Harbour City

If you are looking for shopping for western brands in Hong Kong, this is the place to be. I wouldn’t recommend it for local stuff though.

I like this mall. Its very similar to North American mall. They have stores I am familiar with. Like Zara etc. The mall is quite busy. Lots of people walking around. Very crowded.
Mall is clean. They also have high end brand name

Harbour City is a ginormous mall that consists of 3 smaller ones. Kinda like a robot put together. Kinda like Voltron…
Organization-​wise, it can be rather difficult to find places without a map. Restaurants and cafes are scattered throughout. Stores are a bit randomly located as well. However, you’ll whatever you need here. Lane Crawford is one of the anchor department stores, which is closer to the Marco Polo Hotel. Kinda kicking myself for not getting some Fortnum & Mason tea there.
As you can imagine, Christmas-​time, it’s a cluster you-​know-​what here, with crowds that’ll give anyone a panic attack. However, the nice views of the harbor (and there are some quieter spots of the mall) can bring you back.
Wifi is free. which is a nice deal. The mall is clean, which I can appreciate.

Harbour City has the nicest and most helpful information guide standing in front of the map near the big entrance by the Star Ferry terminal! He makes you feel HAPPY that you asked him for directions.
This huge shopping complex actually comprises of 3 connected malls (Ocean Terminal, Ocean Centre, and Gateway Arcade) and office/​hotel buildings. It’s so easy to get lost in here. They have everything from grocery store to high end boutiques. It might be a general Hong Kong thing but their Muji store here has a café for afternoon tea! The Cha Cha sweets by the City Super market sell matcha green tea ice cream. I also came across a MTR coupon machine here where you beep your Octopus card to take $ 2 off your next ride at the nearby MTR stations on the same day. It’s not much but it’s the little things that you suddenly discover that makes or breaks an experience.
I love their small outdoor patios that come with a seats and views of the harbor. I do wish that they had more seats throughout the mall.
PS during New Years season, they have a small parade and visit every single shop in the mall to wish the staff and customers a Happy New Year!

Upscale, very touristy mall located in Tsim Sha Tsui. There’s free wifi here, which is definitely a huge plus. But the sheer number of tourists/​customers here is ridiculous and if you’re planning on getting some serious shopping done at a reasonable price, don’t come here. You’re better off at some other mall, with fewer crowds and line-​ups. Even though the mall is huge, there will be crowds no matter which store or restaurant you go to.
The decorations at this mall are already usually gorgeous, but during the holiday season they definitely step up their game, and it becomes even more amazing. Granted, it is a top tourist destination, so the effort and money they spend keeping this mall up to date is definitely high.

I LOVE the amount of effort they put into the decorations during Christmas time. Seriously, the amount of money and effort they spend here is crazy, but then again, this is a top-​notch tourist location, that’s extra awesome during Christmas.
Here, you will get amazing views of the Harbour and you’re close to the ferry terminal (Star Ferry) that brings you to the other side of Hong Kong.
This mall has many shops, restaurants and in addition, there’s WIFI in the mall. If you’re a big fan of macarons, LAUDUREE IS HERE — so keep your eyes out for it. ToysRus is on the bottom-​most floor, so unless you love kids running all over the place, do not go there.

Crowded and filled with mainland China tourists who nearly shopped for medicines and facial products for their next twenty years. It would be a nice place if you are interested in buying clothes and footwear at once. But if you don’t, you may find this place useless and tasteless.

Another huge shopping mall catered with HK locals and Chinese tourists! haha :) Even our hotel recommended that we check out this place. It’s enormous, multiple floors, and fully air conditioned. There’s even FREE wi-​fi as well, which is a bonus! Easy access from multiple hotels in the area, and close to Avenue of the Stars, museums, and more.
You can easily get lost inside, take a map!

This is one of my favorite malls in all of HK.
It has everything either within the mall itself or not too far away. I like the seasonal displays that this mall also has within the mall or very close by (remember that giant yellow duck in Mid-​2013 anyone? Wish it came back)

A complication of malls. A mall to end all malls. It seems to be miles and miles of stores, restaurants, whatever you might need. Shopping fix needed? You got it…
Be prepared with good shoes if you plan to see everything. This mall literally spans many city blocks. If you’ve not been before, start near the star ferry entrance and just start browsing. There are many restaurants to delight you. There are multiple floors in each section. It is easy to get lost. But there are maps and helpers to guide you on your way…
A shopoholics dream…

One of the good and bad things about visiting Hong Kong is that there are a gazillion shopping centers. After a while, it gets boring and you’re just too tired of seeing the same brands and stores that are desperately looking for customers to go inside. Some malls are small and others are quite a maze like here at Harbour City. Looking at their map directory drives me insane. No matter how many times I try to look for the «You Are Here» symbol on the map, I just can’t seem to find my way out of the maze. My husband and I spent almost 5 hours in this mall… window shopping for the most part. I almost never buy anything in Hong Kong, unless it’s a local specialty, because they have pretty much everything I want back in the States (and much cheaper). One thing I noticed that this mall set up their shops according to what they sell. One floor specifically had stores that just sold watches or electronics. I remember walking on one of the floors where all the stores just sold kids toy apparel and accessories. It’s also not just your normal, average kids toy apparel. It’s super high end like Dolce Gabbana Kids, Burberry Kids, Gucci Kids, etc. There was one store that even sold a mini motorcycle for toddlers. I had no idea what kind of world I walked in to but it was quite obnoxious and pathetic. If you’re a fan of luxury, then this mall is worth checking out. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time unless you’re here to eat at their restaurants.

Harbour City is basically the epitome of luxury malls in HK, housing more high-​end brands than I can pronounce. Whether you’re looking for high quality menswear, evening gowns or designer bags, you’ll be able to find at least something to suit your taste — as long as you have the means and the willingness, to splurge.
Harbour City is located along Canton Road at the heart of TST. To get there, take the MTR to TST and get out at Exit A. Make a right and walk forward, past the temporary market and garbage disposal place. I always walk along the opposite street when I near it because it seriously reeks.
I’m honestly not a fan of Harbour City, because this mall is a maze. It’s actually made up of three malls — Ocean Centre, Ocean Terminal and Gateway — and it’s hard to tell which one you’re in. All I know is that Citysuper is all the way to the right of the mall! Luckily, there are lots of information booths littered around the mall so you can ask for directions if you’re lost (which, trust me, you will if it’s your first, second or even tenth time there).
For me, one of the few things worth checking out at Harbour City is LCX. I don’t really know how to describe how to get there, like I said, this place is a maze! There are more affordable brands there such as Quiksilver, Accessorize and American Eagle, and if you walk to near where Starbucks is, there’s a section of random knick knacks that remind me of Log On. Speaking of which, there’s one near Citysuper and it’s always fun to while your time away there if you’ve got an hour to kill.
The rest of Harbour City is really just luxury brands that don’t mean much to me. Not my favorite shopping mall in the world, but also too iconic to never set foot in if you live in HK! Note that if you’re here on weekends, some parts of the mall do get pretty crowded!

I remember when I was a kid, my mother always told me the best Christmas decoration in Hong Kong had to be the one outside Harbour City. For some reasons, it seems like all those shopping malls have been trying their hardest how to have the best decoration or exhibitions at their place. For example, the paper mache panda one, Wallace & Gromit, Batman, Doraemon, etc. But honestly, who could have forgotten the Disney one during last Christmas? It has got to be the best one I have ever seen (judging the crowds there).
The hundred feet tall Christmas tree that was stacked up with 3 eyed aliens. Different Disney characters greeting you at the entrance and each has their own ‘display’ theme that provided best photographic moment. To be honest, I can go on all day but I suppose I should talk about the shopping mall itself. Sadly, you have to admit that all shopping malls in Hong Kong are pretty much the same — same stores, same brands, same restaurants, same everything. Currently Harbour City is undergoing (never-​ending) renovation, on top of that, there are countless tourists shopping here; so I really do not see much special about this place — except the decoration during festivals. If you were me, I would just come here during festive seasons. And trust me, there will even be more people. Don’t get me wrong, I still do love this place as I come here quite often; Yet I love it even more with its creative and original ideas on how to decorate this place.

Spend, spend and spend some more!
To call this place just a shopping mall would be an understatement– its more like an emporium of global brand names and top quality products. I say this because if you have ever been here, you will find that you probably won’t buy anything from this place because most of the brands here are focused at Mainland tourists with their pockets lined with cash. This mall together with the street outside (Canton Road), has been likened to Fifth Avenue and Champs Elysse in having the world’s top brand names all into one street. The spectacle is that people don’t just gawk at the goods here, they buy things and by the dozen– so much so in many of the shops you will actually have to queue in just to have a look. Just look at the number shopping bags people have on them and you will know a rough idea how much they spending here (well into the six figures at times).
There are the more normal shops (e.g. The Gap, Uniqlo) for earthlings like ourselves and they are popular with everyone; so don’t come here expecting an easy stroll. On busy holidays you will be fighting the crowd here and restaurants are jam packed full. Should you not come here then? Of course you should– this is THE shopping place to be in Hong Kong and I think it would be a shame to miss it. To understand what gives Hong Kong the name of «shopping heaven» you should at least come to see what we offer and the million different ways that we can bankrupt you with.
A point of interest would be the entrance at Star Ferry. At different times there would be themed displays and they have generated a lot of interest in the past: cartoon characters (doreamon), Spiderman and the transformers have all been here. Best of all was the huge floating duck made by a (Dutch?) artist which caught the imagination of the local population.