Hong Kong Day 1: Cosmo Kowloon Hotel & Bon Bon Cafe (best che zai min)

For our trip itinerary, please click here.

I am finally getting around to posting the pictures from our first day in Hong Kong. The other Hong Kong posts that I’ve put up recently were randomly picked (depending on my mood ;p).

Getting to and from Hong Kong International Airport is actually very easy. We took the airport express service (HKD 90 one way, HKD 160 for round trip) to Kowloon Station. One can also opt for the HK$220 or HK$300 Airport Express Travel Pass (includes HK$50 refundable deposit) with 1 or 2 single journey(s) on the Airport Express. You can enjoy 3 days of unlimited travel on MTR, Light Rail and MTR Bus (except Airport Express, East Rail Line First Class, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations). The travel pass is good value for money if you are expecting to do a lot of traveling around Kowloon island and Hong Kong island.

Airport Express Stations:
* AsiaWorld-Expo Station
* Airport Station
* Tsing Yi Station
* Kowloon Station
* Hong Kong Station

More information on airport express services here.

From Kowloon Station, we hopped onto the shuttle bus provided by Cosmo Kowloon Hotel. It is a new boutique hotel centrally located in Tai Kok Tsui area. The hotel amenities are really new and clean with a modern feel to it.

Our deluxe room is small (as expected) but we really like the room. It was spotlessly clean and nice with no complaints.

By the glass panel window, there is a work desk that was transformed into our make shift dressing table every morning.

Our only gripe was the location. While Tai Kok Tsui is within walking distance to Mongkok (15 minutes walk) and is pretty near to Tsim Tsa Tsui, the nearest MRT station is Olympic Station which is quite “off” if you refer to the system map below.

However, the reception staff and concierge staff are really helpful. We have been asking them which mode of transport to take to get to our destination each day and they have been more than willing to show us. Most of the time, we took minibus called the public light bus and known locally as ‘Van仔’ (Van Zai) to get around.

Overall, Cosmo Kowloon is a good hotel that we would recommend to anyone who doesn’t mind taking buses to get around. The hotel also provide free shuttle bus services to hotel guests:

Cosmo Kowloon Hotel ⇔ Kowloon Station & Tsim Sha Tsui
Hotel provides free downtown shuttle bus service to Kowloon Station and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Or

Dorsett Kowloon Hotel ⇔ Mongkok Station, Yau Ma Tei Station & Kowloon Station
Hotel provides free downtown shuttle bus service to Mong Kok Station, Yau Ma Tei Station and Kowloon Station. The terminus of shuttle bus is Dorsett Kowloon Hotel.

Cosmo Kowloon Hotel (3.5 stars)
No.88 Tai Kok Tsui Road Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Trip Advisor review here.

Exhausted and starving, we washed up quickly and went walking down the road to look for a really famous noodles house in Tai Kok Tsui area.

Cafe Bon Bon 車品品小食 it was!

It is a terrific little hole in the wall eatery that is famous for their che zai min 車仔麵 (push cart noodles). The open kitchen concept is a well lit stage for the lady owner. It allows patrons to watch their orders being made fresh.

Bon Bon Cafe has a really extensive menu; with some dishes available only in limited portions until it is sold out for the day. We were seated along the wall with really cramped seating arrangement (as expected).

If you can read Chinese, have fun browsing through the quirky menu with touches of humour thrown in there.

Sour Plum Juice

Century egg with wobbly egg yolk. Served with pickled ginger, the century eggs tasted really good! It’s still a mystery why does these gross looking preserved egg is such a delicacy, especially with runny egg yolk! Well, at least for me.

We also tried their signature dumpling 魯肉餃. The dumplings were stuffed with marinated three layers pork; and topped with a generous amount of har zee (pounded dried shrimps). Just be very careful with the juice when you bite in; it tends to overflow! And the throat soothing soup had a subtly sweet taste to it. Very, very delicious!

Feeling greedy, we had the ultimate che zai min 車仔招來大雜麵 that comes with beef cubes, cow’s tripe, cow’s stomach, red sausages, cheese sausages,  chicken wing, pig’s intestines, pig’s blood, pig’s skin, tofu, squids, fish balls, squid balls, fish cakes, turnip, etc. That was crazy! We can’t even spot the noodles, they were all buried deep beneath those ingredients!

Everything just tasted so good. Most of the braised stuff were well marinated and flavorful. I like the turnip the best. It has soaked up all the goodness from the soup and there were no traces of fiber strands.

Total bill? HKD 82 (~ RM 32) for everything! Not too shabby right? We can hardly move after the filling lunch. Service was impeccable too; the owner was really helpful in giving us recommendations.

車品品小食
大角咀埃華街92號
Bon Bon Cafe
92 Ivy Street, Tai Kwok Tsui
Tel: 26809655
Operating Hours: Tues – Fri: 13:00-16:00; 18:00-23:30; Sat – Sun: 13:30-17:00; 18:30-23:30
Open Rice Page here