next stop - disneyland & tung chung!

in addition to the eating and shopping that is typical of any hong kong holiday, a trip to hong kong disneyland is really a must if you have never been, or like me haven't been in ages, and if you are travelling with kids. it is small in comparison to the other resorts in the usa but good enough at least to me, for bringing back fond childhood memories and of course, the excuse to be a kid all over again!

it continues to live up to its promise to be the happiest place on earth and no matter how young  (or old!) you are, you will definitely find yourself smiling after zapping aliens at buzz lightyear's intergalatic party, spinning round and round in mad hatter's tea cups or blasting off in space mountain. the food is typical disney fare with a touch of asian influence. nothing much to shout about other than food coming shaped in mickey's silhouette! but it's all good...i mean what better time to let go of the brakes and indulge in any and every sugary craving you may have!

located one train stop down from disneyland is the citygate outlets. yes, you heard right, outlets. modeled i guess after the usa factory outlets,  i was kinda excited to see what deals i could lay my hands on. with shops like kate spade, burberry, anteprima,  maxmara and seven7, i thought hong kong could potentially be a nice quick fix for any outlet shopping craving. the place is considerably big making it a nice cool change from the buzz and busy-ness of disneyland, but i personally found the shopping so-so. got a few pieces - dress from quiksilver, watch from swatch and jersey from adidas, but still honestly this is no woodsbury common. maybe its just me and the type of stuff i look for but in any case, its still worth a visit, if not for the shopping then at least for some pretty good food.

we actually swung by tung chung where citygate is twice...once after disneyland for dinner and once just before we flew off for lunch. dinner was at the golden shanghai cuisine restaurant which turned out to be a real surprise as it served up some pretty fine quality shanghainese fare at really reasonable prices. we had the hard to find hunan ham with crispy bean curd and stewed pork belly with sweet bun, aka kong bah pau to kick start dinner and both were really good. the hunan ham dish was sweet yet salty, soft yet crispy, truly balancing all the tastes into one yummy appetizer, while the pork belly was just plain melt in your mouth. stewed in a slightly more vinegary sauce, i found it whetted the appetite a bit more and cut the richness of the belly such that one could really enjoy the tender and moist pork meat encased in layers of belly fat.

we of course had to have the xiao long bao and pan fried buns as these were typical shanghainese snacks...and there was definitely no disappointments here. the xlb's were smooth, earthy and packed a whole lot of wholesome stock. i found the pan fried buns a touch more enjoyable though due to the sweet bun exterior...but essentially the buns packed the same goodness as the xlb, highlighted in my view, by the sweetness of the bun and crisp underside. yum!

a side of fresh kailan stir fried in a ton of garlic, classic peking duck and a claypot full of chicken soup completed the meal at golden shanghai. the vegetables were simple but good, duck was old school with the more doughy pancake but still lovely and the chicken soup was well therapeutic for the tummy (and soul!). it was a good meal and while the service kinda was lacking, i'd definitely be back just for some hunan ham and pan fried shanghainese buns!

golden shanghai cuisine

citygate outlets

shop number 116

(852) 2625 9008

for a quick yet satisfying meal, enough to give tired shopping feet some rest and to refuel, i'd recommend getting a seat at the food republic food court. i suspect this is probably opened by the same folks behind the food republics here in singapore but the concept is a little different in that instead of showcasing all the good stalls of hongkong, the food court houses cuisines from around asia. probably to cater to the tourist crowds, but the food really is pretty decent. with singapore chicken rice featured nest to thai food and yum cha, one really would be spoiled for choice. i thoroughly enjoyed my beef brisket loh mein and the congee with humongously sized you char kway was pretty good too. i mean..we were in hongkong after all so i figured i'd better get my cfill of anton fare!

food republic

citygate outlets

shop number 261

(852) 2625 9008

www.citygateoutlets.com

@ tung chung mtg