To conclude my last days of summer, my family is going to Hong Kong! Anybody who's living in Hong Kong as of now, what should I expect in Hong Kong (aside from the crowded streets and loud people LOL). Should I speak Cantonese or English in Hong Kong? I know that Hong Kong was a British colony up until 1997 but I recently found out that the English language quality isn't all that great. But which language should I speak? ( I wanna order dim sum easily! :tears And finally, what tour sights should I see? I know Hong Kong is where the best shopping is so which mall should I crash at?
Cantonese is fine, maybe a better option. English... maybe like professional people, idk man. some people might still be intimidated by english lol and i never been to hong kong's shopping places despite spending 10 years living there lol
I'm so jealous >.< I still remember watching Anthony Bourdain's trip to Hong Kong... the duck and dim sum looked soooo good. I can't really answer your questions, as I've never been to Hong Kong before, but maybe watching that episode of No Reservations can guide you in the right direction? If I remember correctly, at the dim sum place he visited, they give you a sheet. Then there are servers who carry carts with dim sum stuff. You just point to the stuff and they stamp your sheet. Then you pay. The communication is minimal, so it's probably easy to order dim sum. But it might work differently depending on where you go.
You should definitely check out the "private kitchens", where people let visitors eat meals in their homes. You'll probably learn a lot about the culture, as well. http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/not-quite-a-home-kitchen-not-quite-a-restaurant/?_r=0
Here I am! and I am still in Hong Kong if you are wondering! I miss Switzerland so much but I still really like it here. You need to expect a lot in Hong Kong. The hot weather (#globalwarming), the temperature difference between air-conditioned places and the streets. Expect to gain weight (haha XD), and a lot of weight actually. The food is just too good and you cannot resist anything when you can get food around any corner. Definitely speak Cantonese if you know it! It's easier to communicate with the local people though I tend to speak English when people understand because I feel so uncomfortable when I speak Cantonese. As to shopping centres, Festival Walk, Langham Place and Harbour City are the best shopping centres. But if you want to see more of the local culture and what most young people buy, you should probably go to the shopping centres in Mong Kok that are below the commercial buildings, Kwai Fong or Central/Admiralty. Festival Walk is in Kowloon Tong and the shops I like are Hollister, Jack Wills, Log-on, UNIQLO, H&M... Langham Place is in Mong Kok and there's shops like Vans, initial, catalog, American Eagle, H&M, log-on, Fred Perry, Agnes B. and loads of local brands. Harbour City has almost every store you can find everything from the top market to cheaper shops with a large variety of choices. There's also shops like Abercrombie and Fitch , Gap, Topshop, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Samsung, Muji... you can find them on the internet. Hope you have fun in HK Ask me about anything and also what are you really interested in?
I just got back from spending 3 months in HK Check out Times Square in Causeway Bay where they currently also have a large Gundam expo If you're looking to spend a lot of $ check out Pacific Place as well in Central (Admiralty MTR station)
I am unbelievably jealous. Absolutely can't wait to go to Hong Kong, especially since my older brother spent a year in China and said Hong Kong was the best part of his travelling period!
