Is tourism in Hong Kong really causing the locals to stress out over HKD 20.00? We have met some really rude Hong Kong sellers out in the Ladies Market or Women's Street (女人街) in Mong Kok (旺角). If a seller don't like your return barter then like one seller we met grabbed my cousin by the arm and then two other sellers from the other stores will cut in to yell "crazies" towards the buyers!?! Is that how business as come to? being rude? Good that I probably know all the swear words in Cantonese more than the crazies knowing the English ones.
As a buyer, you have to beware of those crazy sellers. I would suggest carry a heavy bag if needed so you may use it as a weapon to defend yourself.
One bad apple seller makes the rest look bad. We have met some very nice sellers and they are not rude. It is just the fun of the game when it comes to bartering. Of course the sellers can have an open high price of whatever they wish. And you can have a return price of as low as you wish and work your way up. If both seller and buyer can't come to a compromise of the price both can walk away and no hard feelings.
My cousin wanted to get some shirts for her baby. The price of one polo shirt "open" price was HKD 120.00 and at the end she walked out with 2 polo shirts for HKD 100.00 which is what you can get at department stores on sale. Not really a bargain, but it is just a fair price.
She also got a set of 6 keychains for HKD 50.00, but I could have gone lower than that when it starts at HKD 100.00 maybe start from 1/4 of the price and work your way up. If you walk around around long enough asking for the prices of the same item with different sellers you will know about how low of a price barter you can counter offer. Things usually starts from HKD 120.00 then down to HKD 30 to 50.
We bartered a holder with set of picks from HKD 120.00 to HKD 42.00. You really need to have the guts to go low. We started offer at HKD 25.00 and worked our way up.
Have fun bartering, but be wary of some ladies gone crazy. Then after shopping you can try some yummies from some side street vendors. We ate some Hong Kong egg waffles ( 雞蛋仔) and drank some Taiwanese milk tea (奶茶) from Tea Time House with tapioca pearls (boba) and QQ which are white balls bursting with sour juice when you chew on them.
Mong Kok MTR exit D3.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Our new diet ... gluten free, wheat free, corn free, soy free, dairy free, nut free
and yes what else is left ...
First of it is hard to find any of that nature if you eat out in Hong Kong so it is going to be a stay at home diet. After my girl allergy result was out for her food intolerance, those are the things that her body is fighting constantly.
My homeopathic doctor, Dr. Sonal recommended to shop at Little Giant and 360 - Three Sixty.
Little Giant is located at Causeway Bay. The place is a hole in the wall inside a commercial building. Dr. Sonal did recommends me to shop online since it is really hard to shop in the store. And I agreed with that part. If you are not in a rush, shop online and you will probably have a more pleasant shopping experience than be stuck in a hard to walk store with boxes all over the floor. The staffs are really friendly, but they seems to lack the tech support when it comes to computer and dealing with customers buying right on the spot. I was stuck for 20 minutes literally with them on the phone with the tech support and redoing my checkout twice in order to pay the right amount.
360 - Three Sixty, at Central located on the top floor of The Landmark, only have a selection of gluten free and wheat free packaged food. But I did find cereal made of brown rice and crackers made out of rice sans cornstarch. You really have to browse around.
First of it is hard to find any of that nature if you eat out in Hong Kong so it is going to be a stay at home diet. After my girl allergy result was out for her food intolerance, those are the things that her body is fighting constantly.
My homeopathic doctor, Dr. Sonal recommended to shop at Little Giant and 360 - Three Sixty.
Little Giant is located at Causeway Bay. The place is a hole in the wall inside a commercial building. Dr. Sonal did recommends me to shop online since it is really hard to shop in the store. And I agreed with that part. If you are not in a rush, shop online and you will probably have a more pleasant shopping experience than be stuck in a hard to walk store with boxes all over the floor. The staffs are really friendly, but they seems to lack the tech support when it comes to computer and dealing with customers buying right on the spot. I was stuck for 20 minutes literally with them on the phone with the tech support and redoing my checkout twice in order to pay the right amount.
360 - Three Sixty, at Central located on the top floor of The Landmark, only have a selection of gluten free and wheat free packaged food. But I did find cereal made of brown rice and crackers made out of rice sans cornstarch. You really have to browse around.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Vietnamese week
We decided to sample Tuk Tuk and La Taste at Central back to back. Tuk Tuk was yesterday. This place is off of Graham opposite of Delicieux Bistro. It is also a hole in the wall type of family own restaurant. We were standing outside looking at the menu and this white lady came out and commented us to go in and said the food are great you won't be disappointed. We definitely were not disappointed. We ordered their lunch menu the main course that comes with a bowl of soup and drink for HKD 58.00 and we also ordered a side appitizer of spring rolls. I love the spring rolls and the peanut dipping sauce. My main course was lemongrass pork with rice and my hubby ordered stir fried beef noodle. Those were great for the price. And I like the carrot soup too ... sweet to perfection. The taste is as authentic as you can get for simple Vietnamese dishes.
On the way out I was inspired by the yummy soup that I hopped to the first veggie stall to purchased some carrots to make my own soup.
Earlier today, it was raining elephants. I was literally soaked from top to toes. But we still made it out to La Taste to sample the simple Vietnamese Pho. I was craving for a hot soup so I got the beef noodle soup. The soup was kinda bland, but then I was suppose to add my dose of chill to it which I passed. I added the lime. I wished that they gave me more lime and also add more Thai basil to the savory addition. The beef was still cooking and it was placed in raw which is how it is suppose to be. We also got an order of spring rolls. I liked the spring rolls at Tuk Tuk better and the fried rolls at Delicieux Bistro. But the sweet sauce ... yummy and they give you a jar of sauce unlike the others giving you a little dipping dish worth of sweet sauce.
The staffs were really friendly seeing that we were soaked from the rain, they helped us with our umbrellas.
Both meals come to about the same price and even though they served different style of Vietnamese food, both are worth a try.
On the way back, I had to purchase a new pair of Crocs cause the Teva I purchased at Marathon last week was soaked from walking in pouring rain with couple inches of cascading waterfall. This is probably what I love about Hong Kong, the proximity of shops and you can shop and eat til you drop within one block radius.
On the way out I was inspired by the yummy soup that I hopped to the first veggie stall to purchased some carrots to make my own soup.
Earlier today, it was raining elephants. I was literally soaked from top to toes. But we still made it out to La Taste to sample the simple Vietnamese Pho. I was craving for a hot soup so I got the beef noodle soup. The soup was kinda bland, but then I was suppose to add my dose of chill to it which I passed. I added the lime. I wished that they gave me more lime and also add more Thai basil to the savory addition. The beef was still cooking and it was placed in raw which is how it is suppose to be. We also got an order of spring rolls. I liked the spring rolls at Tuk Tuk better and the fried rolls at Delicieux Bistro. But the sweet sauce ... yummy and they give you a jar of sauce unlike the others giving you a little dipping dish worth of sweet sauce.
The staffs were really friendly seeing that we were soaked from the rain, they helped us with our umbrellas.
Both meals come to about the same price and even though they served different style of Vietnamese food, both are worth a try.
On the way back, I had to purchase a new pair of Crocs cause the Teva I purchased at Marathon last week was soaked from walking in pouring rain with couple inches of cascading waterfall. This is probably what I love about Hong Kong, the proximity of shops and you can shop and eat til you drop within one block radius.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Seafood Feast
This is by far the best seafood restau in Hong Kong called Dragon Inn Seafood Restaurant located in Tuen Mun out in New Territories. We purchased our seafood at the local market just down the street and the market delivers the goods to the restaurant and the restaurant prepare the dishes. Most people would just go to the restaurant and order from the menu, but my auntie J is a very particular about choosing the best raw materials.
We purchased shrimps, lobsters, fish, clams, and more shrimps.
We purchased shrimps, lobsters, fish, clams, and more shrimps.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
This week at Central - all about the Buns
We went to Shake em Buns ... I say the best burger place in Central tops Union Gourmet Burger by far and you know how ridiculous UGB charges for a can of soda ... HKD 30!!! That was freaking rip off. The burger patties at Shake em Buns are much tastier and seasoned with onion, garlic and salt. The fries are hot off the deep frier and not some refried crap fries. The place has a sense of humor too.
We also walked all the way to Sheung Wan to Bun Me for Vietnamese sandwiches and vermicelli. This is the second Vietnamese sandwich shop we lunched at. I still like Delicieux Bistro better for the taste part. I ordered the same name thing lemongrass beef. Bun Me served me a sandwich with sliced beef and slapped some lemongrass sauce with veggie for taste. The baguette was not toasted nor the guy asked me if I wanted it toasted. Even though they are cheapper by HKD 8.00. The place is a hole in the wall like all the family own restaurants around Central. Yet, I still prefer pampered with air conditioned when I eat.
And to top this week and month, I got my cover of Crave Mag August issue when it came out on August 1st just hot off the press. JP and my foodie photos number 10 and number 15 spread the two spreads of Crave's Food Porn section. We were bummed we did not win the HKD 2,000 to Spoon, but we will keep on taking photos of great food and submitting to Crave until we win!
I would really love to get a copy of Modernist Cuisine ... but it is a tad expensive. I will wait for their dessert volume to come out. That I would jump to get a copy of ... yummy sweets.
We also walked all the way to Sheung Wan to Bun Me for Vietnamese sandwiches and vermicelli. This is the second Vietnamese sandwich shop we lunched at. I still like Delicieux Bistro better for the taste part. I ordered the same name thing lemongrass beef. Bun Me served me a sandwich with sliced beef and slapped some lemongrass sauce with veggie for taste. The baguette was not toasted nor the guy asked me if I wanted it toasted. Even though they are cheapper by HKD 8.00. The place is a hole in the wall like all the family own restaurants around Central. Yet, I still prefer pampered with air conditioned when I eat.
And to top this week and month, I got my cover of Crave Mag August issue when it came out on August 1st just hot off the press. JP and my foodie photos number 10 and number 15 spread the two spreads of Crave's Food Porn section. We were bummed we did not win the HKD 2,000 to Spoon, but we will keep on taking photos of great food and submitting to Crave until we win!
I would really love to get a copy of Modernist Cuisine ... but it is a tad expensive. I will wait for their dessert volume to come out. That I would jump to get a copy of ... yummy sweets.
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