Thank goodness for the Early Learning Centre. It is quite a sigh of relief for all of us who need…read moreto buy stuff for kids; especially those who don't have kids, and have no idea what to buy our niece or a friend's little boy! Early Learning Centre is basically a toy store, but the sort of "toys" they sell are all education based. This means it's full of things like wooden toys, puzzles, giant abacuses, dress up, outdoor toys, rather than Barbies or GI Joes. The beauty of this, is that whatever you buy in there is bound to have some sort of value to contribute to young Johnny's development, rather than make him a violent thug, and will in turn earn you brownie points from mum and dad for having Johnny's best interests at heart (even if he is a little brute!). Age range is birth to, I dunno, about 10 years? This store will probably cover you as far as the point the kids start asking for a PlayStation, at which point it's game over on the cute toys anyway! The store in Prince's Building, Central, is not particularly big, but there is plenty of stock, and just about enough room to run after the kids. The policy of ELC is to have a lot of the toys and products on display, so that you/parents can play and use the toys with little Johnny before buying. It is one of those rare stores without "Do not touch" signs! It's also pleasing to see that the products are reasonably priced, which surprised me initially as this is a British store. For once, a Hong Kong branch hasn't added "Britishness" tax on to their products, so you can be assured you are paying a reasonable and fair price. If you are not quite sure what I am talking about, try and buy Quorn in Olivers, where the packet says £1 but the the price is HKD68. There are 5 or 6 ELC stores in HK, you will find them teamed up with the Mothercare stores, which sells all sorts of maternity and kids stuff. Check ELC out, you'll never be short of a kiddy gift again!

HK people really love their public transportation because they have a dedicated store where they…read moresell models of their many forms of public transportation, including model airplanes. The more popular ones are the bus models. They sell models of KMB buses from all the way back in the 50's to the present day ones you see and ride on in the streets. Though this shop is not big by any means, I can totally spend a lot of time here just looking at the different models that they have.

Someone once asked me what it's like growing up in Hong Kong. Well, Hong Kong is a pretty crowded…read moreplace (5.5 million around 1985 or so, close to 7.4 now), it's hot (same Latitude as Aguascalientes, Mexico and Calcutta, India), it's humid (oooog, no worse swamp-ass like Southern Chinese swamp-ass), and it's tiny - if you factor out all the hilly areas or all the small islands that are found in the territory, the total flat land area available for housing and commerce (reclaimed coastlines and alongside valleys) are about the same as Brooklyn (a borough in New York City that only holds about 2 million people, and well known for its flatness). The population density within its older, poorer inner core is mind-boggling, and even in its more prosperous new towns, it's still something to behold. It's not uncommon to see 18 story multipurpose buildings downtown, and 40 story residential condo towers in the new towns, reaching 300+ feet above the ground in clusters above major thoroughfares, shopping centers and transit centers, adjoining valleys and hillsides. The new towns and various neighborhoods in the inner cores often house and employ up to tens, if not hundreds of thousands within a relatively small space. Now imagine trying to get these residents to and from their workplaces, businesses, centers of education, commerce and whatnot, and all channeled through major chokepoints (for a rough idea of what it is like, look at King's Road on Hong Kong island - it's literally 3 blocks north to the waterfront, and 3 blocks south to the hills), roadways reaching up some fairly steep and curvy places to get around the hilly local terrain (Route TWISK in the New Territories is notorious). Well, that's where the double decker buses make their indelible mark in Hong Kong's collective memory, alongside Queen Elizabeth dollars, tri-color canvas bags, street food carts, and the old Khaki Green RHKP uniforms. First bought in the 1950s from UK firms like Albion, Guy and Daimler, it eventually became so highly demanded that the firms consider it their most profitable export market, offering better suspensions, stronger engines, better ventilation and more doors to get the passengers in and out quickly. British buses like the Leyland Victory 2, the Fleetlines, the Guy Arab Vs and the CVGs ended up being the daily ride of an entire generation of Honkers, conveying them to/from school, work, their ancestor's memorial sites, their weekend getaways in local beaches and country parks. Hong Kong is a small place, and the buses can take you everywhere. Americans might think of freeways as a symbol of freedom and idolize their Corvettes and Mustangs, Honkers think of various buses and bus routes as conduits to memories of past events and experiences. Ask an old Honker what he thinks of the yellow Daimler E on the old Route 6A, and he'll no doubt scream out Lai Yuen 荔園, the long lost and lamented amusement park that used to be across the street from the Lai Chi Kok 荔枝角 terminal. Mention the Mercedes O305 on the 68 route and the bus geeks will regale you with exciting tales of Gran Turismo, bus edition on route TWISK. Mention the Fleetlines on the 15 and it's taking a girlfriend up to Victoria Peak for a shot at first base. 80M is basically a manifestation of this yearning for past experiences, captured in (expensive) ABS form. Parents might want to say that it's a store for kids...it's not. It's really for the grownups. Those who has a soft spot in his/her heart for a certain bus in a certain color scheme that has a certain roll-sign for a certain route. The fully assembled, highly detailed models have very limited production runs of several hundred only, and once they are sold out, they are sold out forever. Due to its nature as a collectible, they are not cheap, either. A good quality model can run about 100 USD each, and 80M is often your only source (as they commissioned the work from niche toy manufacturers). This might call back to Hong Kong's past as a major toy maker, but it's also the manifestation of home town pride, captured in plastic form. You might not "get" it, but just like the TinyHK stop upstairs, it's a living museum of Hong Kong culture.

Wow this place is awesome. They had tons of toys for great price. I found some gems for die cast…read morecars and tons of other items. The hot wheels are pricer compared to the states but wasn't to bad. Only takes cash.

This toys r us is super small. Not that great in terms of trying to find what you are looking for…read more This store is a bit crowded and crammed. I came here to check out the Lego but they don't have the ones I am looking for. I guess North Americans look for different things compared to people in Hong Kong. As well, I was looking for one piece toys but again came here wrong time and they changed all their stocks to Gundam.

Although small, this Toys R' Us is in a very fancy part of the city (somewhat near 1881 Heritage)…read moreand by the ferry terminals. As such, it's gonna be tiny and fancy. I walked to the back and found the gundam section, and although not as massive, my friends had to pull me away because of my indecision. If there is a bigger one, it's over, I'm done, game over man.

If you have young daughters, walking down Li Yuen Street East is akin to entering Aladdin's cave…read more There are dresses, accessories, shoes and fancy dress costumes every way you turn, and, if you're looking for items from the movie of the moment (in this case Frozen) then Joy's Kids Land is the crown jewel. Seriously, I walked in with my toddler securely attached to my back in her carrier - thankfully or goodness knows what we would have walked out with - and was almost thrown off balance by the violently excited jiggling that started going on. T-shirts, dresses, fans, clips, lunchboxes, Elsa costumes, hats, stickers, drink bottles, bags (of many, many shapes and descriptions), pencil cases, chopsticks, clocks, mugs .... OMG, you get my drift. The Disney merchandising empire spans the globe and product from all over the world seems to find itself in Hong Kong (the stickers I bought were Korean) so the range is truly vast - and terrifying - but prices are pretty good here. My suggestion; go and get your little darling a surprise (or two), but go alone or you may never get out alive.

New adult shop right at the ground zero on Lyndhurst Terrance. Well, it could go either way (no…read morepuns intended). I don't believe that locals are liberal enough to just walk in to an adult shop like it's just another boutique. But it's around LKF/Soho, so it may target some different audience. So upon my visit, It's a pretty tiny, decent store with all the usual stuff you can find in an adult shop. It features, primarily, dozens of vibrators at the dominant space. A bit overwhelming, as some of them are only different by colors... There are a lot of interesting stuff here, for instance, a series of (lightish) BDSM toys under the brand Fifty Shades of Grey. Well, at least the collections have more positive contribution to the society and human beings than the book itself. =) There's another series of "toys" that use endorsement of Japanese AV models... endorsement as in, the "toys" are customized based on the AV models. (Go figure what that "toys" are.) There are a lot of things that worth a laugh or two (Rilakkuma condoms, for instance), but you'd only find maybe 30% (at least for me) of the stuff available here are truly practical. Also, as the store is quite tiny, you probably can't really enjoy the visit without having the eyes of the staff at your back all the time, despite that he's being very professional and friendly.

Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. For two MTR Stations' distance, there is a…read morefamous Toy Street named Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai. No matter how old we are, Tai Yuen Street can evoke our happy childhood memories. It is because every toy from the latest marvel heroes' figures, limited edition Japanese figures to Tin Toy are available there. Apart from toys, there is also a great place to pick up seasonal decorations. In the weeks before Chinese New Year, Halloween and Christmas, they sell festival decorations, party outfits, and accessories. In addition, many people in Hong Kong believe that good Feng Shui can attract prosperity and ward off bad luck. Feng Shui decorating can be found there. Honestly, there are just less than 10 toy stores in Tai Yuen Street, even it is known as a famous toy street. For someone who has a tight schedule during a business trip in Hong Kong Island, the location is perfect.

See, there are many things that I love about Hong Kong - all that density makes up for a diverse…read morescenery, and all that commerce means everyone is at each other's throats for your business. If you are a savvy shopper, you pretty much know where to go for certain things. I know that if you want remote control cars or airsoft guns, you hit Kwong Wa street (廣華街) - if you want Legos, you hit In's Point (現時點). If you want a crap-ton of Japanese figurines, you hit Richmond Shopping Arcade (皆旺商場) or Sino Centre (信和中心). If you like diecast display planes, you hit West Main trading (西幹線玩具) near Prince Edwards MTR. If you want diecast buses, that's 80M bus shop, which has multiple locations in the territory. If you got the money you can try hitting the spiral at Langham Place (朗豪坊) if you want to check out the latest fashion accessories from Shinjuku or Seoul. Me, I like collectibles - stuff like Rement food kits, F-Toys trade models, little double decker buses like the stuff that TinyHK (微影) put together. I enjoy collecting stuff like that for the display cabinet back in New York. Now, normally, you can hit Wonderland Superstores (奇趣天地) all over Hong Kong, but you could end up paying a lot, and their selection is often meh. That brings us to Tai Yuen street (太原街). If you know your Hong Kong history, you would know that Lee Tung Street (利東街) used to be right next door - it's a 3 block long street of little print shops and stores that were the go-to spot for doing wedding invitations. The Urban Renewal Authority of Hong Kong (市建局) tore that entire street down and replaced it with a shopping mall, which gentrified the place but also killed a crapload of those little businesses. The URA is not known for being nice and understanding to the little shop owners, and none of them were invited back. Basically, Tai Yuen is a peek at what that area looked like in the past, and frankly, the place is a freaking jewel. Just wait until past noon if you want to see stuff bloom here. First, check out the intersection with Johnson Road (where the Tramways run), the stalls in the middle sells all sorts of stuff like the Japanese fortune kitties. One of the stallkeepers there also has a really nice diorama of a Hong Kong Dai Pai Dong and a couple of buses, so thats cool. Then there's the toy stores. Well, there's really only, like 6, but if you have to choose one, check out Hung Hing Toys (鴻興玩具), which spans 2 storefronts and has nearly everything, from Gashopons, to Giant Robo figurines, to Legos, and to TinyHK/F-Toys/Rement figurines that I like so much. The others are still rather nice, but not as extensive as Hung Hing. You also got stalls with trinklets, bags, and stuff like that. Note that the usual crapload of cheap gaudy ugly Mainland products (ala Lady's night market) are kept to a minimum here. Next, continue down the block - wanna try some snake soup? Se Wong Sun (蛇王燊) makes a decent meal out of them. Now, if you continue on down, you'll hit the market area on Cross Street - keep an eye out for a classically Hong Kong treat - Smith's Orange Jelly candy (史蜜夫鮮橙花軟糖), which is made by Smith's Candy company (史蜜夫糖果廠) out in the New Territories. It's the flavor that most Honkers grew up with, and there are usually at leas one candy peddler with bags of candies and a scale. They sell them by the pound, and you can mix and match. Smith's makes an Orange jelly, a Melon jelly, and the classic nougat. Keep an eye out for the produce markets nearby. If you want a real Hong Kong treat, hit Cross Street until you get to Spring Garden Lane, and then look for Kam Fung (41 Spring Garden Lane) - it's a decent with fresh out-the-door Bolo and Cocktail buns, and one of the best pre-blended iced milk tea in the Central district. I hope you took photos, because this is probably as good as it can get in terms of outdoor markets. This is also about as good as Hong Kong can get.