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Hong Kong shopping guide & travel tips! Cute panda cookies, Hello Kitty fashion, Uniqlo, Sogo.

hong kong shopping mall, giant cake

Hong Kong is all about eating and shopping. I did a bit of both on my most recent trip.

Read on for a peek inside the Chinese city’s cutest stores, and my latest Business Insider article about kawaii food.

japanese goth street style, atelier pierrot skirt

Sweet meets Gothic, in this Kowloon shopping mall.
Corset skirt: Atelier Pierrot, from Laforet Harajuku (see photos from inside this Tokyo department store)
Mary Jane shoes: Demonia

demonia shoes, goth girl hair, modeling

Hong Kong locals love to take photos with funny backdrops. Shopping centers often have displays, like this “Sweets Paradise” one in Kowloon, for that very purpose.

giant tea cup, tea party backdrop

Remember when my friends and I posed in the “Magician’s Liar” last year in Mongkok?

sushi art, big sushi backdrop

Japanese pop culture is extremely popular here, hence the “Sushi Oishii.”

hong kong shopping malls, hung hom

What do you think I’ll find on my plate?

black white burger, mcdonalds hong kong, rilakkuma buns

Hopefully not these “Black or White” burgers from McDonalds (dyed with squid ink, they look inedible). I prefer the cute Rilakkuma buns from 7-Eleven.

kee wah bakery, panda bear cookies, panda box

Better yet: these panda bear cookies from Kee Wah Bakery! I gave a box to Seby and to Naomi.

hong kong kawaii, sala store, accessories

I’ve taken you inside many of Hong Kong’s malls, but here are photos from a not-so-known area, Whampoa. It’s home to a boat-shaped department store and Treasure World.

cute rilakkuma toys, sanrio shop hong kong

Hong Kong’s my favorite place to pick up cute accessories (I just got a fat-cat bag and wallet). Characters such as Rilakkuma are plentiful, but prices are much cheaper than in Japan.

majolica majorca makeup, sasa, japanese cosmetic brands

I always stop by the cosmetics chain, SaSa. You can get Japanese makeup brands and gyaru eyelashes for half the Tokyo price.

hello kitty kilara shop, sanrio hong kong

You know Hello Kitty is popular when she has her own store, a collaboration with KiLaRa.

hello kitty purse, clothing, red bow shoes

In addition to casual wear, the shop has red-bowed purses, shoes…

hello kitty hair clips, bow headbands

…and tons of kawaii accessories.

monchichi monkey jewelry, sogo department store

Monchichi monkey jewelry is sold in the Japanese department store, Sogo (it has locations in Causeway Bay and Tsum Sha Tsui).

liz lisa pink floral skirts

Also in Sogo: the girly-lace-romantic-pop brand, Liz Lisa.

gyaru purse, magazines

Clear purses and scalloped fabric are currently in. (Compare these Liz Lisa photos to the ones I took last year.)

hong kong liz liza boutique

The crochet garments are great for layering (I bought the white one on the middle mannequin).

wario tshirt, exotic shorthair cats pet store

Often, I find bizarre-cute items (like this Wario shirt) simply by wandering around. In Causeway Bay, there’s a “squish-faced cat store” — a pet store that specializes in Exotic Shorthair kitties!

sanrio and uniqlo collaboration, hello kitty tshirts

It’s a Hello Kitty world. We only live in it.

my melody tshirts, sanrio fashion uniqlo

Sanrio teamed up with Uniqlo for a tshirt and tank tops line.

panda bear purses, backpacks

I leave you with these panda bear bags. For more details about the various malls and brands, read my Hong Kong shopping posts.

china cute souvenirs, panda cookies

What do you think of Hong Kong’s clothing selection? Would you gobble up these panda biscuits?

cute bento box, hello kitty food

Speaking of – I have a new article in Business Insider, with 30 photo of kawaii food! Snoopy cakes, Hello Kitty bentos, mouse lattes and more.

cute cooking, kawaii food, charaben

In your opinion, who does cute cooking better, Hong Kong or Tokyo? If you’re intrigued by this food trend, I wrote a book about it that includes recipes: Cute Yummy Time. Bon appetit!

36 Comments

  1. Art Vixen
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:15 pm | Permalink

    I really enjoyed this article and seeing the variety of cute foods. A lot of effort goes into making these treats!

  2. Orville
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:15 pm | Permalink

    Looking great!

  3. Fabia
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:17 pm | Permalink

    so so fab

  4. Rosa
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:17 pm | Permalink

    i dont think the US realizes what a demand there is here too. It makes me so sad i cant eat cute things #firstworldproblems

  5. nerissa
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:18 pm | Permalink

    purrs

  6. Gwen
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:22 pm | Permalink

    you look fabulous.

  7. Maggie
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:25 pm | Permalink

    That’s it, i’m moving to Japan :P

  8. Amber
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:25 pm | Permalink

    I wonder if South Korea would also have a good selection of amazingly cute food?

    I’ve
    got some experience making bento lunches and, indeed, creating a
    masterpiece of cuteness takes a lot of time, effort, and patience.

  9. Aimee
    Posted August 5, 2013 at 8:25 pm | Permalink

    Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

  10. Hola
    Posted August 6, 2013 at 8:42 am | Permalink

    Happy travels :-)

  11. Giselle
    Posted August 6, 2013 at 8:42 am | Permalink

    awww good post

  12. essieratcliff
    Posted August 6, 2013 at 12:25 pm | Permalink

    I saw that collab, UniqloXSanrio, in a Uniqlo store in Beijing. Couldn’t resist picking up a black and purple Hello Kitty tank dress. Also, Uniqlo jeans are amazing quality. :3

    • lacarmina
      Posted August 7, 2013 at 1:45 pm | Permalink

      I thought they did a good job! The Frankenweenie collab was great too.

  13. Danilo
    Posted August 6, 2013 at 3:30 pm | Permalink

    ¡¡¡ Un viajecito a Hong Kong?

  14. Moat
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 9:39 am | Permalink

    really well….Stunning

  15. tanja
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 9:39 am | Permalink

    I’m a big “fan” of you! :-)

  16. Gin
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 9:39 am | Permalink

    LOVE IT! :) Especially with sweets in the background too P:

  17. Kurtz
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 9:40 am | Permalink

    Very nice!

  18. MelissaR
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 10:15 am | Permalink

    Adorable pics – looks like La Carmina in Candyland! <3

  19. Hime
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 1:48 pm | Permalink

    Hi there, beautiful ;)

  20. Rukita
    Posted August 7, 2013 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    hope you like it here in Budapest!

  21. Bella
    Posted August 8, 2013 at 5:21 pm | Permalink

    love THIS.

  22. Kitty
    Posted August 8, 2013 at 5:22 pm | Permalink

    You are adorable and inspirational! I love your blog! :)

  23. Arna
    Posted August 10, 2013 at 8:51 pm | Permalink

    So pretty!

  24. lacarmina
    Posted August 12, 2013 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    aww thank you!

  25. in_hk
    Posted October 1, 2013 at 5:31 pm | Permalink

    So much info all in one post (!).

    Do you remember where you took the “Sushi Oishii” picture?

    • lacarmina
      Posted October 7, 2013 at 9:18 am | Permalink

      aww yay! It was in the Kowloon mall near all the bus stops (I forgot the name)… I think the display is gone by now :(

  26. Lavender Turner
    Posted June 19, 2014 at 8:53 am | Permalink

    hey were was the rilakkuma store located

  27. Irene
    Posted March 24, 2015 at 6:17 am | Permalink

    Sorry may I know where did you take the photo of the purple packaging panda cookies?

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