Hong Kong City Guide

Adjust font size:

Check out The Scene's recommendations for the Chinese city and send us your own suggestions and ideas below.

SEE: Hong Kong can wear down even the hardiest of travelers, with its oppressive combination of heat and humidity, ear-splitting noise and lung-filling pollution. That said, it offers a lot to inspire anyone from a stop-over sojourn to a lengthier stay. Simplest (and cheapest) pleasure, and save it for a clear day or night, get yourself on the upper deck of the Star Ferry from Central to Tsim Sa Tsui and back, stopping off for a wander and a gander at the city's impressive skyline from the TST harbor front. Or even combine it with afternoon tea at the Intercontinental Hotel, where massive windows open up to Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong islands magnificent view. If you are lucky you may even get one of the few old-style sail junks floating by. Speaking of views, the panorama from The Peak is a real eye-opener. The tram ride up is the touristy thing to do, but if you have more time on your hands, try walking up from Conduit Road. It is steep and sweaty, but a pleasant escape from the urban jungle. To whittle away time on a wet day, The Hong Kong Story exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History is a must-see. For many of the mainland Chinese, Hong Kong's new Disneyland theme park is a destination of choice. Certainly, a good place to keep the kids happy but unless man-size mice is your idea of a holiday, steer clear. Stuck on the island, a great escape is to the beaches of Shek O or the very tranquil South Bay beach. But the choice of a full day activity is without a doubt the trek to Tai Long Wan in the new territories. Quite involved to get there, train, bus/taxi, sampan ride and then a 40-minute hike up a mountain, but your efforts are rewarded by a beer and lunch on the seaside and then a picturesque beach (with surf) virtually all for yourself.

BE SEEN: New bars crop up or are reborn on an almost weekly basis, with the in-crowd easily swayed to the latest and trendiest of the set. The boozy haunts of Wan Chai and on the Kowloon side, Aqua and the Philippe Starck-designed Felix are still the bars with the best view in Hong Kong atop 49 Hollywood Road and the lush Peninsula Hotel respectively. The toilets at Felix are well worth the relief. Other bars -- Dragon-I has been the trendiest hangout among Hong Kong's elite, with its entrance often blocked by sparkling, and poorly driven, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other yuppie signatures. Difficult to get into on the usual busy nights, this place is packed with pretty, albeit rather bored looking, models. The owner of the bar has a connection with a modeling agency, hence the prettiness of the place. Also still popular after many years, Drop, F.I.N.D.S, the Kee Club, the China Club and the New York-style 1/5 in Star Street, Wan Chai. The converted antique shop Feather Boa is more stylish, but word of mouth is proving its downfall as it has slipped from a cosy, classy venue favored for its delicious daiquiris to a business-suit packed pain in the proverbial. It's about the size of a cupboard and you'll have to find the hidden doorway, but if you do manage to get it on a quiet night, make sure you arm yourself with a strawberry daiquiri complete with chocolate. Also worth checking out is Club 71, hidden in the burgeoning NoHo (North of Hollywood Rd) with an outdoor terrace. This is the relocated Bar 64 and the best chilled out, no nonsense place to get a beer and talk politics with the locals. Not far away is Amber -- one of the latest art-style bars. You are even encouraged to bring your own CDs.

EAT: It's not hard to find good food in Hong Kong if you know what you're looking for. Anything in 1 Canton is marvellous but will hurt the wallet. Hu Tong is regarded among the best restaurants in Hong Kong. Black Sheep in Shek O is a treat. You must have dim sum: Maxim's at City Hall opposite Queen's Pier is all the things you could ask for -- women with trolleys, noise, massive chandeliers etc. -- or try the aptly-titled Dim Sum in Happy Valley. For proper Beijing-style dumplings, the Beijing Dumpling House on Jaffe Road . Peking Garden (many branches) is getting a reputation for its duck and also its sweet chilli deep fried prawns. For seafood, take the ferry out to Sok Ku Wan, a village on Lamma Island's eastern shore, and unleash diners upon more than a dozen seaside restaurants, some of Hong Kong's finest. Top choice: Lamma Hilton. Or get the slow ferry from Central to Mui Wo on Lantau then make your way to Lower Cheung Sha beach for lunch and Pimms at The Stoep restaurant, an open air South African bbq place that can get quite busy on Sunday with the junk crowd. The Peak Lookout has changed hands recently with the original Peak Cafe now located in town beside the Central-Mid-levels escalators, but the Lookout is still the place to head for lunch with a view. If you're after cheap and cheerful check out the Indian restaurants at Chungking Mansions -- probably best experienced through a post-drink haze. Or head for Wing Wah Lane -- also known as "Rat Alley," a splurge of Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese eateries that offer some of the few open air dining experiences on the main island.

Senators praise, attack Sotomayor The Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor began Monday with leading Democrats and Republicans signaling a fierce ideological debate ...

---

• Mississippi reconciliation: 2 men unite 4 generations later
• Fla. slayings probe full of turns
• Missing Somali-American killed
• One prison escapee caught
• Surgeon general pick announced

• Obama announces his pick for surgeon general
• 7 U.S. troops, linguist hurt in Iraq blast
• NASA tries for 5th time to launch Endeavour
• Sotomayor shaped by Puerto Rico, family says
• Anita Hill: High time for court diversity

• Talkin' 'Icky Thump' blues (1:40)
• 'Why you treat yourself bad?' (3:15)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)
• Unseemly rap lyrics targeted (3:29)
• Now In The News (Updated: 9:23 a.m. ET)