Guide to Lei Yue Mun HONG KONG
Stumbled upon this amazing village at the end of our hike at Devil’s Peak in Yau Tong neighborhood on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. This quaint fishing village and its surroundings is such a hidden gem! I haven’t heard too much about it previously and discovered it by chance because our hike took much shorter than anticipated and we decided to google last minute what other things we can do in the neighborhood.
A 15-minute walk from the Yau Tong MTR station, there are several points of interests along this lovely area that is the perfect location to spend an afternoon relaxing and exploring!
Points of Interests
1.Seafood Market, Snack Stalls, and Seafood Restaurants
The village began as the residential high rises next to Lei Yue Mun Sports Centre and Sam Tsuen Typhoon Shelter transition into the narrow walkways of fresh seafood stalls. Prior to entering the market, the boats resting next to the Typhoon Shelter make an interesting stopping point and we spotted a few individuals, including a little girl doing water color painting.
A young girl and grandpa sketching at Sam Tsuen Typhoon Shelter
We didn’t buy or try any of the seafood but it looked super fresh and plenty of variety. It also smelled much less, or should I say much at all, compared to other seafood markets or the seafood stalls in wet markets we’ve been to. So it should be quite fresh and clean!
Although majority of the stalls in the market sells fresh seafood, there are 3-4 places that sell traditional snacks: cookies, Hong Kong-styled egg rolls (I love love love these things! Even as a kid. They are basically flaky pastries and definitely a must-try), roasted chestnuts, homemade pork jerkies, roasted pecans, and bbq pastries. We got the candied roasted pecans and the freshly baked bbq pork pastries. Both are absolutely delightful! The roasted pecans have a coated melted brown sugar and are super crunchy along with the umami nutty flavor. The bbq pork buns, unlike the steamed traditional buns ,these are baked and the pastry wrapping are topped with an egg spread. Absolutely delicious and were still warm when we got them. Both are a must try!
We also got two boxes of snacks to take home - a box of egg rolls and another box of these swirly crackers. I used to beg my mom as a kid to buy them for me when we lived in Mainland China and we called them “Cat Ears” in Chinese. These from Lei Yue Mun were so good and not too sweet, which you know, is the ultimate compliment for desserts for Asians~
2. Lei Yue Mun Light House and Ma Pui Tsuen
The narrow passages of the seafood market will eventually lead to an open view of the sea that’ll lead to the Lei Yue Mun Light House. Continuing forward, the spring blossoms and greenery are painted along the white small village houses along the seaside. Lei Yue Mun Village will ultimately merge with Ma Pui Tsuen. A few areas of the walled fences are also painted with cute village-themed graffiti that are excellent instagrammable spots!
3. Lei Yue Mun Tin Hau Temple
At the intersection between Lei Yue Mun Village and Ma Pui Tsuen is the Tin Has Temple, nestled at the edge of the water. This temple, although small, exudes austerity as there are a number of ancient well-wish trees, large rocks with Chinese calligraphy, as well as lines of flags waving majestically as you walk towards the red structure. Immediately after, there are ads for a (I assume?) locally famous fortune teller.
4. Old Lei Yue Mun Quarry
Follow this sign and arrow and walk through a narrow passage way from the village to Old Lei Yue Mun Quarry
The biggest and most pleasant surprise of this hidden-gem of a location is the Old Lei Yue Mun Quarry, which is the last stop in the itinerary. Accurate to its name, this abandoned old quarry sits next to the ocean and its close proximity to the water and natural vegetation makes it a prime location for weekend visitors who are here to do photoshoots.
Most interestingly though, a large number of people we saw for photoshoots weren’t doing photoshoots of themselves, but of their toy cars! Didn’t even know that was a thing~ We also saw a cute kitty doing a photoshoot!!! Probably a celebrity of #catsofinstagram
Absolutely loved this chance encounter with such a lovely spot in Hong Kong. Completely unexpected and took me by surprise. And I couldn’t be happier!
