Hotel Blossom Hakata Premier (Fukuoka, JAPAN)

This was my third-ever visit to Fukuoka, and I’m still on the lookout for my go-to hotel accommodation in the city. I got off to a rather slow start finalizing my itinerary this time around, and by the time all the destination cities were decided, I realized that hotel prices in Fukuoka had already gone up considerably. In fact, we were only left with a handful of choices in Tenjin and Hakata, and Hotel Blossom Hakata Premier ended up getting the nod.

Hotel Blossom Hakata Premier is conveniently located just a 6-8 minute walk from Hakata Station. Its proximity to the station also means it's close to all the major car rental companies, which will make things a lot easier for us in a couple of days.

This is a fairly typical property from a Japanese hotel chain. The rooms are long and narrow, leaving us with very little space for our luggage.

We were given a room across from the corner room, facing the rear side of the hotel (in other words, no view). The layout was just a little weird to say the least. Instead of having the closet next to the beds, the bathroom area was placed there, separated by a sliding door. 

The closet or more accurately, the storage area was located behind the TV wall directly facing the bed. It just felt a bit strange, but I guess the shape of the room didn’t leave the designer with many options.

The bathroom itself, equipped with a bathtub and shower room, was a decent size.

The toilet, positioned separately, was up to the usual Japanese standard — clean, bright, and with just enough space to move around comfortably.

I also decided to check out my mom’s room and found that she had been given a room with a more “proper” layout. In her room, the bathroom was further away from the bed and separated by the closet, like in most hotel rooms in Japan. It was a much better design, with more space to work with overall.

The biggest reason we chose Hotel Blossom Hakata Premier was its location — close to Hakata Station and right near our car rental pick-up spot, which will come in really handy in a couple of days. It’s a pretty serviceable choice for travelers on a short stay. That said, the words “weird” and “just enough room” came up way too often when I tried to describe our room… so you get my point.

Rating: ❤❤❤

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 2-8-12 Hakata Ekimae, Hakata, Fukuoka, 812-0011, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Kushida Shrine

Tel: +81 (0)92-431-8702

Website: https://www.jrk-hotels.co.jp/Hakata_premier/

Ho Hung Kee at HKIA 何洪記 香港國際機場 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After a crazy few weeks at work, I finally wrapped up the last meeting in 2025. Time to enjoy the remaining days of the year without the need of checking emails!

This trip had been in the works for almost a year now. After arriving at the airport early, I breezed through the self check-in and got my luggage dropped off. From that point on, I had about three hours to kill.

Without hesitation, we went downstairs to the arrival hall to check out the dining options. My eyes quickly locked in on Ho Hung Kee (何洪記), and while it’s not their Michelin-starred flagship in Causeway Bay, it definitely felt like it's worth a punt.

House specialty wonton noodles in soup (正斗鮮蝦雲吞麵) — The noodles were once again very nice and perfectly springy (彈牙). It’s definitely as good as the one from Tasty Congee (正斗), if not better. 

The wontons were proper too — bite-sized, just the way I like them.

Rice rolls filled with crispy youtiao (香脆油條腸粉/炸両) — This one was decent, though not quite as satisfying as my favorite version from Tasty Congee. The rice rolls here were noticeably thicker and for this dish to really shine, you need an almost paper-thin layer of rice roll, so thin that it’s nearly transparent to wrap around the youtiao.

It was nice to enjoy one last Chinese meal before my get-away to Fukuoka (福岡). Bye for now!

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 5T161, Arrivals Meeters and Greeters Hall, Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Airport

Tel: +852 2323-6690

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 11:00pm daily

Minimal 迷你毛 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Minimal (迷你毛) is a neighborhood all-day café and restaurant in Sham Shui Po serving international fusion dishes. I’ve always wanted to visit more often, but the slightly inconvenient location, lack of booking availability, and the occasional poor service have kept me from going back as much as I’d like.

This time, with my sister in town, we decided to give it another shot and drop by for an early dinner.

Chicken, tacos, avocado, mango ($118) — Little nugget has always wanted to try authentic Mexican-style tacos. While this was more of a fusion take than a traditional one, it should still give him a good idea of what the flavors and textures might be like.

The taco came with seared chicken breast, tacos, avocado cream, all tied up nicely by a mango salsa.

A little too much on the sweet side but all in all, not bad.

Risotto, miso, crab, dashi ($138) — The Japanese dashi infused with miso gave the risotto a nice lift. 

Orecchiette, egg yolk, maitake, truffle ($128) — Little one’s first encounter with orecchiette pasta, and he fell in love with it. The fresh (duck?) egg yolk, maitake, truffle, and parmesan came together in a really impressive finish.

Salmon, honey mustard ($178) — The salmon fillet grilled to perfection, was finished off with a honey mustard salsa. Delicious!

Apple, toffee, custard, puff pastry, apricot ($92) — Dessert is always a highlight here and it was the case again tonight. 

The poached apple, with a centre of diced apple compote, was paired with toffee, custard, puff pastry, and apricot. It was absolutely packed with flavors.

Coconut, mango, meringue, Malibu milk ($90) — A lighter dessert compared to the one before it. It was full of exotic flavors from the coconut mousse, mango compote, and meringue, finished with a Malibu milk foam. Everyone seemed to enjoy the poached apple more, mostly thanks to its presentation.

Despite the small selection on the menu, everyone seemed very happy with the combination of flavors across the dishes. Like many dining experiences here, the service can be a bit impatient and inattentive at times but as long as the food (and dessert) quality stays consistent, we can try to live with it.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 121-123 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sham Shui Po

Website: www.facebook.com/minimalcafehk/

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm daily