home & living
How to do Sham Shui Po
Insider tips on navigating the fabric bedecked lanes of Sham Shui Po.
I
f you’re looking for advice on Sham Shui Po, home accessories designer Kim Buggins is your lady. She happily admits to spending “most of her time” trawling the lanes for materials and inspiration for her designs. She knows the suburb like the back of her hand, and is on first-name terms with many of the shopkeepers. So where to start? First up, a coffee. For those in the know, Cafe Sausalito on Tai Nan Street is the only place to go. “There didn’t used to be a lot here for coffee lovers,” admits Buggins. “But since (Sausalito owner) Michael Tam opened up, I have my perfect caffeine stop.” The coffee is indeed so good I would actually make a detour for it - along with a
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lovely latte, Tam does a nice line in sandwiches, cakes and other assorted snacks and lunch items. Fully caffeined up, now it’s time to shop. For first-timers, the blocks of streets and myriad shops can be daunting. However, if you know what you’re doing, the roads can be divided into specific items. Yu Chau Street, for example, is all about beads and ribbons. While Buggins has a handful of personal favourites, she says on the whole they’re all pretty good. “And so cheap. You can buy an entire roll rather than just a length for a great price. My cupboards are groaning with rolls of ribbon, fantastic for giftwrapping.” Shopkeepers are also happy to cut
snippets if you need to go away and compare colour schemes. “From wrapping presents, trimming cushions or just keeping lengths of ribbon for kids’ hair ties, the products are great value,” says Buggins. Top buys at this time of year include Christmas-themed ribbons decorated with trees, gifts and stars, to anything glittery including yards of sparkling rope “which would look great as a tie for napkins or for hanging name labels onto chairs at the Christmas table. Also fabulous for trimming hand-made stockings and sacks.” The MTR end of the street is stuffed with bead and button shops. Let your imagination run riot - from stitching colourful beads onto