hong kong flower market and yuen po street bird garden

Last Updated on April 4, 2017

Having lived on Hong Kong Island for almost two years, I was ashamed to say that outside of the lovely park, and of course all the tourist spots surrounding the harbour, I hadn’t explored that much of Kowloon (or ‘The Dark Side’ as it is known to many Hong Kong Islanders). I suppose what had put me off was the thought that it would be that crazy, stressful side of Hong Kong I had always pictured before moving here. You know, like being in a crowd scene in Bladerunner, except (hopefully) with fewer violent robots. This coupled with walking around with a toddler (which, let’s face facts, can at times feel like walking around with a drunk person prone to dramatic mood swings), really didn’t sound like a winning morning. However, confronted by a damp, grey Saturday morning – that in our pre-parenting days would have sent us scuttling back towards the duvet clutching hot mugs of tea –we decided that the time had arrived to have a change of scene, brave the hordes and head up to the Flower Market and Yuen Po Street Bird Garden in Prince Edward.

Rather happily, once at the market, there was really no sign of those imagined masses, and in fact, the market wasn’t really a traditional market of closely packed stalls at all, but rather a collection of colourful and fragrant shops brimming with cut flowers, plants and spiralling bamboo that at various points overflowed onto the pavement. All rather genteel.

Now, it is at this point, I would love to be able to regale you with Latin names and detailed information about the origins of various plants species, but I’m afraid, in this, I am quite hopeless (as testament to this I have managed to kill egg cress-heads) – so I hope it is suffice to say that the flowers were all quite lovely; the perfect antidote to the dank, dull morning.  Our little lad is just at the point where he enjoys practising his colours, so he spent a little time spotting all the “lellow” then “bue” flowers, and he also just loved smelling all the herbs as well as rummaging through the boxes of fake vegetables. And as a little added bonus, at the beginning of the market was a small playground and exercise area, which allowed him to run off some toddler steam for 10 minutes.

Having delighted in a good amount of window-shopping, we neared the end of the market road and this time we didn’t need our smart phones to tell us that we were approaching our next destination, as the cacophony of bird song reassured us that Yuen Po Street Bird Garden must be straight ahead. This traditional Chinese style garden is quite a strange but rather fascinating place – full of men airing their sweet, colourful caged birds and stalls selling beautifully crafted cages and other bird-related paraphernalia, including the classic small boy entertainment of bags of live crickets! Our little lad was probably most overjoyed, however, by the little wooden bird his daddy bought him for $10, complete with flappy wings.

After a good 20 minutes of listening to, and watching, song birds, we exited the garden north onto Boundary Street, and with the honed peripheral vision that only parents possess, we spotted that most rare of Hong Kong sights – a swing!  A short detour over a footbridge to the other side of the road, brought us to the open and breezy Fa Hui Park. Fortuitously, by this point the sun had broken through, and so could our little lad could make the most the various slides, swings and play equipment that the playground had to offer.  The park (don’t let that name fool you, there wasn’t a clump of grass in sight) also had a good amount of space to blow bubbles, ride a scooter or kick a ball about (had we thought to bring any of these) and provided us with a somewhat unexpected and welcome end to our outing. At the back of the playground, written rather fittingly in flowers, were the words ‘I Love Hong Kong’ – a sentiment with which it was hard to disagree.

And so, as lunchtime approached, and the familiar demand of “snack” was heard, we decided that it was time to head away from this tranquil world of flowers, song birds and playgrounds and back onto the busy streets in search of food…

Hits

An interesting (and economical) morning out for both parents and toddlers, and with the playgrounds at both the beginning and end, this is a do-able trip even with an active little tike in tow. If you fancy picking up some flowers or plants enroute, there are plenty of choices at excellent prices (well, for Hong Kong anyway). As I couldn’t face the hassle of carrying a bouquet of flowers around all morning, I opted for a chubby little purple(!) chilli plant; a steal at 15HKD. Also, if your appetite for adventure isn’t sated, the Goldfish Market is within walking distance.

Misses

The playgrounds aren’t huge, so don’t expect a full day out, rather a good morning option (I’m guessing it might be more seriously busy by the afternoon). Also, I know that this is in part a reflection of my very British sensibilities, but I did find the sight of all the song birds in cages a little sad – although they were obviously well looked after and cherished by their owners.

Hunger Pangs?

The pleasingly named Café Hay Fever offers a rather beautiful and welcome respite in the Flower Market. Tucked away in the equally charming Hay Fever Floral and Gifts shop near the end of Flower Market Road, the cafe serves hot and iced coffees, organic and fair trade teas, bottled drinks and smoothies, along with light snacks and cakes. And if that hasn’t already convinced you that this is all just too achingly lovely; when I enquired whether they had any highchairs, the manager Martin immediately promised that they would go to IKEA that very day to buy one (and a later visit confirmed that he had).

Café Hay Fever, G/f, 62-64 Flower Market Road, Mongkok,
Open 9:00 am – 7:00 pm daily, closed Wednesdays.

For lunch, we went to One Dim Sum, a Michelin Star all-day dim sum restaurant, on the corner of Tung Choi Street and Playing Field Road, a 5 minute walk from the market. The food was truly delicious and excellent value (130HKD for all three of us to eat handsomely), but we did have a daunting 40 minute wait for a table (cue smartphone and Peppa Pig to the rescue!), so I would advise that you get there early, as they don’t take reservations. Oh and no customer toilets either, so if you are with a toilet training toddler, you might want to use the facilities in the Bird Garden or at Boundary Street Sports Centre before you arrive.

One Dim Sum, Shop 1 & 2, G/F, Kenwood Mansion, 15 Playing Field Road, Prince Edward

Getting there:

If you are driving (potentially a smart move if you want to stock up on plants), you can find some very limited parking in Mongkok Stadium, next to the Flower Market. Otherwise, you can go to Grand Century Place and walk over.

If you are travelling by MTR, take exit B1 from Prince Edward. Alternatively, jump on one of the many buses that drop you  near Prince Edward MTR, such as the 102 (between Island East and Mei Foo), 104 (from Kennedy Town, through Central) and 171 (from Ap Lei Chau, outbound through Causeway Bay) .

Hong Kong Flower Market, Flower Market Road, Prince Edward, Kowloon

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Yuen Po Street, Prince Edward, Kowloon

The Bird Garden is open 7am–8pm daily, although if you get there very early you may find most of the stalls within the garden shut. Similarly, although many of the shops in the Flower Market open at 7am, this is chiefly to receive deliveries, so visiting after 9am is probably best. The shops in the flower market normally start closing around 6 – 7pm. The Flower Market is open Monday through Sunday, except the first day of Chinese New Year.

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