Angelina Hue

When looking for a place to stay when we were in Tai O, Lantau Island in Hong Kong, I came across a café that was recommended by several people as being one of the best spots in the village to sit back and enjoy a coffee on the water. This special little place is called Solo Cafe @ 86 Kat Hing Street /  蘇廬 @ 吉慶前街 86 號.

While reading about Solo Cafe on a Chinese forum, I learnt that the owners also rent out two apartments for visitors. Quelle chance! After a quick call during which I spoke in a smattering of Cantonese and Chinese, I received a few emails (in English) from the owner, Timmy So. He sent some photos that he had taken of Tai O and a street view of Google Map with a blue taxi that I should take at Tung Chung to get to Tai O. Sweet!

So it was set. A few weeks later, we arrived at the entrance of Solo Café.After we had dropped off our luggage in the apartment, which was just above the café, we were treated to a welcome drink of our choice on the terrace.What a lovely welcome! The lemonade was delicious. I read online that the syphon coffee is pretty good too.How idyllic… to sip on lemonade, watching the world – well, mostly little boats, pass by the stilt houses on water.If you’re looking for a place to stay, please try Timmy So: Phone – (852) 9349 9147 (Chinese), (852) 9153 7453 (English) / taiosolo@gmail.com.

I didn’t take any proper photos of the apartment as I was preoccupied with the view from the living room. But here’s a snapshot taken with my Blackberry, with the living room in the foreground, looking straight into one of two bedrooms. The stairs lead to the rooftop where you could sit under the stars at night and enjoy a beer or two (or even have a barbecue – how cool is this!) There’s also a little aquarium in the living room – it was quite relaxing to look at the guppies and mini prawns swimming around while the water snails slowly slid along the glass walls.The apartment is very spacious, especially for Hong Kong. You could easily sleep eight people in here. Definitely great value for money. As you can see, we were super thrilled with our time in Tai O : )