10 day travel guide to all things Hong Kong | part 1

Last week I shared my ideas for hosting overseas guests, and this week I’m finally getting around to sharing part one of our 10-day guide to all things Hong Kong. To provide some background to this itinerary, I had my first guests visit from the United States a few weeks ago. I created this guide in advance in order to hit a lot of the touristy stuff, as this was my visitors first time to Hong Kong. Our schedule was a little unique in that we competed in the Hong Kong Half Marathon (race post coming soon!), so a lot of our activities in the beginning were a little more low key to save our legs.

Whether you’re an expat like me or traveling to Hong Kong for the first time with hopes of exploring and eating a lot of good food, I hope this list at least gives you a good start. We weren’t able to hit everything, so I’ve offered a few other suggestions, some that I’ve tried, and some that I hope to check off my list soon. I’m sure if I wrote this guide even six months from now, it would look completely different (especially in the food category), so bear with me as I continue expanding my repertoire of activities here in Hong Kong.

Without further ado, here’s how we spent 10 days in Hong Kong.

Friday, Feb. 10

Lunch:BEP Vietnamese Kitchen, a favorite of ours for the quality food and even better price. BEP opens at noon for lunch, and you can expect a queue forming outside around 11:30, so get there early!

Dinner:Ho Le Fook, this was my first time at Ho Le Fook and I was not disappointed. As their website states, Ho Le Fook is a funky Chinese kitchen inspired by old school Hong Kong cha chaan tengs and the spirit of late-night Chinatown hangouts in 1960’s New York.” If you’re looking for some hipster Asian fusion, this is your jam. But get there early, as they only take bookings for parties of five or more.

Main Activity: For the first day we kept it pretty simple by hopping the MTR to the Kowloon Peninsula. There, we visited Kowloon park to pick up our race packets. We eventually made our way over to Mong Kok to check out the Ladies Market before heading back to the island for dinner.

Saturday, Feb. 11

Brunch:Wagyu, Australian-owned, simple and easy brunch spot serving everything from an English breakfast to French toast and eggs benedict. A basic spot for Westerners like me, but it never disappoints.

Dinner:Trattoria Caffe Monteverdi, for dinner the evening before the race, we always do Italian. I chose Trattoria Caffe Monteverdi because it’s located in our old neighborhood of Sai Ying Pun, and got pretty decent reviews. Although the decor is charming, I have to admit the food was just "meh".

Dessert: This was DELICIOUS. St. Barts, a newcomer to the neighborhood of Sai Ying Pun (opened just two weeks when we dined), is owned by the same folks of Waygu. The island décor was impressive, but that was nothing compared to desserts. Churros with vanilla ice cream, and last but not least, toblerone chocolates dipped in (more) white chocolate, sprinkled with powdered sugar and strawberry sauce. Carbo loading?

Activity: The day before the race we just explored Central and Sai Ying Pun. Doesn’t it feel like forever since I lived there?

Streets of Sai Ying Pun

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center

Sunday, Feb. 12

Activity: Ran the Hong Kong Half Marathon (post coming soon)

Dinner + Celebration:Little Creatures brewery

Little Creatures post-run celebration

I’m working on a post to recap the half marathon, as I did meet my goal of setting a personal record, but the real star of this day was checking out Little Creatures brewery for the first time, located in Kennedy Town. Craft beer and great food, right on the water. Kennedy town is the most Western point on Hong Kong island, making it the last stop on the MTR's blue line.

Monday, Feb. 13

Brunch: Oola, owned by the same folks of Wagyu (above).

Dinner:YumCha, dim sum! This may be pre-mature, but I think Yum Cha is one of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong so far. It also doesn't hurt that their happy hour is buy one, get one free!

Activity: The Peak. Like many tourists, we took the historical peak tram (tip: get there early or you’ll wait in a horrendously long line) all the way to the top of Victoria peak. We sprung for the extra money to catch the views from the top of the sky terrace, 428 meters above sea level. Although this view is breathtaking, I would honestly not spend the money for it. You can get just as great views by hiking the trails that wrap around the top of the peak.

View from the top. Escalators leading to the top of the Sky Terrace.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Lunch:Tai O Heritage Hotel

Dinner:Carbones, New York style Italian

Activity: Visited the Big Buddha and explored Tai O Fishing Village. I've already done posts about these two areas, check them out for more information!

If you still want to see some Buddha’s, but don’t have time to schlep all the way out to Lantau island, check out the 10,000 Buddha’s Temple located in Sha Tin.

Stay tuned for part two of this 10-day travel guide to Hong Kong!