Whether you’re in the mood for mango mochi, or want to sample some of the city’s best eating hotspots, here’s her advice for how to get stuck in.
Where is your favourite destination and why?
Hong Kong. It reminds me a little bit of New York and London at the same time. It was my first time actually going to Asia: there are so many high buildings, so you can really see the city from anywhere. And it’s got a nice energy to it, which I think is great.
When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?
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I went in September and I was there for about five days. I was there for work: I did a fashion show with the British Consulate for Hong Kong Fashion Week. I displayed my AW25 collection again and then met with buyers, and went to all the retail stores. Seeing what’s there in person made it [feel] so different. There’s so many luxury stores; there are malls everywhere.
What are your top three restaurants?
I tried a bit of everything. There’s this thing that they have called an Octopus card. The locals will use their Octopus card to pay at restaurants and you top it up with money or cash in the 7-Elevens around the city. I went to one local place called Nam Kee Spring Roll, a local place where you could pay with Octopus. It was really authentic, and they had a real big thing for cilantro. I tried a cilantro coke drink that was quite interesting.
I went to a Thai restaurant that was really good – that was called Mum Mum Thai. I know it was Thai and I should not have been eating Thai food in Hong Kong, but that was great. It was amazing for solo dining.
There was also He She Eat, which is great for a morning brunch snack; I picked up a matcha ice cream croissant for takeaway. In terms of veggie food, we went to Woodlands: a fantastic vegetarian Indian spot, with a karaoke bar just across the road.
What would you do if you only had 24 hours there?
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I would start my morning by taking the tram to The Peak: it’s one of the highest points in Hong Kong. I probably would do breakfast up there, then probably walk down the hill because there’s actually a walking trail down, but it’s better to go before the height of the sun.
After that, I probably want to get a snack so I’d get the mango mochi. It’s made from real mango wrapped in mochi, and you can get them from any of the little stalls around the city. Then I would want to go to the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see what’s there.
I’d walk around along the bay, then get some lunch; probably some dim sum. There’s a chain called One Dim Sum. It’s quite an easy stop off for food. Hong Kong also has great tea shops, so I’d go there, and then take the ferry across the river to the other side.
You can take the tourist boats, but the ferry is cheaper. Then I’ll go to I.T and have a look at what the luxury shops are selling; see if I’m going to find anything. And I’d end the day sitting by the bay and watching the sunset. As a woman, I felt really safe walking around at night, especially in Causeway Bay.
What is the one unmissable thing you recommend doing?
Going to the street markets. There’s quite a few, in places like Temple Street and Lascar Row, and I bought a lot of little ornaments and stuff like that. It’s more clothes and accessories, but at night it changes to food.
Where do you like to let your hair loose?
Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board
I went to this really good bar called Tell Camellia. I felt like all the cool people were there; the music was great. It was tea-based cocktails, very low lights, cool staff members, nice music and interesting cocktails. It was a really cool area – in central, and not that far from the tram.
Hong Kong is really good for shopping. There were a lot of retailers that I really enjoyed seeing like my favorite shop was Joyce, and they have a couple stores called I.T, which is another luxury retailer.
We also did some vintage shopping, and the World Trade Center area is really great for finding vintage shops. We found one in this little alleyway, and they did leather jackets and vintage t-shirts and stuff. That was quite fun.
The one thing you would bring home as a souvenir?
A Chinese piggy bank. And a lot of things like gadgets. Extra wires, headphones. They’re cheaper there.
Image by Andrzej from Pixabay
Definitely a power bank because I think it was a 13 hour flight. And an electric fan was definitely needed. I always carry sanitizer and wipes. And I carry a digital camera.I think it’s always more interesting to take pictures on that and you become more considered about it than just snapping them on your phone.
Your dress code for the destination?
It is quite humid, so people do dress quite conservatively, I guess because they go from air con to heat a lot. I’d probably have a light shirt because going from hot to cold to me is a bit extreme. Definitely a linen trouser and trainers, because the hills are quite steep. At one point we went to the British Consulate, and the hill was basically vertical. It was a good thing I brought my walking shoes.
Do you have a top wellness tip for the area?
Get your nails done. They have really good nail art and nail polish technology there.