Tea Time at The Peninsula + Partying in LKF (Day 3 Recap — Hong Kong March 2016)

Day 3 of my trip in Hong Kong had me finally venturing across the Victoria Harbour to the neighboring peninsula of Kowloon, where I spent the afternoon embracing the sweet views of the Tsim Sha Tsui district and enjoying afternoon tea at the famous The Peninsula hotel.

Afternoon Tea Time at The Peninsula hotel

Vickie and I arrived at The Peninsula hotel around 1:15PM, and the line was already extremely long. Afternoon Tea Time at The Peninsula doesn’t commence until 2PM on a daily basis, but due to the strong following that they get amongst both tourists and locals alike, it is common that hour-long lines build up prior to opening hour. Keep in mind that the date we went was also Easter Sunday, and yeah, you get the idea haha

Regarding the tea, we selected a pot of their famous Peninsula Breakfast Tea (which essentially was their spin on a typical English Breakfast Tea) and a pot of Vickie’s favorite, Earl Grey Tea. Both teas tasted exceptional, and the service was fantastic. The food pairings were also pretty good, ranging from savory (i.e., smoked salmon toast sandwiches and quiches) to delightful sweets (i.e., scones; macaroons AND macarons; etc.). Above all though, the atmosphere and the ability to say that I dined at the famous Peninsula hotel was probably the best part of the experience. For those who are unaware, The Peninsula hotel is actually the oldest standing hotel in Hong Kong, so I definitely recommend it as a must-do for any future visiting tourists. =)

Afternoon View of Hong Kong Island, from Tsim Sha Tsui

Full from getting our afternoon tea fix, Vickie and I took a walk around the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Considering this was a beautiful sun-soaked Easter Sunday, the walk offered many picturesque moments to capture. Even in the surrounding areas of the waterfront, there were many unique art-inspired additions that had been recently placed along the walkway, so I took the opportunity to grab a couple snaps for memory’s sake.

Dinner with Vickie’s family & Late Nite Shenanigans in Lan Kwai Fong!!!

Following my afternoon tea time adventures, Vickie and I traveled up further north in Kowloon to Kwun Tong, which was a northern district where her grandmother currently lives. There, we met with all her fellow family members, and I had the great opportunity to meet with her mom’s large family of 8 other siblings! Her mom’s family was so BIG that I realized Vickie didn’t even know each of her aunt/uncle’s names LOL… Instead, she referenced each of them by their age ranking (i.e., Uncle #1, Uncle #2, Auntie #8, etc.). To say the least, meeting so many people was a bit overwhelming (especially since I don’t speak an ounce of Cantonese either), but I managed to make the rounds and I must admit that even though I didn’t speak the language, they were all very nice and welcomed me with open arms! =)

Considering I spent the majority of time meeting everyone (along with the fact that everyone in her family eats so FAST haha), I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to take any pics of the great Chinese food we ate during this family dinner. However, I can say that the food was fantastic, and included traditional classics like Roast Pig and Roast Goose. The pig in particular reminded me of my family’s filipino parties during my childhood where they would lay out a full pig on the dinner table and dig in!

Following dinner, we took a quick trip to her grandmother’s house and then swung by The Peak for another view of the skyline (if you wanna see pics, look at my previous Day 1 Recap post). From there, 2 of her cousins (Beatt and Joseph), invited us on a nite out into Hong Kong’s notoriously busy nightlife district, Lan Kwai Fong.

Upon arriving in Lan Kwai Fong, we first went to a British-styled Pub named “Insomnia” that had local bands, one that reminded me of the Black Eyed Peas. Apparently, they thought I had a cool voice, as the lead singer repeatedly passed me the mic while he performed “Uptown Funk”, and that certainly got me TURNT UP for the rest of the nite! haha

From there, it was bar hopping non-stop, and we also managed to find our way into about 3 other nightclubs that nite! Vickie’s cousin also hooked it up with free drinks at the clubs, so I can proudly say I enjoyed quite a few YAGER BOMBS on this fun and eventful nite!

Below are a few pics we managed to take while bustling through the streets of Lan Kwai Fong!

One of the best things about late night drinking in Hong Kong is that for late night grub, you can also still grab Asian food!!! No more eating burritos/tacos/burgers (all of which are good but sometimes I could use something a bit different, ya know what I mean?!).

Instead, enter a late night culinary world of Noodles and Milk Tea!