Five nights in Hong Kong just wasn’t enough!
- Ilene
- Mar 30
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 20
Hong Kong surprised us both and we could have spent more than the 5 nights we had. First off, Hong Kong is a massive metropolitan city and though on a map it seems possible to walk everywhere, the distances are deceiving! We did a lot of walking and definitely took advantage of the easy to navigate public transportation system. The Octopus card was our best friend and widely accepted. Once we figured out there was an app for tourists, we could top it up and pay for the metro or bus with it, but that was just the beginning… we could pay for pretty much anything with it - lunch, drinks, groceries, you name it. In many places it was accepted where Visa or contactless payment was not. Best part, it was fully refundable at the end of our stay, any leftover funds were returned to our credit card!
This massive big city has such a unique and beautiful look and feel. The Hong Kong Island side is built straight up, vertical buildings on top of vertical mountainside making everything seem so tall and enormous. The streets in between these skyscrapers have plenty of little offshoots and alleys with their own neighborhoods and vibes. Some with bars, coffee shops and restaurants popping up everywhere it seemed.
The buildings are also a little different from the skyscrapers we’re used to. The city was envisioned as a vertical city. Some buildings have retail on the higher floors, not in a mall and not at street level. Some buildings were designed to be mini-community resource complexes with local market sellers in the first handful of levels, libraries in others, municipal offices as well. And many areas have "sidewalks" above the street level, creating a separate highway for pedestrians with their own exits, escalators and staircases. The geography and style of the city also makes for some amazing views of the skyline pretty much anytime of day from almost anywhere in the city.
Prices in Hong Kong were a bit of culture shock after our time in Southeast Asia. Restaurant meals were about the same price as at home, rather than the $15 meals we had become accustomed to in Southeast Asia. More on the gluten free and vegetarian options we found below. But the clean streets, good city infrastructure, sidewalks and more typical storefronts were a welcome change.
We found English to be common, which we’re so grateful for everywhere we travel. There were ex-pats and business people from other parts of the world pretty much everywhere we went. Even though Hong Kong was returned to China over 25 years ago after being on lease to Britain, the British influence is still notable in many parts of life. In more visible ways you see it with vehicles driving on the left side of the road, as well as the double decker buses, double decker trams, and afternoon tea at restaurants that are common. And, let’s not forget to “mind the gap” on your MTR travels.
And at the same time the Chinese/Hong Kong culture is woven throughout of course. Local food and flavors, unique styles of food in the many neighborhood markets, Feng Shui practices, Buddhist Temples and more. Mahjong is a favorite past time played with friends and family at home during the rainy season and festivals as well as in gambling halls, where an exception to illegal gambling has been made.
We spent two days exploring Hong Kong Island, visiting the Peak for a beautiful stroll along the mountain with stunning views of the city and water below. We explored some of the smaller neighborhoods, eateries, and the crazy staircases and escalators in central. We also did some shopping, as new sneakers were needed; eight+ months really puts some wear and tear on your shoes!
Macau was on David’s bucket list, at least the casinos in Macau were, so off we went for a day trip. A bus took us out to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge (HZMB for short), just past the airport and away we went across the longest sea crossing, and longest open-sea fixed link in the world. This crossing consists of 34 miles of a bridge-tunnel system with three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands! But with all of that, there were two very unexpected things with this day trip. First, the passenger clearance building (where you “leave Hong Kong” before crossing the bridge to Macau) was enormous! Who knew so many people wanted to go to Macau?!?!?! There were Disneyland like lines that you followed along until you were put on your ride, I mean shuttle bus. And secondly, the unique and somewhat odd old city of Macau where Chinese life lives on top of the remaining Portuguese architecture and influences. We enjoyed wandering the city and seeing some of the sites in the UNESCO area and then took off to MGM for some gambling. Almost all the tables were Baccarat but David found some blackjack tables and even won a few hands. Then back to Hong Kong we went.
Our last day was in Kowloon, across the water from Hong Kong Island. We had a bit more of a cultural day visiting the Chi Lin Nunnery and gardens which were beautiful and classically Chinese and Buddhist. We took a walking tour through some of the local markets including the gold fish market - who knew?!?! And we finished our day spending some of David’s winnings at the tallest rooftop bar in the world - Ozone at The Ritz Carlton. Sunset from the bathroom was UNBELIEVABLE and the city views as the sun went down and into the evening just unreal. No better way to end our visit.
There were so many things we could have done that we didn’t and could easily see including Hong Kong on a next adventure to Asia. There are some beautiful areas for hiking, islands where life is a little less metropolitan, and even Disneyland!
In terms of Gluten Free eating, I had found a great blog with some good advice... you can eat cheap on Hong Kong she wrote, but for those of us with "allergies" like Celiac, we'll find good food, but it'll cost us more. We absolutely found good food, with an unlikely find in Macau.
Places we ate:
Treehouse (TST & Hcode) - we ate at the TST spot which was in a building basement / food court. Make your own bowl or salad option worked as the rice/quinoa base was NOT gluten free, so I stuck with lettuce.
Green Waffle Diner - Hong Kong Island, Central - we went twice. Pricey but the gluten free pancakes were amazing!
1908bc British Chinese - What a treat to have "clean" gluten free Chinese food! The staff were so attentive
Dandy's Organic Cafe - 100% gluten free restaurant with some delicious food options. Thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here. Just be forewarned the kitchen closes at 7:50pm
BEDU - After a day in Macau we weren’t sure what to do for dinner, I had BEDU on my list as possibilities so we dropped in, and so glad we did. Delicious Mediterranean food options, I could have eaten just about everything offered on the menu.
Marks & Spencer - There are multiple Marks & Spencer stores around and they have their “Made Without” foods that offered some good options.
Ozone, Ritz Carlton - Great spot for drinks, not a lot for gluten free snacks, the mushroom tacos and fries were about it
Macau: Puffin Café Vegan & Vegetarian - AMAZING.I had a gluten free wrap with falafel and hummus with veggies. The owner had recently perfected her gluten free wrap, lucky me!
Places we researched but did make it to:
VEDA Cafe & Bar - Hong Kong Island, Central
Sweetpea Cafe - Hong Kong Island, Central
Madame Fu-Grand Cafe Chinois - We had hoped to have gluten free dim sum here, but realized to late they only offer it at lunch. That said, they have a complete gluten free menu. Hong Kong Island, Central
YEARS - Kowloon
Peek-A-Poke - a few locations, this one is TST. Just avoid sauces.
Po Lin Monastery- Lantau
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