Queenie’s Birthday in Stanley

My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, which was conveniently my day off! 😀

I had a wonderful lie in and woke up to a card from LSP!

She got my birthday wrong, but she’s obviously a busy gal.

So I let her off.

Ry also got me the rest of the Adventure Time team, including a dreamy Strawberry Body Mist and Lemongrass Massage Oil!

Thank you to my lovely friends and family for these wonderful gifts!

Having presents trickling in over the week was also a great addition to my birth-week 😉

After having a chill and a spot of lunch at home, Ry presented me with another present before we headed out on an adventure…

I’ve wanted a Polaroid for ages and this bad-boy is absolutely perfect!

THANKS BABE ❤

Finally we set off on our journey to Stanley!

Here’s a little background information for you: Stanley was originally called ‘Chek Chu’ for two possible reasons.

Firstly legend has it that the notorious pirate, Cheung Po Tsai, was active in Stanley. ‘Chek Chu’ means bandits post in Cantonese.

Secondly the original name of the village was believed to be based on a tall cotton tree, often covered with bright, red blossoms at the time. ‘Chek Chu’ means red pillar in Hakka.

It was given an English name after Lord Stanley, the British Colonial Secretary (and subsequent Prime Minister) at the time of the British invasion of Hong Kong.

Stanley is one of the oldest villages on Hong Kong Island.

Official records date the village back as early as the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620).

Our first encounter in Stanley!

They actually have a ‘Dog Parking’ sign ^.^

We popped over to the ‘Viewing Point’ which boasted views over Stanley.

However we weren’t that impressed, so here’s a picture of us instead 😉

Feeling a bit peckish, we popped into the Saffron Bakery Café, filled with jars of retro sweets, quirky cards and old records.

With their philosophy that food should be freshly made, every day, with the highest quality all natural ingredients (none of those pesky chemicals or preservatives) – we knew we were onto a winner!

After we ordered our food, we explored the café!

These were some of my favourite cards. (I would have bought a lot of them, as I LOVE buying cards! Unfortunately they were rather pricey, so I just took a few cheeky snaps instead)

Oh, and how cool is their drinks menu?

I never say no to fresh lemonade.

As there was an open kitchen, you could see the chef really got every last drop of juice from those lemons.

Hands down the best lemonade I’ve ever had!

Saffron does breakfast and lunch, as well as products including organic salads, jams, spreads, olives and other condiments made in their kitchen.

Ry went for a bacon sarnie, which he described as ‘divinely drippy, and delicious’ – the way it should be!

I enjoyed my fry up, though I would’ve definitely been able to manage double the size :p

Of course, we couldn’t walk past the gorgeous desserts without getting a couple to take away…

Casual.

I went for a yummy chocolate cupcake, while Ry had a caramel shortbread, which he described as a ‘creamy, crumbly, caramel cathedral of flavour.’ (Yes, he’s really into alliteration.)

As we got here quite late in the day, it was already starting to get dark as we emerged, but it was still lovely to walk along the harbour, admiring the trees wrapped in fairy lights.

Stanley has many bars and restaurants (serving mainly international food) on its waterfront along the Main Street.

The area gives off a very relaxed, European vibe away from the hustle and bustle of HK city life.

We also had a gander through Stanley Market, which is an array of small shops and street stalls very similar to the Ladies Market in Mong Kok.

After exploring the area a little more and taking a few more snaps by the sea (not that you can see it here, but I promise it’s behind me!)

 

We then had a lovely dinner overlooking the sea (mussels for me and lasagna for the Ry-dawg).

Thanks for a lovely day, Ry! ❤

To find out more about Stanley, click here.

Happy Sunday!

xxx