Cookies Quartet, a very famous cookies and palmier store is located next to Crumbs. Though the price is a bit on the steep side, do drop by if you have some time to spare.

Apart from the creative and delicious frozen yogurt flavors with an awesome selection of toppings, Crumbs also serves scones with 3 flavours to choose from – cheese, raisin and chocolate (HKD 6-7 each). Freshly baked from oven every 10 minutes, the home made scones are selling really fast.

Choose from a myriad of toppings such as the signature house crumb, meringue, mochi, roasted peanut, oreo, blueberries, strawberries, gummy bears, etc.

Regular with 1 toppings costs KHD 28 while Large with 2 toppings costs HKD 32. Tasted just like those crumbs from your typical apple crumble, the house crumbs with a bit of a cinnamon taste was amazing! The froyo was really smooth and firm, with a nice yogurty tang. It was way creamier than our usual yogurt.

Shop 1C, G/F, Central Mansion, 8 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay
telephone: +852-2793-9393

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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

There is nothing quite like that feeling of the wind gushing past your face at few thousands kilometers off the ground. Though it was quite chilly up in the wind, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

We knew that we are approaching the Ngong Ping Cable Car Terminal, as we caught our first glimpses of the mighty Tian Tan Buddha Statue.

Ngong Ping Village

This amazing cultural themed village has been architecturally designed and landscaped to reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the Ngong Ping area.

It boasts several major attractions -Walking with Buddha and the Monkey’s Tale Theatre – as well as a diverse array of retail, dining and entertainment experiences.

Visitors can write their wishes on a little wooden boardand hang it on one of the many pegs. At a fee of course!

There is also a wish tree where devotees will write theirwishes on joss paper tied to an orange, and then threw them up to hang on the branches.

From Ngong Ping Village, it was another 5 minutes walk to the Tian Tan Buddha Statute.

To reach the Buddha statue, one will have to climb 268 steps up the long flight of stairs.

Being a couch potato as we are, we did not climb up those stairs. However, even from afar, the Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction.The Buddha’s left hand rests on his lap in a gesture of giving dhana. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues, as all others face south. On its chest is the Swastika, an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles. This symbol was used by the Nazis in 1920.


Visitors can also wall down along the Bodhi Path which is the central walkway leading to the Monastery and the giant Buddha. Lined on both sides of the path are statues of the Twelve Divine Generalsas well as 40 lotus-shaped lanterns. The Twelve Divine Generals are regarded as protectors in Buddhism, and each is responsible for guarding a two-hour section of the day. In addition, they represent the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, as denoted by the different zodiac signs on their crowns.

We then took a cable car ride back to Tung Chung station just before the cable car halt services at 6 pm.

A Girl’s Gotta Do What a Girl’s Gotta Do. It’s time for us to indulge in some retail therapy after 3 full days of walking around doing touristy stuff. Aiwei bought a Coach Bag in there (buy from coach-addict cheaper) while I went home empty handed.

We ended the night having a really late dinner with relatives. It was an authentic Cheow Chow Da Lang experience

my lovely family members

Some of the very notable dishes that we had – oyster omelette, braised goose, deep fried pork’s intestines, shacha sauce (沙茶酱) beef claypot, oyster porridge, etc.

We continue to enjoy the wonderful magic of Disney at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.

The hotel is tastefully decorated in an old world Victorian-style.  The moment we stepped in, we knew immediately that we would be in for a real treat.

In the midst of the holiday season with Christmas right around the corner, the hotel is filled with warm festive atmosphere lit up with garlands, ornaments, crystals and Christmas tree.

Upon checking in with the friendly front desk staff, we were presented with a really cute access card. And the best part is? You get to keep them as souvenir!

the walk way to our room

DND because…imma shut the door behind and scream in awe!

private balcony with beautiful sea view!!

Our room is really big, especially in Hong Kong where space is a luxury! The room is big enough to fit two double bed and is perfect for a family of 4.

Can’t help it! The bed is so soft and all of the linens are so comfortable!

The room is also adorned with classy Victorian-style furniture pieces.

princess-y bedside lamp

guest service at your finger tips

souvenirs that I lugged home – Disney pen & papers!

coffee & tea making facilities

This reminds me of Chips and Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast so please allow me to sing aloud:

Be our guest! Be our guest!
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin ’round your neck, cherie
And we’ll provide the rest…….

even the bathroom mirror is so…whimsical and…dreamy? Did I tell you that the toilet comes with Jacuzzi bath tub too?

toiletries in the Seven Dwarfs packaging.

our Disney bathrobe

our Disney slippers – it says, please bring these slippers home with you as a gift from Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel

awww so cute!!

We also had a very delicate lunch at Crystal Lotus, an award-winning restaurant that offers outstanding cuisine from four major culinary regions of China: Sichuan, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.

We were presented with the specially created Disney Dim Sum, only available for lunch on the weekends and public holidays.

Roasted Suckling Pig with Cucumber and Sweetened Paste in Steamed Piggy Mask Bun

Steamed Piggy Mask Bun. oink oink

Little Green Men Pork & Vegetables Bun

Little Pig Barbeque Pork Bun

Mickey’s Seafood Glutinous Pancake

Double Boiled Chicken and Conpoy (dried scallop) Soup in Petite Coconut

Wok Fried Shrimps and Disney Root Vegetables

Fried Rice with Tasmanian Crabmeat Stuffed in Whole Crab Shell

Double Boiled Whole Chinese Pear topped with Aged Mandarin Peel

It was a really good and satisfying lunch that wcan barely move after that. Beautiful presentation, exquisite combination, delicate taste; every mouthful wins me over.The next time you are here, do expect some “ooh aah” moment whenever a new course is placed before you.

It’s time to take a stroll around the hotel after such a filling lunch.

surreal isn’t it?

the Mickey Maze, designed for all ages

Breakfast Buffet at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant

The buffet selection is pretty impressive; and most of the food are kids friendly too!

first round

second round

third, fourth & fifth round! hahaha

and the highlight of meal is that the Disney Characters make a visit to our table!

All in all, we had a very good experience at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. The staffs are really nice, friendly and helpful. Our room was excellent – spacious, clean and it comes with a spectacular sea view and garden view. Not to forgot the small touches here and there, like the kid size slippers and bathrobe (so cute but I couldn’t fit in, so I wore the adult size ones). Location was excellent too, there are free shuttle buses to and from Disneyland so this a a good hotel to rest your weary feet after a long day at the theme park.

For more information on Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, visit their website here.

Last few days, we saw a spike in our web traffic, all attributable to this little hidden gem (no longer hidden now) on the street of Mongkok – Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum Specialty Shop. It has been awarded as a highly coveted star just recently. The media has created this hype over Michelin going onto the street thing and  it really adds good luck (tim ho wan, 添好運 ) to our traffic. Haha.

Some excerpts from my previous review:

“Thanks to the economic crisis, Pui Gor, former dim sum chef of the Michelin three star Lung King Heen decided that it is the right time for him to open up a tiny and grungy dim sum restaurant in Mongkok. The piece de resistance, crispy cha siu bao is said to be the best seller (>750 in a day!). “

Click here for the list of Michelin Guide Restaurants in HK and Macau - English version & Chinese version.

We have also tried

1 Star: Yung Kee (the famous roasted goose place), Din Tai Fung (in Malaysia, consider ar?)

Bibs Gourmands: Lin Heung Tea House, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao (in Malaysia too), Oja Sopa De Fita Cheung Kei 祥记面家 (Macau).

But it was faaaaaaar from what the list has got to offer. Will make a trip to HK again (hopefully).

p/s: found an intriguing article from http://www.theage.com.au/ that claimed Tim Ho Wan as world’s cheapest Michelin starred restaurant. Read on.

By MALCOLM MOORE and RACHEL BROWNE
November 30, 2009 – 10:51AM

A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL canteen in Hong Kong that offers dishes for less than $1.50 has become the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant.

Tim Ho Wan, which means Add Good Luck, can seat only 20 people in its steamy dining room where battered bamboo baskets of dim sum sell for as little as $1.42.

Compared with other Michelin-ranked restaurants where a meal can cost more than $400, Tim Ho Wan is excellent value.

Michelin guide director Jean-Luc Naret said it was the “most affordable starred restaurant in the world”.

The star ratings, which range from one star to three, are a rare honour in the restaurant trade, with only a few hundred in the world deemed good enough.

Three-star ratings are even rarer – only 81 restaurants are on the list. Tim Ho Wan is headed by Mak Pui Gor, the former dim sum chef at Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, where he worked at its three-starred restaurant Lung King Heen.

During the economic crisis Mr Mak branched out on his own to offer his dishes at bargain prices.

His most expensive dish, a plate of noodles, costs the equivalent of about $5.40, and he sells about 750 of his signature crispy pork buns each day.

Other dishes include a cheung fun, or steamed rice noodle roll, with pork livers and delicate jellies containing flower petals. At lunchtime, diners can expect queues of up to an hour on the street.

“Since the news broke, we’ve been really very busy,” said a waitress. “We really are very cheap, but I don’t think we are planning to raise our prices.”

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide co-editor Joanna Savill said Michelin had recognised that good food need not come with a high price tag.

“I think it’s fantastic to see a hole-in-the-wall canteen recognised,” she said. “It shows that Michelin has woken up to the fact that you don’t need all the trappings to create great food.

“Michelin always used to be about the fine china, the glassware, the cutlery and the tablecloths, but people aren’t always necessarily impressed by that. Sometimes all they want is great food.”

Still, some of the better-known Michelin-starred establishments come with equally famous price tags. The three-star El Bulli in Spain charges $422 a person for a meal without wine.

Customers spend an average of $400 a head at the three-star English restaurant Fat Duck, which was ranked the world’s best restaurant until it was displaced by El Bulli .

With a deceiving appearence with resembles some Chinese medicine place like Gong WohTong (for kwai ling kou), Hui Lao Shan is a heaven! Actually Hui Lao Shan started as a Kwai Ling Kou place in 1960s’ but eventually they evolved into a mango specialty place.

Offering a variety of fruit smoothies, sago, grass jelly, and ice cream treats all based around mangoes and fresh fruit, hui lao shan does desserts right in the healthy way. All their mangos were imported from Phillipine in a weekly basis.

By the time I reached there, it was already mid night and hence the famous mango pudding and lor mai chi is SOLD OUT. Gasped* I could not believe that! We have to settle with the fruit smoothies and mango tong yuen. Im so glad that these were equally good, they are really good in doing all kind of mango desserts.

Are we going to have a franchise over here in Malaysia?? Someone rich please do so for the happiness goodness and well being of us!

Hong Kong Dim Sum

These are the sulkiest ever dim sum that I’ve ever tried. The portions are big, but what’s the meaning of having dim sum when the name itself suggests that its something small and delicate.

This make me miss and feel proud of Foh San dim sum even more.

Mcdonald’s

Something that you cant missed out in Mcdonald’s HK – toasted rice burgers. It came with a choice of either chicken or beef sandwiched between rice buns. I prefer the beef fillet than the chicken burger patty which tastes like our very own Foldover. With a fresh taste, its one of the best-sellers as it seems like everyone is holding one. The banana pie is equally good too. It used to appear in Msia Mcd for a limited time.