Before You Pack # Hong Kong - 5 things you should do while visiting Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a huge metropolitan built in the jungle. There are skyscrapers everywhere surrounded by mountains and trees. The public transportation system is pristine and costs pennies. The Chinese culture is very present. I've spent a full week here, but I could easily extend it with another week. This country is so diverse, I didn't run out of things to do. Did I mention that the food is amazing?

So before you pack here are 5 things you should do while visiting Hong Kong.

1. Go hiking

Hong Kong is a hiking paradise! I can't stress this enough. You can go to so many amazing hikes here and they are so gorgeous. A lot of locals go hiking too. It's a great break from the busy city centre.

The whole centre is basically surrounded by nature. So the amount of hiking you can do is basically unlimited. There are a lot of popular hikes, like the Victoria peak. But then there are also a lot of lesser known hikes like in the HKU area. Or you can also get a break from the city and go to the garden hill during sunset.

If you want to learn more about all the hiking trips I'd suggest visiting the Hong Kong tourism's board website. You can find it here: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/great-outdoors/index.jsp

2. Explore the Cantonese kitchen

The Cantonese kitchen is no joke. It's by far a very diverse and amazing assortment of food. I totally love the food here and it didn't bother me at all after 1 week. Cantonese people do know how to please every little tastebud.

If you want to find good restaurants in hong Kong, you should download the app OpenRice

Chicken feet

When feeling a bit daring, I suggest trying out the chicken feet. They are surprisingly very delicious. I had some really good ones in the Kowloon area. This also had pork in it.

133 Pei Ho St, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Dim Sum

Dim Sum is a Chinese/Cantonese dish. Actually it's multiple dishes. I had a lot of these, but actually don't have any pictures of it myself. Dim Sum comes in these small steamer baskets or on plates. There are so many to choose from and they all are delicious. Here's a picture my friend sent me. This was in a Michelin star restaurant! Did you know that Hong Kong has one of the cheapest Michelin star restaurants in the world? When you're in Hong Kong, you should go to one.

I did have some Dim Sum before when I was in San Fransisco. San Fransisco has the most alive China Town outside of Asia! You can get some really high quality and traditional Chinese/Cantonese food here.

If you want the best dim sum that hong Kong has to offer then here's a list of 19 amazing Dim Sum places. https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-dim-sum-in-hong-kong

Hong Kong Waffles

Hong Kong has some really great street food. One of the popular ones are the street waffles. I'm from Belgium, the country of waffles, so I can be very picky about them. These waffles are really good! The Hong Kong waffles are with peanut butter in between them.

They also have the egg waffles. Which you should try when you get the chance. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to get some of these, but all of my friends like them. So they must be good.

Claypot Rice

This is a traditional dish in the southern regions of China. The rice gets cooked in a claypot. Then they add other ingredients. There are so many different styles to choose from. I had some with pork and egg. I have to say that this is very delicious.

I found a list with 5 amazing claypot restaurants. So if you are Hong Kong and you want to try this dish, go the this website. https://guide.michelin.com/hk/en/hong-kong-macau/dining-out/dig-in-5-must-visit-claypot-rice-places-in-hong-kong/news

Traditional Dessert

When my friend was showing my around in the Kowloon area, we went to get some dessert at night. She knew a good place. It was very traditional dessert. I actually don't remember what all of this is. Mine was with mango and ice cream, but it had some white stuff on the bottom. My friend's dish was some type of milk (almond milk? I'm not sure) and egg whites on the bottom.

Bubble Tea

Bubble tea actually originates from Taiwan. But you can get it all over Hong Kong. It's tea of any flavor you want, milk, sugar and chewy tapioca balls. This tea is really filling, so don't expect to get a big meal after one of these. I'd think everyone should try it. Bubble tea is really a south=east asian thing to do.

The bubble tea below is one of the best in Hong Kong. It's in the Kowloon area and my friend showed me this place. The place is called ten ren's tea

I have a link with the best sports for bubble tea: https://www.afoodieworld.com/beckyfawdry/9546-the-best-bubble-teas-in-hong-kong

Others

There is a lot more food you should try. I'm going to list them below. Complete this list and you'll be a real Hong Kongese.

• Fish balls
• Pork buns
• Steamed buns
• Roasted duck/goose
• Snake (if you're feeling daring)
• Wontons
• Egg tarts

This website has a list of 25 must eat dishes in Hong Kong and the best restaurants to get them: https://migrationology.com/hong-kong-food-guide/

3. Go rooftopping

Rooftopping is the most memorable thing for me. It's the first time I have done this. You need to be a bit daring and take a small step out of comfort zone. By rooftopping I don't mean going to a rooftop bar, but trying to get to the rooftop of random buildings.

It's actually a lot easier than you might of think. I succeeded in getting to 4 rooftops on 3 different days. I only made 5 attempts, so it's a success rate of 4 out off 5. That's really good!

So how do you go rooftopping? The first 2 times we entered random buildings in the Kowloon area. We just entered a residential building whose front door was open. Then we stepped into the elevator and went to the top floor. Next we took the stairs to get one more floor up and entered the rooftop. It's surprisingly easy.

But why tho? The moment you succeed to get to a rooftop is amazing. The feeling you get is so hard to explain. It is so much fun. But the view! Do it for the view please. You get greeted by the best view over the Hong Kong skyline. You're basically in the center of all the skyscrapers. If you do it right, you'll be higher up than a lot of the surrounding buildings. It's just so gorgeous. It is well worth it.

Now you don't have to go and sit on the ledge like we did. You can just enjoy it away from the ledge.

Please read my post about rooftopping in Kowloon.
https://steemit.com/travel/@beforeyoupack/rooftopping-in-hong-kong-day-3

4. Sing a song in a Karaoke bar

Karaoke is very popular in south east Asia. It's also very popular in Hong Kong. If you want to blend in with the locals, you should go and do karaoke.

I was lucky to meet some very nice locals who took me under their wing into a hidden bar! Me and my friend were the only white folks there. Everyone else was from Hong Kong. This is the real experience. Try to talk to some local people while in Hong Kong to see if you can manage to do the same or if they will show you one of these bars.

In Hong Kong the rent is expensive. Specially if you want something on the ground floor. So a lot of bars are actually higher up in the building. The bar we went to was on the 17th floor. We had to enter a residential building, get in the elevator, go to the 17th floor, knock on the door and wait for them to open. This was so crazy to me. I just kept thinking, where is this guy taking us?

The bar was super nice. We got beers, played darts and then some dice game. After that we got to sing Karaoke. This night was so amazing and this is the real experience. It's not just an overrun bar. We basically were submerged in the culture. I sang a German song too so I could show these Hong Kongese a bit of our culture too.

5. Go to Macau

When in Hong Kong you should take a day trip to Macau. But don't go to gamble. Macau has an amazing Portuguese area. It is super beautiful and the food is amazing. There is so much history here and the architecture is very interesting.

Now I heard some bad things about Macau and it's casinos. If you enter a casino, they will not let you leave until you gamble! So when you walk to the exit and you haven't gambled, the security will stop you and tell you that you can't leave without gambling first.

I'd suggest to read my full post about Macau and see the travel video. It is super beautiful. I'm sure you will love it.

https://steemit.com/travel/@beforeyoupack/a-day-in-macau-hong-kong-day-5

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