IFC mall. Its about 2 pm in summer. Can you imagine the weather at that time??

Finally we arrived at Tsim Chai Kee. It located at 98 Wellington Street. And i still have to wait about 15 minutes to get a seat. I ordered a bowl of wonton noodle,  and another bowl with fish ball. They did have a large wonton with shrimp in it. But it's not as good as what people are talking about. I don't feel anything in the soup. I don't know because of the MSG / whatever they added, it just left a rough taste in my mouth. Even i couldn't finish that all.

Now, it's time to try Baked Bun from Tim Ho Wan. I think, this is the best baked bun ever. The crunchiness of the bun is very good. And the barbecued pork flavor is amazing. You can feel the sweet and savory in one bite.

After lunch, we're going to The Landmark. But before that, my hubby stopped at Abercrombie & Fitch on Pedder Street. He bought some T-shirt there. Abercrombie have a good fabric for their T-shirt. Worth it to buy. While he was shopping,  Aurelia (my daughter) and me walked around the Pedder Street. And we found the cute dog statue ^^

This picture was taken by Aurelia

The Landmark isn't a large shopping mall like IFC mall and Harbour City, but it's full of branded store such as Manolo Blahnik, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc.

Landmark Atrium

We didn't take a long time at The Landmark. After that, we're going to 1881 Heritage. 1881 Heritage is a shopping mall that looks like a castle. The shops here are selling expensive jewelry, watches and high fashion clothing. Beside that, they also have luxurious hotel named Hullet House.

Why did i come here? Because they always have a beautiful decoration. Maybe once a month, they will change their decoration.

For today's dinner, we're going to Tsui Wah (again!!).  Can't get enough with their Fish Balls n Fish Cakes Soup. But this time, i'm trying their "Hot Milk Tea". 

For me, the "Cold Milk Tea" is much better than this one. If you order Cold Milk Tea, they've been mixing the milk tea with sugar before serving. But, if you order "Hot Milk Tea", they only serve the plain milk tea. So you have to put the sugar by yourself. I don't like to mix the sugar by myself, because I don't know the proportion to get a taste of delicious milk tea.