Hainan Shaoye

Our first day in Hong Kong was devoted to Admiralty, the second day was for Causeway Bay, and on the third, we roamed around Central; truly, we had our fill of Hong Kong Island.  We reserved Kowloon side for the fourth day--Tsim Sha Tsui!  The memories of our childhood trips to Hong Kong came rushing in: And the exhilaration was quite sublime--The Peninsual, Mody Road, the Marco Polo Hotel, the Silver Cord, Carnarvon, The Sheraton, Cameron, Granville!  We had lunch at the Ocean Terminal, and I must say that it is in a pretty much better shape today than it was in 2007, when we last saw it.  Nicely renovated, I was impressed.  Hainan Shaoye, a Singaporean style restaurant that we first saw at the World Trade Center in Causeway Bay was the restaurant of our choice.  We had a very nice ocean view from out table, was right beside the window.

I was a bit disappointed at the Hainanese Chicken meal; I had expected something of above average quality, but their version wasn't really much of a show stopper.  The pork stew was, however, on a different level, tender morsels, probably slow-cooked, and the sauce was slightly sweet, slightly tangy, just perfect!

We also ordered Hokkien mee, some tofu with mushrooms and a delicious pork slab topped with roe.  The noodles was quite bland, but the other dishes were well worth the risk.  All in all, we spent some P700 per head.

It was good to realize that some of the mainstays we visited some 30 years ago were still around--for example, Toys R Us was still at the very end of the mall.  We strolled around the connecting mall area under the Marco Polo hotel block, and I marveled at how most of the shops have changed.  I remember that the family had stayed once at the Omni Prince and another time at the Hongkong Hotel, and as such, Mikaela, Erica, Anita and I knew the mall layout like the back of our hands.  Later on, Vicky and I would also stay at these hotels, and that time it was more fashionable to stay at the Tsim Sha Tsui area (shopping was better at Kowloon side).  I really love going around in Hong Kong--first, the weather is just right; second, the food is great; and third, you can find everything that you could possibly want!  Lemme see now--I had better check on Vicky, she's looking at the Chinese Jade pendants... OMG!

Ceiling at the Marco Polo Gateway Mall