I’m back in Korea now, but my mind is still in vacation mode! I’m kind of dreading having to wake up at 5:30am again after sleeping in for the past two weeks…. But before my regular life starts up again here in Seoul, I have one last post about Hong Kong! Here goes~
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Most breakfasts in HK looked similar to this. Soy yogurt which I got at the City Super at the IFC mall, and meusli or granola. I miss vegan yogurt so much! When is Korea going to get vegan yogurt?!!!
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Went up to Kowloon and checked out some of the popular tourist markets. First, the flower market.
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No idea what these yellow things are (not lemons), but they were everywhere. Someone enlighten me.
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Next we whizzed through the popular Ladies’ Market, which is basically just lots of souvenir shops… nothing specifically lady-like about it either, haha. It was definitely crowded and a bit overwhelming with all the sights, smells, and people.
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Passed by the goldfish market… Wasn’t too excited about seeing so many fish confined in plastic bags, and tightly packed in aquariums. These guys look like they have a big red tumor on their head. Kinda cute tho.
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I saw this place ‘Nood‘ online and wanted to check out a fresh, healthy spot. It’s even located in a yoga studio. Lots of healthy, glowy people walking about. I got this ‘Key West’ smoothie which included coconut water, avocado, banana, coconut sugar, and spirulina (I’m in love with spirulina these days). It was really good.. and filling. It could totally be a meal replacement.
For one of our dinners, I make my sister and mom come with me to Life Cafe which a lot of other blogs and even some readers recommended. I really liked the interior of the shop and there was a lot of vegan/gluten-free packaged products for sale too, in addition to fresh food. The place was really busy but we managed to get a table to eat there, which actually turned out to be a bit of a mistake. All the items on the sit-down menu were significantly more expensive, and we weren’t able to order any of the less pricey items from the deli showcase because they were for take-out only. Also, I wasn’t completely blown away by any of the food we did order, and the portions were quite small.
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Vegan pizza (I think it was also gluten-free?). The pizza itself tasted pretty good, but it was all just really small that we didn’t think it was worth the price. Each tiny quarter slice was about two bites of food~~ (haha). I gotta say I was a bit disappointed.
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Pita chips with veggie dip. Decent but nothing to write home about.
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The soup of the day with some multi grain bread. We actually enjoyed this one the most, and I thought it was the best value. Overall, the food enjoyable and I wouldn’t mind eating at Life Cafe again, but definitely for take-out only. Now I understand why most people I saw there were getting food to go! And I gotta give them props for using lots of organic ingredients and providing so many vegan and gf options.
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Before leaving the cafe, I got a gluten free quinoa apple cake which I enjoyed over two breakfasts~ A little crumbly and I wouldn’t liked some more apple flavor (or maybe apple chunks) in the cake, but it was still tasty. It’s always a pleasure eating vegan baked goods that I didn’t make myself.
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In general, Hong Kong probably isn’t the right place for a quiet, relaaaxing vacation… There is construction going on everywhere, crowds of people everywhere, and the air is quite smoggy. So for some peace and quiet, I went to the Chi Lin Buddhist Nunnery which was like a breath of fresh air, figuratively and literally. It was such a tranquil little haven, tucked away in the middle of apartment buildings and shopping plazas.
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The Nan Lian Garden, connected to the nunnery was also impressive. The grounds were really well-kept, and everything was perfectly groomed and in the right place. There was also a vegetarian temple food restaurant in the middle of the park, but it was so packed and we were more in the mood for simple food. I really liked this area though. It was sooo peaceful and it felt so different from the rest of HK that I saw.
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Ate lunch at a random Chinese restaurant and got steamed veggie dumplings…
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…and black soy sauce noodles.
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Here’s some take out from NoodleMi. Fried tofu and sauteed veggies with vermicelli noodles.
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One of my last meals in HK. We went to a Taiwan-style restaurant and I got veggie dumplings and steamed Chinese garlicky greens.
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Yummy steamed veggie dumplings stuffed with vemicelli noodles, mushrooms, chives, etc.
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Steamed red bean buns for dessert. They looks so cute and pokeable.
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Soft chewy steamed bun with creamy and sweet red bean paste inside. Yum!!
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One final ferry ride~
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Terribly crappy photo of the skyline. We went to see the night light show from the Avenue of stars. I really loved the harbor– it was definitely my favorite thing about HK. It’s too bad I only had my crappy phone camera to take these photos. Doesn’t do it justice.
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So I think that wraps up my trip to HongKong. I had a lovely time and ate soooo much good food. Aside from being with my sister and mom, the trip was mostly just about the food. haha. It was great getting to know a new country and city, and I feel like I came away with a lot of new ideas for some of my own kitchen experiments. Traveling to new places is always inspiring, and it gets me thinking of things I can do when I go back home. I was also really impressed with how easy it was to eat vegetarian/vegan in HK, and I’m really hoping that Seoul can catch up quickly. :)
Bye Hong Kong! Thank you~~
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