Hong Kong Disneyland

Two of my aunts went to Hong Kong Disneyland on two different occasions. They came back and told me how much they had enjoyed themselves there. "You must take all the rides," Fifth Aunt said.

It has always been my dream to visit Disneyland, and the Hong Kong theme park seemed to be the nearest. And so while my friends and I were planning for our trip, we promptly included the theme park in our itinerary.

Tickets could be purchased online or at the entrance, but we bought ours at the Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Booth at The Peak Tower a day earlier. The One-Day Pass cost HKD350.00 per adult. Each of us got a free gift with our ticket. You can choose between a Disney photo frame and an umbrella.

The next morning, we took the MTR there. It's quite convenient. At Sunny Bay, we needed to change trains. It was quite amusing to see the Disney-themed train, complete with Mickey Mouse windows and Mickey Mouse overhead strap hanger.

Mickey window

Mickey overhead hand strap

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the Disneyland Resort Station.

Disneyland Resort Station

From the MTR station, it was then a short walk to the entrance, where you will enter into another realm - a world full of wonderful dreams and fantasy, happiness and happily-ever-afters.

The sign perched high up on the entrance

Hong Kong Disneyland is quite small. There's the Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.

Of the three, my favourite has to be Fantasyland, the entrance through Sleeping Beauty's castle. The buildings were quaint and colourful in there, a fantasy land in the real sense.

Here, I enjoy Philharmagic and It's a small small world. Of course, we also rode the carousel. We took photographs at the Snow White Grotto, rode the Cinderella Carousel and Mad Hatter Tea Cups, watched Merlin performed Sword in Storm, watched Mickey's PhilharMagic and It's a Small World. Real fun!

It's a Small World is a boat-ride through a tunnel. It takes you through various galleries, where you can watch colourful costumed dolls dancing to the theme song "It's a Small World". I loved it lots!

Hula dancers, swaying to the tune

At Adventureland, we only took the Jungle River Cruise, while at Tomorrowland, we rode Space Mountain, Orbitron, and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Busters.

We also managed to take photographs with a few Disney characters, like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Pooh and Stitch. They posed in real fun ways!! So cute!!

The performances were good too. I enjoyed the High School Musical Live and the parade. But the most spectacular of all would be the fireworks.

High School Musical Live!

The fireworks is not to be missed!!

However, it was a hot and sunny day when we went. It was quite hot to walk about, so if you are not so fond of the sun, do get ready a hat or an umbrella.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, my friends and I checked into Metropark Hotel Wanchai. It is a few blocks away from the MTR Wanchai station, so that makes travelling around Hong Kong easy.

2 days in Hong Kong was not enough at all. As a result, there were many places of interest that we had to skip.

We went to Causeway Bay, and made our way to Sogo. We were not shopping, but rather, just to soak up that busy atmosphere at this part of Hong Kong.

Times Square

In the evening, we made our way up to The Peak by tram. A return tram ticket & entrance to The Sky Terrace was HKD56.00.

It was one interesting ride, climbing at a 45 degrees gradient at a stretch. The view of Hong Kong from The Peak was really breathtaking! For me, watching Hong Kong light up as dusk approached was just wonderful.

Hong Kong

Admiring the scenery aside, souvenirs and trinkets were plentiful up there. We took our time buying some magnets, keychains, postcards, colourful bangles and some decorative items.

Madame Tussaud's is located at The Peak. Entrance was HKD160.00. I did not go in, having been to Madame Tussaud's in London. There were a few wax statues outside the museum, and one of them was Jackie Chan's.

Hong Kong's most famous import, Jackie Chan

We went to Ladies Street at Mongkok too. It is a night market, and not only are there merchandise for ladies, there are plenty for men and children too. It is much like Petaling Street, except that it's much bigger.

Along the street, there were people peddling imitation branded watches and bags by the catalogue. One could buy LV or Gucci or Prada or Rolex here. Curious, I stopped by and asked if they had Tag Heuer for ladies. The girl flipped the catalogue and pointed to one, which she offered me for HKD320! When I did not want to buy it, she scolded profanities. Heck, I did not care, I just walked away. Lol.

We visited the Golden Bauhinia Square outside the Hong Kong Convention Centre. I loved the view from the promenade too.

Golden Bauhinia symbolises the handover of Hong Kong to China

One whole day was spent at the Hong Kong Disneyland. The visit transported me back to my childhood. I had a fun day there. Entrance however, was a whopping HKD350.00. Phew!!

Entrance to Hong Kong Disneyland

Though we were tired after Disneyland, we made our way to the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui. The night view of Hong Kong from the waterfront promenade was superb. I loved it lots.

Statue of Bruce Lee @ Avenue of Stars

On our final day, we took a cable ride up to Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island. The return cable car ride cost HKD106 for a normal cabin, and HKD156 for a crystal cabin. The crystal cabin had a glass bottom, so you can actually look at the view directly beneath your feet!

Splendid view from the cable car

At Ngong Ping, we visited the majestic Tian Tan Buddha, one of the biggest Buddha statue in the world. It was sure a long and strenuous climb up!

268 steps to climb atop

After Ngong Ping, we left for Macau International Airport, where we caught our flight back to Malaysia.

The Bestest Portuguese Egg Tarts

For me, the best Portuguese Egg Tarts came from this shop. Choi Heong Yuen Bakery has been in the confectionery business for 75 years already! There are 10 outlets throughout Macau.

Signage

The shop that we went to was at Avenida de Almeida Riberio, opposite Senado Square. The shop was brightly lit, clean, and staffed with many helpful employees. Free samples were offered to tempt customers to buy more! And there were plenty to sample!!

Inside the shop

The Portuguese Egg Tarts sat in display case in front of the shop and sold for MPO6.00 per piece. We just happened to try it. And then we fell in love with it. So we returned daily to buy. ;p

Tempting egg tarts

The crust was light, flaky and crispy, the surface perfectly browned.

Yum...

The custard was in a perfect consistency, really smooth, rich, creamy and not too sweet.

To die for . . .

Eat it bit by bit to savour the custard filling. It literally transports you to cloud nine. ;))

In fact, it was so good that I bought half a dozen back to Malaysia!

Yummilicious ...

I bought this Portuguese Egg Tart from Mr. Siew Bao @ Hutong Lot 10, for RM1.80.

Mr. Siew Bao's Portuguese Egg Tart

See the difference? You haven't eaten egg tarts till you have eaten those from Choi Heong Yuen. A must-eat in Macau!

Food in Macau

In Macau, we ate food that we came across on the streets. While walking towards Senado Square, we got a bit lost in one of the small alleyways. We walked past this small stall, and my friends decided give it a try.

A stall by the road

We picked the skewered items from the variety available.

Lots of skewered goodness

The vendor lady then dunked our selection into a thick gravy.

Vendor lady getting ready our orders

The contents were served in a polystyrene container. The gravy was rather thick, and had a hint of curry in it.

Our orders

On the way to St. Paul's, there was an outlet selling Pork Chop Buns and Egg Tarts.

Pork chop bun

Egg tarts

The pork chop bun was brushed with sauce before being put into the bun. It was MPO15.00 per piece. The egg tarts were MPO5.00.

We also went to this outlet to try their steamed milk.

Menu stuck on the wall

Steamed milk

A small bowl of steamed milk cost MPO17.00, which to me was really expensive. None of us liked the steamed milk, as it left an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. After a while, it got watery and tasted somewhat bitter. All of us left it unfinished.

The waitress at this shop was also very rude. She knew very well that we could not read the Chinese characters in the menu. So, when we took the menu, she said in Cantonese, "What are you people looking at? You don't even know how to read."

Duh. Then why didn't she take the initiative to recommend some items in the menu to us? Super rude.

The next morning, we breakfasted at an outlet called Wong Chi Kei at Senado Square.


A slice of toasted bread with butter was MPO8.00. I thought it was outrageously expensive. Why, at that price, we can buy a whole loaf of Gardenia Butterscotch bread here in Malaysia!

Toasted bread with butter

The pork chop bun at this shop cost MPO17, but it was much tastier than the one I had previously. The buns were toasted till they are crisp. The pork chop was tender and super tasty. It was so good that we wanted to takeaway!

Pork chop bun

We ordered noodles too!

Pork chop noodles in soup

Beef noodles

Barbecued pork noodles

Ground chilli in oil

None of us liked the noodles as they were really rubbery and hard. However, they were quite tasty when eaten with the chilli oil. The meats were good, though.

It is customary for me to visit McDonald's outlets overseas, for there may different items on the menu for me to try. Scrutinising the menu, I ordered the Grilled Chicken Burger Value Meal, as we did not have this item in Malaysia. The Value Meal cost MPO28.

Nice packaging

Basically, grilled chicken burger is

Very informative

Looks yum but ...

Well, the chicken was tender with a faint hint of black pepper. I did not like the burger much.

The crew gave me a funny look as I asked for chilli sauce. ;p

Chilli sauce @ McDonald's Macau

Even the chilli sauce differs from ours. Theirs is the Thai variety - sweet, sour and spicy.

All of us liked the taro pie, something which we don't get here in Malaysia. The taro or yam filling was sweet and gooey, and was super tasty with the warm pie pastry. So hot that it burned the mouth!

Taro pie

We dropped by for lunch at the food court at The Grand Canal Shoppes. At that time, I wanted to have some snacks, but there weren't any. So, I resorted to ordering pizza from a stall named Pizza Pizza.

The quarter pizza set meal came with a bowl of potato wedges and a soft drink. The meal cost MPO42.00.


Then, my friend ordered a beef japchae set from the Korean outlet, Dae Chang Kum. The meal was MPO68.00. It was served with steamed rice, kimchi, and kongnamul. She quite enjoyed the meal.

Beef japchae set

Vietnamese spring rolls were ordered from the outlet named Pho Hoa Noodle Soup. The ingredients were lettuce, basil, vermicelli and cooked prawns. They were served cold with a peanut dip. I did not like the spring rolls as the taste of the herbs was quite heavy and foreign to me.

Vietnamese spring roll

Here ends our gastronomic adventure in Macau.

Macau

It was rather misty in Macau when we landed. Yet, the weather was pleasantly mild.

From the airport, we took a free shuttle to a hotel nearest to ours. Then we dragged our baggage across the road to our hotel.

We put up at Hotel Sintra for the 2 nights we were at Macau. It was a pleasant hotel, just a few blocks away from Senado Square, the heart of Macau. To get to Senado Square, turn left at the hotel entrance, walk to the junction, make another left turn, and walk a few blocks till you see the square at the opposite side of the road.

The Square is easy to identify because of the wave patterns on the floor. Plus, there are lots of people there - locals and tourists alike.

Senado Square is a hype of activity

From Senado Square, Macau's attractions are within walking distance.

Road signs leading visitors to various attractions along the square

The buildings here boast of both Chinese and Western architectural influences. Most notable for me would be the St. Dominic's church at the centre of the square, and also the ruins of St. Paul.

St. Dominic's church

Many shops line the pathway to the ruins of St. Paul's, selling local specialties. It was a short walk before you can see Macau's most famous landmark, the facade of the former St. Paul's Cathedral, standing majestically at the top of a small hill.

The ruins of St. Paul's

We spent quite a bit of time shopping around the square. Cosmetics and perfumes are particularly cheap, so we bought bottles of perfume, skincare and cosmetic items. We also bought some local delicacies, like barbecued meats and almond biscuits. Most of the shops offer free sampling. So we could eat our fill before deciding on which to buy!

So many different varieties of barbecued meats on sale

Almond biscuit box

Almond biscuits

It was funny, because as we walked around the Square, we saw lots of people carrying plastic bags identical to ours, all filled with the local specialties. Besides the specialty stores, many major apparel retailers set up outlets here. Giordano, Bossini, Baleno, Hang Ten, Esprit. The list goes on and on.

One of the places that we went to was the Hard Rock Hotel in Macau. I was particularly enthralled by the showcase at the lobby which held the paraphernalia of various pop and rock artistes such as Mariah Carey and Madonna.

At Hard Rock Hotel, Macau

One of the showcases held Michael Jackson's shoes, glove and guitar.

Michael Jackson's performing gear

Macau is home to many casinos, all with every elaborate lightings and gilded decor. It evokes a sense of opulence. But sometimes, I feel that the casinos are over-decorated, making them seem garish instead.

One of the casino resort to visit is the Venetian Macao.

View of Venetian Macao from
The City Of Dreams, another shopper and gambler's paradise

As I stepped into the main lobby, the sight just took my breath away.

The ceiling dome at the main lobby of The Venetian Macao

Just look at the ceiling!

The decor here is lavish! We walked around the casino, and admired a curved golden escalator inside the casino. We attempted to take some photographs but were stopped by a mean-looking security officer. Lol.

I found it a novelty to stroll around the Grand Canal Shoppes, a Venetian-themed upscale mall. There was a man-made canal in the shopping mall, and cobbled stone walkways lined the corridors. The fake blue sky painted onto the ceiling was equally as intriguing. It felt like I was outdoors though I was indoors.

Early on our third morning, we checked out and proceeded to the Macau Ferry Terminal, where we caught a TurboJet ferry to Hong Kong. The fare was HKD142, and the journey took an hour. It is really very convenient to travel this way as there is a TurboJet ferry departing for Hong Kong every fifteen minutes.

The ferry that we took

The interior of the ferry was much like that of an aeroplane's. Quite comfortable, really.

We sat on the upper deck

The journey was quite smooth, and before long, we were docked at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal at Sheung Wan in Hong Kong.