Today started off with breakfast at Cross Cafe. Ordered the Polo Bun with Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs, with a drink as a set. Set drink is at half the original price. The eggs were so good! Think truffle fries but in scrambled eggs form! The crust on the polo bun was also very good! This place is definitely worth recommending! But, from the MTR station to the cafe, you have to walk upslope 250m, so prepare yourself if you are intending to visit the place via train.
[side note] On the 2nd last day of my trip, I found out that there is actually another outlet at Causeway Bay, so you might want to go to that store instead.
Cross Cafe 十字冰室
Shop 12, G/F, Hang Sing Mansion, 48-78 High Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
0730-2030hrs (daily)
MTR: Sai Ying Pun Station Exit B2
- Causeway Bay (64 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay)
- MTR: Causeway Bay Station Exit A
#1: Cross Cafe.
#2: Polo Bun with Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs 黑松露炒滑蛋菠萝包, HK$29. This is a MUST try!
#3: Loving the design of their cups and that cute packet of white sugar!
#4: Hot drink is at HK$9 instead of HK$18 if you order as a set.
Just round the corner is another popular cha chaan teng, Chau Kee, famous for its lava French toast. It comes in many flavours and I ordered the taro one. Of course, salted egg is the most popular, but went for taro instead for its pretty shade of purple! You rarely can get food in purple. Went on to IFC Mall, to % Arabica, a popular global coffee chain. The coffee was really good, using beans from Guatemala, but also very expensive. HK$45 for a cup of 12oz Iced Latte.
Chau Kee 周记点心
Shop H1, 1/F, Tung Lee Mansion, Water Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
0800-1800hrs (Tue-Sun), Closed on Mondays
MTR: HKU Station Exit B1, Sai Ying Pun Station Exit B1
#5: Chau Kee.
#6: Taro Lava French Toast 香芋流沙西多士, HK$32. Look at that amazing shade of purple!
% Arabica
Shop 1050, 1/F, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
0800-2100hrs (daily)
MTR: Hong Kong Station Exit F
#7: % Arabica.
#8: % Arabica.
#9: % Arabica.
#10: I love that every store and every aspect is so carefully designed, any photo just turns out perfect, even their bags of coffee beans!
#11: Iced Latte, HK$45.
From here, I took the train to Tung Chung Station, and to Ngong Ping 360, a cable car ride to Ngong Ping Village. The queue was super super long when I reached at about 12:30pm. Luckily, I purchased the tickets online, so I could skip the purchasing queue. The queue to get on the cable car took about 45mins. There are 2 types of cabin, standard and crystal. The latter has a clear bottom, so you get to see the views of Hong Kong almost 360deg! I booked the 1+1 package, crystal cabin towards Ngong Ping, and standard cabin back to Tung Chung. Ngong Ping Village is located on Lantau Island, the same island where Disneyland is located. There isn’t much at Ngong Ping, just a temple, a 34m giant Buddha, the Wisdom Path and Tai O (additional transport required to reach Tai O). Spent about 3hrs over here, with half the time spent on queuing for the cable car and then the ride, which is about 25mins per way. You kind of pay for the experience. The view from the cable car was splendid, and Ngong Ping is full of trees and mountains, something that you can’t get from the main areas of Hong Kong. It was getting really sunny, so I skipped Wisdom Path and Tai O.
Ngong Ping 360 昂坪360
MTR: Tung Chung Station
1000-1800hrs (Mon-Fri), 0900-1830hrs (Sat-Sun, PH)
Standard Cabin (2-way): HK$235
Crystal Cabin (2-way): HK$315
1+1 Standard + Crystal: HK$290
- Online booking: HK$255 (promotion ends 31st March 2019)
#12: Shot from my cable car. Spot that 34m Buddha!
#13: Shot from my cable car.
Ngong Ping Village 昂坪村
- Tian Tan Buddha 天坛大佛: 1000-1730hrs (daily)
- Po Lin Monastery 宝莲寺: 0800-1800hrs (daily)
- Vegetarian Kitchen: 1130-1630hrs (Mon-Fri), 1130-1900hrs (Sat-Sun, PH)
#14: Map of Ngong Ping Village.
#15: Welcome to Ngong Ping Village.
#16: You will first be greeted with this pretty pink cable car when you arrived!
#17: You are near to Tian Tan Buddha when you see this.
#18.
#19.
#20.
#21: Po Lin Monastery.
Back at Tung Chung, I went to Australia Dairy Company for lunch / dinner. It was supposed to be lunch, but with all the travelling around, it became time for dinner. I ordered what people always ordered here, Macaroni with Ham, and Butter Toast with Scrambled Eggs. The soup of the macaroni was good, but the macaroni was actually just okay. The toast was amazing! The eggs were good, just that since I had Cross Cafe’s version earlier on, Cross Cafe’s was a lot better. My phone, WIFI router and portable charger were all low on battery; so I went to a nearby cafe for coffee and to recharge my electronics. N1 Coffee & Co.’s coffee was good, but as compared, Halfway Coffee was better, and % Arabica definitely was the best!
Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司
47 Parkes Street, Jordan, Hong Kong
0730-2300hrs (Fri-Wed), Closed on Thursdays
MTR: Jordan Station Exit C2
#22: Australia Dairy Company.
#23: Quick Meal Set 快餐 HK$38 (includes buttered bread/toast 牛油方包／多士, fried eggs/scrambled 煎蛋／炒蛋, hot/cold milk 冷热鲜奶). Additional HK$2 to change drink. Macaroni with Ham 火腿通粉 HK$32.
N1 Coffee & Co.
Shop G, 34 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
0800-2000hrs (Sun-Fri), 0900-2200hrs (Sat)
MTR: East Tsim Sha Tsui Exit P3
#24: N1 Coffee & Co.
#25: Cappuccino, HK$36.
Lastly, walked down the street to get a Salted Egg Bubble Waffle from Mammy Pancake and a Brown Sugar Boba Fresh Milk from Aboutea. Mammy Pancake is a Michelin Guide recommended street food. It was so good, but also so expensive, HK$35! Aboutea’s brown sugar boba has a nice chewy texture as compared to Tiger Sugar, but Tiger Sugar’s brown sugar has a nicer flavour.
Mammy Pancake 妈咪鸡蛋仔
8-12 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
1100-2300hrs (Mon-Fri), 1130-2330hrs (Sat-Sun)
MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit A2
#26: Mammy Pancake.
#27: This looks so good!
#28: Salted Egg Bubble Waffle 黄金鸡蛋仔, HK$35. Each bubble is filled with yummy salted egg custard (think Custard Lava Buns aka Liu Sha Bao)!
Aboutea 花斑茶社
32-34 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
1130-2200hrs (daily)
MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit A1
#29: Aboutea. Brown Sugar Bubble Fresh Milk 黑糖珍珠厚鲜奶, HK$30. 2nd best brown sugar boba milk version during this trip! Look out for the next post for the BEST version!
And... That’s it for Day 2! Rates calculated as SG$1 = HK$5.65
Expenses for Day 2 Cross Cafe, Polo Bun with Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs HK$29 With drink (hot milo) +HK$9 (drink at 50% off) Chau Kee, Taro Lava French Toast HK$32 % Arabica, Iced Latte HK$45 Ngong Ping 360 Postcards HK$15 x2 Australia Dairy Company, Quick Meal Set - Toast with Scrambled Eggs with Drink HK$38 +HK$2 to change drink (Iced Ovaltine) Macaroni with Ham HK$32 N1 Coffee & Co., Cappuccino HK$36 Mammy Pancake, Salted Egg Bubble Waffle HK$35 Aboutea, Brown Sugar Boba Fresh Milk HK$30 Total Expenses for Day 2: HK$318 = SG$56.28 Previous Expenses: SG$1,142.89
Current Total Expenses: SG$1,199.17