The Showroom

The Showroom specializes in creative pieces using various gems and diamonds.

Trio Pearl Peninsula Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel. 2367-9171

Trio Pearl has beautiful one-of-a-kind designs in pearl jewelry.

Markets
Bird Market Hong Lok St.

The Bird Market is one of the most exotic markets in Asia. Two long alleys are nearly covered over with bamboo bird cages with tropical birds that are tenderly fed live worms via chopsticks poked through the bars by their owners. You'll also find old men taking their own caged birds out for walks through the market. (Take the MTR to Mongkok, exit on Nelson St.: Hong Lok Street is two blocks west.)

Ladies' Market Tung Choi St.

The Ladies' Market features the same clothing you find in the Temple Street night market, except you can go by daylight. Despite it's name, men's and children's clothing is also sold. It's open daily noon-11.

Stanley Village Market

Stanley Village Market (Bus 6, 6A, or 260 from Central Bus Terminus, Hong Kong Island, or 260 from the Star Ferry; in Kowloon, Bus 973 from Tsim Sha Tsui) is not quite the bargain trove it used to be, but you can still find some good buys in sportswear and casual clothing if you comb through the stalls. Stanley Market is also a good place to buy linens.

Dozens and dozens of shops line a main street so narrow that awnings from each side meet in the middle. Stores open early, at about 10, but close between 5 and 6. The market is most enjoyable on weekdays, when it's less crowded.

Temple Street

Temple Street becomes an open-air market at night, filled with a colorful collection of clothes, handbags, electrical goods, gadgets, and all sorts of household items. By the light of lamps strung up between stalls, hawkers try to catch the eyes of shoppers by flinging clothes up from their stalls; Cantonese opera competes with pop music; and a constant chatter of vendors' cries and shoppers' haggling fills the air. The market stretches for almost a mile and is one of Hong Kong's liveliest nighttime shopping experiences. You can go as early as 5 PM and leave by 10 PM. It's best to hire a local guide to take you. Some of the surrounding neighborhoods may be unsafe at night.