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Om International
This place has an excellent selection of saltwater and freshwater pearls, and there's a whole lot more on offer than what's on display. The staff is scrupulously honest, helpful and friendly.
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Pacific Custom Tailors
This is our favourite bespoke tailor in Hong Kong and they've wrapped new duds around us on more than one occasion. They'll make or copy anything; turnaround on most items is two or three days, including two fittings. Excellent, personable service.
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Pacific Place
One of the city's best shopping malls, Pacific Place has, if anything, gone further upmarket recently. There are a couple of hundred outlets, dominated by higher end men's and women's fashion (from the likes of Burberry, Chanel, Chloé, Loewe, Marc Jacobs and Versace) and accessories (Bottega Veneta, Coach, Fendi, Gucci etc). There's also a Lane Crawford department store.
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Page One
A chain, yes, but one with attitude. Page One has Hong Kong's best selection of art and design magazines and books; it's also strong on photography, literature, film and children's books. There's also a smaller branch in Tsim Sha Tsui (2730 6080; Shop 3202, 3rd fl, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 25-27 Canton Rd).
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Photo Scientific
This is the favourite of Hong Kong's resident pros. You'll almost certainly find equipment elsewhere for less, but Photo Scientific has a rock-solid reputation with labelled prices, no bargaining, no arguing and no cheating.
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Po Kee Fishing Tackle
The guys at Po Kee have had the market cornered - hook, line and sinker - on fishing supplies since 1933, when it served Hong Kong's commercial fishing fleet. Now it exclusively serves sports fishing enthusiasts.
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Premier Jewellery
This third-generation family firm directed by a qualified gemmologist is one of our favourite places to shop. The selection isn't huge, but if you're looking for something particular, give it a day's notice to have a piece ready in time for your arrival. Staff can also help you design your own.
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Prince's Building
You may find the layout of Prince's Building disorientating, but it's worth a look for its speciality fashion, toy and kitchenware shops. The selection is rather eclectic - from high-end boutiques such as Chanel and Cartier on the ground floor to booksellers, Mothercare, jewellers, stationers and luggage shops on the levels above. It's an especially good place to bring the kids as almost the entire 3rd floor is given over to children's shops.
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Queen's Road West Incense Shops
Head along Queen's Rd West, about 200m past the end of Hollywood Rd, and you'll find two or three shops selling incense and paper offerings. These are burned to propitiate the spirits of the dead and make a consumer heaven of their hell. There's quite a choice of spirit-world comestibles, including complete mini-sets of kitchenware, cars, gold and silver ingots, the popular hell banknotes and even computers and personal stereos.
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Rainbow City
Japanese cartoons and all manner of cutesy kitsch is splashed across the clothes and bags in vivid technicolour in this store aimed at local teens, tweens and twenty-somethings.
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Rock Candy
Made from black glass and with pin-prick lights illuminating surprisingly tempting display cases, this goth-glam jewellery shop (and its über- trendy gewgaws) has to be seen to be believed.
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Sam's Tailor
It's not certain that Sam's is the best tailor in Hong Kong, but it's the most aggressively marketed and best known. Sam's has stitched up everyone - from royalty and rock stars to us.
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Shanghai Tang
This stylish shop has sparked something of a fashion wave in Hong Kong with its updated versions of traditional yet neon-coloured Chinese garments. It also stocks accessories and delightful gift items. Custom tailoring is available.
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Sister
This 'trendy fashion store' sells young Hong Kong designer wear verging on the wacky, which is definitely saying something given the competition in this mall.
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Sogo
This Japanese-owned store in the hub of Causeway Bay has 12 well-organised floors and more than 37,000 sq metres of retail space. The range is mind-boggling: over 20 brands of ties just for starters. Eclectic departments include the Barbie Counter and the Character's Shop.
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Soho Wines & Spirits
Its name notwithstanding, this place's forte is its large selection of beer and spirits. If it's not here, it probably isn't made or drunk any longer. The prices here tend to be keen, thanks to the shop's hospitality-trade wholesaling business.
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Spy
Tame yet trendy everyday wear, such as slacks and short-sleeved shirts. It has two other outlets, including one in Tsim Sha Tsui (2366 5866; Shop 406-407, 4th fl, Rise Commercial Centre, 5-11 Granville Circuit; ; - ).
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Star Computer City
This is the largest complex of retail computer outlets in Tsim Sha Tsui, with some two dozen shops selling PDAs, laptops, computer games and all manner of cables and accessories. You could certainly do slightly better on price further north in Mong Kok but as well as being handier, these outlets are probably a bit more reliable.
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Sunmark Camping Equipment
Head here for hiking and camping gear and waterproof clothing of all sorts. There's also a small selection of secondhand gear. Enter from Bullock Lane.
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Swindon Books
This is one of the best 'real' (as opposed to supermarket) bookshops in Hong Kong, with an excellent range and knowledgeable staff. Strong on local books and history in particular.
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Tai Sing Fine Antiques
Tai Sing has been selling quality Chinese antiques for more than half a century, with a special focus on porcelain. Two of the shop's six floors are now devoted to European furniture, including a dandy assembly of Art Deco pieces.
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Tai Yip Art Book Centre
Tai Yip has a terrific selection of books about anything Chinese and artsy: calligraphy, jade, bronze, costumes, architecture, symbolism. This is a good place to look deeper if you're planning on buying art in Hong Kong. There are outlets in several of Hong Kong's museums including the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
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Temple St Night Market
Temple St (named after the Tin Hau Temple at its centre) is the liveliest night market in Hong Kong, and the place to go for cheap clothes, dai pai dong (street food), watches, pirated CDs, fake labels, footwear, cookware and everyday items. It's definitely a place to bargain and is at its best late in the evening, when it's clogged with stalls and people.
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Teresa Coleman Fine Arts
This is the finest shop in Hong Kong for purchasing antique Chinese textiles, including rare chi fu , the formal court robes of valuable silk worn by the Chinese emperor, princes and imperial ministers. The shop also deals in Chinese export paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries and antique fans.
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The Swank
A long-standing fashion powerhouse, the Swank stocks a good range of established, mainly European labels including Kenzo, Sonia Rykel, Christian Lacroix, Givenchy and Kenzo, plus a smattering of up-and-coming talent from Hong Kong and the world's fashion centres.
