North Point in Hong Kong Island is seldom within the radar range of visitors or expatriate residents. By making the 2.95 miles/4.75 km trip from Central, or six MTR stops away, you will be rewarded with interesting discoveries and perhaps turning a new page in your culinary experience.
Following are some good reasons to start with. To download the one page North Point On Demand Guide with map and transportation information.


  Marble Road Market 馬寶道  
The beginning of Marble Road is pedestrian only  from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Stalls line on one side of the road selling mainly clothes and accessories. If you are planning a spicy dinner, check out the shops behind the stalls that sell Thai, Indian and Indonesian spices. There are also decades old shops like People Congee & Noodle Dai Chung Juk Min 大眾粥麵 and Tak Hing Long 德興隆 selling bean curd – fresh, fried and fermented.
The Chinese residential buildings or tang lau 唐樓 at the odd number side of the road remain mostly undeveloped. These were once dwellings for migrants from Shanghai because of the 1946 civil war. The open balconies of these buildings, except a few, were enclosed to accommodate more people – a common phenomenon in Hong Kong where space is precious.

  Sunbeam Theatre 新光戲院  
The thirty-eight  year old Sunbeam Theatre has its plan of demolition delayed for the time being. The only venue to stage Cantonese opera on a continuous basis, many of the performing troupes are now from Guangdong. For the initiated, there is a music shop selling recordings of popular artists. To have a glimpse of the costumes and elaborate face paintings of performers, pick up a flyer of coming attractions. If you have patience, watching a complete opera may last for nearly three hours.
432 King’s Road 英皇道

  Home Management Centre 
Wanting to take a cooking course? Check out the studio and courses offered at Home Management Centre operated by Hong Kong Electric. To get familiar with what is available in a local wet market, there is one at the Municipal Services Building opposite the Centre.
10/F, Electric Centre, 28 City Garden Road

  Le 188º, Harbour Grand Hotel  
Situated on the 41/F of Harbour Grand Hotel, this restaurant serves buffet lunch with an 188º view of Victoria Harbour. On Saturdays and Sundays, really high tea is served.
23 Oil Street 油街


  View of Lei Yu Mun Channel  
There are actually five approches to view Lei Yu Mun (meaning Carp Gate), the eastern shipping channel of Hong Kong. At North Point, you get the Panoramic View by taking the ferry to Hung Hom. It is particularly beautiful at dusk when lights on the two sides of the channel are turned on. There are public transports at the Hung Hom ferry pier, and the railway station is a short taxi ride away.

  The Slipper Shop 
This shop can be what remains from the Little Shanghai days in the Fifties. It sells beautiful thread and bead embroidered slippers to the tai tai or lady of the house. But the availability of larger sizes is limited.
The shop has no English name. We can translate 英皇拖鞋公司 to “English King’s Slipper Co.” But this may give the wrong impression that it has something to do with "By appointment to His Majesty the King of England." Nor is "King's Slipper Co." better, as it will fall into what a historian suggested "…King's Road in Chinese reads 'English King's Road' – not as neutral a moniker as it may at first appear!"* So, "The Slipper Shop" is to be used.
 G/F, 315 King's Road 英皇道
*Jason Wordie "Streets, Exploring Hong Kong Island"

  Provident Centre Home World Outlets 
For discounted sportswear and baby/children's clothes.
Nike G3 & G5; Adidas G9; Toonsland G22
21–53, Wharf Road 和富道




Hong Kong Food Note – A Culinary Adventure on Your Own
Tired of sorting through a list of restaurant names and reviews? You can actually formulate your personal culinary experience with a starting guidance.
In the HK Radius One Demand Guide, sampling menu of a particular cuisine will be provided, plus the suggestion of a restaurant. Use this as the basis to judge other restaurants with similar dishes. Bestow your ratings and have your own gourmet guide (for friends and visitors) based on personal taste and preference. In North Point, you will be introduced to Shanghai food, Chinese dessert, and the place to buy fresh seafood.

You can also venture into the many restaurants or eateries to your liking. Send your Food Note or any questions to the HK Radius Blog.

Shanghai Cuisine, an important part of Chinese culinary tradition, actually includes dishes originated from nearby provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Many restaurants also include those from Beijing and Sichuan to make the menu more appealing. Prices are inexpensive at the restaurant suggested and the starter menu in the guide includes only traditional Shanghai food.

Sugar Water Tong Shui 糖水 is what local Cantonese call their after supper or late night dessert. Nowadays, with growing affluence, people can satisfy their sweet tooth any time of the day. One is like porridge, with ingredients such as red peas, green peas or sesame. The other is in the form of soup with sweet potato or egg and bean curd skin. As to Rice Balls in Soup Tong Yuen 湯圓, this is made of glutinous rice flour with fillings and served in ginger water. Start your journey to China’s sweet territory from North Point, which can be an adventurous and sometimes challenging experience.


Live Seafood Stall,  North Point Ferry Pier  
If you wish to enjoy fresh seafood, not in a restaurant, but with your family in the comfort of your own home, here is a fresh idea. Make the pier the last stop of your trip. Choose from an international selection of catches from the sea – scallop, abalone, shrimp, fish, crab, and more. Have your family recipe get alive again in your dining room.
Copyright © 2010 by Jude Lam - Hong Kong Dollarsaver

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