Lunch @ The Royal Banquet Hall

 We arrived in Hong Kong Disneyland at 2:00pm really famished. If I can go back, I wouldn't have agreed with my travel agent to lump the city tour, jewelry/souvenir shop tours and Disneyland in one day. Six hours was not nearly enough time to see all the attractions in The Magic Kingdom, believe me.

Rushing around from place to place all day was more than we bargained for. Good thing our Mama did not get lost (I had to search for her at the Ocean Park because she walked in the opposite direction from us when we got to The Summit) and was a trooper the whole time.

Upon arrival at Disneyland, we rushed to fill our stomachs first, feeling relieved when we found the Royal Banquet Hall at Fantasyland. It's a food court type place which offers international fair like American, Japanese and Chinese cuisine. It also has a castle vibe with statues of Princess Aurora aka Sleeping beauty and Prince Phillip, Belle and The Beast etc.

Feeling too hungry, we quickly decided on the char-grilled beef steak with rice, veggies and soup. At $80, it's not outrageously expensive when converted to peso (1 HKD = 5.5 PHP) though I must admit the $20 Coke (500 ml.) gave me pause... I mean I could get 3 cokes with that in Manila. Yeah, I'm like that, I love to torture myself when I travel abroad, converting everything in my head to Philippine peso!

The steak was pretty good but what I loved the most was the string beans side dish, steamed to just the right amount of crunchiness--it was utter perfection--and my roiling gastric juices loved it. Oh boy, I was so hungry!

Silka Seaview Hotel, Hong Kong

clean and comfy

Silka Seaview (formerly Dorsett Seaview) in Yau Ma Tei was the hotel I chose for our Hong Kong trip because it's just right across Hui Lau Shan, the dessert place I was dying to try. Darn my sweet tooth!

the sparkling lobby

There were other cheaper hotels recommended by my travel agent but its proximity to Hui Lau Shan (the Temple Street Night Market was an added bonus also) did it for me.

small but comfortable...

Silka Seaview was newly-renamed and renovated so its lobby looked shiny. The staff were nice and efficient even if it was crowded sometimes. They agreed to keep our bags when we arrived before check in time so we can leave for our tour unencumbered. Even with tourists' comings and goings, we were checked in quickly (with a $300 deposit) when we arrived.

The room and bathroom were small but very clean, with towels and toiletries they replenished each day. They also put an extra bed for me, because my mom, sister and I preferred to stay in one room. There was a flat TV, small refrigerator, kettle and complimentary water, coffee and tea. It's nothing fancy, but it's great value for money.

We had breakfast included in the room package we got. The breakfast they serve at the Jade/Feng Shui Cafe looked the same every morning but since I'm happy as long as I have coffee, ham, bacon and eggs, it was not a problem.

yummy breakfast

nice view of Kowloon

sis and mom in front of Tin Hau Temple across the street

                                   
We enjoyed our stay at The Silka Seaview and would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a hotel near the city center (Tsim Sha Tsui) and it is very close to the train station, Nathan Road, Temple Street Night Market, Jade Market and Ladies Market. The place around the hotel was safe as we walked around looking for bargains. This hotel's definitely worth a try.

Silka Seaview Hotel
268 Shanghai St.
Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 27820882
Email: info.seaview@silkahotel.com

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert

oh, there goes my diet...

Hui Lau Shan is a popular mango dessert place in Hong Kong that is a highly recommended "must try" place by people on the Pinoy Exchange Ultimate Guide to Hong Kong message boards. Even though I used a travel agency on this trip, the reviews and tips I found from reading the posts there helped a lot.

drinks galore

choosing is hard to do

                                   
I was intrigued and wanted to check out what the fuss was all about, so when I found out that Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei was right across a Hui Lau Shan branch, it sealed the deal for me. What?! I'm terribly directions-challenged and thus, having my hotel close by made absolutely sure I get to try this place, right?

so much to choose from

mama waiting for our order

I gorged myself with Hui Lau Shan 's best sellers every chance I got. And it was every bit as scrumptious as they say. The $50 mango trio platter with glutinous rice balls, ice cream and syrup was just superb so were the $22 fruit shakes with Sago, Harsmar Jelly, Kwai Ling Jelly and Aloe Jelly.

yummy mango trio platter

mango jelly and aloe jelly drinks 

                                   
Mango desserts served in every imaginable way... even my mom became a fan. I swear, all 3 pounds I gained in the four days I was in Hong Kong was because of this place... But I regret nothing, haha!

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert 
G/F 263 Shanghai St.
Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong

Celebrating @ Hong Kong Disneyland

I grew up watching Mickey Mouse and his friends. Disney characters had been a huge part of my childhood from Cinderella to Goofy. I've learned the "bare necessities" of life by watching Baloo the bear in the Jungle Book over and over again as a child.

I swear, I can still sing the whole soundtrack of The Little Mermaid and The Lion King to this day. And don't even get me started on how much I adore Pixar! So it's always been my dream to spend at least one birthday in The Magic Kingdom.

I really made sure our Hong Kong Disneyland visit fell on my special day. It was such a great day, one I will not soon forget. I was so excited meeting my favorite Disney characters, my big sister was a bit weirded out and could not relate, haha.

I even dragged her and our mom to line up so we can have our picture taken with Mickey Mouse and Minnie! I know they are just mascots but it's a great feeling to "meet" my childhood favorites at last.

We took a ride aboard the Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad, an excursion-style train passing through Adventureland and alighted at Fantasyland where the shows we wanted to watch were located.

Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D adventure is just one of Fantasyland's attractions. It was amazing, I felt like such a part of the show. Smelling the pies, having Donald Duck throw water at us, being a part of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine's magic carpet ride was just... enchanting.

The It's a Small World cruise was also fun. The artistry of the various exhibits representing the different continents was impressive. We sang heartily along with Nikki Gil's Filipino version of the song as we passed by the Pinoy "bahay kubo".

The Flights of Fantasy Parade with most of the beloved Disney characters participating was awesome. I took lots of pictures of the parade and I might share more in a later post. We also went nuts buying souvenirs. Shirts, magnets, key chains... we couldn't help ourselves!

To make the day even more perfect, we had front row (pavement) seats to the "Disney in the Stars" fireworks display at 8:00pm. It was truly stunning with Sleeping Beauty's castle as backdrop. I just wish I brought a tripod for the camera to better capture it.

I honestly did not want the day to end! Alas, it was closing time and we had to go, but it was the happiest of birthdays for sure.

Tips: 

1. Don't forget to grab a map at the entrance.

2. If you can, spend the whole day here (tell your travel agent, if you have one). We arrived at Disneyland at 2:00pm after our half-day city tour. Six hours may seem like a lot, but not enough to enjoy all the rides.

We were stressed out running from one show to another and we missed Adventureland entirely. We just zipped by it aboard the railroad car on our way to Fantasyland. Riding the raft to Tarzan's Treehouse would have been fun if we had the time. Same thing with Tomorrowland, I would have tried out the Space Mountain again.

3. You can bring food and drinks inside the park. The guys at the entrance did check the contents of our bags, but did not bat an eyelash at the bottled waters, chips and sweets we brought with us.

4. Bring a change of clothes if you're traveling in the summer. We had to buy shirts at the Emporium in Main Street USA because we were feeling hot and uncomfortable in the 34 °C heat.

Hong Kong Disneyland
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Park hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm
(do check their monthly calendar to be sure)

Sampan Ride @ Aberdeen Fishing Village

the sampans...

The Sampan ride in Aberdeen remains one of the must-do activities when in Hong Kong and we were glad to have been given a chance to ride this traditional Chinese wooden boat (for a HK $50 fee) after our drive around Victoria Peak.

mama and sis pre-ride

sis Maris soaking up the sun

Mama & Fed's Lola enjoying the experience

We took the ride with the other Filipino tourists staying in our hotel. We bonded with the family of Fediline who was traveling with her lola (grandma) and younger brother Dan. Fed loving travel the way I do, promised to contact me if she ever needs a travel buddy... now we're planning a trip to Jakarta & Australia.

great view of Aberdeen Harbor

passing by the Jumbo Floating Restaurant

bonding with our new friends...

                                   
We passed by the famous Tai Pak and Jumbo Floating Restaurant. The view of the village and buildings around the Aberdeen Harbor from the boat was amazing and the company was great. It's wonderful to have the sampan ride off my bucket list at last.