About Discovering Hong Kong

Two Perspectives, One Hong Kong

We're Scott and Jenice — Scott with a logistics obsession that started in 2007 when a friend said "you should visit Hong Kong," and Jenice with the cultural eye that spots the authentic teahouse in a sea of tourist traps. Ten-plus trips across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the Outlying Islands. This is how a city that takes 20 minutes end-to-end on the MTR somehow keeps revealing new layers on every visit.

Scott · American · First Hong Kong trip: 2007 · 10+ return trips

I first came to Hong Kong in 2007 on a stopover that turned into three days of wandering I still think about. The MTR blew my mind — the cleanliness, the frequency, the way it connected everything. I ate wonton noodles at 7am that cost HKD 38 and tasted better than anything I'd had at a "proper" restaurant. I took the Star Ferry at sunset and understood immediately why people say the Victoria Harbour skyline is one of the great views on Earth.

I've been back 10+ times since — usually with Jenice, sometimes alone when work takes me through the region. We've hiked Dragon's Back and MacLehose Trail Stage 2. We've found our way to the teahouses in Jordan where the menus are only in Cantonese and the dim sum starts at dawn. We've taken the 12-minute ferry to Lamma Island for seafood and stayed until dark. Each trip adds another layer.

I'm not a travel blogger. I work in healthcare IT. But Hong Kong keeps pulling me back, and I finally decided to put everything I've learned into something useful — a site with real prices, an AI trip planner built on actual experience, and video content from the places we've actually been. Not press trips. Not affiliate dumps. Just an honest guide from two people who genuinely love this city.

Jenice · Cultural eye · Food instinct · The one who finds the real spots

Hong Kong has layers that most visitors never reach — not because they're hidden, but because you need to know what you're looking for. I bring the instinct for that. The ability to walk into a restaurant and read the room immediately: who's eating here, what they're ordering, whether the kitchen knows what it's doing.

The first time we had dim sum in a proper Jordan teahouse — not a tourist restaurant, but a place where the trolleys come out at 6am and the regulars have their table and their tea and their order already known — I understood something about Hong Kong that no guidebook had ever conveyed. This is a city that rewards people who pay attention.

I look for the egg tart shops without the Instagram queue. The roast goose places where the line of locals tells you everything. The dai pai dong stalls where the plastic stools and the fluorescent lights are features, not bugs. Scott handles the maps and the logistics. I handle the taste and the instinct. Together, we want you to experience Hong Kong the way we do — not the surface version, but the real one.

Our Story

15+ Years in the Making

2007
The Stopover That Changed Everything

A three-day stopover on a longer trip. Scott rides the MTR end to end, eats wonton noodles for breakfast, and takes the Star Ferry at sunset. He books a return trip before he leaves the city.

2009
First Proper Exploration

A week-long trip with no agenda beyond the MTR map. Victoria Peak at dawn, the Lamma Island ferry for seafood, the night markets of Mong Kok. The first time Scott realizes Hong Kong has 200 hiking trails and zero of them get mentioned in typical travel content.

2012
Jenice Joins — The Cultural Shift

Jenice's first Hong Kong trip transforms the experience. She finds the Jordan teahouse where dim sum starts at 6am and the menu is Cantonese-only. She spots the roast goose queue that locals know and tourists walk past. Every trip since has been different.

2015–22
Deeper Into the City

Dragon's Back Trail. MacLehose Stage 2. The Outlying Islands. Sai Kung seafood villages. Tai O stilt village. The UNESCO Geopark hexagonal rocks. Scott starts videoing everything — because no travel site is showing what these places actually look and feel like.

2025
Discovering Hong Kong Launches

The guide Scott wished had existed in 2007 finally becomes real — with video content, an AI trip planner backed by real HKD prices, and Jenice's cultural eye powering every food and cultural recommendation. Not recycled content. A real guide from two people who love this city.

Meet the Team

The People Behind the Pages

Scott Murray
Scott
Co-founder · Writer · Videographer · The Logistics Brain

Healthcare IT professional by day, Hong Kong travel obsessive by every other waking moment. Based in San Diego, CA. First visited Hong Kong in 2007 on a stopover that turned into a three-day adventure — and sparked 10+ return trips across every district and region. Enjoys the trip planning almost as much as the travel itself. Still convinced there are hiking trails in the New Territories he hasn't found yet.

2007
First HK trip
10+
Trips & counting
40+
Countries traveled
Jenice Murray
Jenice
Co-founder · Cultural Eye · Food Expert · The Instinct

The person who walks into a restaurant and immediately reads whether it's the real thing or the tourist version. Jenice brings an instinct for authentic local experiences that transforms every Hong Kong trip. She finds the dim sum teahouses where regulars have been sitting at the same table for 30 years, the dai pai dong stalls where the food is worth the plastic stool, and the cultural context that makes Hong Kong's layers visible rather than invisible.

10+
HK trips together
Dim Sum
Her specialty
Local
Eye always
Our Promise

What You'll Never Find Here

We built this site because we got tired of Hong Kong travel content that's either a hotel review dressed up as honest advice or a listicle of places every other site already covers. We want you to experience Hong Kong the way we do — not the Instagram version, but the real one.

0
Sponsored posts
ever
0
Press trips or
free hotel stays
10+
Return trips to
Hong Kong
100%
Real prices in
HKD & USD
If we recommend it, we've been there. If we list a price, we've paid it. If we tell you to skip something, we've wasted our own money there first.
What We're Building

More Than a Travel Blog

Discovering Hong Kong isn't a collection of "Top 10" listicles. It's a living resource built on 10+ trips of real experience, cultural expertise, and technology that actually helps you plan a better trip.

  • 🎥 Video guides for select destinations — see the harbour, markets, and trails before you book
  • 🤖 An AI trip planner that builds custom itineraries with real HKD prices, not guesses
  • 💰 Every price listed in both HKD and USD, updated based on what we actually pay
  • 👥 Cultural context from Jenice — the instinct for what's authentic versus what's tourist bait
🏙️
Destination Guides
Deep dives into each district — not surface-level overviews, but neighborhood-level detail with real logistics and HKD prices.
📹
Video Content
Real footage from Mong Kok, Sai Kung, Lantau Island, the Star Ferry, and the hiking trails — see it before you go.
🗺️
AI Trip Planner
Describe your dream Hong Kong trip and get a custom day-by-day itinerary built on real experience and HKD prices.
📧
Itinerary Downloads
PDF itineraries you can take offline — complete with MTR routing, booking links, and insider tips from Jenice.