Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [108]
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KOWLOON
Shopping in Kowloon is a bizarre mix of the down at heel and the glamorous, and an afternoon’s stroll through its shopping quarters should yield quite a few surprises.
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TSIM SHA TSUI, TSIM SHA TSUI EAST & HUNG HOM
Nathan Rd is the main tourist strip, a huge avenue with side streets full of camera, watch and electronics shops, and leather and silk emporiums. Although this is the part of town where you’re most likely to become a victim of sharp practice, Tsim Sha Tsui is also home to a large number of above-board designer and signature shops. Some of these are found in Nathan Rd, but the bulk are in Harbour City, a labyrinthine shopping complex with a mall that stretches nearly 1km from the Star Ferry terminal north along Canton Rd. Many hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui have very upmarket boutique shopping arcades, most notably the Peninsula and the Hotel Inter-Continental.
BEATNIKS Map Clothing & Accessories
2739 8494; Shop 1, Rise Commercial Bldg, Granville Circuit; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit B1)
The selective stock ensures a visit to this vintage-clothing shop isn’t like the jumble-sale rummage you get with many second-hand outlets. The focus here is on street styles and left-field cool, rather than on high fashion or couture.
GRANVILLE ROAD
Map Clothing & Accessories
Granville Rd; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit B2)
If you want to hunt for bargains and have the time and inclination to riffle through racks and piles of factory seconds, the dozen or so factory outlet stores along Granville Rd should reward you with items at a fraction of store prices. It’s pot luck as to what labels you will find, although they tend to be familiar, slightly premium mainstream casual and leisure brands (both international and local). Hotspots include UNO OUN (29 Granville Rd), Sample Moon (30 Granville Rd) and the Baleno Outlet Store (24B Granville Rd).
MUJI Map Clothing & Accessories, Homewares
3188 1818; L4 Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit L4)
This Japanese mini-department-store chain is somewhere between the amazingly diverse iterations you’ll find in Japan and the slightly blander versions you’ll find in Europe. You name it – this place has a smart, inexpensive version of it whether it be smart and wearable his and hers fashion, stationery, accessories, snacks or household items.
SAM’S TAILOR Map Clothing & Accessories
2367 9423; Shop K, Burlington Arcade, 92-94 Nathan Rd; 10am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 10am-noon Sun; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit B1)
It’s not certain that Sam’s is the best tailor in Hong Kong, but it’s the most aggressively marketed and best known. Sam’s has stitched up everyone – from royalty and rock stars to us.
WWW.IZZUE.COM
Map Clothing & Accessories
2992 0612; Shop 2225, 2nd fl, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 25-27 Canton Rd; MTR Tsim Sha Tsui (exit E)
You’ll find simple, energetic and comfortable styles in this chain of bright, modern boutiques. There are 15 outlets throughout the territory, including a branch in Central ( Map; 2868 4066; Upper Ground fl, 10 Queen’s Rd Central).
STAR COMPUTER CITY
Map Computers
2nd fl, Star House, 3 Salisbury Rd; Star Ferry
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JUST FOR KIDS
For hundreds of square feet and dozens of outlets dedicated solely to children, head to the ground floor of the Ocean Terminal ( Click here) at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is packed with children’s clothes, shoe and toy shops.
The following independents should also have something for most youngsters.
Kitty House Gift Shop ( Map; 2890 6968; Shop 229, Island Beverley, 1 Great George St, Causeway Bay; MTR Causeway Bay, exit E) This is just one of the dozens of microstores crammed into Island Beverley selling Japanese cartoon ephemera