susiesan

I have a 12 hour layover in early Feb. on the way to Sri Lanka. Arrive 7:20am leave 8:10pm. I plan to take the Airport Express to HK station, take the tram to the peak, eat dim sum at Tim Ho Wan and do some grocery shopping. I am looking for Japanese ingredients that I cannot find at local grocery stores in my home town.

What would be the best HK grocery store to find food like miso, nori, furikake, etc? I see that Aeon has stores in Hong Kong but do they stock Japanese cooking ingredients or Chinese?

On the subject of miso paste, would I be able to put it in my carryon? I
Would security at HKIA take it away? I know in the US it would be considered a liquid and not allowed in a carryon. My big bag will have been checked through so I won't have access to it.

dlffla

You can easily buy miso paste here in the states at stores such as Whole Foods. You can also order it, along with furakake, at Amazon. However, for things you can't easily get here, my experience when I exited PEK is they wouldn't allow me to board with any of the grocery items I'd purchased that were anything other than totally solid. I got through security with them but they snagged me at a secondary boarding check. They were genuinely apologetic but it wasn't going to happen. As a foodie, this makes me crazy as there is a lot of stuff I would love to bring back from my travels.

diocesanvictor

Citysuper should have most of the Japanese ingredients you're looking for. It's inside the IFC Mall, which is right where HK Station is. Alternatively, you can go to the food section in the basement of the Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay.

If you want Chinese ingredients, there are heaps of wet market/grocery stores along Gage Street (near the Central-Mid Levels escalator, ~ 8 mins walk from HK Station).

Regarding the miso paste - If you're flying CX, you can ask the staff for a carton box or whatever packaging that they may have on hand, then check in that additional item (assuming you still have baggage allowance). But it would be best if you can find a box yourself at Citysuper.

txflyer77

Exactly what Japanese ingredients are you looking for that aren't available at a local Asian grocer or Amazon? Everything you named is easily available in the US and you don't have to worry about customs.

If you are going to buy ingredients on your trip, I'd try to do it on the return, otherwise you'll have to consider Sri Lankan regulations as well.

moondog

+1

evergrn

If you're going to Central anyways, then just go to City Super at the IFC Mall there. Although there're other places in HK for Jpn groceries with better selection and prices, no sense in going out of the way to visit places like Jusco when you only have a day to spend in HK. City Super's selection of Jpn groceries is still very good and, although more expensive than Jusco or even Sogo, it's still cheaper than Seattle for instance.

I agree that it'll be less trouble to stock up on this stuff on the return. But I disagree with the Amazon suggestion... Jpn grocery selection via internet in the US is both limited and expensive. City Super stocks a lot of Jpn things you don't find in Jpn stores in the US, and so I definitely think HKG's a great place to stock up on Jpn groceries if you don't live in Jpn.

Definitely also ride the Star Ferry back and forth. If you're looking for a place to have one memorable dim sum meal in HKG, I don't know if Tim Ho Wan is it. I don't understand the hype. It'll be a hectic experience (eg, share table with strangers) with pretty average dim sum imo. There're so many places with better food, better service.

If it were me, I'd have dim sum somewhere else late morning, then dinner early evening (how about wonton noodle at Tsim Chai Kee, or shanghai meal at Crystal Jade, or afternoon tea set at one of the hotels in Central/TST?), and then get take-out bbq pork bun from Tim Ho Wan to go before boarding Airport Express.

susiesan

Return from CMB is via NRT. I will not have time during a 4 hour layover in Japan to leave the airport and go find a grocery store. I figured Hing Kong would be my best bet. Any foodstuffs I have purchased in Hong Kong I can put in the checked bag for the journey home.

Unless I am going to check in a box (Iam in J on CX so I have the baggage allowance) I will have to forgo miso, kewpie mayo, packages of oshinko, etc and stick to packages of dry foods.

evergrn

Okay, I think I remember your other thread about shopping for stuff during your 4hr NRT layover. With 4hrs, it's definitely possible to go to Narita city's konbini to stock up on stuff (then either check it in or stuff in your carry-on upon return to NRT). You ended up deciding you don't want to do that?

As far as stuff like packs of miso paste and kewpie mayo, those are actually things that you should get back home. Those things should be available in most any major city in the US, and plus they take up too much space in the luggage. Yeah, it's pricier in the States but imo there's cost associated with stuff taking up space/weight in my luggage. I never bring home stuff like that from my trips to Jpn/HKG. It's the smaller items and more esoteric stuff that you should focus on stocking up when you're in HKG.

susiesan

[QUOTE=evergrn;25646554]Okay, I think I remember your other thread about shopping for stuff during your 4hr NRT layover. With 4hrs, it's definitely possible to go to Narita city's konbini to stock up on stuff (then either check it in or stuff in your carry-on upon return to NRT). You ended up deciding you don't want to do that?

evergrn: there was a schedule change and the NRT layover is now <3 1/2 hours. I have decided to just hang out in the JL F lounge, shower, get a massage, enjoy sushi and sake. Too bad there is no konbini at NRT airside.

I will shop for the esoteric obscure small stuff Japanese ingredients in HK.
Do you think yokan would make it through security entering HKIA or would that be considered a liquid? For those who don't know, it's a jelly like candy made from red beans typically in blocks.

evergrn

HKIA security staff can sometimes be pretty nitpicky. Nonetheless, I'd be surprised if they'll take issues with carrying on yokan. Yokan's definitely solid, IMO.