After a morning appointment in Causeway Bay, I wandered through the market streets of Wanchai to the redeveloped Lee Tung "Wedding Card Street" where I found all of the old printers have gone except for one - the old street widened and replaced by shops and restaurants with luxury apartment buildings looming overhead. I didn't take many photos due to the weather, but these red crates of bottles were a bright spot in the grey.
I settled in a comfy leather armchair for an early lunch at Le Pain Quotidien, one of many, but the first in HK; a place originally founded in Brussels when the chef could not find good bread. I had the Farmer's Lunch set - an open faced sandwich, hummus, salad, and soup. I sat and read, and people watched. There were groups of young moms with nursing babies (yes!), some other older women who I assume had a few hours to themselves while their children were in school, a few singles working on laptops, and some couples. They served coffee in a bowl so I figured I would drink the soup the same way.
After my afternoon appointment, I walked through the streets made famous by The World of Suzie Wong on the way to the Wanchai Star Ferry - a sad sight on its own while the MTR builds its Shatin to Central Link.
There was a Japanese fish market with shops and restaurants on the second floor of the ferry terminal that is currently closed due to lack of traffic due to the construction. A little shop selling wagyu remains selling well-marbled cuts of beef.
On the way to the ferry, the two trees at Central Plaza seemed paradoxical. The fancy new Marriott hotel The St. Regis also stuck out among the older buildings.
Once on the Kowloon side I walked along the waterfront past the Clock Tower and Cultural Centre to check out the HK Museum of Art, that had just opened after a four-year renovation, but found it closed.
I wandered instead to the artsy K11 Musea mall that houses the first MoMA Design Store in HK (temptation!) as well as other upscale shops and restaurants. The mall is part of New World Development's redevelopment of the area called Victoria Dockside consisting of office building, serviced apartment residences and luxury Rosewood Hotel.
