anyone here live in sai wan ho

[katfroggatt]

Hi there, im at Grand Promenade as well! Ive been here since beginning of March with my 10 month old son. Im always out and about for walks but never seem to meet anyone whom i can have conversations with. Hope to run into you all soon for chats Its so nice to know so many of you guys are living here too! Im at tower 6

[katfroggatt]

Thought this thread could use an update... my wife and I will be moving there shortly, anyone in Sai Wan Ho 2.5 years later?

Hi there, you are absolutely right about the date! I didnt even notice the first post was back in 2008!

I have just moved to Sai Wan Ho and it is a nice area by the water if you are intending to stay around Grand Promenade and Les Saisons. If you have kids, it is a lovely place to walk by the water and you almost dont feel like you are in HK. There are plenty of shops you can buy stuff from, there is a Park and Shop which you can always hop in for groceries but not for fresh meats. Meats i would suggest going to APITA in Tai Koo Shing which is only 1 stop away from here by MTR. Tai Koo Shing City Plaza has a wide variety of shops to keep you entertained. Around Sai Wan Ho there is also a wet market which has live fish and shellfish and pork as well, that is if you are okay with buying things from wet markets as it does take getting used to. There are plenty of restaurants you can dine at by the water which is only 3 mins walk from Grand Promenade where i am at.

Hope this is sufficient information for you to get started. Which apartment will you be moving into?

Good luck and welcome to HK!

[themuths]

katfroggatt - Thanks for the quick reply!
Good to hear that it's a nice neighborhood, we've walked around a bit but only at night, and haven't gotten a chance to go down to the water yet - will definitely do so once we've moved in!
We're English teachers who are low-budget backpackers when traveling, so we're living in rather affordable accommodation compared to the average Hong Kong expat I think! It's a rather traditional Chinese apartment complex on Sai Wan Ho St. Just got renovated, nice elderly landlords, and they'll let us have a dog, so we're quite satisfied already.
Thanks for the advice on meat, and we definitely don't mind a wet market so we'll investigate that as well. We've already found an awesome Indian restaurant, and our Realtor advised us on good places for dim sum, sushi, and Chinese noodles - we're excited to be living in a more Chinese neighborhood though would love to meet some foreigners as well...
We're a late-20s American couple, no kids yet but soon most likely :-), starting with a dog, something we've wanted for years but haven't had a stable enough lifestyle to be fair to an animal... so if you see some whities with a small pooch in the near future, don't hesitate to come over for a chat :-)

[katfroggatt]

you are most welcome! Just to offer you some directions to the sea, its towards Tai Hong Street, the parks are Sai Wan Ho Garden Park and Quarry Bay Park which both runs along the waterfront. If you need directions, you can ask people how to walk to Grand Promenade (in Cantonese its "Ka Heng Wan"). This is one thing about HK, its so impt to know SOME cantonese to get around. The wet market is strategically located almost next to the MTR station so you wont miss it. Just follow your nose towards the classic scent of a typical market!

The great thing about Sai Wan Ho my hubby and i have discovered is that it has many small little shops that sells a whole load of different stuff for the home at a fraction of the cost compared to a department store. So even tho its kinda an old neighbourhood, it has its perks as well.

Shortfall of HK i have discovered so far is the taxi drivers.....there are some really nice ones but there are also some that will pull your hair out so be prepared.

There is a nice Thai restaurant along the water that you can also try, its called Thai 11 and I have also been told the Matsuo Japanese Restaurant is good too!

Enjoy yourselves and i would be sure to say hellos when we do pass each other on the street!

[themuths]

We're officially signing on our apartment later this week, so we'll be meandering about the neighborhood shortly! You don't happen to know if any of these parks are pet friendly (or at least don't say 'no pets')?
Good to know about the Thai & Japanese restaurants, definitely a highlight of Hong Kong is the culinary diversity.
Need to get to work on that Cantonese, it's true!

[katfroggatt]

Hmm, the parks i mentioned by the water.....they have a "no pets/dogs allowed" by the water. But you are free to take them for walks by the pathway facing the water which is where many dog owners congregate esp over weekends. Its really strange in HK, its not as dog friendly as where i came from ie Singapore. So you need to be careful in the parks....some of them have signs that dont allow dogs. I dont even know if they have proper dog runs in HK....might be worth posting here and asking others to recommend some parks nearby for you. We had to put out dachshund up for adoption before moving here as we know the apartments are so tiny here in HK compared to the space we had in Singapore....only to realise that there are big dogs here in my condo! Im sure the owners would have to walk them several times a day to prevent the dogs from being too repressed!

[Jane_c]

Hi guys,
It's great to read that there are other English-speaking neighbors in the neighborhood. I'm actually Korean and I know there are a lot of Koreans living in our neighborhood(esp. @ the Grande Promenade) but I haven't been able to meet any Koreans or non-Korean English speakers. I just arrived here mid-March and live in Les Saisons. It'd be great to make some friends in the neighborhood!