An insider’s guide to shopping in Hong Kong

Clothes & Accessories

• Esprit Warehouses on Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui; and Tung Chung

• Sogo department stores - Always head for the top floor for any current sale and off-season stock clearance promotions. We found Hello Kitty-inspired adult ready-to wear at 50 percent off and Arena and Speedo flip-flops for just HK$20/pair. Arena swim goggles were a mere $30/pc. while Speedo goggles were $50. Occasionally you’ll find such sales at Jusco and Mitsukoshi department stores as well.

• Night markets at Temple St., Sai Yeoung Choi St., and Mongkok street — Mongkok is still my favorite, but you can browse for good finds, mostly high-quality imitations, at these markets.

• Tai Yuen St., Wanchai — Also a good source for affordable finds.

Fashion Outlets

• Joyce and Lane Crawford outlets along Ap Lei Chau, Aberdeen

• Joyce flagship branch - Has Comme des Garcons, Number (N)ine and Undercover along the stretch of Canton Road and Peking Road, Harbour City

• Pacific Place — Has Roberto Cavalli, Seibu, Swank, Yohji Yamamoto, and Jean Paul Gaultier

• Sistyr Moon/Emily boutiques along Lee Gardens 1 & 2 on Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay — These stores close early, though, around 7-8 p.m.

• Dmop has Puma items by Mihara Yasuhiro

• Bape along Central

• IT has Raf Simmons

• The Harley-Davidson store

Gifts, Souvenirs, Home & Office Accessories

• Muji, Seiyu and IKEA flagship store at New Town Plaza, Shatin — Muji has great unbranded minimal Japanese-looking clothes in fabrics like denim. The price range for these stores is mostly affordable, from a few dollars to a few hundred; rarely will they cost more than $1,000.

• Log-On/City Super at Cityplaza

• Jusco Kornhill - This $10 store has expensive-looking gifts. I bought two roast geese here (rarer and more special than Peking duck) and a two-kilo lechon Macau here to take home.

• 2 Percent - Has cute doggy mascots in all shapes and sizes (as well as the irresistibly cute "doggy poop" keychain); cat and dog mobile-phone trinkets in all shapes, sizes, and colors are just some of the myriad choices. 

Pet Supplies

• Pet-supply shops along the stretch of Tung Choi St., Mongkok; and Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay

• Q Pets and Pets Line chain stores at Plaza Hollywood - Old favorites for buying anything animal-related.

• Wellcome supermarket, Causeway Bay - Open 24/7, you can get Cats’ Cheese Stick Treats, nostalgic Sugus candies and individually packed Kjeldsen’s butter cookies in blue tins here.

• Park ’n’ Shop at the basement of Mitsukoshi Dept Store - Has an impressive range of never-before-seen cat-food brands, mostly from HK. Check out the Sogo basement for deli goodies as well.

Final tip: Those who max out their credit-card limit early on and don’t have enough balance to cover a single item can split the total purchase amount between two or more credit cards! Just goes to show that when it comes to shopping, nothing is impossible in Hong Kong.

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For comments and feedback, please e-mail me at realmadgenius@yahoo.com.