Food Shopping Hong Kong

As I learned in Manila, often the best resources are hidden gems that you discover over time as you get to know a place. Hong Kong, I think, is even more like this than Manila simply because things are tucked away all over the place. There are a lot of large grocery stores that cater to expats, but they are super, super pricey. I have continually been shocked by the cost of things we consider necessities: milk, bread, cheese, meat of any kind. Fruits and veg I can get at the wet markets for decent prices, and you can find most dried goods at discount chains like 759, Prizemart, or Best Mart 360. But the other stuff, well I'm always on the hunt for the best deal. There's a great FB group called Budgeting and Saving Money in Hong Kong, which is a great resource for finding deals. The nice thing about Hong Kong is that there are plenty of other expats who have been here far longer than I who have already done a lot of the work for me! I've listed them first followed by some of the other resources I've found so far that I particularly like.

Resource Sites
Mango Menus

Dairy
Farm Milk Company

Meat
Texas Food Supplies
The Meat Square
Meat Market
Jett Foods
Woo Hing Hong
MM Fresh
Three Butchers
Lung Wah

Fish
Ap Lei Cahu Wet Market (Aberdeen)
Sai Kung Wet Market

Cheese
The Dutch Shop - I've been obsessed with Gouda since my first visit to little sister in Amsterdam, so I was super excited to find this little shop whose name says it all. It's not exactly cheap (I'm embarrassed to admit how much money I've spent in this shop), but I'm willing to pay for the quality!
Great Food Hall - While I mostly think this market is overpriced, they do have an awesome selection of cheeses and very good cold cuts (if you're willing to pay $5 USD per 100 grams that is). I also particularly like their prepared food, like their thai pomelo salad, which I think are a slightly better deal then the rest of their products.

Bread
hkBreadbox

Specialty Grocery
Kiran's Provision Store - Indian supermarket chain
Oliver's - Reminds me a lot of Santi's in Manila. Very high end with good quality products, but expect to pay out the nose.
Le Magasin - French
Indian Provision Store - Indian store in TST

General Grocery
Dai Sang Supermarket
Leo's Fine Foods - Bulk buy store, meaning the prices are lower but you'll have to find the space to store it all.
Spice Store

Markets
Island East Farmers Market
Chun Yeung Market (Quarry Bay)
Bowrington - Wan Chai/Causeway Bay

Fruit & Veg - just a side note that I mostly think it's silly to get organic fruit and veg delivery in Hong Kong because it costs an arm and a leg while the local produce is generally quite good and can be gotten for a good price at the wet markets. However, I do think it's worth it for some products. I generally shop at the Wan Chai market because it is close to us, but I buy produce all over the place.
EcoFarm

General Store
Sogo - Japanese chain, one in Causeway Bay and one in TST

Home Leave Part 1.1 - Pu Family in Albuquerque

It's kind of fun going back through all my vacation photos and trying to pick out just the right ones, but it's also incredibly time consuming. And I am not a girl with a lot of time on her hands right now. C is back from boarding school this week for her Spring Break, so we are spending more time than usual away from home showing her around the city. Also, Husband and J leave next week to go on her class trip to Xi'an, so I'm trying to squeeze in some quality J time, too, before they jet off.* What I'm trying to say is, ya get what ya get! 

Husband and De-I showing off their custom made suits from our tailor in the Philippines.

AinA and daughter, L, having a giggle.

MR and son, A, debating whether or not to brave the cold outside and join in the foam sword battle.

Hiking with Husband in the foothills of the gorgeous Sandia Mountains, which are just steps away from my parents' backyard.

Sandia selfie!

Cousins enjoying a day at the Albuquerque aquarium.

 Albuquerque Science Center (aka Explora) - hands down the best activity with kids in Albuquerque.

Everybody loves playing in the box!

N grinning because he probably just knocked down the baby gate for the 15 millionth time. 

C enjoying some baby snuggle time.

*As a side note can I just say how freaking crazy it is to that my 3rd grader's class trip is to Xi'an, China. My class field trips were to places like, I don't know, the zoo or the park. While I want to say that my kids are so incredibly fortunate (and they are), I also feel it necessary to point out that trips like this are not covered by the tuition, which is paid by the government. These extra activities are paid out of pocket and we don't have an opt out choice. So before you feel even a twinge of jealousy just remember how many extra thousands of dollars I have to pay out of pocket for my kids to have these kinds of experiences!

Hong Kong Interlude

Gong hei fat choi, ya'll! Happy, happy Chinese New Year! I interrupt this looong look back through time to share a little bit of what's currently going on in our world. Just to catch you up, yes we are actually in Hong Kong, and yes, we totally freaking love it here! HK is a dream post. That doesn't mean everything is totally perfect, of course. Every place has its good points and its bad points. But I can say with confidence that the good points here heavily outweigh the bad points. Hong Kong is a vibrant, exciting city with a ton of things to do. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface of our new home, and we are already in love with the ease of movement, the feel and vibe of the city, and how quickly and seamlessly we have integrated into life here.

 Lion Dance just up the street from our apartment (apparently it's very common here for buildings to sponsor these dances during Chinese New Year for good fortune).

We live just a few blocks away from Hong Kong Park and the Hong Kong Zoo. Hong Kong is full of places for kids, you just have to suss them out sometimes. The second photo is from a kid zone called Happy Jump Land tucked away in a mall called the Dragon Center in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon.

Kowloon side - great for cheap eats and markets to be shared with 1 million of your closest friends :)

More Chinese New Year pictures from around town.

The view from our apartment. Life really can't get much better than this.