We woke up real early on Day 3 to make sure we'll get a good head start and to maximize the hours we have. We caught a cab to Admiralty and had brunch at 'Tai Ka Lok' or Coral De Cafe. Now this is a very well known Chinese fast food restaurant chain serving typical HK gastranomic offerings such as BBQ pork rice, cheese baked rice etc. We both had the Two Combination Rice (BBQ Pork & Roasted Duck and BBQ pork & steamed chicken) and it's a crime by my books not to order the 'Yin Yong' (a blend of milk tea and coffee) there. Oh and SY had their borsch soup as well.
Hunger pangs solved, we bought tickets for both the amusement park and bus ride and soon boarded the double decker bus destined for Ocean Park. This is HK's 'other' Disneyland and we could see throngs of tourist mingling outside especially from Mainland China upon arrival. This amusement park is really huge and is divided into two separate sections (Highland and Lowland) linked by a cable car system. We were dropped off at the Highland and proceeded in. Once inside, we studied the park's map and went to join the nearest queue for one of 'em mini roller coaster ride. The waiting time was rather long, so we decided to bail and explore the rest of the park instead. Going up through a series of very long and steep escalators later, our next stop was the Aquarium. There we feasted our eyes on the very rich marine life co-habiting in a very large glass encased aquarium. The sight of large manta rays gliding gracefully between the fierce looking nurse sharks, the ever hurrying tunas streaming past the lonesome leatherback turtle and so many others painting a very colourful picture against the blend of sapphire and emerald oceanic canvas was indeed most mesmerizing. We ooh-ed and aah-ed for quite some time before heading to The Dragon. It's another roller coaster ride and this one goes 360 deg a couple of loops. Thankfully the queue wasn't long and before you know it, SY and I were zooming lightning quick through the metal tracks of the ride. We played a couple of fun-fair games in the hope of winning some soft toy prizes for SY. Our 'investments' paid off when by the end of the day we managed to bag 2 medium sized cuties (a zebra and a frog) and a li'll dragon.
Lunch was taken at another chinese cafe inside the park and guess what I had ... practically what I ordered for brunch earlier ... two combination rice with an iced 'yin yong'. Haha. Can't get enough of these. :p SY went for the BBQ pork cutlet bun.
At mid afternoon, we seated ourselves for the dolphin and sea lion show. The venue was packed to the max with certain people inconsiderately sitting on the staircases but we enjoyed it very much nevertheless. A short cable car ride brought us to the Lowlands and we headed straight to the Panda Bear enclosure. There were four of them adorable lazy buggers there. Three of them were sleeping most of them time and the remaining one was feeding himself and naturally attracted the most crowd. Oh and we even saw one of em' doing his No.2 ... shameless huh. :) It was my first time seeing this gentle creatures up close and the experience was very memorable. We then took a leisurely walk towards the Dolphin University where the park's animal trainers study and train the sea lions and dolphins alike for their shows. From watching the park's staff working, one can be educated on the way the animals live. Alas it was almost closing time, hence we didn't get to see much of it. Boo hoo!
Amidst all the fun, we actually tired ourselves quite a bit and so we decided to head out of Ocean Park. Waving goodbye, we hopped into an awaiting taxi and directed the driver to take us to Stanley. We drifted in and out of sleep before reaching our next destination. Upon alighting from our ride, we noticed that there's some sort of event being held and soon realised that Cathay Pacific together with the Hong Kong Jockey Club had booked the place for a partayyy. With all the reporters and tuxedo donning crowd on the red carpet, we ignored the commotion and headed in to find a nice restaurant so that we could eat and rest. The event actually booked the ENTIRE bloody place. So clutching our soft toys won from Ocean Park, we embarassingly headed for the exit. SY's constant giggling didn't help divert the attention away from us. Haha. People were staring but none came to 'apprehend' us, so all was good. Hehe. Walking along the rest of Stanley, we browsed through many li'll shops plying local trade and ended up buying souveneirs for our families. Dad got his name engraved on a Chinese marble stamp, bought Mom her usual fridge magnets and bros ... t-shirts.
Dinner was at Bays De Brasserie, a fusion based restaurant and the soft lighting and soothing music resonated a most relaxing ambience. We had fried calamari, potato skins, creamy pasta and bangers & mash. After dinner, the both of us decided to head back home since our aching bodies were screaming for rest time. Upon reaching our apartment, SY's aunt called and invited us for dinner at The Peak Gallery's Jap restaurant. We obliged and it was a bloody good decision to go since the food there was oh so scrumptious. Really top notched quality and not to mention real expensive too. From sea urchins to wagyu beef, sashimi to assorted sherbets and premium sake ... this second dinner was worth every single calory gained. Yummilicious and without a doubt the best Jap meal I ever had.
After dinner, we took a slow and pleasant drive home and it certainly didn't take us long to head to Lalaland very soon after. ZZZzzzZZZzzz ... to be continued ...
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