In the heart of Sheung Wan, the enchanting Lok Ku Road befuddles your sense of time with its treasure trove of sorrel-scented antique stores and its avant-garde shops. Once infamous for brothels and fishermen’s homes, which turned the street into a den of disorder, Lok Ku Road is now a harbour for handicrafts and imperial-inspired furniture.

Arts and antiques
The street is notorious for being the home of Cat Street Galleries (38 Lok Ku Rd), an old-fashioned flea market brought back to life. Comprised of various stalls and small stores, it is a time-stopping bubble in which avid collectors can buy rare, antique furniture; old-fashioned Chinese relics and ornaments; and even Mao-inspired artworks. If that’s not enough to satiate your appetite for the arts, it’s just a ten-minute walk over to Hollywood Road, where you can continue your shopping.

Cooking up a storm
On a different bent, quaint red stoves, brightly printed aprons, and the latest cookie cutter shapes adorn charming kitchen store Pantry Magic (25 Lok Ku Rd) – certainly worth a mosey for curious culinary characters. And if that stirs your hunger pangs, you need not look far to satisfy your cravings: along the middle of the road, a strategically positioned small eatery fans the mouth-watering aroma of roasted meat in all directions. We thoroughly recommend you dig into the $25 cha siu fan, served with a side of irresistible ginger-scallion soy sauce.

How to get there
Take Exit A2 from the Sheung Wan MTR station, and head towards the hills until you hit Queen’s Road West; then hang a right and walk a block until you find the start of Lok Ku Road. Or take Bus 26 from Des Voeux Road Central, in front of HSBC HQ, and get off at the second stop, Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road. Head west by foot for a block, and then down a block towards the ocean until you hit Lok Ku Road.

Kimberly Zeluck