Our Trip to Hong Kong

 

I feel this post has been a long time coming (we actually got back from this trip over two months ago eek) and I am so excited to finally be writing it

As most of you will know, my husband and I went to Hong Kong in February to visit some friends, we then went with them to Taipei and then back to HK for an extra four nights on our own to do further sight seeing and eating! We actually booked the trip a few weeks after finding out that we were expecting, we had been considering a trip around Feb/March/April and the news of the pregnancy actually made us want to book it even more. We’re not much for travelling super far away and tend to stick to our well worn holiday destinations, so to have the opportunity to go to the far East and do so just before we have our first child felt really special to us. Hong Kong and Taipei are both big cities with amazing hospitals and zero risk of Zika so from a medical point of view we weren’t worried, plus we knew that I’d be in my second trimester by the time we left so hopefully wouldn’t be feeling so rough. Here are some of my favourite restaurants/sights we visited! It also helped that Chinese food is my all time favourite and in pregnancy I’m actually craving it more than ever. We tended to stick to upscale restaurants to reduce the risk of any food issues with me.

FOOD

Going to Hong Kong right at the beginning of trimester two confused me a tad. I put the main bulk of rapid pregnancy weight gain (so far) on in weeks 13-16 and I honestly don’t know if it was down to hormones or simply because I ate SO much amazing food.

Lei Garden I really shouldn’t be writing this at lunch time as remembering the epic food in HK is making my stomach rumble even further! I think one of the best restaurants we went to was a chain called Lei Garden, they are dotted around the city and the food is spectacular. Mouth watering dim sum made completely from scratch and incredible staple Cantonese dishes such as sweet and sour chicken/porkand incredible wok fried noodles. My favourite dish was weirdly Chinese Pea Shoots which are cooked in garlic and oil and absolutely delicious. They make them incredibly well here. If you have a trip on the horizon make sure you go at least once (we managed two visits during our time in HK!).

Hu Tong This is the place to go for a romantic date night or fun evening out with cocktails. Order as much as possible as each dish is so beautifully presented and getting a wide variety of flavours is, what I personally believe, Chinese food is all about. If you’re lucky you get seated right up by the window with views of the city centre across the water. This is located on Kowloon just to bear in mind!

Limewood This was less your traditional Cantonese food and more Thai fusion which was a welcome and refreshing change. Everyone else enjoyed delicious looking cocktails and the menu is divine with their strong suit being sea food. This is located on Repulse Bay Beach which is also a gorgeous spot to visit for lunch on a warm day with a beach towel for sunbathing and relaxing after!

Lung King Heen We didn’t plan on eating in the restaurant in our hotel (Four Seasons) but after landing a little later than expected back from Taipei and narrowly avoiding succumbing to a McDonald’s craving we were famished by the time we checked in. You usually need to book months in advance but as luck would have it at 9:50pm on a Sunday evening we sneaked in just before final orders. The wagyu beef with black bean on crispy noodles was out of this world and I still fantasise about it. Out of all the fancy restaurants to dine at in HK make sure you visit this one as the food was incredible, high quality premium Cantonese cuisine.

Activities/Sights

Our trip was split into two parts with out visit to Taiwan in the middle. The first few days were mainly spent with our friends who we were staying with and getting used to the jet lag which we tried to beat by going to the cinema to see Black Panther on our first night but preggo me just slept through it all – it seemed like a great movie though from the 20/30 mins that I did catch! We had such a fun time going to the flower and ladies market where you can pick up lots of cute fun (but totally unnecessary) souvenirs. We also went to a really fun night club called Dragon i which completely discombobulated me as body clock time at home it was only 4pm. However, when we came back the second time we had a list of places we wanted to visit.

 

Big Buddha This is an absolute must if you can spare a day to visit this beautiful site on Lantau Island. It took us around 30 mins by taxi from Central and then a further 30/40 minutes on the cable car. My biggest tip would be – DON’T QUEUE! Use a site called Klook which basically lets you queue jump, and when you see the queue you won’t mind paying a couple of dollars extra for the VIP queue pass. If you are feeling brave and have no fear of heights then I would suggest booking the crystal cabin – this also ensures you have no queues on the way back too! This is a serious tourist trap but so worth it, it feels really quite magical and like you truly are in the Far East.

Victoria Peak Take a whole day to focus on the peak and do some of the hiking trails if you’re feeling up to it. If I were to go now I’d struggle with the hikes but back then in the earlier stages or pregnancy they weren’t too strenuous. Also try and visit on a relatively clear day to get the full effect of the view. You can avoid the queues of the observation deck by being a bit savvy and wondering around to find equally as gorgeous viewing points that don’t charge. Try and stay and have lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants if the weather is good! 

Chi Lin Nunnery Located in Kowloon, this nunnery is as tranquil as it is aesthetically pleasing. Try and visit on a weekday morning so it is as quiet and calm as possible. There is no charge to wonder around the gardens and some of the ceramic museums. A truly beautiful spot. 

Shopping As we stayed in the Four Seasons we did the majority of our shopping in the IFC mall, it has pretty much everything you can imagine and some really fun and quirky Chinese beauty shops/pharmacies where I picked up some lip balms and hand creams. I tried to avoid doing much shopping on this trip, my body was still in the early stages of pregnancy and so clothe shopping was too much of a minefield and I’m trying to be more mindful in general of how much I shop. I did an awful lot of browsing though and if Lane Crawford had had a decent amount of Staud stock I can’t promise that I wouldn’t have bought myself a bag! 

 In terms of where we stayed, for the first leg of our trip we stayed at our friends apartment in Repulse Bay which was gorgeous and for the second half we were in Central at the Four Seasons which was beyond spectacular. They looked after us so well and we loved every second staying there.

Hong Kong was a truly incredible experience and I feel so grateful that we were able to visit the Far East ahead of our baby’s arrival later this Summer!

All photos taken on Google Pixel 2 XL.