Stanley Market is one of the most popular open-air markets in Hong Kong, it has been attracting tourists and locals alike for decades. It is not particularly big but it has got a lot of charm. If you’re looking for Chinese souvenirs such as paintings, Chinese ornaments and handicrafts, personal name engraved chopsticks, this is the right place for you. The market also offers a range of clothing and linen with typical Chinese style lacework and the more popular one is calligraphy - having your name transcribed into Chinese characters.

While you’re in the area, be sure to check out the following:

• Stanley main beach: Stanley Main Beach lies on the opposite side of the peninsula, Stanley Market is only about 5 minutes walk away. From the bus terminus follow Stanley Beach Road for about 200 meters to reach the beach. This is a popular windsurfing beach and is home to the annual dragon boat races.

• Murray House: Murray House is a Victorian-era building in Stanley, Hong Kong. Built in the present-day business district of Central in 1846 as officers' quarters of the Murray Barracks, the building was moved to the south of Hong Kong Island during the 2000s.

• Tin Hau Temple: Located behind Murray House and alongside Stanley Plaza is one of over 70 Tin Hau Temples in Hong Kong, dedicated to the Goddess of the sea and protector of fisherman. Built in 1767, it is the oldest temple on Hong Kong Island.

• Restaurants around the Stanley Waterfront area

Photo credit: sdp3159shoppinghk.blogspot.com

How to get there:

• Citybus services 6, 6A, 6X and 260 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus (MTR Central Station Exit B) on Hong Kong Island, will take you to Stanley Market.

• Bus 66 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus will take you to Stanley Plaza.

The Chinese practice of feng shui (meaning wind and water in Cantonese) have been around for thousands of years, aims to bring about harmony and good luck — through the placement of objects in relation to their natural surroundings. Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also homes and other structures in auspicious manner. The practice is not only still alive in Hong Kong today but is very much thriving, with feng shui consultations being quite the norm among locals.

The feng shui money frog—also known as the three-legged toad or money toad—has deep symbolic roots. It is a mythological creature with three legs that is said to attract wealth and abundance. If you wish someone lots of wealth, gift them this treasure for a lifetime.

Photo credit: Pinterest

Where to buy: Star Arts Co. (Shop KP 29-30, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, inside upper deck entrance)

Tel: +852 2366 0559

Hours: Daily from 09:00am to 5.30pm

In this 3.5-hour cooking class, participants will learn how to make dumplings and Hong Kong egg tarts.

Conducted in English, the “Dumpling Master” will demonstrate the process from making and rolling the dough, preparing and mixing the fillings, forming the dumplings and cooking them! Each participant will make approximately 10 dumplings and 5 egg tarts.

At the end of the class participants will sit down to dine together and exchange their experiences.

Duration: 3.5 hours

Level: Suitable for beginners

Options: Vegetarian options are available.

Overview:

• Arrive at the centre, introduction, and orientation.

• Chef Demonstration.

• Food production and hands-on cooking.

  Each participant will make approximately 10 dumplings and 5 egg tarts.

• Tasting summary (About 25 minutes)

Location: North Point, Hong Kong Island

Logistics: Easily accessible by public transport and mini coach.

Pricing: To be confirmed based on group size. Approximately HK$1200 per person for group sizes over 10.

 

INFORMATION

• Hello! Hong Kong acts as a booking agent for Hong Kong New Oriental Culinary Act and is solely responsible for the booking process. Hello! Hong Kong can not be held responsible or liable for anything which occurs on the day of the activity including but not limited to you missing your scheduled activity and accidents.

• Once the venue booking has been confirmed, the paid deposit will not be refunded.

• No video taking is allowed during the class demonstration, if found, we reserve the right to remove the video or may cause the class suspension.

• If a participant has any food allergies, participants should make their own understanding of the course content and decide whether to enroll even if any allergic reaction has occurred, we will not be held responsible.

• For all damages in cases of intentional and accidental harm, compensation is needed according to the cost.

• Please be responsible to keep your personal belongings, Hong Kong New Oriental Culinary Art will not be held responsible for any lost or stolen items.

• The copyright of all cooking class content is owned by Hong Kong New Oriental Culinary Art. Republication, redistribution, or unauthorized use of any content is strictly prohibited. Hong Kong New Oriental Culinary Art reserves the right to take legal action against the aforesaid acts.

  Bad Weather Arrangement

• If classes are canceled because Typhoon Signal No.8（or above) is hoisted or Black Rainstorm signal is issued,  participants need to reschedule the class accordingly within three months.

• The class will resume as normal 4 hours after Typhoon Warning Signal No. 8 (or above) has been lowered or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal has been canceled.

• Hong Kong New Oriental Culinary Art has the right recording video or shooting pictures during classes or activities held. We have the right to make such content public or for internal review and promotional purposes.

XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong with an umami flavor. It is commonly used in southern Chinese regions such as Guangdong.
Developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO sauce is made of roughly chopped dried seafood, including dried scallops (conpoy), fish, and shrimp, which are cooked with chili peppers, onions, and garlic. This dried seafood-based sauce resembles the Fujianese Shacha sauce. Spring Moon, the Chinese restaurant of the Peninsula Hong Kong hotel, is often credited with the invention of XO sauce, although some claim it came from other nearby restaurants in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon. Source: Wikipedia

Photo credit: The Peninsula Boutique

Where to buy: The Peninsula Boutique (Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon)

Tel: +852 2920 2888

Website: peninsulaboutique.com

Hours: Wong Tai Sin (Daily from 7.30am to 4.30pm), Man Mo (Daily from 8:00am to 06:00pm)

Hong Kong without a doubt has got many ancient and fascinating temples spread across the country, a visit to Hong Kong will not be complete without visiting one. Apart from praying and giving offerings at these temples, the locals visit the temples to ask for blessings and prosperity, as well as to be warded off from bad luck and misfortune whether that is in business, personal lives and health. Temple charm is one of the forms which locals believe will protect them from any harm and bring them luck.
These charms have also become very popular with tourists. Charms come in an assortment of designs and prosperous wishes. Most temples offer charms with varying designs, costs and effectiveness, some can be acquired after a short session of fortune-telling, involving giving information on what year (Chinese Zodiac) of a person who wishes to get the charms. A believer or not, these charms are cute, affordable and make a perfect souvenir to take home as well as a perfect gift for family and friends.

Photo credit: Pinterest

Where to buy: Wong Tai Sin Temple (Lung Cheung Road, Wong Tai Sin, Wong Tai Sin District, New Kowloon)

Man Mo Temple (Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan) or any other big temples in Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2796 1125, 2796 1127

Website: Wong Tai Sin and Man Mo

Hours: Wong Tai Sin (Daily from 7.30am to 4.30pm), Man Mo (Daily from 8:00am to 06:00pm)

Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese porcelain wares made for the imperial court and for export. Porcelain was a Chinese invention and is so identified with China that it is still called "china" in everyday English usage.

At Yuet Tung Chinese Porcelain producer, the porcelain wares are painted with many varieties of patterns and designs that are popular throughout the greater China area. They also have pieces with a famous rooster motif which is a symbol of family prosperity. Yuet Tung China Works has been known to make special order pieces for royal families and government officials of foreign countries, as well as for the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. Its treasured porcelain wares remain pride of Hong Kong today. Source: Wikipedia and Herenow City

Photo credit: christies.com

Where to buy: Yuet Tung China Works (Unit 1-3, 3/F., Kowloon Bay Industrial Centre, 15 Wang Hoi Road, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon)

Tel: +852 2796 1125, 2796 1127

Website: porcelainware.com.hk

Hours: Monday - Sunday: 09:am - 05:00pm

Mahjong is a tile-based game that was developed in China during the Qing dynasty and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have also become popular in Western countries. The game has also been adapted into a widespread online entertainment. Similar to the Western card game rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation, and it involves a degree of chance. Source: Wikipedia

Photo credit: Etsy HK

Where to buy: Wing Wah Mahjong (13 Aberdeen St, Central)

Tel: +852 9035 5848

For more than a hundred years, with its well-known Medicated Oil and Healing Balm, Po Sum On has been an integral part of Hong Kong people’s life and has become a must-have in every household’s medicine cabinet.

Mr. Kwok Chu Nam, founder of Po Sum On and an expert in Chinese herbal medicine, developed a topical oil with a fine blend of medicinal herbs to treat a variety of ailments, naming it the “Po Sum On Medicated Oil”, an oil to assure the well-being of the whole family. The product’s therapeutic effectiveness was proven, and in 1907, the “Po Sum On Medicine Factory” was officially registered as a Hong Kong manufacturer, with its first shop opening at Li Yuen Street West, Central. In 1910, the company adopted the image of a bouncing, happy-looking, heart-warming Chinese boy (Tóngzǐ) as its registered trademark, a symbol of lasting prosperity and joy in traditional Chinese culture. Source: Po Sum On

Photo credit: tabilover.jcb.jp

Where to buy: Any pharmacy in Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2545 1403

Website: Po Sum On Hong Kong

Processed with silver shrimp, shrimp paste is a condiment commonly used in Cantonese and Thai cuisines. Due to the sea-facing location of Tai O, the abundance of silver shrimp gives rise to the local specialty.

In the heyday of the shrimp past trade, there were about 10 manufactories in Tai O. Silver shrimps sourced from local fishermen were salted, crushed and fermented before they were grounded for sundrying in bamboo sieves. The semi-products were mixed well and dried under the sun a few times to become shrimp paste. The trade has now slipped into decline and the traditional flavour is gradually vanishing.

Sing Lee Shrimp Sauce and Paste Manufactory has been operating in Tai O for more than 80 years.  It has upheld the handmade tradition and insisted on using local ingredients in their products, both of which are essential to the unique and memorable taste and aroma of shrimp paste, a must-buy when you visit Tai O village! Source: np360.com.hk

Photo credit: tabilover.jcb.jp

Where to buy: Sing Lee Shrimp Sauce & Paste Manufacturer (10 Shek Tsai Po, Tai O)

Tel: +852 2985 7330

Website: Sing Lee Shrimp Sauce & Paste Manufacturer

Hours: Monday to Sunday: 10:00am - 07:00pm

A seal, in an East and Southeast Asian context, is a general name for printing stamps and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgment or authorship. The process started in China and soon spread across East Asia. China, Japan, and Korea currently use a mixture of seals and hand signatures, and, increasingly, electronic signatures.

Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste. The colloquial name chop, when referring to these kinds of seals, was adapted from the Hindi word chapa and from the Malay word cap, meaning stamp or rubber stamps. In Japan, seals (hanko) have historically been used to identify individuals involved in government and trading from ancient times. The Japanese emperors, shōguns, and samurai each had their own personal seal pressed onto edicts and other public documents to show authenticity and authority. Even today Japanese citizens' companies regularly use name seals for the signing of a contract and other important paperwork. Source: wikipedia

Photo credit: tabilover.jcb.jp

Where to buy: Tangs Store in Peninsula Hotel (Mezzanine Shop No. MW4, The Peninsula Hong Kong, 22 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui)

Tel: +852 2721 1382

Website: Tangs Hong Kong

Hours: Monday to Sunday: Open 24 hours