Sunday 8 September 2019

HK VIII Day 1-2: Mongkok

DAY 1

2019 is a significant year for Hong Kong and not in a good way. Protests started in the middle of the year and the situation did not seem to improve. While thousands of tourists postpone or cancel their trips to Hong Kong for fear of the unrest, the hubby and I decided to go ahead with our trip as planned. We had prayed and felt the peace of God to go, trusting in God's divine protection.

We woke up really early in the morning to take our pre-booked Maxi Cab to the airport. With so many kids and adults, Maxi Cabs to the airport are our new normal 😅

Grandma and the kids were super excited to set off!

We booked our Singapore Airlines flight before the start of the protests and paid S$285 per person (baby girl was her usual infant rate). I heard that if you book the tickets after the protests have started, it can be as low as $80!

Baby enjoying her flight! 
Baby's ticket came with baby food suitable for a weaning baby. My girl loves all these Heinz flavours except for pear 😂 I thought it was really generous of SIA to provide so many bottles!

When we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport, we cleared immigration in just 10 minutes because there is no queue! This is our 8th visit to Hong Kong and this is the first time that we did not have to queue!


We managed to squeeze the whole family into one 5-seater cab, which saved us some money! We arrived at our hotel, Royal Plaza Hotel, and proceeded to check in.

Monopoly theme at Royal Plaza Hotel

This is our 3rd time staying at Royal Plaza as it is relatively cheap, can accommodate our big family and in a good location. We booked the Plaza Deluxe Family Room
via Agoda for S$229 per room per night (no breakfast). We stayed at this room for our previous trip and enjoyed it.

Baby on one of the queen-sized beds
Cot with comfy mattress and blanket
The usual toiletries

Our hotel was conveniently situated next to MOKO mall and Mong Kok East train station, which is the railway line you take if you're going to Shen Zhen. Do note that the nearest MTR station, Mong Kok Station, is 15 minutes away by foot; not far but also not very near.

MOKO mall is having a Disney Princess event! 

We headed to nearby Muscle Man for lunch!

Muscle Man
Love their beef tendon noodles! So yummy! 😋

We love Muscle Man for the typical food you'd find in a Hong Kong Cha Can Tang (cafe). We loved the beef tendon so much that we ordered a whole plate of it. So yummy!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to rest before heading out again for dinner. We decided to go back to one of our favourites, Chan Kee Roasted Goose, located next to Cordis Hotel/Mong Kok MTR Station (you can read our previous experience here).

Your Hong Kong food adventures is not complete without tasting roasted goose. It is a must-try in Hong Kong!

After dinner, we contemplated doing some shopping at the streets of Mong Kok. Thank God that we decided to head back to our hotel instead! The moment we arrived at our hotel room and switched on the TV, we found out that the police had stormed the streets of Mong Kok and Prince Edward where protests were active! Thank God for His protection!

Live broadcast of the protest happening just minutes away from our hotel

We were so thankful to be in the comforts of our hotel room, enjoying the peace and fellowship. It was a great day for us! 😊

DAY 2

We had breakfast at the mum-in-law's favourite, Mui Kee Congee, which is located at Fa Yuen Street Market. I brought the mum-in-law here previously (read our previous post here) and she has been pinning for it ever since. They have an outlet in Singapore located at Shaw building but it's really not the same as eating there in person 😋

Having yummy congee is another must-try in Hong Kong!
Right: Baby girl loves the congee too!
Left: The chee cheong fun is ok but not as nice as the congee. 

After breakfast and some shopping in the area, we headed back to our hotel for a nice swim!

Kids were super excited to go for their swim
Left: Enjoying the warmth of the hot jacuzzi;
Right: Kids love the main pool as it's also warm enough to jump in without freezing. 
Lovely family shot at the pool
(we love to swim!)

We were hungry after swimming and had originally planned to go to Central Station for Tim Ho Wan (one of our favourites, you can read about our previous experience here).

However, the hubby felt that it would be more convenient to go somewhere nearby instead. Thank God that we did because again, we found out later that day that the protesters were demonstrating at Central Station, which caused chaos and crowding at the station!

It was a good thing we decided to head to nearby One Dim Sum, supposedly one of the best restaurants in Hong Kong according to the internet.

One Dim Sum, the one and only!
Our favourite dim sum choices
Tried to capture a wefie with the food but wasn't very successful, oh well

We decided to just shop at MOKO mall just so that we won't be caught in the middle of any protest.

When it came time for dinner, we decided to try Men Wah Bing Teng, located conveniently at the ground floor of MOKO mall just next to our hotel.

This is a typical Hong Kong Cha Can Tang (cafe) with typical delights such as butter toast
Left: Gotta have Hong Kong milk tea when you're here! (Come to think of it, I like milk tea no matter where I go in Asia!);
Right: Mum-in-law with the biggest and tastiest pork chop ever!

The winner of our meal was the pork chop. It was huge and surprisingly succulent and tasty! 😋

We snuggled into our beds that night, once again very grateful for protection. Looking forward to Disney tomorrow!


Continue to >> HK VIII Day 3: Disney Explorers Lodge


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Download the printable itineraries of our previous trips to Hongkong in 2014 and in 2016;
Check out our full list of kid-friendly attractions in Hong Kong
OR
Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Hong Kong, China 
as well as other travel itineraries!


You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)
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