There are bars aplenty in TST, but not many dedicated spirit shops for people looking to score a…read morebottle or two. And if there is, its unlikely they'd have the selection that Cheong Hing (昌興醇酒坊) currently has. Supposedly in business since 1917, this place is one of Prat Ave's most recognizable businesses. For any person looking to score a bottle of booze, the selection is always key. Cheong Hing has a decent variety of spirits all grouped in their respective categories. There is also a solid inventory of wine as well for those looking for a bottle in a pinch. The prices are standard retail, without significant markup considering how expensive booze is out here in the first place. The staff is fairly robust for a shop this size. They have at least one person working the inventory, one acting as a cashier, and another prepping cases for larger orders. They may be able do bulk orders of drinks with some notice, which is convenient. I wish their delivery was better and wish they had online services but no one is perfect. Kudos to the owner for keeping the shop open past the closing hours of most businesses in the area and love the collage of posed pictures with HK celebs.

Small store but has decent selection of wines from around the world at reasonable prices. Also…read moreoffers some specialty foods like cheese, meats, etc. A few closeout specials on wine available.

I could see the sign 'Castello del Vino' every time from the tram on my way to and from work and…read morewondered exactly what it was. Today, as I walked down Anton Street with a friend I came into a winery and surprise! It was 'Castello del Vino' shop! It's a lot smaller than I had imagined but they have a great variety of wines, especially Italian ones, from everywhere in Italy in fact. The guy at the shop was busy on the phone so my friend and I started to look around for some smooth red wine. Not only they have wines and some food, but also some hand-painted ceramics from Deruta, Italy, which really caught our attention as they didn't seem to fit in. Besides Italian wines, they have some shelves devoted to Spanish, New Zealand, Australian and French wines, among others. The Spanish selection is good and the prices range from 80HKD to more than 500HKD per bottle. What I liked the most about it though is that they have some traditional Spanish and Italian products like olives, canned fish, vegetables and legumes. As it is more Italian-focused, pasta was expected to be there too. And finally, they have a refrigerator with different kind of French cheeses and some Italian cold cuts. They carry monthly discounts on selected wines and you can check them out online. So I had finally dismantled the mystery...and now I may actually come back as some of the Spanish wines seemed very reasonably priced for their quality.

For a true homesick brit, this M& S store does provide you with some level of comfort in the form…read moreof food from home. To be honest this place doesn't break any new boundaries nor presents anything that is ground breaking; its still the good old M&S store with their food items. You could find that with any other M&S store. The only difference is that this place does only that- it sells food and nothing else, which to be me is great because it does without the boring parts (I haven't bought a suit from M&S at least). Someone must have told the M&S people about this particular vacant site because they could not have chosen a better location to set up a food shop. With the bridge from the North Wanchai office towers going towards Queens Road East, this is the perfect place to stop by and grab something whether you are walking back home or taking the MTR. Moreover, there's a gym upstairs (was) which also caters for some people who go to the gym after work. The food is the standard fare and exactly as I want it- Shepherds Pie, Yorkshire Pudding and bourbon chocolate biscuits. yes its 30 degrees out there but I don't care, I miss the rain and the greyness so the closest I can get is with some proper grub. There is also a huge selection of frozen food items ranging from pies to pizzas so there's something for everyone. A small wine selection is also there and I am happy to report that its not as poor as I thought it would be. Never thought i'd say this but good on ya, M&S!

It's funny, I have an image of quality and tasty food for M&S and a really poor one for their…read moreclothes. I used to live in the UK and, honestly, even though I liked it, I barely bought anything there unless it was really especial, like some cheeses that I couldn't find in Sainsbury's. But I must admit that I was happy to see M&S here in Hong Kong. And this branch is right downstairs from my gym so I walk past every other day. I can't recall the number of times I've been inside checking something out and haven't bought anything. It's just not worth it, it's SO EXPENSIVE! Just as an example, a little 150 gr. bag of nuts is around 45HKD...come on! And that applies to pretty much anything. If you like ready made 'English' food (sounds appealing huh?) you may like it as that's what they are really good at. You pay a higher price for the convenience but it's good. Two good things about his place: cheese and wine. The cheese selection is not greater than any other supermarket and around the same price, but you can find a couple of odd cheeses there, different from the range at other stores. And I'm a fan of their wines. I found a great one there, that a friend recommended to me, it's a Spanish garnacha grape wine called La Sabrosita. It's a thick red wine priced at less than 100HKD and I love it. For such a small store, the space taken by wines and the selection they have is really impressive. Okay, their chocolates are okay too (I only care for dark ones though). They only have a couple but it's great to find different brands from the main supermarket chains. And this applies to every other item in their store.