Hong Kong Series: Taking the Tram; aka How to take the Tram

Yo, welcome to the next part of my Hong Kong series. Have been pretty busy with life lately; I have a lot of Hong Kong pictures, but I'm wondering which of them are interesting enough to share.

Would you like Tsui Wah review? Or a Tim Ho Wan review? I have this nice place in Wanchai for porridge if you are interested as well (visited only by locals). And Neptune Porridge in Wanchai? Finally, Yee Shun Dairy? So many places, I'm not too sure what would interest you people.

Anyway, I decided to share this interesting article about how to take the tram in Hong Kong. It is an interesting experience, so don't be frightened away by taking it just because you are intimidated. It's as easy as Singapore's ez-link.

Have you ever taken the tram in HK?

It is quite a useful and quick way to travel across HK island; especially from Central to Causeway Bay - saves a lot of walking. Although the MTR is accessible, often the station is buried deep underground and you have do walk tons to get to your destination. For example, Times Square in Causeway Bay is connected to the MTR, but you will have to walk at least 10 -15 minutes from the MTR stop to get to Times Square. By then, you are pretty much tired, and I doubt the older folks can take so much walking. Instead, the tram is much better because it stops very near to Times Square and saves all that walking. Plus the tram is pretty frequent and you get to enjoy the view from the top.

Without further ado, let's take a look at some pictures:

Along Central, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, you will actually see trams along the main Hennessy Road. There are quite a number of stops in between and it's not difficult to find as along you locate the tram tracks. There are various tram routes but most plough between the arterial Hennessy Road.

For a comprehensive route map, refer to http://www.hktramways.com/en/tramservice/routemapeastbound.html

The tram stops at every stop, so no worry about missing the tram.

When the tram stops, you will see the driver.

Hong Kong Series - Getting to Duck Shing Ho 德成号 for egg rolls 鸡蛋卷

I assume you are here because you read my previous post. 
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2013/06/hong-kong-series-duck-shing-ho-egg.html

Or you are searching for Duck Shing Ho and my blog showed up. Nevertheless, this post shall guide you on how to get here for the famous eggrolls.

Duck Shing Ho is located at North Point 北角. The shop can be accessed by the MTR, buses, or the tram. In my case, I took the MTR since it's the most convenient form of transport - avoid the jams - it's regular and fast; you won't have to worry about missing your stop or what.

North Point Station is on the Blue Line, which most of you should be taking. I stayed in Wanchai, so I took the Blue Line in the direction of Tsuen Wan.

Get off at North Point and walk in the direction of exit A (towards Java Road). You shall see Kee Wah on the way (as tempted as you are, you are already at North Point, so do try to make an attempt at Duck Shing Ho first!). Touch wood, but if Duck Shing Ho had sold out, then you could buy from Kee Wah as consolation, though I would still advise against it -there's Wing Wah at the airport, and Hang Heung in town). You could buy other bakery goods from Kee Wah though.

Hong Kong Series - Duck Shing Ho Egg Rolls (德成号 鸡蛋卷) June 2013 aka Battle of the Hong Kong Eggrolls

Update June 2016: Duck Shing Ho has gotten so popular apparently there is no way of getting them from the queue anymore. They also only offer queuing on certain days sometimes. Do give them a call to check on their latest 'policy' changes. My last visit to HK I could not get them at all even if I wanted to order in advance.

I visited them again in April 2014. You can check out my experience here:
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2014/04/duck-shing-ho-eggrolls-part-2-5-april.html

Hey everyone, after a long hiatus, here's a new post. Not that I haven't been eating out, but tons of people are already doing reviews on local food, and there are already so many food blogger celebrities, I decided it may be more meaningful to focus on overseas food. Let's try out this model, shall we?

Battle of the Hong Kong Eggrolls 

Heard of Duck Shing Ho 德成号? To be honest. I've never heard about it until a month ago. I am a great fan of Hong Kong egg rolls 鸡蛋卷 (vs Singapore egg rolls - they are more flaky, delicate and soft), and I have been always used to the usual tourist favorites such as Wing Wah 荣华 and Hang Heung 恒香. There's  another bakery called Kee Wah  奇华 however, the eggrolls are comparatively average - more comments on taste later.

(pictures taken from the web)

Prego Restaurant & Deli @ Fairmont Hotel

I interrupt our usual Melaka Series with a 'broadcast' on a local restaurant.

As much as I have lots to say about the food in Malaysia, I am a Singaporean and I do eat, so I do have opinions about the food here. I guess the usual staple here in this website will eventually shift more to a local theme instead. Meanwhile, I still have some reviews of Kuala Lumpur before I consider the Malaysia series done.

Back to the topic, Prego is an established Italian restaurant since the days of long long ago. Prego is located at the Fairmont Singapore Ground Level, which is part of Swissotel and Raffles City. It is located in a little corner connected to the Fairmont Hotel. IMHO, it is still one of the better Italian restaurants in Singapore.

When I was still a student almost 18 years ago, we used to visit the restaurant when they had 1 for 1 deals. Then it was an awesome experience - the decor was classy and top notch. People literally dressed to the nines when they come for a meal here, and the waiters address you by name, fuss over you like a personal butler. It was true luxury.

However, fast forward to now, Prego has undergone an uplift/modernization a few years ago. The decor and ambiance feels more accessible, having a bistro and lively feel, the colours are brighter, wooden and lighter furniture.

(Taken from http://www.smugourmetclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Prego-entrance.png)

The interior as taken from my Ipad:

Unfortunately, since the renovation, they don't pay attention to your name anymore. However, the servers still try to fuss around your needs. Our server, a nice lady named Erjoy, came to our table and welcomed us to holler her anytime we need something. She was very polite and it was a real joy to be served by her. Unfortunately, initiative was a bit lacking, and I had to ask her to top my water several times. I'm being picky here but I'm a thirsty guy and I really hope my water could be topped up without asking. As you know, I'm particular about water (see bit about being charged for water). :)

Melaka Series: Secret Recipe

I've always wanted to keep my reviews short, but in the end, I end up writing much more than I desired. I'm not sure whether you like the reviews so far? Too long? Too short? Let me know how it is.

For now, I promise to keep this review short...

Anyway, whilst my brother and I were in Malaysia, we wondered about lunch, and was having trouble deciding between Chicken Rice Balls or a simple fare at a cafe. We were wandering about Dataran Pahlawan mall and we didn't want to backstep all the way to Jonker for the Balls, so he decided on Secret Recipe for a simple lunch.

We stepped into the restaurant in Dataran Pahlawan, just facing Hotel Equatorial. It wasn't crowded and there were many empty tables. Being usual polite Singaporeans, we stood at the host's stand, waiting for someone to seat us.

However, after standing idly for a minute, it looks like no one is going to come and greet us. That's when I decided to just grab a seat ourselves at a table we liked. Strangely, a waiter immediately popped out and came to greet us, handing us the menus.

Remember my Nancy's Kitchen review? Apparently that seems to be the restaurant seating system in Melaka -> when the place is not crowded, please go and seat yourself.. unless it's crowded, the waiters aren't going to shuffle the customers around for your seat.

Melaka Series: Nadeje Mille Crepe (Thousand Layer Crepe Cake)

After taking a break for nearly, a week, here's another post on one of my favourite haunts in Melaka: Nadeje  Cake House! For every trip to Melaka, I will never fail to stop by this cake house for a slice of cake, no matter how stuffed I am. In fact, actually, I will protect my tea time just for this cake.

The reason why I'm excited over this cake is that it used to be novel in Melaka - you can't find it in Singapore! Now the concept is more widespread and you can indeed enjoy a slice of this cake in Singapore, or even Kuala Lumpur. However, it's rather expensive in Singapore (the last I heard, a cafe in Sunset Way is selling it for SGD7.00 per slice, and for a small slice); the Kuala Lumpur version wasn't that tasty either.

What is about this Mille Crepe cake that I'm so excited about?

A picture speaks louder than words:

What! It's just a cake right? Nothing special...

Melaka Series: San Shu Gong Lao Qian Ice Cafe Durian Cendol

Hey guys, I promise this is a short update; partly because this is not a big meal, just some dessert that I have tried at San Shu Gong Lao Qian Ice Cafe.

For a visitor to Melaka, it's hard to miss the San Shu Gong Provision (?) Shop just outside of the Jonker Street Entrance facing the Melaka Fountain Landmark.

You really can't miss this shop. It's usually crowded with lots of tourists. It's just opposite Chung Wah  Chicken Rice Ball shop, another famous landmark for foodies.

Anyway, to continue with my story, I had previously tried the also-famous Durian Cendol at Jonker88 before last year. Due to strong recommendations by many reviewers, I made it a point to have the Cendol there every time I visit Melaka. If you do not know, Cendol is very fattening, due to the high sugar content of the Gula Melaka, and the high-fat content of the coconut, so after having a bowl, I won't have another for the day. So, I've never tried San Shu Gong Durian Cendol before.

After a long walk along Jonker Street on a Friday evening, my brother and I were sweaty, hot and tired, and we wanted a cold dessert to cool down. Our first choice was Jonker88, for reasons above - due to strong recommendations by foodies, however, Jonker88 was terribly crowded. There was a long line outside the shop, and we decided to give up looking for a seat inside. Just as we thought we will never have a cendol for this Melaka trip, I overheard a young girl mentioning that 'San Shu Gong closes around 10 pm'.

Aha! Why not take the opportunity to troop down to San Shu Gong Lao Qian Cafe? In the past, we never liked this cafe because the Cendol there seemed mass-produced and too commercialized, lacking the homely and impromptu feeling from Jonker88.

In order to get that fix, San Shu Gong seemed liked the best answer. We were there around 9 pm, and the crowd had subsided from the shop (I think San Shu Gong closes late on weekend, so don't try going there on a usual weekday that late). We were served immediately - however the seats downstairs were full and we proceeded upstairs.

This was the view upstairs. Were we crowd pullers? After our purchase, another group of tourists came by and bought more cendols!