Shopping along the MTR

ANYTHING you are searching for, you may make sure to’ll locate it in Hong-kong.
IN THE FLIGHT TO Hong-kong, everyone else in my family formed a wish-list of the things we wanted to purchase. Would we have adequate time to see the sights, find everything and relax over several great dishes?

We needn’t have stressed. Not only is Hong-kong a compact city, however it is so simple to avoid to the MTR, or Mass-transit Railway. The trains are clean, smooth, quick and regular, and with only a little preparation, we could easily see the different places that concentrate on different goods and cost ranges.

We began with Central, that is Hong Kong’s primary business district, and also the minute I walked in the Landmark shopping mall in the station concourse (Exit G), I realized I had discover what I was looking for. I was surrounded by the storefronts of best French and Italian brands, like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Celine and a fantastic new Christian Dior shop. It is not all fashion; while my brother caught up a batch of DVDs and CDs from HMV, Mother discovered Chinese tea and teamaking equipment at Fook Ming Tong.

Across Queen’s Road Central is Joyce, the shop named after its proprietor, Joyce Ma, one-of Hong Kong’s most fashionable women. Joyce stocks brands for example Dolce E Gabbana, Marni, Azzadine Alaia and Pucci. Down-stairs, my buddy discovered best guys’s labels, like Jean-paul Gaultier, Dior Homme, Junya Watanabe and Yohji Yamamoto. Mother and I likewise snapped up trendy make-up, including Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier.

Another footbridge took us to the main Prada shop in Alexandra House – in addition to Burberry, multi- manufacturer Swank and Yves Saint Laurent.

In adjoining Pedder Road is Shanghai Tang, famed for its elegant and kitschy chinoiserie. The shop carries everything from totes to creating paper, bath towels to fans, too as clothes.

For antiques, walk-up Wyndham Street. We fortified ourselves half-way there with a cool beverage in one of the numerous pubs and cafes in Lan Kwai Fong and D’Aguilar Road, which is also one of Hong Kong’s best nightlife spots.

My dad found the camera he desired at Picture Scientific in Stanley Road, on the way back to Central MTR. Mother, meanwhile, saw top jewellery companies for example Chow Tai Fook and Emperor in Queen’s Road Central.

Here we discovered variety aplenty, with everything from malls and shops to small independent stores, specially for electronics, fashion and computer products. Head-over to Lee Gardens, if you need swanky designer labels.

Exit D1 took us directly into Hong Kong’s biggest department-store – Sogo. This Japanesestyle emporium carries everything from sushi to sports shoes. Near Sogo is Island Beverley – a mecca for anybody searching for an option to massmarket manufacturers. I was thrilled to see a Vivienne Tam boutique here, also as Vivienne is likely Hong Kong’s bestknown designer.

Take a look at the garments and accessories at ProCam – Fis and Patagonia, if you’re into hiking, skiing or other outdoor sports. Marks & Spencer has a shop here, as does Lane Crawford, Hong Kong’s bestknown house- grown department shop. Pc geeks should head for In Square at Windsor Home, for a broad variety of hightech devices and applications.

Causeway Bay shops generally close around 10pm, however, are not likely to open before 11am and even 12 midday.

Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui is a place popular with tourists, and also the MTR line carries you underneath the harbour and direct to the heart in minutes.

Exit B2 is closest to Kimberley, Granville and Cameron Streets, that’s another happy hunting-ground for anybody searching for trend. Enthusiasts of world – renowned labels will get deals in the factory shops along Granville Street, notably T – shirts, shawls, tops and winter jackets from the likes of Calvin Klein Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch and OPENING.

Situated up an alley between Observatory Road and Chatham Court, it is known by fashionistas all over the world as the area to search for the style in Hong-kong.
A lot of the stores are a bit more than cubby holes, but here you’ll find everyday, smart casual, men’s tops, suits, swimsuit, shoes for women and men, totes, make-up, crystal jewellery and loads more, most of it developed by young Hong-kong designers.

If trend is not your thing, do as Father did and follow other photography buffs for the Champagne Court Arcade in Kimberley Street, with its intriguing group of secondhand camera shops.

Opening hours in Tsim Sha Tsui are like Causeway Bay, therefore split the buying having a comfortable dinner at Knutsford Terrace, reached by steps from Kimberley Street or via Observatory Street.

At the opposite end-of Tsim Sha Tsui (Exit C1), near the well-known Star Ferry, you can see one of the greatest Chinese-design shops in Hong-kong. Chinese Arts & Crafts in Star Home is an emporium of the finest from the Mainland, from silk clothes to jade jewelry, conventional brush paintings to lacquer products for your house.

It’s some 700 shops, a shopaholic’s dream! Here-there actually is something for everybody, from books to shoes, cameras to clubs, jewelry to DVD films, two cinemas inside the complex, 50 restaurants and three resorts.

You will find restaurants offering Chinese and Japanese meals, vegetarian and Western.

From here, we hopped back in the MTR and headed north a few stops to Mong Kok. There is nowhere on earth quite like Mong Kok – and it could not be any more distinct from the glitzy, modern glass towers of Central. It is really a compact system of roads laid-out in a grid-pattern and from noon to midnight it is packed with folks seeking buys.

Different roads are given over to different classes of products, therefore it is simple to locate what you need, after you get the hang of it, while the location can appear quite daunting initially. Tung Choi and Sai Yeung Choi roads are chiefly pedestrianised in the evenings.

Seeking audiovisual products?

To the east is Fa Yuen Street, home to an array of camping and sporting goods shops, together with trend shops – my buddy discovered a set of limitededition trainers here. Actually, you are really spoilt for selection: every model of coach and every kind of trainer, from basketball to jogging, will be here, in addition to hiking boots, Tevastyle sandals and this summer’s uber-cool, brilliantly coloured flipflop sandals.

Once the street markets are in full-swing, it’s best to strike this portion of Kowloon in the late afternoon and early evening. The Ladies Market in Tung Choi Street, between Fa Yuen and Sai Yeung Choi, has a tremendous collection of stalls piled high with affordable – andcheerful clothes and accessories, including shawls, lingerie, shoes, caps, bags and T – shirts.

Among Hong Kong’s most renowned shopping experiences may be the Temple Street Night Market. To immerse yourself in the actual feeling of the marketplace, as we did do and wait until dark and also the neon signs light-up the region.

You do not even need to purchase anything to appreciate Temple Street. Near the temple are fortunetellers who are able to read tarot and palm cards – and even that person. We were even fortunate enough to catch some traditional Chinese music, including pipa and <>erhu players, and singers.

And just in case you are wondering, I got the pocketbook I was looking for, and the matching shoes, however I will allow you to work-out where… – published by the Hong-kong Tourism Board (HKTB)