Hong Kong on $1,000 — or $100 — a day

The document in my email, set on elegant Four Seasons Hotel letterhead, was titled “One Perfect Day in Hong Kong.” It specified a one-day, $1,000 agenda that included a Michelin-starred restaurant, a helicopter ride and a private tour of Kowloon.

The document was from the hotel’s concierge team, whom I’d contacted earlier. After I arrived, team member Clementine King went over the specifics as I sipped an espresso and cast furtive glances at those around me as I tried to figure out who stays at a hotel with rates from $645 a night.

Probably the same sort of traveler who’d spend $1,000 in a day popping around town. (Actually, 7,600 Hong Kong dollars at the time of my visit, at a rate of 7.6 Hong Kong dollars to the U.S. dollar.) My task would be to design a day that was as similar as possible, but at one-tenth the cost. That would require planning and tips from friends, most notably Daisann McLane who gives private and small group tours through her company, Little Adventures in Hong Kong.

Here’s a look at the high- and low-cost options,

Breakfast

High: The Four Seasons agenda started at Lin Heung Tea House for dim sum. “Dim sum breakfast is cheap,” King said. “It’s good bang for your buck.” (Hey, that’s my line!) Her estimated cost: 150 Hong Kong dollars (about $20).

Low: My breakfast was at Sing Heung Yuen, which McLane told me was one of the few old-fashioned outdoor street cafes left in the city. I had a noodle soup thick with stewed tomatoes and topped with a runny poached egg. Total bill, with iced milk tea and toast: 49 Hong Kong dollars (about $6).

Tour

High: King said their usual tour guide was too expensive even for our $1,000 day (well, excuse me!) and suggested booking a two-hour tour of Kowloon through the site Sam the Local, requesting stops at the Jade Market and a traditional tea shop. Cost: about 400 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: I used a local, too — a local map. The one from Creative City costs about $7 online and has sharply designed walking maps of six regions of the city, with a bent toward the unusual or creative. In bustling Sham Shui Po, I stopped into a 200-year-old “bonesetter” shop, which, according to the map, used to specialize in treating knife wounds.

Lunch

High: The Italian three-course lunch or the Japanese bento box at Aqua, on the 29th floor of a building overlooking the harbor. Cost: 500 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: The comfortable tables on the roof garden of the IFC mall have a view of the harbor. And you can bring your picnic from any number of options in the mall. I went to City Super, a Whole Foods-ish market, and bought a gluttonous amount of toro salmon and octopus sashimi, plus Japanese beer, for 139 Hong Kong dollars.

Shopping

High: King recommended the trendy Soho and Poho neighborhoods, including antiques shopping and gallery hopping on Hollywood Road and into PMQ, a former police housing complex turned beehive of local design and fashion shops, where one could purchase a hand-painted silk scarf by Chailie Ho for 1,280 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: I explored the same neighborhoods, even stopping at Ho’s shop. Ho herself was there and showed me her colorful, dreamy chiffon and satin scarves.

I headed on to Sai Ying Pun, where I had read about a shop called Tak Chong Sum Kee Bamboo Steamer Company that sells handmade bamboo (and wood and rattan) goods. “Old man make by hand,” a worker told me. “No young people learning!” I bought three wooden molds, one each in the shape of a fish, a turnip and, hmm, a Reese’s peanut butter cup inscribed in Chinese? They were 25 Hong Kong dollars each, and are now decorating my kitchen.

Views

High: Hong Kong is not just a vertical city, it’s an archipelago with extensive green space. For a perspective from above, the Four Seasons agenda included a 15-minute helicopter ride with Heli Services for a 1,999 Hong Kong dollars a person.

Low: I headed up to the Peak, Hong Kong Island’s famous panoramic lookout. Instead of taking the funicular train to the Sky Terrace platform, which involves long lines and a package fee of 83 dollars, I took Hong Kong’s impressive escalator system to the end and walked the rest of the way — steep, but not that grueling. Then I followed the trail that starts on Lugard Road to take in a view of the city and its natural surroundings. (I took the train back, 28 Hong Kong dollars.)

Dinner

High: Lung King Heen, the upscale but understated Cantonese restaurant, which has three Michelin stars, on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons. Estimated cost: 2,600 Hong Kong dollars.

Low: For a cheaper, more classic Cantonese dinner, two of McLane’s tour guides met me at family-friendly Ser Wong Fun. We ordered three dishes, starting with a pig’s lung soup, which had an arrestingly intense broth sweetened by dried figs and dates. Stir-fried lotus root with lily bulbs and Chinese celery was fresh and tender. One-third of the bill was 122 Hong Kong dollars.

Nightcap

High: One drink (plus service) at “glamorous but relaxed” Sevva is 200 Hong Kong dollars. The day’s total: 7,129 dollars (about $938), leaving plenty for taxis.

Low: I had over 200 Hong Kong dollars left. . So my friend Conrad Lau joined me for splurgy, celebratory gin and tonics for about 120 Hong Kong dollars at the hip gin bar Ping Pong 129. But then it was back to frugality at Jovie’s Karaoke, a loungey space full of Filipinos and Pakistanis, with free karaoke. A bucket of six San Miguel beers was 100 Hong Kong dollars. My treat.

My day’s total: 727.5 Hong Kong dollars (including subways and other minor expenses), or $96.