This four-day trip to Hong Kong was more of a business trip rather than something for leisure. We left with the intention of attending an exposition/convention scheduled within that week.
With a late night flight schedule, the first night was spent mainly having dinner, settling into our hotel and resting up.
Yoshinoya was near our bus stop, so my mom and I immediately decided to go in to have dinner there, even if we had to drag in our maletas with us. haha!
Highlight of my first night, as I bought this at a nearby convenience store. Soy milk = love! (lol)
I contacted my two Hong Kong-based friends, Leeann and Pauline, and asked if we could meet up during one of the four days of my trip so that they could tour me around a bit, and maybe have lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, my free day to tour was on a weekday. Pauline had work to do, but it was luckily Leeann’s day off. So, I spent the first half of the day touring around the Pottinger area with Leeann, and then meeting up with Pauline in the evening so we could grab a bite for dinner.
I was starting to get cranky since I was starving at that time (didn’t get to eat breakfast), so I demanded for us to have lunch first. (lol! Sorry, Leeann!) We went to this place called Wang Fu to have some noodles and some dimsum.
I asked Leeann if we could drop by Cupping Room to grab some coffee, since my barista friends back in the Philippines would usually highly recommend this place. If you’ve read my previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned how I have a sister who works part time as a barista, so I wanted to bring home some sort of souvenir from this place for her.
You can find Cupping Room towards the downhill area of Pottinger St. I believe Washington St. is the more uphill area.
Interior shelf at Cupping Room with their stacks of trophies and famous coffee beans
Strawberry muffins stuffed with a creamy filling!
The fruity Guatemala black coffee I tried at Cupping Room ♥
Got a signed coffee cup from Cupping Room as a souvenir for my sister.
I would often see this ice cream store in blogs/vlogs, and I really did want to try it out, but it was a bit too pricey for me. It was good eye candy though with all the colorful toppings and the variety of ice cream flavors!
“Kotse po.” hehehe
Leeann mentioned that this alley filled with graffiti art is a popular place for people to have photo shoots in at the Pottinger vicinity.
This is the barber shop where Leeann works. Do visit if you chance upon the area some time in the future!
We thought we would be able to exhaust enough time at the Pottinger area to be able to meet up with Pauline just in time at around 5:00PM. Turns out that we still had a lot of spare time to kill, so we decided to visit the Police Married Quarters (PMQ), which was not too far off from the area. The PMQ is a police headquarters-turned-into-art hub that has become a famous example of adaptive reuse architecture. It’s a very well-planned space wherein the ground floor plaze becomes utilized for public events, then the police quarters are used as studio space for artists and merchants. I’ve visited the PMQ before, but Leeann had never visited the place, so we decided to go check it out.
Spotted this Philippe Baudelocque mural art while walking to the PMQ.
The view of the PMQ when approaching from the side entrance
The view of the PMQ from the ground floor plaza
Got (a little too) amused by the shop name. hehe
Couldn’t resist taking a photo of this Hello Kitty-related mural
Was entranced by the beauty of these tiny terrariums! I’d love to own one one of these days! Especially the adorable key chain ones! haha
Steampunk designs. So gorgeous!
This studio wall design reminded me of the manga, Paradise Kiss. ♥
Within the PMQ was also another gallery open to the public, so Leeann and I decided to check that out. We didn’t really know what to expect, since we just really chanced upon it. So, I just ended up taking snapshots of anything that piqued my interest.
This reminds me of the architect, Santiago Calatrava.
That rose chair.♥
After visiting the PMQ, we walked back towards the Pottinger area to head towards the IFC mall, which was where we were supposed to meet up with Pauline.
Funky poster-filled wall I spotted while walking back to meet up with Pauline.
Spotted another Philippe Baudelocque mural while walking back!
Underground pass while headed to IFC mall
The later days were spent mostly for business purposes. I didn’t get to take much photos of the interiors of the convention centers, since we were pretty busy checking out the place and talking to all different kinds of people.
Concourse of the convention center
They had some random art displays at the lobby.
After spending two busy yet productive days for business-related matters, it was time to head back to the airport. Our flight was still scheduled in the late afternoon, so we decided to check out of the hotel early so we could arrive at the airport early to visit the other convention center near the airport. We spent a few hours of the early afternoon there, then left to board the plane for our flight back to Manila.
