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.

Same ol cheap souvenir goods one stall to the next. They say haggle is normal. Start at 50% of…read moreasking. Walk away as there is another seller a few stalls down selling the same thing. Note that you can find good value (low price) stuff. If you know what you want and what you are willing to pay for it. Buyer beware! Example is designer hand bags. Great looking knock offs for sure. But if you don't need the real thing. This place is a gold mine! The vendors set up and take down the stalls every night it seems. Crazy ton of work but once set up the market is quite busy and worth at least a stroll one evening. Another hidden gem are the brick and mortar stores and restaurants behind the night stalls. Plenty of food and misc businesses back there that are concealed by the night market stalls Don't expect much customer service. Bargain and be confident. Have fun!

This is well known especially if you have read about it in guides online or if you so happens to be…read moreChinese. It is the place for cheap knockoffs. Backpacks, both men's and women's wear, purses, shoes, towels, toys etc. There are several blocks so I would take your time visiting each one to get a feel for it. Don't immediately give in especially the first vendor you visit. Could be selling for too much. Though after a while, do start hassling. If it is too high then move on to the next one and the next one. However if they pull you back, then listen to them. Perhaps it's a good deal. It really depends on the particular vendor. Eventually I did an excellent deal. I recommend it going even once. Just follow the people heading that way. Or when you see it, you know you're in the right place.

Goldfish, turtles, rabbits, puppies and more…read more The Goldfish Market is such an iconic street market in Hong Kong. So much fun to wander looking at the giant colorful aquariums, tanks of turtles, and bags and bags and bags of goldfish. Located on Tung Choi Street, the shops and stalls line several blocks. Why goldfish? If you live in public housing, which is quite a deal in Hong Kong, there are restrictions on what kind of small pet can live in your apartment. More than that, goldfish are an integral part of cultural life in Hong Kong and China. Goldfish are believed to bring abundance and prosperity to the home. Goldfish also represent the Feng Shui of bringing richness, money or harmony to the home. Why are the fish in the bags? How do they survive? Since the stores are limited for space, the fish are placed into the plastic bags that are pumped with oxygen. Prices are marked on the bag. If they don't sell, they go back into the tanks at night. Seems like a lot of work. Don't want a goldfish? There are also lots of other cute choices. The puppies were so adorable. The fluffy bunnies just happily hopped or slept in their crates. Lots of turtles and cats as well. A very unique market to explore in Kowloon.

When you look at lists of touristy places to visit in Hong Kong, Goldfish Street comes up,…read morerightfully, as it is visually appealing. I myself included it on my list of places I wanted to visit when I arrived for my second visit to Hong Kong, which coincided with Mid-Autumn Festival of 2019. I was staying in Tsim Sha Tsui and wanted to explore more of the Kowloon area. (Of course at the time, I had no idea what "Kowloon" or "the Island" referred to.) Goldfish Street is in Mong Kok, which is the busy shopping central area of Kowloon, so one should expect to see people constantly walking along these busy sidewalks. I visited Goldfish Street when it was dark out, which I suppose enhanced the experience of viewing the fish, with the lights illuminating the fish's diversely extravagant appearances in order to entice prospective customers. Of course, I imagine there are just as many opportunistic photographers (including me) trying to take advantage of the free photo settings, though it should be duly noted that several of these fish stores have clearly visible "no photography" signs, which obviously comes from experience. Expect to get a lot of disapproving glares from store owners if you attempt to be a fish influencer without buying any fish.

Temple Street Market is a must-visit in Hong Kong. The vendors are incredibly friendly and clearly…read morelove to bargain, which makes the experience fun and engaging. There's an endless variety of merchandise to browse, along with plenty of food stalls offering tempting local eats. The area felt safe, lively, and was very easy to get to with a quick Grab ride. A great spot to soak in the energy of the city.

Temple Street Night Market / Kowloon (Hong Kong) -- By the time Jamie W and I made it here on our…read morevacation, we visited two legendary night markets in relatively quick succession, Raohe Street in Taipei (review: https://yelp.to/iQFcRkmz6h) and Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumpur (review: https://yelp.to/5ShCfX6Vhg). Both were bustling cultural microcosms full of a wide and diverse variety of culinary delights. My expectations were set high. This is my roundabout way of saying I found this market to be on the meh side. Even though Temple Street might be the most organized of night markets, it came down to a lack of enthusiastic energy on the part of the thirty-plus hawkers and purveyors here. They didn't help motivate us as much to try anything that looked appetizing beyond one grilled octopus skewer (photo: https://yelp.to/ZmGraLPefh). It was pretty good for what it was. The food stalls took up just the first block of Temple Street. The rest of the market consisted of tents and stalls where they sold gadgets, toys, electronics, cheap souvenirs, and T-shirts of which Jamie bought a couple from an enterprising senior (photo: https://yelp.to/caewEJ9-pR). I've read that lingering COVID restrictions may have caused a change in the dynamics of the market. If true, the impact apparently snuffed out much of the unique character it might have had. RELATED - Exploring Hong Kong? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3AGgadg

My first review in Hong Kong! And it HAS to be for my favorite neighborhood in all of Hong Kong…read more (First, thank you Yelp for finally booking a ticket and making your way out to Hong Kong because this California girl has missed you. Can I have my elite status back?!) Star Street is, by far, the most charming neighborhood in Hong Kong and simply perfect. It's centrally located to everything (five mins from Central or Causeway Bay and one stop away from crossing the harbour over to Kowloon). There are restaurants for all of your cravings (from local cha chaan tengs to pizza to fresh deli selection to mexican to salads to spanish tapas to famous crunch cakes to coffee shops to frozen yogurt to wine bars and I'm fairly certain almost every restaurant in a one block radius has a burger on the menu), wonderful shops/boutiques, a vet where you can see some adorable cats, quality groceries (Just Green), nail salons, and best of all: Pacific Place Mall is connected to PP3 and you can get there in under five mins! It's quiet and residential enough, but just one short block to Queen's Road East. I can't say it enough, it's perfect!

I've been coming to Hong Kong for OVER 23 years. Both Hong Kong side and Kowloon side are a couple…read moreof my favourite places on earth. Knutsford Terrace is atypical of Kowloon. Tons of unsavoury types from around the world hang out here, the sidewalks are filthy, littered with smelly garbage bins and you are badgered as you walk the "gauntlet" past restaurants by their staff outside badgering you for your patronage. Why this rates as highly as it does is a mystery to me. We take a short cut through here en route to our hotel. Although this is a row of several restaurant/bars, I have never seen anyone eating at any of these establishments. Grotty dive bars in Toronto are classy compared.

It is rather hard to believe that Hong Kong as such a tiny city, has so many big party districts…read more On the Hong Kong Island you may go to Wan Chai or Lan Kwai Fong; on the New Territories side you may go to Fo Tan; on the Kowloon side, it has got Knutsford Terrace. Thanks to the Miramar Shopping Centre, there is another way to go to Knutsford Terrace without hitting those horrendous stairs. While you may find seventy percent of people in LKF or Wan Chai are tourists or expats, here in Tsim Sha Tsui definitely has more locals hanging out here. On the entire street, if I remember correctly, there is only one bar that has a dance floor inside; as for the rest, they are mainly bars and strictly for people chilling and chatting. If you are not a fan of drinks, there are still quite a number of nice restaurants that offer great variety of cuisine including Spanish, Turkish, Indian and even Russian. Yet, the only thing I do not like about Knutsford Terrace is the transportation accessibility after mid night. Since it is located on Kowloon side instead of the Hong Kong side, people definitely have lesser options to go back to the same side (or that would take forever). Most people end up spending few hundreds on taxis in the end. Therefore, for me, I always try to leave before twelve, or else it might take me more than two hours to get back home.

Victoria Peak is a must do in Hong Kong if you ever visit! I've been several times but during my…read morerecent visit to the city I took the peak tram for the first time. You are also able to drive or hike up to the peak if you ever decide to do so. On a nice day, the views at The Peak are great where you can see the HK skyline as far as the eye can see. I visited the peak on a weekday morning and the lines for the tram were minimal. We were also able to purchase our tickets for the tram fairly quickly as there were no lines. For payment, you can use your Octopus card, cash, or card. The lineup for the tram itself was short and we took the next tram that came. I noticed that some people also purchased an express pass which grants you priority boarding on the tram. Once at the top of the peak, you are met with great views of the city. There are several easy as well as harder trails you can access to walk along. The easiest trail is flat and paved which loops around. The views were great and the trail was mostly shaded with trees. Also, at the top, there are many many shops and restaurants if you'd like to dine or grab souvenirs there. When we made our way down, the lines for the tram were also minimal. Overall, a must do if you ever visit Hong Kong!

The line is crazy... even on a weekday, there was a massive line before nightfall to get up to…read moreVictoria Peak. Buy the ticket online if you can. Or you can scan your Octopus card. Every tourist (us included) goes, hence it was packed. Unluckily, we got on last so we had to stand. Not sure if we could've asked to wait for the next tram as they shuttled the exact group in to wait for the next tram. The ride was extremely steep, I wasn't expecting that. It's decently quick as well, and when you get to the top, you get to enjoy the view. There is also essentially a mall up there as well with some shopping and food. Most people were at 7-Eleven. We checked out McDonald's up there (mediocre). There are some souvenir shops with tram related things: pins/stickers. The designs were just ok, so we didn't buy any. Overall, it's not bad to do it once for the view experience. I definitely wouldn't do it again, though.

The Flower Market is filled with so many beautiful plants. Fresh cut blooms. Bonsai trees. Exotic…read moreplants. Citrus trees. And beautiful bouquets. Orchids, roses, bougainvilleas, sunflowers. Such a treat to see and smell so many fragrant blooms. Interesting to also learn about the "Good Fortune Plants." The Lucky Bamboo arrangements are a popular gift. So many Bonsai trees. The miniature trees have been part of local culture for generations. Mandarin trees are a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Lucky Bamboo is for a happy and peaceful home. Orchids are a symbol of nobility. Peonies represent prosperity and peace. Daffodils are for good luck. Definitely worth a stroll to enjoy the beautiful blooms at the Flower Market in Kowloon.

A great place to visit for plant and flower lovers. The…read morestreet and side streets is full of stores selling all varieties of plants and flowers. Beautiful orchids and many colors adorn each store. A great area for a leisurely walk through a bonanza of flowers.

This was the fourth year that I attended the VIP Preview of Art Basel Hong Kong as a guest of my…read moredaughter, who's a VIP of the world-class exhibition since it was launched in 2013.  She was invited to the VIP Preview and could bring 1 guest with her.  We had also been to Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and twice to Art Basel Miami.  Art Basel HK is as good as all the Art Basel shows, if not better.  It had successfully propelled Hong Kong into an art capital of Asia. Art Basel HK 2026 featured 240 galleries from 41 countries and territories, with a particular focus on Asia-Pacific.  The exhibition took place on Level 1 and 3 of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center and was truly huge.  If you like modern or contemporary art, this is the show for you.  It is also a perfect place for people-watching, as some attendees are very fashion-forward or very innovative with what they wear.  No matter what you wear, remember to wear comfortable shoes, as people usually spend 3 to 4 hours walking through the entire 2 levels of show. This year we were also invited to the Opening Reception celebrating the launch of the Ray-Ban Lounge in the foyer of the Collectors Lounge.  There was a live performance by artist Kwonny painting on the mural of her artwork. There were passed hors d'oeuvres and champagne.  The friendly hostesses who checked us in were amazed that we'd come all the way from the US! Food and drinks inside Art Basel are pricy as expected. We didn't buy anything this year as we attended the Ray-Ban opening reception, but we had made purchases each year in the past inside the exhibition hall or in the collectors lounge. Expect street food like egg tarts and egg waffles to be like 3 times the price outside, so was bubbles, wine and other drinks. If you would like to go to Art Basel Hong Kong, please plan ahead and purchase tickets well ahead of time.  If you book an Uber ride, make sure that you get dropped off or picked up at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center HKCEC Phase 1 Entrance. I enjoyed the exhibition and would like to return again.

Art Basel has become one of the biggest annual art exhibitions in town for quite some years now…read more Are people in Hong Kong passionate about Art Basel? Hell yeah. Are poeople in Hong Kong passionate about art? Oh well, it really depends on how do you define it. It is a Facebook/Instagram heaven for a lot of us. And bigger, shinier, fancier arts are the ones usually get more attention. It's like where you go to a fashion show and the models who dress least will get most pictures taken. Nothing wrong with that, really, whatever floats your boat I guess. Art Basel is a collective exhibition of a lot of art galleries, art dealers, individual artists and all. So it is not quite as organized as you go to an art museum. The good part is you never know what you'd expect, and never get bored walking around two / three floors of arts. If you really want to appreciate closely, you need a solid 4 hours time at least. I'll see a bit of Impressionism like Sisley or Monet, and then a bit of Cezanne, Picasso, and then mostly the modern arts with Warhol, Miro, Magritte, Dali, Calder, Nam June Paik, etc.. and a bunch of Chinese / Asian artists that I don't recognize. If you like taking pictures of arts and having a healthy annual dose of arts, then Art Basel is your perfect place. If you are an art lover, you may find it a bit repetitive after a few years, because the it is not only about exhibition, but also a platform for galleries / dealers trying to sell similar arts over and over.