Sunshinekk

If you already have a hotel here're some recommendations for Michelin star restaurants. HK is packed for Christmas, and although it have plenty of restaurants to offer, book the Christmas dinner in advance.

• The Peninsula (Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon) – Opened in 1928, The Peninsula has remained to this day as Hong Kong’s most luxurious and glamorous hotel. Celebrate Christmas at the one star Michelin restaurant, Spring Moon, or enjoy the renowned afternoon tea in The Lobby all through the festive season in Hong Kong. For Christmas Eve, attend one of the gala dinners at either French restaurant Gaddi’s, the Modern European Felix’s, or the Swiss cuisine of Chesa.
  
• The Globe (Central, Hong Kong Island) – With one of the best gastro pub menus on Hong Kong Island and over two hundred craft beers from all over the world, ideal for those looking for a lively Christmas dinner in Hong Kong.
  
• The Pawn (Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island) – Housed in an exquisitely restored colonial building dating back to 1888 and spread over three stories, The Pawn has gained a reputation for its more refined and lighter take on British cuisine. Ran by Tom Aitkins, the Michelin star-winning Iron Chef, the restaurant’s festive menu is extremely popular so early booking is advised to avoid disappointment.

kaka

One side of the cruise docking at Kai Tak would be fine, or they can be at the deck. Given that people watch fireworks between Sheung Wan and Causeway Bay, I don't think the cruise terimal at Kai Tak would be too bad. Not the best indeed but not "you won't have a very good view of the fireworks at all", but good idea to avoid the already not great transport to the terminal.

kaka

Having Asian food is the way to go for Xmas to avoid the crowd. Technically speaking the Cordis is right on top of the govt operated food court and it would be an experience (They do not share internal connections where non-workers are meant to use- you need to get on the street or back stairs).
Or more sensible options would be at the shopping mall connected to the hotel - there are both food court and restaurants.

moondog

I'm pretty sure that the Pawn doesn't have any stars.

christep

No-one said it did, just that the chef there had previously worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Personally I find The Pawn horribly overpriced.

moondog

Restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai love to hire Michelin chefs at launch in order to brag about them, but they rarely spend more than 3 days on site.

As far as the Pawn is concerned, I rarely eat there because the food is not to my liking, but go there for drinks on occasion. Btw, I went to a really cool Japanese bar in Wanch last week, but it was seriously expensive. I can't recall the name off hand; it's a bit north of the Charterhouse.

christep

If you're looking for excellent European (French, more or less) style cooking in a "private kitchen" (fixed menu) type environment then I strongly recommend Little Kitchen in Sai Wan Ho. But you generally need to book a couple of weeks ahead, $600/head and it's entirely BYOB, zero corkage.

Steve M

I don't know how it is in the UK, but in the US, Christmas generally ends on Dec 25. That is, on Dec 26, Christmas music is no longer playing in public places, decorations have come down, etc. I was surprised that in Hong Kong, they seem to remain in "Christmas mode" until Dec 31.

DragonSoul

In Hong Kong, the Boxing Day holiday (Dec 26) was kept post-handover, so we get an extra public holiday.

And after the Christmas decorations come down, the CNY ones go up. Can't have them go up too early (the holiday moves with the moon - could be end Jan or early Feb) so the Christmas ones stay up. Never bothered to watch the lights being put up on buildings but since some kind of equipment would be required, it makes sense to take one lot down as the next lot goes up.

dbuckho

Adding my appreciation for this thread. Will also be in HKG with my wife and two boys, ages 9 and 3, around the holidays. We land Dec 23rd and will head from there to SIN sometime around Jan 2nd or 3rd.

I was debating on whether we should stay in HKG for 8 nights and then go over to Macau for a few days including NYE (i.e. perhaps staying at the old Westin now Grand Coloane Beach Resort). Scoot actually has a non-stop MFM-SIN so we would not need to backtrack. Or just stay in HKG the entire time (probably 11 nights) and enjoy NYE there and add more day trips? The kids never make it to midnight on NYE and my little one vomits at fireworks (at least so far) - hence the thought of going somewhere with a beach for a few days even though it would be over NYE.

christep

In the UK Xmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night (being Jan 5th).

And, yes, in HK the Xmas decorations segue into the CNY decorations.

Steve M

Just so I understand you completely: I know that that's what's done in a lot of UK homes. But if I were to go into Harrods in London on Jan 4th, are you saying that it would still be in full Christmas mode, with Christmas songs playing, full decorations, etc., no different than if I went in on Dec 15?

christep

I've been out of the UK for 20 years, so someone else needs to answer that.

TravelLawyer

I did a HKG trip with SIN excursion in 2016 over the winter holidays with our then 10 year old. It was exhausting given the jetlag from the US, so I guess that depends on how active you normally are during vacation mode. I personally would love to be in HKG for the NYE fireworks as it's one of the best displays in the world. (We tried for later this year, but couldn't get flights to work out due to the lack of availability for mileage redemption from the mistake fares.)

christep

Just FYI the display on the second day of Lunar New Year is much longer and more elaborate.