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Jewelry Shopping in Beijing, Guilin, and Hong Kong

snotty_pie

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 18, 2006
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224
I had Mott32 on my list already, and I was going to try to get a reservation at Lung King Heen (Four Seasons) for my birthday dimsum. I have T'ang Court dinner reservations already on my birthday. :)

I love steak, so thank you for the recommendation! Any high tea recommendations for HK? I was going to hit up the Peninsula since it's known to be fantastic.

Mott 32 and Seventh Son are good for dim sum in Hong Kong.

HK has many different cuisines you can try.

The restaurant of the Shanghai Fraternal Association also has some of the best Shanghainese food in the world (even better than many restaurants in SH I think!) but you need to find someone to take you as it's a private members only club.

If you like steak you should also try Blue Butcher, they have the most amazing steak from aged Rubio Gallega beef from Lugo in northwestern Spain. Only a few restaurants around the world offer this type of beef.

For hot pot I recommend Megan's Kitchen.

(my husband is an editor of a restaurant guide in HK and Singapore so we eat out a lot!)
 

snotty_pie

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 18, 2006
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224
Thanks jadesilver! I have Da Dong and the restaurant in Opposite Hotel on my list for Peking duck. My friend who I am traveling with lived in Beijing for a few months, so she is going to take me around to her favorite dumpling places as well.

I am hungry just thinking about this trip!

Food is so much cooler and more worth spending on than buying jewelry if you’ll be ripped off! Definitely research the best place for Peking duck in Beijing. And fried dumplings. And meat buns on the street in hole-in-the-wall shops. The dumplings and daily meat buns were the highlight of my trip. Wander into a random hole-in-the-wall shop that seems crowded and order stuff by pointing at other people’s tables haha. The food will probably be delicious xD also if you see any buns for sale EAT THEM hahah gosh so delicious (had to limit myself to 1-2 per day). We had them while having a walking breakfast, my favorite kind where you just walk around and buy whatever you can see on your walk.

Hot pot is not exciting for me because you can make it at home xD Have an amazing time!!
 

mochiko42

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Skip the Peninsula high tea. No reservations allowed and the massive queue of hovering tourists completely ruins the atmosphere. Food also has also gone downhill and it's overpriced. If you really want to try tea in this hotel group, try The Verandah at its sister hotel, the Repulse Bay, on the south side of the island, at least you have a beautiful view of the beach and the colonial style decor.

Personally I'd do the Ritz Carlton hotel high tea ( Café 103 on 103/F of the ICC building, amazing views of Victoria harbour), Tiffin high tea at the Grand Hyatt (just reopened after renovation), Cafe Gray Deluxe (American/Swiss chef Gray Kunz's HK outlet) or the Clipper Lounge high tea at the Mandarin Oriental (more traditional).

When we have a choice, my husband and I usually go to more casual places that skew towards a younger 20s/30s something crowd (craft beer, sharing plates, tapas, etc)., there are quite a few interesting places in HK for that. E.g. Little Bao and Second Draft are modern Chinese/fusion places run by a friend of my husband's; she was named the top female chef in Asia last year and makes some very tasty and creative food.

Oh and also how could I forget, Yardbird is a must try. Chef is originally from Zuma @ Madison Ave, New York, and all their yakitori is from chicken raised on their own local farm. It's my absolute favorite restaurant in town. Plus they have their own label nigori sake that is sooo delicious!
 
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snotty_pie

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 18, 2006
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224
Thank you so much for the recommendations! Little Bao is on our agenda for the evening before we fly out. I am really excited to try it now. I'll see if we can squeeze in Yardbird as well.

Thanks again for the amazing recommendations!

Skip the Peninsula high tea. No reservations allowed and the massive queue of hovering tourists completely ruins the atmosphere. Food also has also gone downhill and it's overpriced. If you really want to try tea in this hotel group, try The Verandah at its sister hotel, the Repulse Bay, on the south side of the island, at least you have a beautiful view of the beach and the colonial style decor.

Personally I'd do the Ritz Carlton hotel high tea ( Café 103 on 103/F of the ICC building, amazing views of Victoria harbour), Tiffin high tea at the Grand Hyatt (just reopened after renovation), Cafe Gray Deluxe (American/Swiss chef Gray Kunz's HK outlet) or the Clipper Lounge high tea at the Mandarin Oriental (more traditional).

When we have a choice, my husband and I usually go to more casual places that skew towards a younger 20s/30s something crowd (craft beer, sharing plates, tapas, etc)., there are quite a few interesting places in HK for that. E.g. Little Bao and Second Draft are modern Chinese/fusion places run by a friend of my husband's; she was named the top female chef in Asia last year and makes some very tasty and creative food.

Oh and also how could I forget, Yardbird is a must try. Chef is originally from Zuma @ Madison Ave, New York, and all their yakitori is from chicken raised on their own local farm. It's my absolute favorite restaurant in town. Plus they have their own label nigori sake that is sooo delicious!
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
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33,852
The filthy places taste the best...:lickout:. that was true back in the olden days, but I haven't been back in HK since 1983...:bigsmile:. The junk foods on the street was the best...:lickout:
 

snotty_pie

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The tough part of traveling sometimes is balancing deliciousness with risk of food poisoning! :sick:

The filthy places taste the best...:lickout:. that was true back in the olden days, but I haven't been back in HK since 1983...:bigsmile:. The junk foods on the street was the best...:lickout:
 

mochiko42

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The tough part of traveling sometimes is balancing deliciousness with risk of food poisoning! :sick:

Hahaha I love to eat the local snack food but I don't recommend it for tourists. Except for the egg tart and egg waffles, maybe. There are a couple of local snack places recommended by Michelin guide so I suppose they are more accessible for tourists. There isn't much of the traditional street food left as the government cleaned most of the streets up decades ago and then the high rents did the rest.
 

qubitasaurus

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For street food I really like the haw covered in toffee on sticks. They sell it all winter and it is really tasty, never been food poisoned (I think I have consumed a few 1000 sticks as it is my husband's favourite sweet). By the way Blue Frog and atmosphere are both western. I actually associate hot pot and duck with work dinners and try assiduously to avoid them outside of work (also oddly prefer less traditional options in Singapore over Beijing).
 

AGBF

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No one mentioned gold. Does anyone buy gold in China? Since I wear as much 24K as I can, that was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. Jade never even crossed my mind! (Great thread, however!)

Deb :wavey:
 

jadesilver

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For street food I really like the haw covered in toffee on sticks. They sell it all winter and it is really tasty, never been food poisoned (I think I have consumed a few 1000 sticks as it is my husband's favourite sweet). By the way Blue Frog and atmosphere are both western. I actually associate hot pot and duck with work dinners and try assiduously to avoid them outside of work (also oddly prefer less traditional options in Singapore over Beijing).

Omg I ate the haw when I was a kid visiting a Beijing and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I wish I could have it again!
 

lambskin

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Over the last 30 years I have traveled around the world seeking "bargains" in jewelry while touring the sites. Opals in Australia, gems in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Columbia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hong Kong and China, gold in India and the Middle East. etc. One must consider foreign exchange rates , taxes and duties in the equation before you even open your wallet. Next you really must know what you are doing as the premise to overcome is that you are not local and you won't be coming back. So repeat customer service and /or return of a fake from abroad is rare or nonexistent. My experience is that anything superb was already shipped out or sold to dealers, wholesalers, or sold at over inflated prices that were more expensive than I would pay at home. As such I have never purchased a big ticket item anywhere. In Hong Kong, the store windows are filled with awesome pieces but so expensive. So after doing my research, I would buy things that were not so expensive. For example, I bought freshwater pearls in China at the pearl markets (Shanghai and Beijing). They are very pretty and cheaper than I can get at home. FWIW, on my last trip the pearl market in Shanghai (there are two main ones for those not in the trade) I had time to go to only one and it had less goods and higher prices than my successful visit the year before. Have fun but don't expect any deals.
 

jadesilver

Shiny_Rock
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Joined
Nov 5, 2017
Messages
194
Over the last 30 years I have traveled around the world seeking "bargains" in jewelry while touring the sites. Opals in Australia, gems in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Columbia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hong Kong and China, gold in India and the Middle East. etc. One must consider foreign exchange rates , taxes and duties in the equation before you even open your wallet. Next you really must know what you are doing as the premise to overcome is that you are not local and you won't be coming back. So repeat customer service and /or return of a fake from abroad is rare or nonexistent. My experience is that anything superb was already shipped out or sold to dealers, wholesalers, or sold at over inflated prices that were more expensive than I would pay at home. As such I have never purchased a big ticket item anywhere. In Hong Kong, the store windows are filled with awesome pieces but so expensive. So after doing my research, I would buy things that were not so expensive. For example, I bought freshwater pearls in China at the pearl markets (Shanghai and Beijing). They are very pretty and cheaper than I can get at home. FWIW, on my last trip the pearl market in Shanghai (there are two main ones for those not in the trade) I had time to go to only one and it had less goods and higher prices than my successful visit the year before. Have fun but don't expect any deals.

The prices are going up up up in Shanghai. I went to the Shanghai Pearl Market looking for jade but I don’t actually like pearls so I didn’t get anything haha. Everything really is so expensive though.

I agree with you. If I were OP I would buy small, affordable trinkets like a pair of jade earrings or a jade pendant set in gold or something like that. Hopefully USD$200-USD$400 from the department stores which can be trusted, not more than that. Then again I cringe at the kind of prices a departmental store would have. Oh well no harm looking.
 

snotty_pie

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
224
@mochiko42 - Just returned from Hong Kong. I thoroughly enjoyed Tiffin afternoon tea and Little Bao (you must try the truffle fries and the fried chicken bao with szechuan peppercorns if you haven't!). Repulse Bay was also so beautiful and relaxing after the hustle and bustle of Central.

I did pick up a string of pearls in Guilin (18" 8.5-9.0 mm saltwater pearls) but skipped buying anything in Hong Kong. There were some gorgeous jade pieces in IFC mall (one necklace was 2.5M HKD!).

Thanks again for the reco's. We had a great time.

Skip the Peninsula high tea. No reservations allowed and the massive queue of hovering tourists completely ruins the atmosphere. Food also has also gone downhill and it's overpriced. If you really want to try tea in this hotel group, try The Verandah at its sister hotel, the Repulse Bay, on the south side of the island, at least you have a beautiful view of the beach and the colonial style decor.

Personally I'd do the Ritz Carlton hotel high tea ( Café 103 on 103/F of the ICC building, amazing views of Victoria harbour), Tiffin high tea at the Grand Hyatt (just reopened after renovation), Cafe Gray Deluxe (American/Swiss chef Gray Kunz's HK outlet) or the Clipper Lounge high tea at the Mandarin Oriental (more traditional).

When we have a choice, my husband and I usually go to more casual places that skew towards a younger 20s/30s something crowd (craft beer, sharing plates, tapas, etc)., there are quite a few interesting places in HK for that. E.g. Little Bao and Second Draft are modern Chinese/fusion places run by a friend of my husband's; she was named the top female chef in Asia last year and makes some very tasty and creative food.

Oh and also how could I forget, Yardbird is a must try. Chef is originally from Zuma @ Madison Ave, New York, and all their yakitori is from chicken raised on their own local farm. It's my absolute favorite restaurant in town. Plus they have their own label nigori sake that is sooo delicious!
 

qubitasaurus

Brilliant_Rock
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I actually want to revive this thread as I am curently in hong kong (Tsin sha tsui) and looking for good places to eat.

Caveat is that I have my 1 year old daughter and our maid with us (who has to be quietly coaxed into not picking the cheapest item on every menue and will virtually expire if I take them fine dining. We are obviously paying but it still seems to worry her. Also my daughter is quite the oposite disposition. She is quite rambunctious and I often have to walk arround the resteraunt in circles to get keep her out of mischief.).

Anywhere with a spectacular view which is more casual (like somewhere which wont give us the evil eye for roaming arround trying to keep a 12month old occupied. Happy with a range of prices, money is not as much the problem as trying to find somewhere which can tollerate a small band of wild things.)?
 
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angeljosephy

Rough_Rock
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Jan 8, 2018
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95
I actually want to revive this thread as I am curently in hong kong (Tsin sha tsui) and looking for good places to eat.

Caveat is that I have my 1 year old daughter and our maid with us (who has to be quietly coaxed into not picking the cheapest item on every menue and will virtually expire if I take them fine dining. We are obviously paying but it still seems to worry her. Also my daughter is quite the oposite disposition. She is quite rambunctious and I often have to walk arround the resteraunt in circles to get keep her out of mischief.).

Anywhere with a spectacular view which is more casual (like somewhere which wont give us the evil eye for roaming arround trying to keep a 12month old occupied. Happy with a range of prices, money is not as much the problem as trying to find somewhere which can tollerate a small band of wild things.)?

Hi @qubitasaurus if you're at Tsim Sha Tsui I would recommend Din Tai Fung for a spacious environment and good quality Chinese food at acceptable prices.

Check it out here: https://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/restaurants?chainId=10000545
 

qubitasaurus

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Awe thank you @angeljosephy, but I live nextdoor to a din tai fung (and a tim ho wan and crystal jade) in singapore and actually went last weekend. I was hoping maybe for something different.
 

angeljosephy

Rough_Rock
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Awe thank you @angeljosephy, but I live nextdoor to a din tai fung (and a tim ho wan and crystal jade) in singapore and actually went last weekend. I was hoping maybe for something different.

Ahhhhh didn't realize you're from Singapore @qubitasaurus!! In that case, how about weekend brunch at Wooloomooloo Prime? The prices are insane for dinner but much more reasonable for lunch. The restaurant also has a great 360 view of the harbour with an outdoor area which might be exciting for your daughter.

https://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/r-wooloomooloo-prime-tsim-sha-tsui-australian-r48401
 

qubitasaurus

Brilliant_Rock
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Thank you =)2 I think openrice may be a part of the puzzle I was missing. Yesterday I just chose at random as I had no idea what was good or bad, I am glad to have a better way of doing it today! I think it will be a hard sell to get anyone to go to brunch with me though, as they all have 5* hotel buffet breakfast and I came back from the gym this morning to see my maid and my husband in a food coma and my daughter shreiking merrily as she practicied walking along the corridor, haha.
 
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