Chipper / Day 17 of 64 / 26 May
Pretty sights along the streets.
Woke up at 7.45am and left our accommodation by 8am today. We were still really exhausted from the lack of sleep but we got moving anyway. Breakfast today was at the famous Australian Dairy Company. A shop known for their scrambled eggs and charmingly rude waiters.
By 9am when we arrived, there was already a snaking queue outside the popular breakfast joint. Luckily for us, a pair of seats soon opened up and we found ourselves seated in merely 20 minutes. Their iconic waiters were definitely not the most pleasant: they raised their voices when you took too long to order and they slammed the plates on the tables when serving. Though you could sometimes see them crack a smile as if they secretly felt they did a job well-done.
The menus were in Traditional Chinese, making ordering slightly tricky. Thankfully the lady sharing our table with us could understand English and gave us tips on ordering. We each ordered the breakfast set (30 HKD/6 SGD) which included a bowl of macaroni soup with ham, toast with eggs, and a choice of coffee or tea. We also ordered a cold egg custard pudding (38 HKD/7 SGD) to share. All of which were delicious and we highly recommend them.
Accidentally ordered fried eggs instead of scrambled.
Next, we headed towards Central Ferry Pier No. 6 [中環碼頭, Zung Waan Maa Tau] where we boarded our ferry towards Lantau Island [大嶼山, Daai Jyu Saan]. The fare was roughly 30 HKD/6 SGD, and can be paid using the Octopus card. The ferry ride was roughly half an hour long, and we arrived by 12pm on sunny Lantau Island at the Mui Wo Ferry Pier [梅窩碼頭, Mui Wo Maa Tau].
Our destination was the Tai O Fishing Village [大澳, Daai Ou], so we took Bus 1 from the Mui Wo Ferry Pier bus terminal straight to the village. It was a half hour winding journey up the mountains with pretty sights along the way.
The Tai O Fishing Village was a quaint little spot with a traditional seafood market and boat tours around the quay. The deeper you go, the less touristy it gets and more local shophouses and obscure temples start to pop up, making it sort of an unadulterated treasure trove. Many houses here are actually made up of recycled ship parts which is pretty unique to an otherwise simple neighbourhood.
After the village, we took Bus 21 from the Tai O Bus Terminal to Ngong Ping village to visit the famous Tian Tan Buddha [天壇大佛, Tin Taan Daai Fat], one of the largest seated Buddha statues in the world. The grounds were scattered with several sacred cows roaming in search of grass to feed on. Don’t get too caught up in taking photos though, lest you miss the piles of dung that occasionally grace the walking paths. The climb up the steps was discomforting in the afternoon heat but the view at the top makes it all worth it. Admission was free but there is a fee of 78 HKD/14 SGD to view a gallery inside which includes a vegetarian meal.
After achieving enlightenment, we took Bus 23 to Tung Chung village, and then the MTR back into the city. We headed to Quarry Bay to visit the iconic Yik Cheong Building [益昌大廈, Jik Coeng Daai Haa] or more commonly known as the ‘Monster Building’, to let out the inner tourist in us. Quarry Bay is an obscure city corner that fully illustrates the cluttered living conditions in this dense metropolis. It’s actually not that easy to find, but if you follow the trail of tourists and hype-beasts you’ll soon be at your destination.
Lastly, we headed for the Yee Shun Dairy Company, a spot recommended by a friend of Ryan’s. Supposedly better tasting than the Australian Dairy Company yet criminally underrated. We took the tram and arrived within walking distance of the place.
Once we arrived we were immediately seated, with a waitress already waiting to take our order, a stark difference from its counterpart. We ordered dinner, a pork cutlet noodle for me and noodles with luncheon meat for Ryan, and for dessert, we got skimmed milk pudding to share. Ryan and I had differing opinions on which was better, he preferred Yee Shun while I stuck with the Australians. To each his own.
The photo’s quality may be questionable, but the steamed milk’s sure isn’t.
With that, we ended our day and headed back to our accommodation.
– Sam
Sixty Four Days 