Shopping on HK Island, Hong Kong

It would seem that most tourists stay in Kowloon and business travellers stay in HK Island. Even among the locals, if you stay on HK Island, you tend to work/shop/play on HK Island. If you rest your head at Kowloon, likewise you tend to stick to Kowloon stores. 

While Hong Kong's main financial/business district is in HK Island, HK Island is packed with pockets of shopping goodies. My last 4 trips to HK have seen me resting my aching legs and arms (after shopping) on HK Island, so I do feel somewhat equipped to write this post.

The mtr line travelling on HK Island is the Island Line and the 4 mtr stops I want to talk about are:

- Central (also linked to Hong Kong Airport Express Station)

- Admiralty

- Wan Chai

- Causeway Bay

Central 

Central mtr station is the mtr stop for the main business district of HK Island. Financial institutions, banks etc typically have their headquarters in Central and it is foolhardy to travel on the mtr during times that office workers commute. Although one would think that there are only office buildings and banks, the retail scene is very much alive in Central.  

Brands of note in Central include: Marks & Spencers, HMV (still very much alive in Hong Kong), H & M, Joyce and Shanghai Tang. If you're in Hong Kong to buy something branded and expensive (watches, bags, couture), you can probably find the brand in Central. 

Central also boasts of a famous street market, Li Yuen Street East and West. I have found costume jewellery, Chinese embroidery, children's clothes and shoes, knockoff bags, socks and stockings in this pair of streets. I don't haggle when buying from this pair of streets as I typically find the prices quoted reasonable. I had seen one vendor decline a potential buyer's bargaining attempts, so I guess you can try but don't be surprised when they turn you down.    

If it's raining in HK Island, Central is an excellent shopping choice as many shopping areas are either directly connected to the mtr station or interconnected from one building to another.

Admiralty Place

Pacific Place mall sits directly on top of Admiralty Place mtr station. Beauty brands like Giorgio Armani, Jo Malone, Jurlique, Nars and Yves Saint Laurent have individual stores here (conveniently located next to each other). Like Central, Pacific Place has many brands, so if you want to give your credit card a workout, this might just be the place. 

Sample of street shopping in HK Island

Just like Li Yuen Street East and West, Admiralty has its own street shopping. From the main road, it would appear that the street sell fresh food (typically the first few stalls might sell vegetables, fruits etc). But when you walk into the street, you might spot stalls selling knockoff bags, children clothes (factory rejects), socks and stockings, swimwear etc. The stalls selling non-food items typically open just before lunch hour and might close just before dinner time. 

Wan Chai

Tai Yuen Street in the Wan Chai area is famous for toys and I have picked up quite a few made-in-China toys here. Like everywhere in Hong Kong, drugstores like Mannings, Sasa and Watsons are also prevalent here. Street shopping prevails in Wan Chai.

Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay apparently has been a popular haunt among the Japanese and Korean tourists for a long time. It is my go-to place for shopping on HK Island. Uniqlo has just opened its first flagship store in Hong Kong in April 2013. It is 3 floors of Uniqlo heaven, located near Times Square. There is also another Uniqlo branch at World Trade Centre (perpendicular to La Foret Shopping Mall). 

The bigger shopping malls of note in Causeway Bay and their main draws (according to me):

- Times Square - Lane Crawford departmental store and City Super supermarket(stocks food and Japanese brands/products. Love the quirky Jap beauty buys here!)

- Hysen Place - Joyce Beauty, Gap, Abercombie & Fitch, Apple (2 storeys), Swarovski (including Atelier Swarovski pieces in store) and eslite

- La Foret - quirky stores, Korean and Japanese retail styles (cosmetics, shoes, wigs, clothes etc).

- Sogo - brands like MAC (store-in-store), Lancome, Clarins, Cosme Decorte, Longchamp, their amazing food hall and supermarket

- Windsor House. Think children's paradise. Toys R Us, stride rite, ItsImagical, Next Children among others

 Some brands found at Windsor House

A branch of Ikea and HMV can also found at the basement of Parklane Hotel (just across from Windsor House).

The street level shops in Causeway Bay are also just as bountiful for beauty products. There is a detailed plan for beauty shopping in Causeway Bay in my beauty shopping country guide HK. I have found more upstairs shops in Central and Causeway Bay than in Admiralty and Wan Chai, so keep a lookout for people distributing flyers and holding placards.

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Disclaimer: I did not receive payment or payment in kind for writing this blog post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Kids shoe shopping: Mini Melissa Campana Zigzag Mary Jane Flats

Saks Fifth Avenue recently ran a free shipping to Singapore promotion and I took the chance to order some clothes for DD and Mr effort.

I saw that the Mini Melissa Campana Zigzag Mary Jane Flats were on offer (S$36/-) and possible to ship to Singapore and I took the chance to buy them! I was a bit weary of the Crocs type of jelly/rubber shoes and the Mini Melissas I saw in the stores had decent flat soles suitable for children.

I selected size 8 as she currently wears size 6.5 for Clarks, thinking it would be perfect when she grows out of her current pair of shoes and her size 7 next pair of shoes (If you're like me, you would have shoes in the next immediate size in the cupboard, waiting for the exact minute you realise your child no longer fits into her current shoes. Makes no sense? You're not a parent addicted to online shopping).

When they arrived, I was surprised at the size.

Left to right: Bubblegummers Hello Kitty sneakers (Japan size 15.0), Crocs (size C6/7), Mini Melissa (size 8), Clarks Mary Janes (size 6.5)

Mini Melissa size USA 8, European 24, Brazil 22, Japan 14

You can tell from first glance that the Mini Melissa is shorter in length than the other shoes. However, when I tried them on DD and stuck my finger in at the back of her heel to see how much the gap was, I was pleasantly surprised that there was more space for the Mini Melissa than for her current Clarks. My guess was that the Mini Melissa is a UK size 7, which proved correct when I visited the kids shoe size guide for Saks Fifth Avenue website

I had purchased a pair of sneakers from Pumpkin Patch at a mall atrium sale and they were in size 8. Check out the difference in length for the 2 pairs (both of them are technically size 8 - although by different countries' sizing!)

Am pleased with the purchase overall as DD can still fit into the Mini Melissa (although not as long as I had hoped) but I will remember in future that kids' shoe sizes are the same as adults - UK and USA sizes differ!

Sidenote: It's been 5 days since I've received the shoes and have placed them in a well-ventilated area. But I can still smell the shoes (other Internet bloggers call it the bubblegum smell). Am just a little concerned about the volatile compounds which are being released.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any payment or payment in kind for writing this blog post. Any opinions mentioned are my own.

Post trip Taiwan 2013 - Yilan

After checking out of Silks Palace Taroko, we took the hotel shuttle bus to the nearest train station, Xincheng, thinking it would save some time to Yilan as it was closer to Yilan than Hualien station.

It worked out well but it could have been a disaster. Xincheng station is a small station which is the closest train station to Taroko Gorge. The station were packed with tourists alighting from their tour coaches and tour guides leading the way for them to take the trains.

View from the 2nd storey of our accommoadtion in Yilan

Our next stay was a minsu, or Taiwanese B & B which I read about in a travel book. We checked in and promptly headed to a farm popular with Taipei weekenders, Guan Shing Leisure Farm. The farm was smaller than Shin Kong Chao Feng Ranch in Hualien, but they had clams and other art and craft activities for kids.

After the farm, we headed to the Luodong night market was famous, we decided to head there for dinner on our first night in Yilan.

Spring onion pie

Sausage wrapped in pig's caul

We followed the crowd, queueing at the food stalls. Had a good time, although not as satisfying as I thought. The night market here tended to serve a lot of deep fried food, unlike Hualien where one could still buy barbecued corn and porridge etc.

Breakfast provided by our minsu (I'd admit it, I selected the minsu on the strength of their breakfast)

We got up early the next day to take the Yilan tourist shuttle bus to the Traditional Arts Center (approx NT36 for 1 adult, one way).

The Traditional Arts Center, Mandarin name: 国立傳統藝術中心, is located near the Dong Shan river area and the nearest main train station is Luodong. When we got there, I managed to borrow a complimentary stroller from the customer service. We got there just in time to watch their morning show, a parade of sorts through the Arts Center.

Performers during the parade

Performers during the parade when they moved to a staged area

The Traditional Arts Center was fascinating for both adults and children. Other than the show/parade through the Center which repeats again in the afternoon, there were shops selling supposedly unique Taiwanese things. I felt the various shops sold unique things and there weren't any 2 shops that sold the same things or same types. They had Cartoon King, a shop famous in Taichung for its paper products and I was sorely tempted to get the travel stool!

Can you spot my DD?

There were plenty of food joints, ranging from a food court to restaurants and stalls selling ice cream, pop corn and bubble tea. We ended taking a walk through the garden area of the Traditional Arts Center and checking out the 'dying arts' exhibition at the museum. It was interesting to see traditional arts like paper puppet making, embroidery, etc and their evolution in Taiwan.

We left the Traditional Arts Center for Luna Plaza, a shopping mall near Yilan train station. This is the big shopping mall in the Yilan area and has a hypermart (Carrefour), bookshop (Eslite) and the usual suspects in a departmental store. It is linked to Silks Palace Yilan, a hotel our friend had assured us had a super cool kids playarea for hotel guests.

After whiling away the time at Eslite (I love bookstores!), we headed out to dinner. Yilan is famous for 'no menu' restaurants, also known as tasting menu or omakase (for those who are used to Japanese cuisine). These restaurants typically do not have any a la carte menu for you to pick and choose from, merely menus of different price tags e.g. NTD$1500 (approx SGD$75) or NT$3000 (approx SGD$150). Arguably the most famous 'no menu' restaurant in Yilan is Glass House. We did not go there as the owners of the minsu we were staying in told us it was mighty hard to call in to book a table.

Outside the restaurant

Our menu presented at the table (but the server did introduce each dish verbally too)

So we decided to check out another place instead. After much extensive research, on Taiwanese food blogs etc (my ability to read traditional Mandarin improved vastly after doing the various readings for this trip), we eventually selected one restaurant. We were very happy with both the restaurant's food and the decoration of the restaurant itself.

DD's table setting. They provided seafood porridge for her at no extra cost and which she gulped down. It was super tasty as porridge goes (different from the Cantonese type of congee). 

So happy with the food here, in fact, I believe, I was 'rewarded' by Mr effort to take over the child-rearing duties for 3 hrs in Taipei so I could shop to my heart's content (more about shopping later). Mr effort loved the sashimi here and I loved the uni (sea urchin) with tofu which was a replacement for the sashimi. Haagen-Daaz uni!

Fantastic sashimi

An amuse bouche they presented to us at the table. Would not have thought of pairing panko crumbs, strawberries, mayonnaise, cabbage and seaweed as a roll! They even gave a piece of the seaweed for DD for her to eat. 

Both of us, being used to eating beef medium, were not used to the beef dish they served here which was cooked well-done. Mr effort didn't like the dessert they served which was a beef tomato in a slightly sweet-sour sauce, but I quite enjoyed it.

We left Yilan the next day for Taipei. We had various options of travelling to Taipei, but as we were staying in the Zhongxiao Dunhua area in Taipei, the coach was going to be more suitable rather than the train as it had a stop nearer to the Dunhua area.

Post trip Taiwan 2013 - Hualien

Best trip to Taiwan ever!

It seems like I make a trip to Taiwan every 2-3 years. SO had to clear some vacation days and we had friends currently staying in Taipei, so we decided to head off to Taiwan in March 2013. The trip before that was in May 2010, and the trip before that was 2009.

This time round, SO wanted to check out Taroko Gorge in Hualien after hearing travel stories from his colleague and I wanted to check out Yilan for its famous spring onions. Naturally, we allocated some time in Taipei to catch up with friends and to shop and eat.

The weather forecast predicted Hualien/Yilan/Taipei to be cold and rainy, so I packed rainproof winter gear for all of us. However, when I reached Taiwan, apparently they were enjoying a spurt of good weather and it wasn't until at the tail end of our trip in Taipei that the winter gear needed to be taken out. And by good weather, I mean sunny skies, slight breeze, temperatures around 25 deg C. Taxi drivers in Hualien & Yilan were wearing short-sleeved T-shirts!

Hualien
Arguably the most famous attraction in Hualien is Taroko Gorge. Other attractions include Chixingtan (direct translation would be "Seven Star Beach) and Zi Qiang night market.

Taroko Gorge. Booked a half day tour from Silks Palace Taroko where we were staying. 

To entertain our toddler, we also brought her to the Shin Kong Chao Feng Ranch while staying in Hualien. It was more enjoyable than we thought and we returned much later to our accommodation than expected. We rented bicycles (one with a toddler seat) and cycled around the ranch. DD loved feeding the animals and seeing a cow in real life. The milk ice-cream sold by the ranch helped too!

Cycling in Shin Kong Chao Feng Ranch

For more details on travelling with a toddler in Hualien, check out my tripadvisor forum post.

Memorable food in Hualien includes Zi Qiang night market and Gong Zhen Bao.

Zi Qing night market: 第一家烤肉串. Meat and veggie skewers

 BBQ corn (almost at the end of the market, past the famous fruit drinks stall)

  Pick the doneness of your corn (hard, QQ, soft etc)

Weighing the corn, specifying spice level and payment

Why are there mahjong tiles?

It's your number to collect your food!

Gong Zhen Bao

The one on the stick is 蒸饺 steamed dumplings (similar to northern Chinese ‘shui jiao’, best eaten w vinegar & ginger）and 小笼包 xiao long bao (size/look more like small char xiao bao). 

The owners of the accommodation we were staying at in Hualien city told us that locals head to the restaurant next to Gong Zhen Bao in a pinch as the queues for Gong Zhen Bao can get quite long.

We wanted to swing by Gong Zhen Bao on the way to the train station but didn't have time. Aw shucks!

Guide to preschools/daycare in Singapore

Updated: 4 April 2013

Contemplating a move to another country is no easy thing. I've been on the internet trying to find all there is to know on preschools in Hong Kong and the information is scattered among official websites of schools, forums and blogs. Which got me thinking. If I was having some difficulty getting clarity on the preschools elsewhere, someone could be having issues trying to figure out the situation in Singapore.

In Singapore, the terms "childcare", "preschool", "daycare", "nursery" and "playgroup" are often used interchangeably. It can be confusing to those used to another system elsewhere. We'll be using preschool as the generic term in this blog post. Kindergartens are slightly different as you will see later on. When referring to children, I'll be using the term "she/her" just simply because I have a daughter. :)


Age

Preschools in Singapore take in children from 18 months/1.5 years old, although some places only take in older kids. If your child is younger than 18 months, she can go to an infant care center. Some preschools offer infant care services right up to kindergarten. Kindergarten usually take in kids 3 years or older and may request that your child be toilet trained before attending kindergarten

For example, you have three children, one aged 5 years old, one aged 3 years old and one aged 6 months old. If you chose to, you could send all three to a preschool which has an infant care programme. Do note that not all preschools offer infant care programmes.

You could also enrol your oldest (5 years old) in a separate kindergarten. Childcare centers offering kindergarten programmes and actual kindergartens may not have much difference in terms of curriculum, play-time etc. However, the schedule of kindergartens follow the general primary school (refer to days of operation below). Some say that childcare centers provide more child-rearing services e.g. showering the child, making sure the child eats lunch/meals etc whereas kindergartens don't necessarily include meals during the school day.

The legal definition by the Singapore authorities is "children aged 3 to 6 years may enrol in kindergartens while children aged below the age of 7 years may enrol in childcare centres".


Days of operation

Preschools operate Mondays-Fridays and are closed for public/bank holidays and special days such as Teacher's Day. The preschool itself may also be closed on certain days for training of the teachers etc. These closure dates are generally communicated to the parent at the start of the calendar year.

Kindergartens will generally have 1 week of holidays in March, 1 month of holidays in June, 1 week of holidays in September and 1 month of holidays in December.

There are preschools where your child can go for 2, 3 or 5 days per week. Naturally the school fees are adjusted accordingly.


Hours/days of operation

Very often preschools work on a half day/full day system. Preschools usually operate in one of these 3 ways.

7 am - 7 pm: If you choose full day programme for your child, this means that you can drop the child off as early as 7 am and pick up by 7 pm. For a half day programme, you would pick up your child by 1 pm (or anytime earlier than that). Breakfast and lunch would be included/prepared for your child if she is on half day programme. For full day programmes, the child will enjoy snacks/tea. The preschool would expect the child to have dinner at home.

9 am to 5 pm: Half day programmes may mean 9-12 pm or 9-1 pm, depending on lunch arrangements

2 hrs: There are 2-hour playgroups available to kids but my understanding is that most of them are only open to 3 years old and above.

Kindergartens have a morning session and an afternoon session. The morning session could be 8.30 am-11.30 pm (lunch not included) and the afternoon session from 12.30-4.30pm.


Terminology

Extract from actual childcare centers
Playgroup - 18 months turning 3 years old
Nursery - 3 years turning 4
Kindergarten 1 - 4 years turning 5
Kindergarten 2 - 5 years turning 6 or going to Primary 1

vs Bibinogs Preschool's
Pre-Nursery - 18 month turning 3 years old

vs St James Church Kindergarten
Pre-Nursery Playgroup - Year the child turns 3

Some places will take the month of the child to determine which group she will be in, some will take the year. For example, if your child is born in December 2010, she may go to nursery in Dec 2013 (the exact month when she turns 3) or any month 2013 (if the preschool uses the year of birth).


Accompanying

The predominant mindset in most Singaporean preschools is "Leave it to us". I have yet to come across a preschool in Singapore which states that the parents have to do parent/volunteer duty. However, on excursion/outing days, it is generally good to accompany to your child along with the preschool's excursion for the main reasons 1)the teachers and helpers do have a tough time dealing with all the children in an external (no boundaries) environment e.g. fire station, library, park etc, 2)you get to take photographs of your child having fun, and 3) get to know the teachers and your child's friends better.

For children prone to separation anxiety, different preschools have different ways of handling it. Some preschools allow an adult to accompany the child for the first few days of the preschool and subsequently drop-off. Some preschools prefer that the child be dropped off from the start and that the adult should say goodbye after the necessary checks at the door. You know your child best, talk to the preschool to see which approach you prefer vs their policy.


When to register

The situation is very competitive in Singapore and most parents are generally advised by friends and family to register as soon as possible. Many preschools will have open houses in October-November but appointments to see the preschool outside open houses can be arranged.


Fees

The fees charged by different preschools can be varying, even those within the same chain of childcare centres. Aside from the school fees, there are the following charges:
- registration fee to register your child
- deposit. This is very similar to a rental deposit and the amount will be refunded to you once due notice is given.
- school uniform. Some preschools don't have school uniforms
- insurance
-mattress & cover. For full day programmes and if your child is young, they will usually take a nap in school.

Updated section
Operators

The childcare centers/kindergartens in Singapore are privately run, although there are 2 chains which are linked closely to the government (the PAP childcare group is linked to the ruling political party of Singapore and the NTUC childcare group is linked to the largest workers'co-operative in Singapore.

However in March 2013, the Singapore government announced that they were getting into the kindergarten industry. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will start and run 4 kindergartens spread over different parts of Singapore. They are doing so in the hopes that children, particularly those from disadvantaged families, will 'do well' by ensuring that the children receive good preschool education. Half of the slots in these 4 kindergartens will be reserved for children from lower-income backgrounds.

There have been debates on preschool or pre-primary education with everyone agreeing that the industry varies largely from its most basic school to its most advanced. At the advanced schools, a 3 year old child will be able to recite numbers one through thirty whereas a 5 year old child is expected to be able to recite numbers one through ten at some basic schools. How best to prepare children for primary school (formalised education) was discussed by parents, industry experts and the government.

My own take is that this is not an issue you can address piecemeal, by simply targeting the preschool industry. If the child is not ready or finds primary school too hard, is it a issue of the child not being prepared enough beforehand (preschool) or the school expecting too much from a 6 year old child? My friends just told me that they are looking for a kindergarten for their 2 year old son so to prepare him for primary one (4 years away!). I do believe that if there is a need to play catchup, it would be when my child is 5 years old, the year before she enters primary school.

DD is not at an age where I have to worry about primary school so I am viewing the developments with concern but not urgency.