The Star Ferry runs between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon every 10 minutes or so. It costs less than $1, and midway across, one can crane one’s head back and forth from the twin sides of this densely populated, sweltering, heavily moneyed metropolis and ask a burning question: Are you a Kowloon person, or more Hong Kong Islander?
On the north side of “the fragrant harbor” is Kowloon — the slightly grittier half of Hong Kong, full of street hawkers asking in perfect English if you want to buy a Rolex.
Across the water is Hong Kong Island, where the stores are Prada, the hotels heave with the city’s Colonial past, and Asia economic future buzzes non-stop.
Which one are you?
The views
Hong Kong Island: Many will tell you to visit Victoria Peak, the city’s highest point, but we prefer a spot like Sevva on the 25th floor of the Princess Building, smack in the middle of Hong Kong Island’s forest of skyscrapers. The booze is pricey and top-shelf, but it offers an excellent terrace to sit back and drink in the vistas.
Kowloon: At 118 stories, the International Commerce Centre boasts drop-dead panoramas of Victoria Harbor from Sky100, the 100th-floor observatory designed by the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox. (And if you want to wake up to a view, the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, , occupies the 102nd to 118th floors.)
The shopping
Hong Kong Island: There are very few places in China where you won’t run into fake Oriental antiques but on Hollywood Road, the antiques are real — and pricey. There are also fashionable, Hong Kong-hipster shops like Goods of Desire which have everything from handbags to housewares. But a trip to Hollywood Road would be wasted if you didn’t stop at one of its art galleries like Contemporary By Angela Li or The Cat Street Gallery.
Kowloon: Sure, stores are plentiful along Nathan Road, but the real mind-blowing shopping experience is at the Temple Street Night Market. This is an after-dusk carnival of kitsch, clothing, fried noodles, CDs, sex toys and gypsy fortune tellers. Start at the Tin Hau Temple and wander.
The grub
Hong Kong Island: Who goes to Hong Kong to eat French food? Well, if the French chef in question is Joel Robuchon, everybody should. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon earned three Michelin stars in 2012 — making it better-rated than his Paris eatery. But Hong Kong Island isn’t all fancy food; take the egg custard tarts at Tai Cheong Bakery (35 Lydhurst Terrace), which can be washed down with some icy milk tea from Lan Fong Yuen (2 Gage St.).
Kowloon: Kowloon isn’t a stranger to Michelin stars, either, and one place not to be missed is Ming Court in the Langham Place Hong Kong Hotel, where Chef Mango Tsang offers sumptuous Cantonese cuisine with international touches like silk tofu with Italian black truffle and gold leaf, or duck raviolis in a golden duck consommé. And if you’re in mid-shopping spree along Nathan Road, Nanhai No. 1 (63 Nathan Road) offers a difficult-to-rival view of Hong Kong Island and the greatest smoked jasmine chicken this writer has ever tasted.
The stay
Hong Kong Island: We have to give the Landmark Oriental props for the artwork. There is a Salvador Dali sculpture in the lobby: a bronze female with her skirt engulfed in flames, adapted from his painting “Burning Giraffe.” The Landmark is the business-y version of the Mandarin Oriental, just across the way.
Kowloon: Art can also be found in Kowloon hotels, too, like the work of Jiang Shuo, whose rounded, circular red guards are on display at Langham Place. The Langham is a couple of blocks from the Night Market and two blocks from Nathan Road, but maintains a quiet, lustrous feel, with sleek rooms, spa, pool and friendly staff. It gets extra points for its 6,000-square-foot backyard — an open patio/bar with mango trees that provide shade.
The sights
Hong Kong Island: This is a city of commerce, and the skyscrapers along the water are also worth taking in. The HSBC Building (1 Queen’s Road) built by Norman Foster built in 1985, is a good case in point. Every Sunday, the lobby comes alive when the city’s Filipino maids come out for the impromptu music in the streets.
Kowloon: Just as Hollywood has its Walk of Fame, the Asian film industry has the Avenue of the Stars along the waterfront. Some of the names on this stretch of esplanade will fall flat on American ears (Sir Run Run Shaw, anyone?), while others will inspire appropriate reverence (Chow Yun Fat). But the main attraction is the 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Bruce Lee in kung fu pose. And Bruce Lee buffs would be remiss not to check out the Bruce Lee Club, the altar/souvenir shop dedicated to the master at In’s Point.