My time in Hong Kong was the most eye opening experience I have ever had. Firstly I felt proud that I encouraged myself enough to save up the money to fly here and get over the slight fear I had of flying alone.

I never thought somewhere so polluted and crowded could be one of the most peaceful places I have visited. Peace, in my mind isn’t about the tranquility of leaves rustling in a slight breeze in Autumn, nor is it waves crashing elegantly on a white sanded beach. I find peace in the most obscure places, but where I feel most comfortable and where my mind feels most rested. Hong Kong for me was one of those places. I felt safe and I felt inspired every time I walked out the door, the people I met all welcomed me with such warmth and I began to know my way around with much ease just after a week.

What To Do

As Hong Kong is just a small island, everything is located very close to one another as there are mountains nearby making it difficult to build on, that’s why everything goes “up” rather than “out”, most shopping centres and restaurants were located at least 15 stories high.

The nightlife was not what I had expected, every night there was a reason to be out buying beers from a 7/11 and drinking cheap shots in bars. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it will be “ladies night” somewhere in the city. We mainly stuck to ‘Wan Chai Wednesdays’ as it was located nearby and was the busiest.

Next to the busy, highly polluted city if you travel by Minibus for 45 minutes, you can get to some amazing beaches and country parks. We went to Dragons back, the name had a ring to it and I’d heard it was a difficult hike, going upwards and downwards – the prize at the end being Big Wave Bay. The views here are beautiful and you wouldn’t think you were on a highly populated island with the clear skies and quiet breeze.

Growing up in the country, I was mostly amazed by the high rise buildings, there are some great viewing points from some of these buildings and I went to a few to see the city in the most beautiful form which I have listed below:

1. The Peak

2. Best Western Hotel

3. Lion Rock Country Park

4. International Commerce Centre

Where To Eat

The food was the most exciting part for me, I told myself I would try anything and everything and so I did. In Hong Kong, it’s rare that you will cook at home as it actually costs more than eating out, where I stayed, my friend didn’t even have an oven!

Here are my favourite places I went to eat out in Hong Kong.

1. Foo Lum / Queens Road

This was one of the first places I got taken to. Kindly, my friends mum took us out to an authentic Cantonese restaurant. We got given menus in Cantonese and even though I couldn’t read it, it didn’t matter as her mum ordered for us all.

There were courses after courses including whole fish, fried mushrooms and of course the delicacy, shark fin soup. It’s a touchy subject going into this dish as there have been a lot of articles spread on the internet on why it’s wrong but looking at the dairy industry in the UK… Lets avoid politics.

It was all tasty and a privilege to be taken out and experience the culture. I would recommend this place if you were with friends as its better to go for the large “meals for four” type choices. It is however, difficult to find.

2. YardBird

I had heard so many good things about this place before I came. It’s my friends favourite place to eat in the world and all of her friends too. It’s in an area where there are a lot of new restaurants, some of which were western cuisine which I hadn’t seen in many areas of Hong Kong. It’s a Japanese restaurant but instead of what we’re used to (sushi & ramen) it’s mainly yakitori (chicken kebabs) along with other delicious side which you share.

My ultimate favourite here was the meatball Yakitori with egg yolk, the mushroom salad and the sweetcorn tempura which was amazing!

3. Pepper Lunch 

This is a chain and a fast food place which I know isn’t “authentic” but I had never tried fast food like it. I tried the Beef Pepper Rice which came on a sizzling plate so you could cook the beef yourself and have it as rare or well done as you like. The dish is simple and just contains 6 ingredients: Beef, sushi rice, sweetcorn, spring onions, butter and pepper. But it combines well together and is one of those dishes you can eat in five minutes. Plus it’s around £3.90, so super cheap.

4. Sunday’s Grocery

Sunday’s Grocery is part of Yardbird, however it’s not a restaurant, it’s a liqueur store. They have all the best *Japanese whiskeys, Yamazaki, Hibiki, Nikka and others I hadn’t tried but they also did takeaway food which sounds weird but it somehow works.

We got the katsu chicken sub and some fried chicken to go with that which you could get regular or Korean style (we got Korean style) meaning it was coated in a sweet/savoury/slightly spicy/delicous sauce. Here’s a good recipe if you want to try making it!

5. Dim Sum Square

I came here on one of my last days, slightly disappointed this was my first time going for Dim Sum on this trip as I love it.

Dim Sum is a form of “afternoon tea”. In England we have scones, Earl Grey and some cucumber sandwiches. In China they have parcels steamed and filled with prawn, vegetables or even soup and bottomless tea! Slightly more filling, very inexpensive and delicious.

If you do come here, be early however as it does get busy at lunch time (or brunch time) but it’s worth the wait.

6. Tamashii / Causeway Bay

On my last day, just a few hours before my flight, we met a friend who has an insane love for ramen. She took us to this place which was so tiny it sat around 25 people but very close together. You choose your ramen on the menu, I went for the standard one, you can get spicy or different meats but I thought pork ramen is always a safe bet.

The soup base was Tonkotsu (pig bones and trotters cooked right down into mush) which doesn’t sound appetizing but it’s what makes proper ramen. The soup was thick and rich – more like a gravy than soup and it came with udon noodles, pork, egg and a few veg.

This is the best ramen I’ve tried and I’ve struggled to find somewhere that even comes close (apart from Nanban, but that’s good in its own way).