hong kong Travel Guide

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What to Eat in Hong Kong: 21 Foods That'll Rock Your World

March 18, 2013 at 10:54 AM | by | Comments (0)

All this week we'll be answering the Who, What, Where, When and Whys of Hong Kong. Of course the answer to "WHO should go to Hong Kong" is YOU. Whether you've never been or you're a regular through Chek Lap Kok, this no-visa-required peninsula hanging off of China should absolutely your next stop.

WHAT 21 foods you absolutely have to try
WHERE to escape the skyscrapers for a breath of fresh air.
WHEN to visit
HOW to get out on the Harbour
WHY

Put down the Chinese take-out menu and learn the words "cha chaan teng." Pronounced just as it looks, a cha chaan teng is the term for the Hong Kong-typical casual restaurants serving up cheaply priced, richly flavored eats at all hours of the day. Yeah, they're kind of like diners—diners with specialties like roast goose, pineapple buns and hot ginger Coca-Cola—and they're a lifeline to locals and adventurous travelers willing to step outside malls and Michelin-starred restaurants.

One more thing? Remember this mantra: If it looks ugly, it tastes awesome. Now you're ready to have your world rocked.

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Iron Man & Friends are Packing Up to Hit Hong Kong's Disneyland

February 28, 2013 at 2:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Marvel’s superheroes are about to descend on Hong Kong. Disney has just announced they will soon begin building the first ever Marvel “Themed Area” within their Hong Kong Disneyland Park.

The plan isn't a total surprise to comic fans. Disney has been open about the fact that they've planned to introduce more Marvel elements into their theme parks since they acquired the company in 2009. It also makes sense to launch the new enterprise in Hong Kong since it will be a big draw to tourists visiting from the mainland.

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Inside Cathay Pacific's 'The Arrival' Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport

February 20, 2013 at 6:19 PM | by | Comments (0)

Flying Cathay Pacific or Dragonair in Business or First Class to Hong Kong? Lucky you, not just because you'll be kicking back in bigger seats on what is a very long flight, but you're heading for one of our absolute favorite places in the entire world. Sure, Hong Kong is excellent, but we're talking about the airport itself!

Cathay Pacific, being the flag carrier and largest airline at HKG, takes huge pride in their elite lounges. Airside, we've already toured you through the premium playgrounds that are The Wing, The Cabin and The Pier, but there's also one sweet little secret lurking on the lower level of the arrival hall, outside security. It's simply called "The Arrival."

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Cathay Pacific's First Flashmob Stays Out of the Airport

December 18, 2012 at 5:17 PM | by | Comments (0)

Yep, it's time for yet another travel flash mob as Cathay Pacific, for the first time, joins in the trend for holiday synchronized dancing. Forget for a moment that the flight crew are due to stop smiling and reserve service to argue for a pay increase this season, and just enjoy that they can still get together for a good cause. This performance of 115 crew at their Hong Kong HQ (named Cathay City) helped solicit donations for the charity Operation Santa Claus.

It's too bad that they didn't pull this off inside an airport terminal, but the touch of the Macarena is nice, as is the moment of simulated airplane seating when the attendant walks down the "aisle" with the holiday decoration bedecked cart, but we won't spoil anything else for you. Just watch it, below.

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Tasting Burger King's Elusive Tempura Whopper...in Hong Kong

May 29, 2012 at 2:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Just when you thought that fast food chains couldn't muck up a proper burger any more than Costa Rica's Queso Fundido Whopper or Singapore's Prosperity McRib, along comes a worth challengers: Burger King's Tempura Whopper Jr.

Tempura...whopper?! Yep, although those two simple words on the menu board are deceiving; it's not the patty of meat that's been tempura-cooked, but instead the regular Whopper gets added to it a patty of tempura'd vegetables, atop the meat. Throw in a drizzle of sweet tempura sauce, and it's all ready to be bitten into at a BK in HK.

Although we're not big fans of Burger King and can't remember the last time we had a Whopper, the tempura version proved too tempting. It's all about the novelty, you see! And we weren't the only visitors taken in by the promise of a unique and cheap lunch; the Burger King we visited in Mong Kok was packed with a mix of locals and ballcap-wearing Brit tour-takers.

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Three Hong Kong Coffee Shops That Get It Right

May 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Straight up, we're just going to say that serious coffeeshops in Hong Kong have only taken a couple years to evolve from being nonexistent, to doing brews and service to a standard beyond that of most places in the Western Hemisphere. HK just moves that quickly, and coffee is the latest focus for a city brought up on Chinese green tea and proper British milk tea.

During our most recent visit to Hong Kong, we discovered Three Coffee Shops That Get It Right. And, just as the baristas learned our name, we had to fly back home. So do stop by and have a pour-over for us, hm?

· Knockbox Coffee
Jonathan waxed philosophic on the Costa Rica Finca San Francisco while preparing a perfect pour-over coffee. "It's on my secret menu," he whispered with a wink, and proceeded to share the details of a few other beans he currently had the hots for. Whatever he said about cupping and flavor hints we quickly forgot, but Knockbox on its own is a place we've nailed into our memory as an HK must-visit. The very tiny, hard-to-find coffeeshop is a single room with one table of a few chairs and two barstools for watching the action on the counter. We suggest nabbing the latter in order to be eye-level with your coffee as it bubbles up from the vacuum brewer.

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The Best Airbus A380 Advertisement Yet

April 30, 2012 at 11:06 AM | by | Comments (0)

SPOTTED! Perhaps the best advertising for an airline's Airbus A380 service...so far.

The A380 is a double-decker airplane. This is a double-decker tram. We bet China Southern considered doing up the ad to make the tram look like an airplane, but that would take a little too much imagination from people who maybe catch a glimpse of the thing as it rolls through their peripheral vision.

China Southern has been flying the superjumbos since October 2011, and their inaugural routes were Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou. The latter, you see, is just over the border from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is where we spotted this ad-bedecked tram, running the rails near the Sheung Wan MTR stop. Other trams were sporting ads for Dior and Shanghai Tang, but this one stood out for its blue cloud swirls. Roll on, A380 tram. Roll on.

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The World's First Airport IMAX Screen Set to Debut in Hong Kong

March 15, 2012 at 10:23 AM | by | Comments (0)

We kind of already have our favorite international airport picked out, as the place where the airplanes do their thing over in Singapore is pretty much second to none. However, it looks like Hong Kong Airport is continuing to try their very best to woo travelers heading to—and through—the airport, as they're about to have something that no other airport in the world has.

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Inside Dragonair's G16 Lounge at Hong Kong International

February 6, 2012 at 4:20 PM | by | Comment (1)

We've given you a glorious tour of the unbelievable Cathay Pacific airport lounges at the Hong Kong International Airport from The Wing to The Pier but today we're taking you inside the less-exciting G16 Lounge of Dragonair, a regional carrier of Cathay Pacific.

Located at, as its name indicates, Gate 16, the lounge overlooks the gate area up on high—sort of like a Loft Lounge. The seating areas are very traditional (no Solus pods here) although plentiful. The self-service refreshment counter features plenty of drinks and finger snacks (both Western and Asian, alcoholic and non) as well as coffee and cappuccino.

There's also a kitchen with an on-site chef to prepare Hong Kong specialties like fishball noodles. (We were hoping for some Dan dan noodles like the ones we ate at SFO but alas, we were out of luck.)

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Hong Kong Airlines Will Also Birth a Baby Budget Carrier in 2012

December 1, 2011 at 8:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Asia seems to be the breeding ground for LCCs with announcements about Peach, Scoot, and Jetstar Japan. Last week the chief at Hong Kong Airlines announced that they'd be doing a regional subsidiary as well. Hong Kong Express will be re-branded and operate as a low-cost carrier to compete with the slew of budget airlines popping up all over the region.

The full transition will take place middle of 2012 and flights will serve mainland China, South Korea, Japan and southeast Asia. Airbus A320s will hit the skies, but what the livery will look like (or even the airline's name), we can't yet be sure.

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In-Flight Cocktail of the Month: Cathay Pacific's Pacific Sunrise

January 7, 2011 at 5:01 PM | by | Comment (1)

As many already know, we have a serious obsession with airline cocktails, and so much is our passion that we've created a whole first-Friday-of-the-month feature called In-Flight Cocktail of the Month, which highlights the special concoctions that flight attendants whip up with only a cocktail shaker, some tiny liquor bottles and a whole lot of hope that it won't make you drunk and unruly.

For January, with the New Year and all, we're thinking champagne! Specifically the Pacific Sunrise, one of a few specialty cocktails offered up on many Cathay Pacific flights, but especially long-haul.

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Inside Cathay Pacific's The Cabin Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport

Where: Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
December 24, 2010 at 1:47 PM | by | Comments (0)


Our lust for the wonders of airport lounges is far from a secret. Thus, during our recent trip to Hong Kong, we spent the time right before a 15-hour flight not chilling with a book and a tea, but running all around the ginormous terminal, hitting all three of the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges.

Finally, after taking you inside both The Wing and The Pier, we're now inside The Cabin the newest and shiniest of the lounges, as it only just opened in fall 2010. We shot all of the pictures either right as the lounges were closing or opening, so just know that you'll rarely ever see them this empty.

Right Now: Inside The Cabin lounge at HKG.

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