Come and enjoy the part of the 852 we call home: Sheung Wan! I asked Team LRP to share some things we think you'll love in this area so that you have plenty of things to see and do once you've popped into the showroom for a mooch around! Sheung Wan is a complete melting pot of cool, traditional, modern yet historic, with plenty Hong Kong nostalgia thrown in - it's my absolute favourite part of Hong Kong! There are great shops, cafés, restaurants, places to take your kids to, and a couple of favourite beauty spots (at fabulous prices!). Hop on the tram and head west, get off at Western Market and start ticking these off your list - I hope you love it around here as much as I do!
The Tram
So it's not technically a place to visit, but what a joy it is to be able to get on the tram to get to Sheung Wan. It might be a little more leisurely pace to get here than on the MTR or a taxi... but much more fun not to mention CHEAP! Always try to sit on the top deck at the front for the best views. The showroom is less than 5 minutes walk from the Western Market stop.
New Wave Salon, Possession Street, aka 'Claire's Hairdressers'
This has now become a bit of an institution since I first talked about my $70 blow dry! Right around the corner from the showroom you'll find an unassuming local hairdressers who have been washing and blow-drying my hair twice a week for years! The head massage as I'm having my hair washed is to die for. You'll probably see either me, my kids, my friends, or other LRP fans in there too! Haha!
Nail 88, G/F, Welland Building, 368 Queen’s Road Central
A favourite amongst Team LRP for manis and pedis - and at a price that definitely suits the pocket! Don't got there expecting the Mandarin Spa, but you can't beat their 'shellac' which lasts forever!
Purple Tomato, 2 Jervois Street
One of my favourite takeaways close by to work is Purple Tomato. Delicious make-your-own salads and, even better, they gladly take my LRP lunchbox and fill that up rather than using one of their takeaway cartons. I go there at least 3 times a week... they take my order by whatsapp and keep my lunchboxes there so all I have to do is saunter over and pick up. Winner! Their Beef Rendang is also EPIC. Available on Deliveroo/Food Panda also.
Detour, 379 Queen's Road Central
Come to Detour for coffees, teas and some sweet treats in the day time and I rate the Cheese and Onion toastie as an unbeatable 10/10! LRP's Anushree enjoys a morning coffee from here! Not a massive café but if you got there out of peak lunchtime you should be able to get a seat. If not, take away is an option too. Also thought you would like the look of this London Lemonade gin evening! My team will defo be making a DETOUR....
The Corner, Possession Street
A favourite of Team LRP's Irene - The Corner is literally round the corner from the office so perfect for a pick me up coffee (obviously in our reusable drink cups!) pre or post shopping!
Catherine Bakery, 378 Queens Road Central
Stock up on treats at Catherine's bakery - delicious New York Cheese cake (easy dinner party dessert), custard tarts, melt-in-the-middle chocolate puddings (another awesome dinner party cheat served at my home on a regular basis!) and my son Miller's favourite - sausage buns! It is rather dangerously, only about a minutes walk from the entrance to our building!
Hollywood Park Road Park
Team LRP have taken their kids to this park for years - they love looking at the turtles and the koi carp in the ponds, running through the pagoda and, of course, the playground! Somewhere the kids can let off steam once you've popped into the showroom!! Plus it has tons of cool history and information boards telling you about the fact that this was where the British "took" Hong Kong!
ReBooked, 1st Floor, 9-11 Mee Lun Street
ReBooked is fantastic book shop especially for kids filled with preloved books. Pocket money can certainly go a lot further if you buy from here! We love supporting this awesome social enterprise! They take preloved books too... so pay it forward. LRP's Sheryl is a top fan of this awesome spot.
Lily Bookshop, 1F Kai Fung Bldg., 189 - 205 Queen's Road Central
This is a real hidden gem of a secondhand book store which has been in business for more than 20 years. A bibliophile’s dream, Flow Bookshop houses hundreds of old and sometimes new tomes in its cosy den. Check out their MASSIVE biography section!! Very close to Purple Tomato too... so browse while you're waiting for your lunch to be sorted.
ManMo Dimsun, Shop 05-06, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road
ManMo dimsum is a contemporary restaurant serving up some very tasty Western and Cantonese fusion food. Only a few minutes walk from the showroom - pop in to see us in the morning and head there for some lunch! Simon loves this place.
Dandy's Organic Cafe, 32 Upper Lascar Row
Dandy's has a delicious range of delicious, organic foods. The salads are a particular favourite - filling, tasty and healthy! Win, win, win! Jen is crazy about this one and loves the whole area walking around all the antique shops.
HonJo
Fancy some modern Japanese cuisine for lunch (or maybe brunch!). HonJo serves up super tasty sushi and sashimi and with fantastic service. Team LRP recommend the Dreamer Lunch express! Also awesome for post-work drinks and food.
208 Duecento Otto, 208 Hollywood Road
208 is a great Italian restaurant a few minutes from the showroom - or just pop in for a glass of wine! Team LRP have been know to pop their after work to get a well deserved sip of something after a busy day in the office! As well as an awesome lunch set, they do a killer ribeye steak.
Green Ladies Preloved Shop, G/F, 168 Queen’s Road West
Green Ladies Preloved is a fashion store with an ethos very close to our heart! Based in Sai Ying Pun but still only 10 minutes or so from the showroom they sell a range of preloved clothes from local and international brands. Sheryl, from Team LRP, especially recommends it for mid-range handbags (think Michael Kors and Kate Spade).
Kam Lee - Cookery utensil store, 60-62 Bonham Strand (but on Cleverly Street)
And who doesn't love some shiny kitchen utensils and products! I love this store, particularly love some of their tins with bird motifs on them! So much so I plan to head over there shortly to buy some!! I get all my colanders and sieves and all sorts from there... my kids love to stroke the resident kitten!
Hardware store, Possession Street
Just around the corner from the office is one of those great hardware stores - selling all kinds of wonderful wares including our much admired 'display' baskets in the showroom (which are actually usually used in Hong Kong for drying fish!). The owner Perry speaks excellent English and you can find all sorts of treasures in there.
Wing Ching Cheung Picture Framers, Gough Street
I love Wing Ching Cheung Frame Maker on Gough Street and have been taking my pictures, prints and photos to this small family run workshop for years. They are so sweet and helpful... and very reasonable. I trust them implicitly.
Yuen Kut Lam Tea Wo Tea - Jervois Street
The oldest shop in Sheung Wan is definitely worth popping into. They sell a little box of tea which is, in effect, a kind of ready-to-drink traditional Chinese medicine. The tea is made by blending 28 kinds of herbs, with its recipe remaining unchanged for centuries. I drink it every day and it is said to even be able to cure the plague.... just as well then really! Will keep drinking it religiously! The packaging is absolutely stunning- some people buy it only for that!
Shiu Shin Hong Limited, 130A Jervois Street
Shiu Shin Hong has a myriad of pure essential oils in their Sheung Wan shop if you ever need to buy some. I would pop into the shop to see the brilliant vintage wooden till as well. You can just imagine it being used for the last few decades! It sells all kinds of household items like Borax that are hard to find elsewhere.
CheckCheckCin, G/F Kai Fung Building, 4-6 Jervois St
CheckCheckCin means to check first in Cantonese and represents the Chinese medicine concept of healthy living and illness prevention. Share how you are feeling and they will create a drink for you (it could be rice water, herbal drinks or a healing tea) to help to nourish your body. This is a modern take on Chinese Traditional Medicine. Right next to Purple Tomato, I take my LRP tumbler in most days to fill up.
Upper Lascar Row (or locally know as Cat Street)
If you like mooching, you'll love Cat Street. Find antique dealers, art galleries and curio merchants selling lots of cool Hong Kong ephemera when you stroll up and down here. Plus, the bonus of a few lovely cafes as well! I collect old letters and there's always plenty to rifle through- the shopkeepers know me and quickly rush to find things I might like as I walk past!
Second Hand Furniture on Upper Lascar Row
One of my favourite stalls belongs to this lovely gentleman, Mr Hung, who sells pre-loved furniture and nick nacks. I usually find bits and pieces for my flat but recently I've been spotting larger pieces perfect for the showroom - lots of good things for visual merchandising and displaying our new products ... including this fantastic stand which he very kindly helped me carry to HQ! I'm going to paint it white and use it to display our new decorations! I bought an ancient leather trunk there last week for only HK$100!
PMQ
Only about 7-8 minutes walk from the showroom takes you to PMQ. So much talent in this space with studios and small independent brands and pop up shops. There are often exhibits or small events or markets in the main courtyard space which you can go walk into and I've done a number of classes as well. Check out their website to see what's happening when you are passing. I've heard great things about the French restaurant Louise and have enjoyed dimsum at SohoFama.
Blue Lotus Gallery
There are lots of little galleries around Sheung Wan but one of my favourites is the photography gallery, Blue Lotus, on Pound Lane. I walk past it every day on my commute. It has a really strong focus on exploring Hong Kong's culture and identity through photography and they sell the work of a number of amazing photographers and have a very well curated book shop.
Graffiti
There are some fantastic pieces of graffiti art around Sheung Wan - take yourself (and your kids) on a self guided tour around some of the best work! Plenty of Instagrammable spots!! LRP team member Jen loves to practice her street art photography around here- so much to see!
Wire kitchenware 'uncle' on Ladder Street
I love this little stall - really just a table propped up quite regularly on Ladder Street - which has an array of kitchen wireware made by this lovely Uncle. I bought myself a tiny handmade wire scoop, which I watched him craft while I ate my lunch nearby, for only HK$30 - which I use for scooping out my son's boiled eggs in the morning... although Simon tells me I should only use it for putting fish and beef balls in during a hot pot! Haha!
Shampoo.hk, Hillier Building, 273-277 Queens Road Central
A favourite of all of us at LRP - a great shop to buy hair salon products (think Paul Mitchell etc) and shampoo in bulk sizes as well at decent prices! Can pick up salon-grade hair dryers and scissors there too. Top stuff!
All over Sheung Wan - Genuine Hong Kong street life at it's more animated!
Sheung Wan is the heart of the dried seafood area. Just take yourself around some of the streets near the showroom and through some of the alleyways to see some real Hong Kongers keeping busy. There are trolleys racing around all over the place as well as many specialist shops that remind you of the diversity of this city. It's dynamic and exciting and I get so much energy from being part of the community in this special area.