Just across Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong's Kowloon district on Tung Choi Street, near the Mong Kok MTR station, lies a tight, narrow lane of hawkers and merchants, peddling hordes of counterfeit goods, anything from the latest Converse to fake Prada bags and unlicensed David Beckham jerseys.

Known as the Ladies Market or Ladies Street, this four-block expanse is the center of Hong Kong's shanzhai (fake) retail market, and the perfect place to buy all the crap you otherwise can't afford, while honing your bargaining skills.

Sure, products purchased at the Ladies Market are of lesser quality, but honestly, if you're not a label snob, it's a fun place to practice retail therapy, and load up on (my personal favorite) fake sunglasses.

The hawkers at the Ladies Market will warmly invite you into their stalls, always offering you "best price," but remember, they view customers as walking wallets and you should NEVER accept their first offer. Actually, it's worth low balling merchants like crazy, starting out with a 10-percent bid, a move that will no doubt offend them. But don't worry, their reaction is not genuine, it's just part of the to-and-fro of bargaining.
 

Eventually, after much debate and calculator crunching, you're bound to find a sweet deal on whatever your intended buy may be, and everyone will go home happy.

Although the Ladies Market opens at noon, it's best to wait until later in the day, say 5 – 7 p.m., to begin wandering the crowded Tung Choi lane. Sellers are more likely to offer better prices at the end of the day so they don't have to lug their entire inventory back home.

Once you've made your purchase, the surrounding area near Nelson Street and Nathan Road is a great place to celebrate your buy with some delicious local snacks.

The most popular snack amongst the locals is gali yudan (pronounced gah-lee yoo-dahn, 咖喱鱼蛋), or curry fish balls. It's estimated that Hong Kong's seven-million residents consume upwards of 350,000 yudan per day, and while the description doesn't sound particularly Western friendly, the flavor is excellent.

Another solid Cantonese snack is longxia wan (pronounced long-shya wahn, 龙虾丸), or fried lobster balls. While American's fry potatoes, the Cantonese enjoy frying seafood, and these deep fried treats are a definite hit.

Fashion, food and fun, a trip to Kowloon's Ladies Market is a necessary component of any genuine Hong Kong experience.

Okay, now I feel a hungry streak coming on . . .

. . .&nrel="nofollow" bsp;Hungry Dan's Dish of the Day (returns): Chang Fen