Category Archive for Hong Kong + Macau
Hong Kong shopping guide & travel tips! Cute panda cookies, Hello Kitty fashion, Uniqlo, Sogo.
Hong Kong is all about eating and shopping. I did a bit of both on my most recent trip.
Read on for a peek inside the Chinese city’s cutest stores, and my latest Business Insider article about kawaii food.
Sweet meets Gothic, in this Kowloon shopping mall.
Corset skirt: Atelier Pierrot, from Laforet Harajuku (see photos from inside this Tokyo department store)
Mary Jane shoes: Demonia
Hong Kong locals love to take photos with funny backdrops. Shopping centers often have displays, like this “Sweets Paradise” one in Kowloon, for that very purpose.
Remember when my friends and I posed in the “Magician’s Liar” last year in Mongkok?
Japanese pop culture is extremely popular here, hence the “Sushi Oishii.”
What do you think I’ll find on my plate?
Hopefully not these “Black or White” burgers from McDonalds (dyed with squid ink, they look inedible). I prefer the cute Rilakkuma buns from 7-Eleven.
Better yet: these panda bear cookies from Kee Wah Bakery! I gave a box to Seby and to Naomi.
I’ve taken you inside many of Hong Kong’s malls, but here are photos from a not-so-known area, Whampoa. It’s home to a boat-shaped department store and Treasure World.
Hong Kong’s my favorite place to pick up cute accessories (I just got a fat-cat bag and wallet). Characters such as Rilakkuma are plentiful, but prices are much cheaper than in Japan.
I always stop by the cosmetics chain, SaSa. You can get Japanese makeup brands and gyaru eyelashes for half the Tokyo price.
You know Hello Kitty is popular when she has her own store, a collaboration with KiLaRa.
In addition to casual wear, the shop has red-bowed purses, shoes…
…and tons of kawaii accessories.
Monchichi monkey jewelry is sold in the Japanese department store, Sogo (it has locations in Causeway Bay and Tsum Sha Tsui).
Also in Sogo: the girly-lace-romantic-pop brand, Liz Lisa.
Clear purses and scalloped fabric are currently in. (Compare these Liz Lisa photos to the ones I took last year.)
The crochet garments are great for layering (I bought the white one on the middle mannequin).
Often, I find bizarre-cute items (like this Wario shirt) simply by wandering around. In Causeway Bay, there’s a “squish-faced cat store” — a pet store that specializes in Exotic Shorthair kitties!
It’s a Hello Kitty world. We only live in it.
Sanrio teamed up with Uniqlo for a tshirt and tank tops line.
I leave you with these panda bear bags. For more details about the various malls and brands, read my Hong Kong shopping posts.
What do you think of Hong Kong’s clothing selection? Would you gobble up these panda biscuits?
Speaking of – I have a new article in Business Insider, with 30 photo of kawaii food! Snoopy cakes, Hello Kitty bentos, mouse lattes and more.
In your opinion, who does cute cooking better, Hong Kong or Tokyo? If you’re intrigued by this food trend, I wrote a book about it that includes recipes: Cute Yummy Time. Bon appetit!
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A big, cute rubber duck in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Harbour? Off to Eastern Europe with Eurail, in August!
Ai-yah! Hong Kong’s being invaded by a giant (and ridiculously cute) yellow rubber duck! What shall we do?
Strike a pose with it, of course. That’s the Asian way.
Keep reading for more silly photos of the floating ducky. But first, let me announce my next journey…
I’ve teamed up with Eurail.com, and they’re sending my filmmakers and me on a journey to Eastern Europe! We’ve dubbed it… “Eurail-Vision.”
This railway company specializes in all-access Europe passes — meaning you can hop across the continent, and visit up to 28 countries, with a single train ticket. Eurail has just launched a Japanese site, and I’m excited to give the service a whirl.
Since our schedules are tight and we’ve seen most of Western Europe, my team and I decided to do an Eastern circuit beginning in Vienna. Our First Class Global Passes arrived with this map to help plot our route. Going clockwise, we’ll hit: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), Belgrade (Serbia), Zagreb (Croatia), and pass through Slovenia on the way back to Wien.
Of course, we’ll document our journey for you via travel videos, blog and social media. Be sure to add @lacarmina and @eurail so that you won’t miss out. (All links to my social networks are in the footer and top right sidebar.)
Do you think the mega-duck will follow me to Europe? This charming work by Dutch conceptual artist, Florentijn Hofman, has traveled to 12 global cities since 2007.
In early June, I visited the duck before he floated away from Hong Kong. The kawaii-loving locals went crazy over this attraction.
Kowloon Harbour was packed with camera-wielding spectators, especially families. (This same location held the 100 Doraemon statues last year.)
Funny story: at one point, the duck deflated! Thankfully, someone plumped him back up again.
A typical Chinese scene: the caretaker struggles to shield the child from the sun with a parasol.
This girl doesn’t look very happy to be sandwiched by a row of baby ducks.
And this woman… has no idea how to pose.
Let the fashion blogger show you how it’s done. (Sunglasses are Dolce & Gabbana; top is Banana Fish from Closet Child.)
Did the cute duck photos make you squeal? Got recommendations for my upcoming trip (Vienna, Zagreb, Budapest, Belgrade, Bratislava)? I’m especially looking for hip, emerging places to feature. Let me know in the comments or contact me!