Have to have no egg yolk to bring the moon cakes home.
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Some of the group meals have shaken out (a few based on my interests / requests):
Canto / contemporary - Mott 32, Madam Fu
Dim sum - Forbidden Duck, Maxim’s (city hall)
Sichuan - Si Jie
Seafood - Rainbow on Lamma Island
One of the days is planned around M+ and HKCC – what is easy for lunch around there? Mong Kok doesn’t seem too far, but I find on museum days proximity wins, so maybe we end up at the cafe.
Though honestly I’d really rather leave the museum after 2-3 hours, so Mong Kok may be a good option.
We are spending an evening bar hopping in SoHo (and riding the escalator) – any favorites around there for food or for drinks?
On the sightseeing front, I’ve decided that a simple bus tour at the outset might set me up well to get a sense of the overall place. Not planning to hop off, just take the full circuit and see what’s what. I think there is a changeover near the Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui, so that would be an easy place to eat on my own (lunch / snacks) if anyone has ideas around there.
Speaking of buses – are there any good public bus routes that provide good sightseeing through the main areas? I’m looking, but so far only info on how great public transport is, no hacking of the bus system as a tour 
Still trying to figure out how to cover all the other things I want to eat while balancing other activities & other folks, but I should have a lot more flexibility after the events are done.
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No! No! No! No! No!!
Mott 32 is over-the-hill! Food is way overrated and overpriced. Only selling point is its popular worldwide brand!! There are tons of great Canto restaurants in town!! Give Openrice a search. Even Michelin can recommend better!
7th Son, Man Ho, Wing, Flower Drum are top choices nowadays
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hahaha
i had a similar reaction
But my hosts picked it
So I will navigate gently
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When my parents lived in Sha-Tin a few years back, I loved taking the NR88 Bus from Sha-Tin City-One all the way to Central, HK island side. Bus will take the tunnel, travel along the seafront, past busy and popular districts like Wan Chai, Admiralty and onwards to the main bus stop near IFC. You can do the reverse, get on in Central, get off in Sha-Tin and then take the train back to TST/TST East…etc.
Don’t forget to head up to upper level and grab a front row seat!
Another of my fav was taking #70 bus outside of Pacific Place, Admiralty, HK to Repulse Bay. Hotel offers great afternoon tea!
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To see HK Island, you can also take the tram. Its not designed for tourists, but its perfect for tourists. Take a seat on the upper level. https://www.hktramways.com/
Hop on at Sheung Wan and see all the old style dried seafood stores, past Central and its business district, Admiralty, Wanchai and its commercial/ residential neighborhood, hop off at Causeway Bay for shopping. If you are adventurous, keep going and see the residential neighborhoods on the eastern part of HK Island that tourists don’t go to.
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Tasty and Lei Garden is nearby in West Kowloon.
But if you are going to leave W Kowloon and eat, you can eat anywhere in Kowloon and HK Island. I don’t know about the food at the museums but if you don’t want to go far from the museums to eat maybe you can eat a full breakfast and a light lunch.
Anything that’s labeled Sheung Wan and Central above. The Chairman would be my pick if you can get a reservation.
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Thank you! I love riding double decker a yo top!
I have a personal list of restaurants saved in google maps, and these are the ones in the near proximity of M+. Best to take a taxi or mini bus.
The Lounge & Bar in the Ritz Carlton (great view!)
Xin Fei Quan (would be my pick :), very local place)
Australia Dairy Company (already mentioned above, famous place so prepare to wait but worth visiting)
Wing Fat seafood (Temple street market, should be quiet though during the day, 20 min walk from M+).
Otherwise you could indeed walk to Mongkok, which should be around 40 minutes. Nice walk if you go through Yau Ma Tei. Also, I’d recommend getting the Octopus for tourists app, which you can use for all public transport (open air tram, star ferry, mini bus, subway), and you can pay in lots of smaller restaurants, and even some taxis. It’s really convenient, and you can get your money back when you leave HK. Also make sure to have it installed before you arrive so you can use it for the airport express. In HK I usually take taxis and public transport in equal measure.
The main area for nightlife is Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), though it can be a bit overwhelming for some. But there are bars around the area. I like going over to Hollywood Road, and for example to Quinary, a cocktail bar. As for food, you could go to: Yung Kee, Yat Lok (goose), or still nearby China Club (near Mott 32) and The Aubrey (izakaya). Or to the west of LKF, Dragon State (bbq meats), and a place I visited twice a year ago for their excellent bbq pork (but it’s a sichuan restaurant!) Jing Alley.
As for sightseeing, besides the ding ding (tram), don’t forget to take the star ferry and you have to go to the Peak!
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Thank you! We have the tram as an activity one of the days before dim sum, but I may also look at doing it instead of one of the two bus tour circuits since it’s a similar route. (The heat and humidity might be a deterrent, but let’s see.)
As I’m staying in a residential neighborhood, I’ll see a bit more of that aspect than usual. Also Aberdeen and Stanley are in the plan.
Yes, I saw that Lei Garden has a location there, but I had not saved the various locations of Tasty to my map so I didn’t see that it’s also right there - thank you. (For some bizarre reason regarding private road labeling, Lei shows as a 4 minute walk, Tasty which can’t be more than a minute or two more shows as 48 mins!!!)
We have 2 dim sum meals planned out already, and my guess is some of the catered events will also have dim sum, so it might be a good day to get in some wantun noodle soup.
I think we are going to be snacking around that evening rather than a big sit-down meal. Others are much bigger drinkers than I am (they have some mornings and afternoons blocked off for “recovery” 
that I will be free to do my own thing, ha) so I’ll review what I’ve saved for Sheung Wan & Central on the map as we wander, and maybe break off from the group for a bite. (Though I’m guessing there will be things to eat everywhere around there, so I may not need to expend too much extra effort.)
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Thank you!
I have also been saving to a map, so hopefully that will help as I wander about.
Not planning on too much walking given the crap weather, so all thetransport options are a blessing.
Luckily this part is entirely up to my local friends. I just keep throwing food items I want to eat at them I saw that Yat Lok is nearby, and that’s the place they suggested for goose. I will add Dragon to my list.
We have the ding ding planned pre dim sum one morning and I have inserted a Peak / peak tram excursion another morning for the group.
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Curious how people would prioritize a half day excursion to Lantau for the Buddha and/or Macau?
I know Macau will be like Vegas or AC, but I wonder if it’s worth a quick visit just to see.
My friends haven’t been to Lantau yet, but I think it would still likely be on my own as it will be after one of them goes back to work and most of the other visitors leave.
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as you know, I love Portuguese tarts so Macau was on our radar, but after some research decided to focus on Hong Kong and didn’t come close to eating everywhere I wanted to try. I’d love to get back but my better half is a little reluctant now that the politics have changed.
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FWIW 30 years ago I enjoyed Lantau and the Buddha far more than Macau but also I bet neither would be recognizable as the same place today.
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I’ve got major preemptive fomo about the food. Major! Friends are trying to quell my stress by saying various things will come home if I don’t get out to them.
Good thing we are all food obsessed and don’t find this at all weird. When they were in Mumbai a couple of months back we ordered in from 3 places and cooked 3 major things for a single meal at home, because how else to fit all the food in? Plus several restaurant meals out together too.
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The weather at the moment is also a major consideration.
(I am also being scolded for thinking of this as an “only” trip vs a “first” trip as they will be there for several more years – “there’s always NEXT time!”)
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Get your natas at Mandarin Oriental in Central: https://www.lordstow.com/franchises-in-asia/
Macau is a full day. How long are you in HK for? If only a week, I suggest you skip Macau.
Don’t worry about Fomo. I can assure you by definition, not because of any of your planning, with the time you have that you are only scratching the surface of what HK has to offer. And I can count more than 5 places that you are going I haven’t been to myself despite having lived there. And it doesn’t bother me that I am missing out.
Since HK is a easy connection flying elsewhere in Asia, you can always connect in HK next time and spend a few days here.
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I wouldn’t worry too much about the weather. I think they have a few mm of rain every day for the next week. But so long its not level 8+ typhoon when everything closes, you can just duck inside a mall and eat while you wait for the shower to pass.
Remember, we went to Ocean Park on a day when there was thunder and storm, and it was spectacular.
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There is air conditioning everywhere, even in transport. I bet you won’t be sweating much. Typhoon is a bigger problem, not because of the wind but with signal 8 or higher, places will be closed.
Btw, the roads around M+ museum or Elements isn’t pedestrian friendly, you can waste a lot of time walking around. Bad city planning in that area.
For Macau, you will need more time than half a day, unless you have a day or 2.
Are you going to Shanghai street? Kitchen utensils and some odd stuff.
One of way to try more food is to do restaurant hopping in food gourmet area, where good places are just next to each others, just jump in a place and eat their signature dish, say congee, hop to a second place for noodles. Third place for fishball and other street food.
I have friends that has good experience in Mott 32 and heartily recommended it, although it won’t be my first choice. I still think you should try Chairman if time and budget permits. It’s an unique HK experience that it will be difficult to find elsewhere.
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We too have never “missed out”. We choose for ourselves; or we’re glad to let others make a choice that includes us.
