china :: hong kong :: general

[hotboyx2]

Do you have any tips for shopping? clubbing? eating?

Please let me knowwwwwww

Thanks!!!

[Guest jmatsu]

sneak into the conrad hotel (hk side) guest lounge and eat for free!!!

[hotboyx2]

Lol, how do you do that?

Any more tips?

Is anyone living there? I woud love to meet people!

[Kasper]

use the search function, there has been tons of threads about hong kong. look for post from a dude named Landy, he gave mad HK knowledge to the board.

[beast]

Do you have any tips for shopping? clubbing? eating?

Please let me knowwwwwww

Thanks!!!

I was there just last month. Let me know what you want to know in terms of shopping. You looking for clothes? what brands you looking for? When you going?

[hotboyx2]

Hi!

Thanks!

I 'd like to know if there are any nice outlets? I am from Europe, so I guess its not worth paying full price for things there.

But I am also looking for a new laptop...and gadgets!

Thanks!

[beast]

Hi!

Thanks!

I 'd like to know if there are any nice outlets? I am from Europe, so I guess its not worth paying full price for things there.

But I am also looking for a new laptop...and gadgets!

Thanks!

Haha! You are in luck. Now its non sale season in Hong Kong now I would think. So most things would go back to normal price. HK has no VAT, so what you pay is what you get.

Judging from what you are flogging off, I can tell you are into designer ware. You can try your luck in Ap Lei Chau. It has a Space Outlet, which sells Prada, very very little Miu Miu and NO Jil Sander, Helmut Lang or Gucci as stated in the guide books.

Nearby, they have a Joyce Warehouse which carries things from Boss to Jil to McQueen to Margiela to Watanabe to Dries to Galliano to Miyake etc etc. In the same building, they have Lane Crawford outlet which is a large chain selling designer ware as well in HK, which also sell designer ware.

Let me know if you are interested in them and I can get back to you with detailed instructions like how to get there, what they carried there when I was there etc etc.

You can also try IT Warehouse at Silvercord. But I find this a big disappointment unless you are a chick. They stock mainly their own labels and the mens' stuff is so disappointing.

I also chanced upon the famous Milan Station or one of its sister branches that does designer clothingm at TST. Costly too.

Almost forgot. I chanced upon one outlet shop called MOD at the basement of a shopping centre near Meridien shopping centre, I think. It was huge and posh looking. They carried Cavalli and I think Dolce. Not sure about the price because I am not into the brands but worth exploring because they are located right smack in Tsim Sha Tsui area, near the MTR.

BTW I hope your measurements on your jeans is wrong.

[hotboyx2]

THANKS!

I ll need more info on those for sure!!!

Where do you live?

[beast]

THANKS!

I ll need more info on those for sure!!!

Where do you live?

I dont stay in HK if you are asking. What info exactly do you require?

Because I need some time to collate my thoughts on them.

BTW are you in HK for business or work?

I am going to start with Ap Lei Chau first because thats off the beaten track.

Although you can get there by bus, I dont advocate wasting time getting a bus. Why waste precious shopping time?

The MTR doesnt go there direct. I would suggest taking a taxi from Admiralty MTR stop.

DO NOT take a taxi from your hotel if you stay at TST. I understand its costly to do so due to the toll and some TST drivers get lost if they go to Hong Kong Central.

I assume you cannot speak Cantonese or Chinese. If so, get your concierge to write down Ap Lei Chau and the address of SPACE (at Marina Square I think) and South Horizon Plaza (For Joyce and Lane Crawford) IN MANDARIN on a piece of paper and show the taxi driver. If you are still paranoid, you can check www.yp.com.hk

Most drivers I find are quite honest. Please note there is a toll of HK 5 entering and leaving Ap Lei Chau (not sure whether it would increase due to when you want to use it). Yup its an island connected by a bridge. But it aint too far away from Hong Kong Central. BTW HK Central itself is connected through an underwater thingy to TST.

Although SPACE and Joyce are quite close, do not waste time hunting for them and getting lost in the process. Take a cab between 2. It costs you HK 15, which is the flag down rate for the taxi. Its about 5 min drive away.

I cannot remember how much it cost to get from Admiralty MTR to Ap Lei Chau because it depends on traffic but I think it should be US$10 for 1 way depending on traffic again. I was caught in an jam cos I shopped too late.

So its actually pretty cheap if you share a cab with a friend.

Whew. Let me know if you want to know what I saw in SPACE and Joyce.

[hotboyx2]

Thank you so much!

I will be on a press trip, as I am a journalist.

And ofcourse I will only take taxis to get to the places, as I too don't want to waste shopping time.

But please, if its not trouble, tell what you saw and at what prices. I am indeed interested in designer clothing, but don't mind if i see something nice...

Where are you from?

[beast]

Thank you so much!

I will be on a press trip, as I am a journalist.

And ofcourse I will only take taxis to get to the places, as I too don't want to waste shopping time.

But please, if its not trouble, tell what you saw and at what prices. I am indeed interested in designer clothing, but don't mind if i see something nice...

Where are you from?

Just a few questions to start off:

1. What event is there to cover in HK anyway? I thought the IMF meeting is not there?

2. Where would you be putting up by the way?

I do not advocate taking taxis EVERYWHERE. Its wise to take public transport to get a lay of the land. In fact, I discovered many gems inadvertently when I get lost. But no worries, most of the shopping area wont get you lost.

OK, I will start with SPACE because I went there first.

1. Location

Its located at the side of the shopping complex. A term I use very very loosely because it was a very sleepy place full of small tailor shops and what not. Do not enter through the main entrance. SPACE has its own side entrance. Ap Lei Chau used to be a fishing village. Its built up now, but its still the archetypical ghost town compared to TST.

2. Overall impression: disappointing!

3. Stuff for men: Much lesser than the ladies.

a. Ties

Full of bad quality ties at around US$63. Too expensive! Even the Holliday and Brown stuff was also the same price and they were the best in terms of quality of the lot.

b. Shoes

Full of Prada Ostrich shoes. Very expensive. Saw one casual pair for US$500. Full of odd colour combination like white and brown. A scattering of business shoes, like 1 or 2 I think. They have a selection of black Prada sports shoes. Bought a pair of orange Prada casual shoes for about US$200 in very soft calf leather. Not a must buy but since I was there ... ... They have some sizes for the shoes so you gotta ask them.

They also carry another brand of business shoes. Think it was Churches or something. But who cares. People go there for Prada.

c. Belts

Again, mostly ostrich stuff. Very few plain stuff. Think they have canvas stuff. Cannot remember the price but must be bad because I later bought 2 belts from other labels at around US$125 from other shops.

d. Shirts

They have a rack at the side (Yup. It was not part of the wardrobe space). You gotta ask the size again. Mostly 40 to 41s. Got 2 shirts at around US$130 each. Can check the receipts to get the actual price if you want. Price subject to the designs I suppose. Nice colours and designs. Typical Prada works shirts.

I was surprised Prada did really bright and loud single colour shirts like loud yellow, red and green. I'm no prude but those shirts really bother to clown outfits.

d. Pants

They have a rack at the side (Yup. It was also not part of the wardrobe space), with jeans and casual pants. Cannot remember the price but wasnt fantastic.

e. T-shirts

Not fantastic either. They have the HNS world cup t-shirt in black and another HNS t-shirt too. it was like XS and S or XXS. Think there was a plain black design.

f. Suits and formal pants

Think they have between 5 to 10 suits there. Yup pretty sad and some wool pants.

g. Knits

Yah they have. But I am not into it. Sorry.

h. Sports wear

Windbreakers, polos and track pants. Not into them either and they dont look and feel good.

4. Service

Mediocre. One salesman while attending to me, just walked off to make a phone call. But one girl was nice enough to direct me to Joyce.

5. Decor

Nice and big. A bit like normal Prada boutiques except they dont have the greenish hue and are not so empty like the normal Prada. They have a bit more shoes and bags for the ladies but dont expect the whole shop to be jammed packed with stuff.

About half dedicated to ladies bags and shoes and leather goods. Small section with mens' wallet. Not the leather ones though, think it was canvas. The other part like 30% is mainly ladies stuff, with 20% for mens.

6. Stock

Disappointing!!!! Miu Miu was some sad sad pieces. Some casual pants I think. No Helmuts and Jils! You get the impression that these are the true rejects and Prada dont make the effort to slash prices so they can get rid of them!

7. Prices

According to them, the prices are 60% off normal price and they said Prada only have sale in HK for 1 week. But I dont really think its that great. The prices I paid for the shoes and shirts wasnt a cant miss kind of thing. I only bought it due to a what-the-heck-since-I-am-there attitude.

Bought a Prada shirt from Yoox at around the same price so it wasnt a cant miss kinda place. Need to go to my local Prada and see the prices again.

But since they only have SPACE in Italy, Japan and NY, no harm popping in for a look.

8. Ambience

Not much people there at all. Mainly Mainland Chinese tourists who buy bags and some Japanese.

9. Tip

Instead of buying from them, try the other stockist. HK is unique in the sense that even Lane Crawford carries Prada though limited. Managed to get a T shirt I liked from them at 30% off.

Lane was also carrying Miu Miu together with their other brands and these aint concessionaries. So look around, other shops may carry the brand you like!

In fact Joyce carries Dior homme despite Dior having their own shop and I think there will be a price war between these 2 eventually.

10. Tip 2

Unlike what the guidebooks said, SPACE is open on Mondays.

They have proper changing rooms and accept credit cards.

________________________________________________________________

Whew! i would let you know about Joyce later. Much much better experience I say.

[hotboyx2]

I cant wait to read about Joyce

You certainly know how to give information to people!!!

My press trip is tailor made, I will write an article on the city etc...

Thank you again for the info, it means a lot.

[xcoldricex]

taking taxi's in hk is stupid. the public transportation system is excellent, i was there for 2.5 months and never set foot in a taxi.

[Kasper]

taking taxi's in hk is stupid. the public transportation system is excellent, i was there for 2.5 months and never set foot in a taxi.

i agree. not to mention that it's insanely cheap compare to the quality and convinience of the service and the octopus card is also really great.

[beast]

taking taxi's in hk is stupid. the public transportation system is excellent, i was there for 2.5 months and never set foot in a taxi.

The MTR does not go into the southern or middle part of Hong Kong Island. You can only take a bus into Ap Lei Chau. The MTR does go into large parts of southern part of Kowloon where TST is. But instead of looking for places with maps, I relied on taxis to get me to some places fast especially when I do not know the English names of the places.

[Kasper]

the english / chinese name thing can be difficult, especially since they are never related. when i was there, i had an english map, but my girlfriend had a japanese map and they left the chinese name on it. problem was, there is more caracters is chinese than in japanese so she didn't know all of them. the stuff she could read, she had no idea how to pronounce it in chinese and since sometimes the english name is different and has no relations the to chinese name, it was hard knowing about which place we were talking about. taxis are pretty cheap also (when we left, we took a cab to the airport, never in my wildest dream i would imagine doing the same thing in Tokyo...)

[dismalfuture]

you can reach Ap Lei Chau by bus, it's gonna be "Horizons Plaza" that you're looking for. The Church's shoes at SPACE are a good deal, $1500HKD, that's like $185 or so for shoes that don't normally come cheap, and they seemed to have almost the whole line of ready-made Churche's there, a lot of nice suede desert boots too. Taxi works too.

JOYCE Warehouse is usually a bust, I never find anything I like there, but occasionally they will have something nice, just not in my size. It gets picked over daily though.

Twist in the Sun Arcade had a couple nice things, like Dior tees for $800-900HKD, a few diff Dior jeans, accessories etc.

[beast]

you can reach Ap Lei Chau by bus, it's gonna be "Horizons Plaza" that you're looking for. The Church's shoes at SPACE are a good deal, $1500HKD, that's like $185 or so for shoes that don't normally come cheap, and they seemed to have almost the whole line of ready-made Churche's there, a lot of nice suede desert boots too. Taxi works too.

JOYCE Warehouse is usually a bust, I never find anything I like there, but occasionally they will have something nice, just not in my size. It gets picked over daily though.

Twist in the Sun Arcade had a couple nice things, like Dior tees for $800-900HKD, a few diff Dior jeans, accessories etc.

Sure you can get to Ap Lei Chau by bus but if you have never been there and cant speak the language, where do you get off?

On the contrary, I thought Joyce was a much better place.

Where's this Sun Arcade? Do they sell genuine things? Will target this for my next trip.

[Kasper]

if you have a PDA or a smartphone, this program is awesome.

http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=18782

it's a really complete map of hong kong with really good search capability. it can make itineries for you and has the name of almost all the buildings (all adresses are given with the name of the building so it's often much easier to search for places like this, navigating through HK's streets can be difficult at time).also, most of the shops i visited were in the database, so you just look for the shop and your current position and the program will tell you how to go

[beast]

taxis are pretty cheap also (when we left, we took a cab to the airport, never in my wildest dream i would imagine doing the same thing in Tokyo...)

Its much more costly to take a cab to the airport, given the airport is on a separate island West of Kowloon Island.

I took the MTR from TST to airport and it only took me less than 1 hour (including my long walking time from the hotel to the MTR station) lugging all my purchases.

[beast]

I cant wait to read about Joyce

You certainly know how to give information to people!!!

My press trip is tailor made, I will write an article on the city etc...

Thank you again for the info, it means a lot.

OK, I checked.

My shoes cost me US200.

1 Prada shirt is close to US190. The other is US160.

Yoox charged me US160.

The shirts I got was a combination cotton and elasticine, Yoox's was pure cotton.

That may explain the cost, but I just didnt think SPACE was that cheap.

SPACE didnt have the original price tag listed but they told me it was 60% off.

[beast]

Ok. I will write about Joyce now.

Joyce is in South Horizons Building. Despite it being full of outlet shops on every level, it looks like any office building. No shops at the front etc etc. You will see it when your cab passes by a Ferrari/Maserati showroom and turns left.

Like I said, take a cab from SPACE or vice versa.

There are plenty of cabs outside South Horizons, so no worries.

When you enter, the friendly receptionist will give you a pamphlet of all the outlets in the building. There are furniture stores, bookstores too.

There is a Max Mara for ladies and Lane Crawford like I said.

Its open 7 days a week now and accept credit cards.

Decor: Sparse. Plain concrete floor. No carpet even. Plenty of changing rooms.

When you enter, there will be a few racks of mens/ladies stuff right infront. I do not know why they put it there. Could be the new stuff cos Joyce has new stock daily according to them,.

Passing these racks, would be the mothership. Left is for mens, Right is for ladies.

Ties: Pathetic. A few Dries Van Norten and Etro.

Shoes: Slightly better but ladies have more.

Belts: OK. Scored a Mcqueen fancy belt with chains and skulls etc for around US130.

The real stuff: They have tons of mens wear. From shirts to T-shirts to pants to jeans to suits. Racks of them. The pants and jeans were stuffed to the rafters on em.

Just a digression. Joyce is a big boutique chains carrying tons of brands. Only 4 including the outlet carries almost everything. By that i mean the following:

Dior Homme (sorry didnt see it in the outlet), Galliano, Margiela, Issey, Commes, Mcqueen, McQ Viktor and Rolf (I think), D Squared, Watanabe, Sander, Fendi, Yohji, Chalayan, Balenciaga, Etro and some denim brand like 7s I think.

They have specialised boutiques for brands like Boss and Balenciaga. The rest can be found in concessions in Lane Crawford.

OK. So in the outlet I saw most of the brands they carry less Dior.

They have plenty of Boss stuff. More than other brands.

Sizes: Computerised. They can check for you. Unless you are really fussy and must score that Dior Homme waxed 15 cm jeans in luxurious black at 70% off at your size, you can find something probably for you. Hey! I wear size 30 jeans and yet I could have gotten plenty at my size.

Price: Their price tags have 3 prices. Naturally I thought the cheapest is applicable. But no. The prices are tagged according to the months. So the 1st price is say Aug to Sept, 2nd would be maybe Oct to Nov. The longer the item stays there, the cheaper it gets. It even goes to April 2007!

Yah. So how much do I have to pay really: I cant answer that. But I scored a Chayalan T for US60, long sleeve Margiela office shirt for US75, McQueen jeans and belt for US130 each.

Service: Much better than SPACE. They would even hunt through the racks for my size if its reflected in their system.

Crowded: Not really. Some locals and tourists.

Worth going?: I think so. Bazaar sales are not that common elsewhere but these people have it year round! The stuff looks much better than Milan Station and some of it is cheaper.

Tips: Actually I scored the best not here but in Joyce's other stores.

When I went there, it was their "Last Call" sale for past season's items. That naturally meant 50% off for most items. If you purchased above a sum like me, in this case HK10000, you get additional 30% off. So I literally got 65% off for last seasons' stuff!

Plus by spending so much, I got a Joyce privilege card that gives me 10% off normal priced items.

I scored Levis' by Junya Watanabe (freaking stiff. Could be raw denim. Decided not to hem the legs and just fold it) and Galliano Jeans (Not the ones with the crotch thing but with pannelling and an overall thing to clip at the waist of the jeans to function as another pocket) for like US300 each.

Not exactly cheap but what the heck! If I knew this forum was so mad about Dior Homme jeans, I would have scored their jeans and flogged it off here. As it is, I only got a Dior Homme T-shirt.

________________________________________________________________________

Thats it for Joyce. Will cover the rest later. But those aint too exciting and can probably cover all in one go.

[denimhunter]

The joyce warehouse address is as follows:

Joyce Warehouse

Horizons Plaza

2 Li Wing Street

21 Floor

Tel: 852.2814.8313

Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 - 7:00, Sunday: 12:00 - 6:00

Space warehouse is only ten minutes away on foot. You can go to joyce first then walk to space, just go along the main road. there is a main bus bus terminal next to space where you can get to central or the nearest MTR station. Tourist information offices would have maps.

This is a good time to go to the warehouses as the sale in the main stores are over and they will be stocking the sale stuff.

Also check out a shop/chain called IT and it. capital IT sells more upmarket clothing such as chalayan, viktor rolf, comme shirts, veronique, rogan, margiela and some japanese labels as well. They appeal to the younger and more hip crowd than joyce.

Try their larger stores in causeway Bay and Silvercord which is near Ocean Centre.

Also D-mop for streetwear including Y3

There is also a Harvey Nicholls in HK now. For those in UK would know they are a very upmarket department store in UK. very hip and expensive. You can find kris van assche, cloak etc there. They are located in Landmark building in Central where many of the upmarket boutiques are located.

Jeans is a different story. Let me know if you are interested in Japanese denim. there are a few places worth checking out

[beast]

The joyce warehouse address is as follows:

Joyce Warehouse

Horizons Plaza

2 Li Wing Street

21 Floor

Tel: 852.2814.8313

Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 - 7:00, Sunday: 12:00 - 6:00

Space warehouse is only ten minutes away on foot. You can go to joyce first then walk to space, just go along the main road. there is a main bus bus terminal next to space where you can get to central or the nearest MTR station. Tourist information offices would have maps.

This is a good time to go to the warehouses as the sale in the main stores are over and they will be stocking the sale stuff.

Also check out a shop/chain called IT and it. capital IT sells more upmarket clothing such as chalayan, viktor rolf, comme shirts, veronique, rogan, margiela and some japanese labels as well. They appeal to the younger and more hip crowd than joyce.

Try their larger stores in causeway Bay and Silvercord which is near Ocean Centre.

Also D-mop for streetwear including Y3

There is also a Harvey Nicholls in HK now. For those in UK would know they are a very upmarket department store in UK. very hip and expensive. You can find kris van assche, cloak etc there. They are located in Landmark building in Central where many of the upmarket boutiques are located.

Jeans is a different story. Let me know if you are interested in Japanese denim. there are a few places worth checking out

Hi!

Your info is outdated. Joyce is open on Mondays now.

According to the staff, the previous seasons' stock dont get dumped into the outlet so quick.

Also. went to IT and it. Very disappointing. Didnt see any of the brands you mentioned.

Went to Harvey Nicks too. Not bad but Lane is better.

Lastly, pls tell us about japanese jeans. Only saw Evisu and RMC at Lane. Didnt get to check out Evisu at IFC.

[Landy]

^ try the IT in silvercord. it has a pretty wide selction. there's also a 2 level one in festival walk, but that's a pain in the ass to get there bc its so far.

lane crawford usually carries evisu, PRPS, etc. but if you want real japanese denim, go to take 5 on granville rd.

[beast]

^ try the IT in silvercord. it has a pretty wide selction. there's also a 2 level one in festival walk, but that's a pain in the ass to get there bc its so far.

lane crawford usually carries evisu, PRPS, etc. but if you want real japanese denim, go to take 5 on granville rd.

Went to IT silvercord. Very very bad. Virtually nothing for mens there. So disappointed.

Lane actually have a denim bar like area with tons of denim from USA and Japan.

I actually went to Granville but I didnt see that. Granville was full of cheap budget clothes store like Bossini. Disappointed as well.

[dismalfuture]

No one has mentioned food in this thread yet...

The Sweet Dynasty on Kowloon Park Drive is a pretty touristy place to eat and always packed to the gills with people, but I always like eating there. The original is definitely better than the Tokyo branch on Aoyama-dori...

I'm sure the locals from this board have much better food recommendations. HK is one of those rare cities in Asia where the int'l food choices are all pretty good and not completely bastardized, and needless to say, if you like Cantonese food, well......

I wanted to eat Indian food in Chungking Mansions the last two times I've been to HK, but the first time I was with my 5'1" tall Japanese girlfriend and we were a bit scared to go in, and the second time I was alone and I mustered up enough courage to go in, but the used tampons and litter in the stairwell and the Pakistani and Indian guys harassing me the entire time made it so I never found a restaurant. I think I ended up going to Gaylord's a couple blocks over and eating there instead.

I really like Hunanese food (more so Cantonese) so it's a shame that the trend for Hunanese food in HK died off and there really are no Hunanese places in HK now.

[hkboy1019]

i've just been to mongkok yesterday.

seen a lot of cheap and nice stuff.

if you are looking for cheap and stylish tees/jeans for guys, go to chic, trendy zone, sino plaza, and ctma. you will not be disappointed if you are looking for streetwearish type of clothing.

also try hollywood plaza on sai yueng choi street.

prices for tees range from 3/$100....around that price.

there are several floors and theres air con, which is really nice since it's pretty humid outside if u go to the street markets.

just take the MTR and take exit E.

once you see "The Body Shop" after you exited, make a right turn and you will be walking along sai yueng choi street.

[beast]

I'm sure the locals from this board have much better food recommendations. HK is one of those rare cities in Asia where the int'l food choices are all pretty good and not completely bastardized, and needless to say, if you like Cantonese food, well......

I wanted to eat Indian food in Chungking Mansions the last two times I've been to HK, but the first time I was with my 5'1" tall Japanese girlfriend and we were a bit scared to go in, and the second time I was alone and I mustered up enough courage to go in, but the used tampons and litter in the stairwell and the Pakistani and Indian guys harassing me the entire time made it so I never found a restaurant. I think I ended up going to Gaylord's a couple blocks over and eating there instead.

I really like Hunanese food (more so Cantonese) so it's a shame that the trend for Hunanese food in HK died off and there really are no Hunanese places in HK now.

Those small eateries found everywhere in HK are pretty good too. Those that sells roast pork, duck, goose and chicken, rice and noodles.

Pretty cheap compared to what you can get in USA or Europe and their quality for most places are pretty darn good too.

Also their 'yum cha' or tea time snacks are quirky too. And I am not referring to dim sum.

Dont forget their weird concoction of drinks like coffee and tea mixed together or coffee and coke mixed together.

[denimhunter]

Thank you for the update on joyce warehouse. i'm glad they open mondays now. I was there last october and december. There were heaps of good stuff in october with dior hoome, jil sander, marni and junya watanabe etc etc but there was very little in december.

As with the jeans shop. landy was right Take 5 is by far the most committed denim shop in HK but they specialises in japanese denim (the superdenim crown in this forum) such as warehouse, japanese evisu (not european models), sugar cane, samurai, yen jeans etc. Not fashion jeans. tehy are on Granville Road but on the first floor. check Take5.com for information and address. There is another thread about "best denim stores in HK" in this forum. check it out. japanese denim is about 30% higher than if you purchase from Japan. so a stopover in Japan for those diehards!!! may be a good idea.

next door to Take 5 is a very small shop that sells Bape and some neighborhood etc. Many of the interesting denim places are actually on upper floors of buildings without a shop front (much like japan) and they could be hard to find.

Levis shop in causeway carries LVC with some japanese ones as well. There is also a chain called Original 1001 which carries some evisu and omnigod and a HK brand called RMC. They are located near Take 5 at end of Granville Road and another shop on welllington street central.