Family Holiday Photoshoot in Mongkok, Hong Kong (December 2023)

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During the December school holidays in 2023, we went on a 6D5N free and easy trip to Hong Kong. It was towards the end of December and the weather was freezing cold! Obviously, the ladies in the family were insufficiently dressed and attracted amused stares from the locals! It was a very memorable shoot for all of us as it was drizzling in Mong Kong on the morning of our photoshoot.

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I had engaged the services of Cyan Production after chancing upon their works on Instagram which gave off the vibes which I like. Was pleasantly surprised that their rates are actually very reasonable and affordable in contrast to other photographers that I had contacted. I wasn’t willing to splurge on a one-hour shoot as all I wanted was some decent family photos during our holiday that wouldn’t (further) burn a hole in my pocket.

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A whatsapp chat group was set up before our shoot and Patrick was our assigned photographer. We decided on the meeting point and time, and also communicated on the type of photos I was looking for.

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I love the look of Hong Kong’s old buildings and big colorful signboards, both of which are very unique and representative of the country. As it was really cold, the one-hour shoot actually felt kinda long but we enjoyed ourselves!

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Would definitely recommend doing an outdoor family photoshoot if you are travelling to Hong Kong, or anywhere in the world!

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Photos from Hong Kong Disneyland coming up next! 🙂

Hong Kong Photoshoot with Shoot My Travel

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During our Hong Kong trip late last year, we dedicated some time to a casual family photoshoot in Central area. We wanted a little tour around the area as well, and what better way than to engage a freelance photographer via Shoot My Travel? It’s the perfect way to experience the city through the lens of a local photographer! Shoot My Travel photographers are available in over 250 destinations so you can always easily engage one wherever you go. Wylie was our photographer and we communicated via emails and subsequently whatsapp prior our trip.

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It is very important to discuss your preferences and expectations with your photographer so that you can have a smooth photoshoot on the day itself. Based on previous experiences, a shoot in the morning is better for us because the kids are chirpy and smiley, before their nap time that is. After deciding on the date and time of the shoot, we moved on to settle the location of the shoot. I told Wylie that I wanted to avoid modern architecture as I preferred Hong Kong’s colonial charm. She provided some really good suggestions and Central appealed the most to me.

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I totally forgot about planning our outfits for the shoot and was about to haphazardly throw in some clothes into our luggage when Wylie texted to ask if we will be in matching attires. It was difficult to pick out something coordinated which we have not worn before in previous shoots but I finally managed to go for a neutral-colored theme, with the girls watching matching dresses. I think we look pretty ok in the photos!

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Wylie went the extra mile and got her assistant to help us with our bags and stroller so it really lightened our load during the shoot. They arrived early and we got to commence the photoshoot right away. This is very crucial especially when you have young children! Every second counts! LOL.

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The shoot was a relaxing one and we got to explore the area which we couldn’t have done so without Wylie showing us around. It was a pity we could only one hour because the kids usually get restless very quickly! I would definitely recommend going for at least a two-hour shoot if you can afford the time. Shoot My Travel has various packages that can cater to your needs.

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Rates start from USD$234 and gift cards are also available to surprise your friends or loved ones! For more information or to book a photographer, visit https://www.shootmytravel.com/

Madame Tussauds Hong Kong

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Heyyy chewy friends! How’s it going? Hahaha I’m back again to continue blogging about our Hong Kong trip which took place in November last year! OMG blog so long still haven blog finish! LOL. I know it’s funny that we have not been to Madame Tussauds in Singapore and yet, made it a must-visit in Hong Kong. Psst.. You will find out why really soon 😛

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Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is located at The Peak and there are a few ways to get there. We took the Peak Tram and the queue was excruciatingly long under the hot sun. While we were queuing, I almost wanted to give up and kept thinking if it was a bad idea to make this part of our itinerary. But once you get there, you will come to realise that it is all worth it. LOL. I’m not so much into Taiwanese or Hong Kong artistes actually. This is Ethan Ruan if you duno. Haha.

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Of course must take photo with Andy Lau. Do you know that you can feel his “heartbeat”?

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Wahahaha Albert Einstein. Sorry I barely made it for Physics.

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Donnie Yen is the man! I enjoyed all his Ip Man movies tremendously!

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Yup I’m training under him lol.

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AND OMG OMG OMG. THIS IS THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

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SARANG HAEYO OPPA!

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Ok seriously I was very happy that the Korean section was relatively empty. I was expecting a long queue for Lee Jong Suk oppa. But none cuz it’s a weekday I suppose lol but very happy la! I HOGGED HIM OKAY.

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I really took many photos with him and these are some of my favorites.

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HAPPY UNTIL OMG CANNOT SLEEP. Now you know why I had to visit Madame Tussauds! 😛

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IDK wassup with Little misschewy’s constipated face. Haha!

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Park Hae Jin oppa also not bad la!

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The Korean section really my favorite!

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Jay Chou doesn’t look exactly like Jay Chou. I feel that his eyes are a lot smaller here 🙁

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The hubs and I really like G.E.M Tang’s songs! She’s such a pretty, young and talented artiste.

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Hahaha so difficult to get these two to pose properly.

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Upon exiting the museum, you will see a small shop selling all kinds of souvenir.

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Visiting Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong is definitely one of my best decisions ever! 😀

Madame Tussauds
Shop P101,
The Peak Tower,
128 Peak Road,
The Peak,
Hong Kong Island
Tel: +852 2849 6966

Opening Hours:
Daily
10am – 10pm

Changi Recommends X Ocean Park

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It has been raining a lot in Singapore and I can’t help but be reminded of the wet weather experience we had at Ocean Park during our Hong Kong trip in November. We spent almost a week in Hong Kong and the weather was perfect, except that it rained the entire day in Ocean Park, right from the minute we set foot on the theme park! *Grumbles* Hahaha. It was too late to make any changes to our plans so we decided to just embrace the cool weather and have fun!

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While researching for our trip, I found out that the MTR South Island Line opened in December 2016 and there is direct access to the park entrance if you alight at Ocean Park Station. Super convenient and it’s only 3 stops away from our hotel!

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Besides the convenience in travelling, we also got our admission tickets and fast passes via Changi Recommends! Basically, you can get everything covered just by visiting the website! Changi Recommends offer good deals on connectivity (WiFi and SIM), transport, and activities, etc! Getting our Ocean Park tickets before our trip is definitely a good decision as there are huge money savings and most importantly, we saved time without having to queue for our tickets at the park.

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Entering the park with our e-Tickets was a total breeze too, as we simply had to flash our phone to get the QR codes scanned. Alternatively, you may also print the tickets on A4-sized paper 🙂

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Although Ocean Park offers complimentary WiFi, we found that it was a little unstable (not sure if the rainy weather played a part? haha) and we got disconnected at times, much to our frustration. Good thing we had our WiFi router which we had loaned from Changi Recommends! In fact, staying connected throughout our holiday was vital as we often had to seek information online as well as update my social media pages with photos of our trip! Hehe.

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Ocean Park is really huge and it’s basically divided into The Summit (highland) and The Waterfront (lowland). I also highly recommend going for the Ocean FasTrack as it gives you priority accesses for designated rides and attractions. It’s kind of like a fast pass and we managed to beat the queue for the Ocean Express!

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The Summit features all the crazy exciting rides that you can think of and they are definitely not for the faint-hearted! Needless to say, we did not go for any of these rides because we weren’t up for it, plus it was raining! Also, Little misschewy did not meet the minimum height requirement for all the rides there. LOL.

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The restaurants were all packed because it was lunch time and everyone was seeking shelter, so we decided to stop by a food kiosk for a quick bite instead. The giant turkey leg was so juicy and delicious!

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Since we are already at The Summit, we checked out the Ocean Theatre where there was an animal fun talk on seals.

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Took the Ocean Express back to The Waterfront and both girls fell asleep because it was their nap time.

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Again, we managed to skip the queue at The Grand Aquarium, thanks to our FasTrack band which was worn around our wrists!

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Time for a snack!

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This is one of the mascots at Ocean Park but I can’t remember his name. Haha.

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Each time we passed by the mascot meet and greet booth, we would take a photo with the various mascots on duty. Lol! Super cute can!

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Don’t have to worry about getting hungry as there are plenty of food kiosks and restaurants scattered all over Ocean Park.

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Whiskers Harbour has up to 11 attraction rides that are more suitable for young children of Little misschewy’s age.

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Hahaha just to make sure that Little misschewy is eligible for the Frog Hopper ride.

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Totally clueless before the ride lol.

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The hubs and I were really evil because we kept laughing when Little misschewy got frightened and buried her face in her hands.

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On the Balloons Up-Up-And-Away ride! It’s actually a mini ferris wheel that moves really really slowly. Haha.

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Make sure you stop by Whiskers Theatre to catch the Ocean Heroes!

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It is very meaningful as you will get to learn about ocean conservation through the songs and dances. Although the songs were in Cantonese, we could get the message through their wonderful performance.

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There are a number of baby care rooms in Ocean Park so it shouldn’t be an issue if you want to feed your little ones or have his/her diapers changed.

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Finally it was time for our cable car ride! It is another must-do at Ocean Park! The kids loved it so much!

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This place is like a mini Chinatown. Very good for photo ops!

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There are a few game stalls so if you are feeling lucky, do give it a shot and win some prizes!

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We actually stayed till closing time! Can’t wait to revisit Ocean Park when the kids are slightly older and of course, thank you Changi Recommends for the awesome experience!

Dim Sum Icon Hong Kong X Spongebob Squarepants

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Oops! Things got quiet around here once again! Hahaha guess I got carried away with catching up on my Kdrama 😛 So yes, I’m back to blog about the one and only dim sum meal that we had during our Hong Kong trip!

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We only had 5 days in HK, of which 3 were spent in Disneyland and Ocean Park. Too much food that we wanted to eat but due to limited time and also limited stomach space, we had to get our priorities right. Haha! I’m a sucker for all things cute so it was a no-brainer that we must visit Dim Sum Icon thanks to their cartoon themed dim sum!

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Prior our trip, I was really excited because it was Miffy before that (which I wasn’t too keen on) and we were just in time for the launch of Spongebob dim sum!

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Thankfully, Dim Sum Icon accepts reservations via private messaging on their Facebook page and replies were really quick.

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There are two Dim Sum Icon branches and we went to the one at Tsim Sha Tsui at The ONE. Yes la the one at The ONE. LOL. GEDDIT? Reservation was for 5pm and there were quite a number of occupied tables already! Dim sum all day err day! They open from 11am to 11pm btw.

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We also took this opportunity to catch up with Jen, founder and CEO of WanderSnap, together with her partner, over a meal. You can read about our WanderSnap photoshoot experience in Hong Kong here and in Bali here.

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While I was flipping through the menu, I wanted to order almost everything! Some because too cute la!

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The two men went for a non Spongebob drink, the frozen Sakura beer served in a Unicorn drink float. We even got to keep the float after that!

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Not sure what was so special about the Pineapple Special Drink (HK$49) because it tasted like pure pineapple juice to me lol.

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Steamed Egg Yolk Buns with Taro (HK$49) were quite fluffy and delish.

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Nothing to shout about for the Egg Tarts (HK$49).

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I wonder why not real chicken meat for the Glutinous Rice with Vegetarian Chicken and Fried Eggs (HK$49) but surprisingly, this was really yummy.

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I really liked the Steamed Truffle and Mushroom Buns (HK$49)! Anything truffle is always a good idea lol.

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My favorite of the lot deserves another shot.

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Honey French Toast with Egg Yolk Filling (HK$59) is also worthy of mention. A well balanced mix of sweet and savoury.

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Layered Cantonese Sponge Cake (HK$39) was soft, chewy and not overly sweet.

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Patrick Steamed Taro Pudding with Lollipop in Coconut Shell (HK$49) was served warm and I highly recommend this as dessert to end your dim sum meal.

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On the overall, misterchewy and I were impressed that the food at Dim Sum Icon was actually quite delicious! I feel that the savoury items were the best! If you only have time for ONE dim sum place, Dim Sum Icon would be your best bet.

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Dim Sum Icon TSTL
308, 3/F,
The ONE, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
(Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit B1 or B2)

Dim Sum Icon Central
B/F Century Square, 1 D’Aguilar St, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2807 1682

Opening Hours:
Daily
11am – 11pm

OMQ Dining Room Hong Kong 老夫子餐馆

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While planning for our Hong Kong trip, I made sure to search for kid-friendly cafes and was happy to have stumbled upon OMQ Dining Room in the course of my research. OMQ stands for Old Master Q, 老夫子 in Chinese.

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I don’t know about you, but I sort of grew up reading 老夫子 comics when I was a kid. Instead of magazines, I would pore over 老夫子 comics at the hairdresser’s because I appreciated the light-hearted humour.

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We took the MTR to Prince Edward and via Exit E, managed to easily locate OMQ Dining Room along Nathan Road. Had to climb a flight of stairs to the restaurant on the second floor.

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As you can see, there is plenty of opportunities for photos even before you enter the restaurant.

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This is actually a dining area! Yup complete with table and seater for four to six people. When we reached, it was already occupied by another family.

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The hubs ordered a set meal and chose this fancy looking drink! Can’t remember what is it called but we were surprised when it was served. Wasn’t expecting the cotton candy!

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Minestrone soup was tangy and appetite-whetting.

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Very tender and juicy pork chop!

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I think it was our first time trying fried pigeon and we loved it! There wasn’t much meat to begin with but its taste was quite rich and on the overall it was kinda fatty. Definitely must try!

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Ardent fans of Old Master Q comics will be pleased to know that OMQ merchandise can be bought at the cafe!

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OMQ Dining Room
1/F, Amber House,
777-781 Nathan Road,
Prince Edward
Tel: 3702 1678

Opening Hours
Daily
11am – 11pm

The Chewys’ Hong Kong Disneyland Photoshoot by WanderSnap

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During our recent trip to Hong Kong, I featured WanderSnap in one of my Instagram posts and subsequently received a handful of DMs asking me to share more about this revolutionary photography portal. In case you missed it, I had previously blogged about our very first experience with WanderSnap in Bali earlier this year. 🙂

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WanderSnap affordably connects families and businesses with local photographers to create beautiful work and life images. What I like about WanderSnap is the flexibility it gives. You won’t find yourself groaning about fixed photography packages that are way out of your budget. Instead, there is a huge pool of snappers for you to choose from based on how much their works resonate with you, as well as the snappers’ hourly rates. Of course, that keeps everyone happy!

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Why hire a snapper from WanderSnap when you can simply take selfies? Honestly, I’m so done with selfies. As we are a growing family (from two to four lol), it gets incredibly challenging having to make sure everyone is in the frame, and smiling at the count of three. On good days, we get a good shot out of 20 tries. On bad days, let’s not talk about it. LOL.

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We visited Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea last March and one of my biggest regrets is not taking enough photos while we were there, having the time of our lives. For our Hong Kong trip, I made up my mind that selfies are not going to cut it. Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was WanderSnap! We had such a great experience in Bali, so why not do it again? You can search for a local snapper based on destination and there is a large pool of Hong Kong snappers for you to choose from! Also, there are really good Singapore snappers if you are planning a casual shoot of some sort 🙂

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Creating beautiful memories in Disneyland is a dream come true for me. Scott Abraham was our snapper and you can view his WanderSnap profile here. He is from Scotland and is currently living in Hong Kong while furthering his studies. Even though Scott is only 21, he has many years of photography experience and his works speak for themselves. Scott’s travel and landscape photography is just so amazing and impressive! Also, I found it hard to believe that he is only charging US$50 per hour. We engaged Scott for 1.5 hours and purchased his admission ticket to Disneyland. Best decision ever!

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We communicated via whatsapp the day before the shoot and agreed to meet at 10.45am outside Market House Bakery along Main Street, U.S.A. Scott arrived early and was already waiting for us to commence the shoot.

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Thankful for great weather on the day of our photoshoot, albeit a little too bright and sunny! Haha. Mini misschewy was having her morning nap but not to worry, you will get to see her very shortly 😛

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Having a snapper with you means you get tons of pretty photos! Prior the shoot, I told Scott that my wish was to cover at least Main Street, Fantasyland, and Toy Story Land. It always helps to do some homework beforehand!

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Cracks me up to see Little misschewy acting all dainty.

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Look who’s awake! 😀

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I love Fantasyland because it’s very fairytalish (duh lol).

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It was Little misschewy’s second time on Dumbo the flying elephant! First time was at Tokyo Disneyland!

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It wasn’t part of the plan but stepping into the Fairy Tale Forest (presented by Pandora) gave us plenty of photo opportunities!

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Scenes from princess fairy tales come to life in a magical garden setting beautifully crafted in miniature scale.

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We paid Tinker Bell a visit! She’s really cute and funny!

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This is one of my favorite candid shots.

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Loving the oh so colorful Toy Story Land!

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Hello Sheriff Woody!

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The cast member working in Andy’s Toy Box created these bubbles for us! Major love!

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The Chewys are reporting for duty and looking out for Little misschewy! Haha.

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This photo gets me all teary-eyed. Some day my prince will come..

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Time for some ice cream to reward the girls for being quite cooperative during the shoot! Hehehe.

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I don’t think I will ever get tired looking at these photos! If you are planning to engage a snapper for your next holiday, get $50 credit when you create an account with WanderSnap via this link https://wandersnap.co/friend/travelwithcharlene during signup! Thanks WanderSnap and Scott for these priceless photos of our family! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about WanderSnap. Also, stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Hong Kong Disneyland 2017 Trip

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Hola chewy friends! This is gonna be a photo heavy post on our two days (8th & 9th November 2017) in Hong Kong Disneyland! I had previously reviewed the newest hotel in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Disney Explorers Lodge, and you can read about it here.

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Many of our friends thought that we were crazy beyond words to book a 7.30am flight to HK, especially since we were taking Little misschewy and Mini misschewy with us. It was actually my idea and when I sounded misterchewy out prior to purchasing our air tickets, he was totally up for the challenge. LOL. Yup, we left our house at 4.30am to head to the airport. I wanted Disneyland to be the first stop of our HK trip and planned to reach there as early as possible so that we could make the most out of our admission tickets!

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We spent a considerable amount of time in our hotel room when we checked in at Disney Explorers Lodge but luckily, I still remembered to perform my timekeeping duties. Hehe. When we reached the park, it was around 2pm which wasn’t too bad considering we reached HK airport at 11.30am!

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Plenty of “distractions” once you enter the park. Gotta focus! Haha.

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We first passed by Mickey and Minnie at Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A and was appalled to see the long, snaking queue of fans, which actually shouldn’t really come as a surprise since they are Disney’s most popular couple! Just a few metres away, we spotted Donald and Daisy! There was a queue too but it looked manageable so we joined in without hesitation.

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It’s really sweet that the mascots interact with the fans. Little misschewy was shy but after we had our photographs taken, she kept saying “Daisy Duck hugged me!”

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We were really lucky because the queue for Duffy and Stella Lou was quite short too!

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It is easy to miss Market House Bakery, so be sure to keep a look out because there are plenty of goodies to fill your hungry tummies!

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Just look at those Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh donuts! Cuteness overload! We bought one and I wanted to take a nice photo under natural light but Little misschewy just wouldn’t allow me. LOL.

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It was time for the Flights of Fantasy parade but we gave it a miss because our plan was to watch it the next day. Since most people were watching the parade along Main Street, U.S.A., it was a splendid time for us to go for as many popular attraction rides as possible!

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Our first ride was Orbitron at Tomorrowland. We queued for about 5 minutes only!

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Have you seen anyone eating while on a flying saucer ride?

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Try your hand at one of the game stalls if you visit HK Disneyland!

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I have always enjoyed It’s a Small World since my first ride at Tokyo Disneyland many years ago!

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Sing along to the classic anthem of world peace during a musical boat tour hosted by the children of the world. Climb aboard a cozy boat and set sail along the Seven Seaways canal for an approximate 9-minute journey.

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It was hard to take photos because of the dim lighting and there was plenty of movement from the singing and dancing dolls, and also the boat ride. Taking videos would be a better idea!

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Due to routine maintenance and inspection, It’s a Small World will be temporarily suspended from January 3 to 16, 2018.

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When we were in Fantasyland, we grabbed FastPass tickets for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

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Another highly recommended ride for young children! The four of us shared a Hunny Pot and were taken through a colorful, song-filled storybook wonderland!

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As it was quite some distance to walk to the Baby Care Centre at Main Street, Mini misschewy and I managed to find an empty bench near Mad Hatter Tea Cups which was temporarily suspended during the time of our visit. A baby’s gotta drink when a baby’s gotta drink!

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In the meantime, misterchewy and Little misschewy went for the Cinderella Carousel which looks even more stunning at night.

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Boy, were we famished after a long day! Early dinner beckoned at the Royal Banquet Hall.

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This medieval dining hall serves American, Japanese and Chinese specialties. Be spoiled for choice as you choose from four food stations — Grill, Japan, Guang Dong and International.

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I had the Japanese Curry Pork Chop Bento (HK$139). The portion was quite huge! Food tasted mediocre but still acceptable.

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The hubs chose the Baked Pork Chop with Rice Combo (HK$129) so that Little misschewy could share some of his food which was non-spicy.

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We bought the 3-in-1 meal coupon which includes an ice cream or popcorn.

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Just look at these! How cute!

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Decided it was a good time to squeeze in a bit of shopping before the night time parade! So in love with the new Disney character, Stella Lou!

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Continued shopping before fireworks began!

Called it a day after watching “Disney In The Stars” Fireworks!

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We were ready to conquer Disneyland again on our second day! Dedicated about 1.5 hours in the morning for a photoshoot which I will blog about in a separate post!

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Time to reward ourselves with some food and it was lunch time anyway! Love the Explorer’s Club Restaurant at Mystic Point!

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Both kids were asleep so we queued for Mickey and Minnie!

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Grabbed a good spot for the Flights of Fantasy parade!

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Sofia the First!

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Little misschewy was so excited to meet Snow White in person!

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Isn’t this such a sweet photo?

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We skipped the night time parade and fireworks on the second day since we had already experienced both the day before. Did some last minute shopping along Main Street!

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Do you know that there are two Disney stores at Hong Kong Airport? If you regret not getting something you like at Disneyland, you can always try your luck at the airport!

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If not, there is always Airfrov that you can count on! Get travellers to shop for you! New users can get $10 credit just by signing up on Airfrov’s website or app! Go to the Credits page and redeem “CHEWY” code BEFORE you post a request. The credits can be used for $5 off $35 spend, or $10 off $70 spend (before service & delivery fee). Some of the items you see in this photo aren’t mine! 😉

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Hope you enjoyed reading about our two-day trip to Hong Kong Disneyland! Stay tuned to our next post!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

Disney Explorers Lodge in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Review

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Hello everyone! I will be starting a series of blog posts on our recent family trip to Hong Kong (8th to 13th November 2017) and this first installment is a review of Disney Explorers Lodge, the newest hotel in Hong Kong Disneyland which opened on 30 April this year.

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In the past, staying at a hotel in Disneyland had never once crossed our minds. Since we were travelling with Little misschewy and Mini misschewy this time, we decided that staying in Disneyland would be a nice experience for all of us! Plus it would be well worth the money since there are four of us! LOL.

Room and 2-Day Ticket Package

Spending a night in a hotel in Disneyland isn’t cheap but there are special hotel offers listed on the Hong Kong Disneyland website where you can save up to 40% off when you book 21 days in advance. One day in HK Disneyland is definitely not enough especially when you have young kids in tow, so we selected the Room and 2-Day Ticket Package which starts at around HK$3624 (S$626). The standard rate (room only) for a one-night stay in Disney Explorers Lodge averages about HK$2600 (S$449) to HK$3350 (S$578), depending on season, so the package is really enticing and value for money!

Shuttle email

DISNEY PRO TIP: This is not mentioned anywhere in the HK Disneyland website if you search under Travel Information but there IS an airport shuttle service which you can request, by emailing Disney Resort Centre at online.reservations@hongkongdisneyland.com
This is only for hotel guests. Per trip, it costs HK$40 per adult and HK$20 per child (3 to 11 years old). We took the Combo (1 Adult & 1 Child) at HK$50 + 1 Adult at HK$40, which is HK$90 (S$15.50) in total. Do take note that the operating hours of this airport shuttle service is only from 10am to 8pm.

Airport Shuttle Counter Map

Upon confirmation, we received this Airport Shuttle Counter Map which was really useful in helping us locate the counter service staff upon our arrival at the airport and we were led the way to the shuttle bus at the carpark. This airport shuttle service is very convenient and highly recommended if you are planning to head straight to Disneyland from the airport. The journey from the airport took about 15 minutes.

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We chose to stay at Disney Explorers Lodge because it is the newest hotel of the three and also because I was attracted to its exploration theme. I absolutely love the lodge motto “ad explorare et somniare” (“to explore and dream”). Interestingly, the rooms are facing and furnished according to the four unique tropical climates of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa.

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Since we arrived on a Wednesday, there wasn’t any queue for check-in, much to our relief. However, the check-in process took a little longer than expected and Little misschewy started to grow impatient, so we went exploring the huge lobby together!

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There is also a hotel map framed on the wall at the lobby.

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Yay finally! The hubs received a smaller version of the hotel map (as compared to the one on the wall), park admission tickets, attraction priority pass, field guide, guide map, times guide and a handful of stickers!

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Time to freshen up in our hotel room before visiting the park!

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Even the hotel lift is so cool! Wish I had taken photos of the lift buttons and all!

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How cute is this room key card!

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All of us were so excited upon entering our room and boy, was it huge! Little misschewy was the most exhilarated of all and couldn’t stop gushing over all the little Disney-related details she discovered while prancing around in our room.

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I had earlier requested in my email to be provided with a baby cot but a bed guard was attached to one of the beds instead.

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We stayed in the Oceania wing, overlooking the beautiful Rain Drop pool.

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Breathtaking, isn’t it? I wanna wake up to this everyday!

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Gotta love the bathroom amenities! We brought home the tin box as a souvenir.

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There are toothbrushes for kids too!

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Plastic cup for children to prevent breakages!

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I was quite amused to find hotel room slippers in different sizes!

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Ready to conquer HK Disneyland with our guide map and times guide!

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There are resort shuttle buses to ferry hotel guests to and from the park. You may also choose to walk, although I would advise against it since the shuttle bus comes very frequently.

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I have confirmed with Disney cast members that this is a loop service, starting from and ending at the Disneyland Resort Public Transportation Interchange.

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Will be blogging separately about our two days in HK Disneyland!

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Apart from in-room dining, there are other dining options available in Disney Explorers Lodge, namely Dragon Wind, World of Colour Restaurant and Chart Room Cafe. In the interest of time, we only had breakfast at Chart Room Cafe.

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Really adorable Mickey pancakes but mediocre in taste. If you have the time and budget, you might wanna go for the character dining buffet experience at Dragon Wind, where the Disney characters mingle with guests and go to every table for photo taking! We skipped that because we are not a fan of buffets.

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Disney merchandise collectors will be happy to know that there is a shop at Disney Explorers Lodge, called The Trading Post. You can find some items that are exclusively sold at this shop.

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DISNEY PRO TIP: What do you get when you place two of your room card keys side by side? Hehe. You need not return these cards upon checking out! They are meant as souvenirs for Disney Explorers Lodge guests 🙂

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When we returned to Singapore, I received an email to participate in a survey for being a hotel guest of Disney Explorers Lodge. The reward is a couple of wallpapers which you can use for your PC and mobile phones.

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Hope this review on Disney Explorers Lodge is useful to you! Feel free to comment or email me at missuschewy@gmail.com if you have any questions. You may also drop me a text at my Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day 4

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The Chewys went for an outdoor photoshoot early in the morning on the 4th day of our Hong Kong trip. Will be sharing some of the photos in another post!

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After the shoot, we were kinda tired and headed back to Hotel Jen to freshen up. We took a short break in our room before going for lunch at Café Malacca, courtesy of the hotel. Café Malacca has been named a Bib Gourmand restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide 2014 & 2015. The wide variety of dishes offered are from Malaysia and Singapore; just what we needed after days of feasting on Hong Kong cuisine!

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We browsed through the menu and in no time, decided on the dishes we wanted to try because we were kinda craving for them! We had some Otak Otak which was spicy and delicious enough to whet our appetite for the other dishes to come!

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These sticks of Satay smelled so good! We had the chicken and mutton ones which were tender on the inside and tasted mildly sweet.

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I like my Hokkien Mee to be slightly wet with gravy. What about you? The stock was well-flavored which was nicely soaked up by the slim noodles. It would be great if the hokkien noodles had some charred bits for that wok hei flavor!

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We were starting to feel a little full but the delicious tangy taste of the Assam Laksa kept us going! The gravy was a little on the watery side but was flavorful nevertheless. We also found generous chunks of fish in it!

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After a heavy lunch, we made our way to Wong Tai Sin Temple. Dedicated to the Great Immortal Wong, Wong Tai Sin Temple is a popular major tourist attraction in Hong Kong.

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Whenever we travel abroad, we try our best to visit the temples there to pay our respects and to offer our prayers.

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The weather was scorching hot and Chanelle started to protest because she was wrapped up in the carrier 🙁

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We didn’t have any other plans after our visit to Wong Tai Sin Temple, so we decided to travel to Prince Edward area for dim sum.

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One Dim Sum is a One Michelin Star dim sum eatery which is affordable and opens till late.

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Steamed Rib Bone Rice with Chicken Paw (HK$24)

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Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (HK$36)

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Dried Squid with Curry Sauce (HK$19)

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More eating awaits us at Hotel Jen’s Club Lounge which offers free drinks and snacks all day long!

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We were very impressed by the food offered during evening cocktail hour! We were not that hungry but we couldn’t stop eating. LOL! Loved the smoked salmon, potato salad and curry fish balls!

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Best of all.. Free flow beer! Whoohoo!

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I stayed in our room with Chanelle while the hubs went to hunt for my Cookies & Cream Vitasoy and also bought back some dinner since we were going to stay up till late to pack our luggages. Confirm will be hungry! Hahaha.

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Yay! Mak’s Noodles for dinner! It converts to about SGD$7 which is pretty expensive for such a small bowl. Popularly known as best wanton noodles in Hong Kong, we found that it didn’t live up to the hype. The soup was quite tasty though!

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Swaddled Little misschewy like a newborn after her shower the next morning. Hahaha.

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For the past few days, we had been heading out for breakfast so we decided to try the breakfast at Hotel Jen on our last day in Hong Kong. The breakfast spread at the Club Lounge certainly looked very appetizing!

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Before checking out, we went upstairs to take a look at the swimming pool. It was a pity that the pool was still under maintenance when we were there.

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We had an amazing stay at Hotel Jen Hong Kong and it was time for us to return home!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂