Hong Kong Diary: Graduation, Christmas, Fun

15 February 2018 in DIARY, HONG KONG

Before I get to Hong Kong, welcome to City Girl, City Stories’ new look! I’m so happy with this new theme and I love that it has kept certain elements and colour schemes of the old look which I love while being more refined! On to my Hong Kong December 2017 diary…

A robot themed Christmas at Hong Kong International Airport

After saying goodbye to Hong Kong last year in June, it made it easier knowing that my family and I had a trip back to Hong Kong planned for December. The main reason was because our family celebrated a double graduation in our family for my sister and I, and we were all back to attend our ceremonies as well as catch up with friends and family, revisit our favourite spots, see some exhibitions and eat a lot of good food!

First meal in Hong Kong: in none other than 大家樂 (Café de Coral) because it is simple, affordable and near to our hotel!

Stopping by my favourite egg waffle store, Mouth Full! Read my post about HK egg waffles here!

Here is a summary of my favourite moments captured during our short but very packed trip! We were there for five days and every day was scheduled with plans, both planned and unplanned. We had the best time, the weather was perfect and I managed to check off almost all the places I wanted to visit and the things I wanted to do, plus a few new discoveries along the way.

Hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed reliving my holiday. I’ve included names and details of the various places mentioned for reference, and I hope you might find something you like in this post too! :)

View of Quarry Bay

Super fun and colourful Christmas tree and decoration in Cityplaza in Taikoo!

A constant stop for food is the Hong Kong cha chaan teng. This one pictured is 瑞士咖啡室 (Swiss Cafe), they have many branches around HK, but this one here is located in Sai Ying Pun.

I love that Shatin’s New Town Plaza went for a pink themed Christmas! It’s the best! :)

I heard about two exhibitions I was really excited to see prior to my Hong Kong trip, so I made time to squeeze it in! One is the Pixar 30 Years of Animation: Hong Kong Celebration of Friendship and Family (it’s still ongoing till March 2018 – details here) and the other was The World of Tintin.

Sai Ying Pun snapshots: A sculpted piece spotted in the Sai Ying Pun MTR station recreating a typical scene of Hong Kong and a toy store selling both vintage and new toys! This store is called 新生玩具公司 (Sun Sang Toys Co), located at the end of Water Street in the SYP district.

My sister and I keep very fond memories and feelings of the Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood as it’s the surrounding area around our alma mater, HKU, as well as a neighbourhood we both got to call home for several years when we first moved to Hong Kong. This is why it tends to pop up here and there in this blog. :)

When putting this post together, I came across this video interviewing the owner of the toy store, Mr Choi, who is a longtime resident of Sai Ying Pun. I found it really interesting, and have linked it below, where he talks about toys, his customers and his memories and thoughts about the neighbourhood.

Graduation – Class of 2017! :) We didn’t plan it, but my sister and I graduated together as part of HKU’s class of 2017, which was such a happy event! :) Our education here was one of the best things for us and I have more to share in an upcoming post about HKU, once I get round to sorting the hundreds of photos we took hahaha!

Views from the HKU campus!

My dad had us take a photo at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, a major tourist spot for Chinese tourists (you can see them in the background)! We were there because my graduation ceremony was held at the HKCEC.

Paris inspired Christmas with the Eiffel Tower and Moulin Rouge themed decorations and a yummy dinner in a fun New York City/art themed restaurant called Amaroni with family friends. These photos were taken in Festival Walk mall in Kowloon Tong.

Christmas decorations, sunsets and street performers in Tsim Sha Tsui, at Harbour City and 1881 Heritage.

I also dropped by the new viewing deck Ocean Terminal Deck located inside Harbour City for some amazing views of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and skyline, watching the sun set and the city lights come on. This city’s skyline views remains one of my favourites. :)

On my last day before heading for the airport, I got up early for breakfast, and on my way to breakfast, chanced upon another small toy shop displaying these super cute miniature scenes of Hong Kong. This one is my favourite: with everyone’s favourite street side snacks, curry fish balls and egg waffles!

I was also accused of wearing ugly pants by a little girl (I was wearing a pair of my fave polka dotted pants!), enjoyed one last amazing cup of Hong Kong milk tea and bought one last piece of 格仔餅 (HK street style waffle with condensed milk and peanut butter – so good) from my favourite egg waffle shop Mouth Full! Stay awesome Hong Kong! Till we meet again. :)