Earlier in February, I went on my virgin trip to Hong Kong and it was officially one of the best vacation till date.

Our 5D4N accommodation was arranged with Butterfly on Prat located within walking distance from Tsun Sha Tsui MTR station. Upon arrival, we took the airport express train, alighted at Kowloon station before boarding the free airport express shuttle bus and getting off at Cameron Road, which was just one street before our hotel. Accessibility? 100% convenient.

The lobby was pretty small and could get really crowded when the check-in/out traffic is heavy. Be prepare to stand and wait a little for your turn because there is only 2 receptionist serving an entire hotel and lobby seating is limited as well. Bad points aside, the hotel was clean and the receptionists were efficient, friendly and converse pretty well in English. We even had a free upgrade to the business room as it was Jerren’s birthday!

Upon entrance, you would immediately notice all the butterfly designs incorporated into many things – walls, flower pots, chairs etc. It makes a really good sign that we have entered the right hotel ha-ha!

Before this trip, I have heard and read about the scarcity of land in Hong Kong. Thus, I was mentally prepared for tiny, confined hotel rooms. Surprisingly, our room was not only spacious, it also came with a tub! When I saw the bathtub, my heart was rejoicing for the luxury of soaking in warm water under the chilling weather.

Beside all the mentioned plus points, lo and behold, the room also came with a free-to-use mobile phone that guest can bring out with them! The provided phone comes with unlimited local calls and data, if I knew beforehand that such service is available, we could save on the SIM card purchase. I am uncertain if this is a standard service across hotels in Hong Kong, but I am definitely impressed!

Our first meal was the famous Mak’s Noodle (麥奀記麥奀雲吞麵世家). Mak’s Noodle is a traditional chain eatery that offers Hong Kong style wanton noodles. We order 2 bowls of noodles and a bowl of wanton soup for sharing. I was honestly taken aback by the palm sized (or smaller) portion of the food, for the price you pay for it, I would judge it to be quite expensive. However, their wantons are really juicy and fully filled with ingredients!

Jerren’s opinion – “The dumplings were tasty with generous sizes of succulent and juicy prawns wrapped within. Noodles were of a medium hardness, which was to my exact preference. Soup was nothing much to shout about, pretty simple fare. Overall the dumpling noodles exuded a taste of home cooked food due to how unelaborated it was. I wouldn’t say MAK’s noodles were fantastic but I might pop by if I happen to be around Central again. Would I make a special trip there just to eat it again though? Hmm. I doubt so.”

Since it was Jerren’s birthday night, how can we just let it pass without getting a drink or two? Known to be one of Hong Kong’s most popular nightlife hotspots, Lan Kwai Fong was ultimately our first pick to chill for the night. There was too many choices to choose from, so, very typical of us (tourists), we went into Hard Rock Café for some beer before exploring our night away.

The first night in Hong Kong was pretty much an eye opener for me. Surprisingly, I survived the chilly weather with only two layers of clothing! Yes, for someone who has weak stand against cold weather; that was quite a huge achievement ha-ha! And what better way to end the night in Hong Kong other than having their awesome street food!

I don’t know what sorcery Jerren have over me, he actually managed to convince me to try out the infamous stinky toufu! When I was in Taiwan, I hated the food street, solely because I couldn’t stand the stench of it. Not even for one second. But, in this trip, I actually put one of these stinky things in my mouth and I’m embarrassed to confess how tasty it is actually. My favourite night snack got to be the curry fishball which they address as 鱼蛋. Unlike those QQ fishball, these are solid to the bite, chewy and carry more flavours. Furthermore, it was the best food to keep us warm against the strong wind.