SoHo and NoHo
{Trendy living}
OVERVIEW Hollywood Road is one of the oldest roads in Hong Kong. Originally close to the harbour, the road served as a marketplace for foreign merchants and sailors passing through Hong Kong to sell Chinese antiques. Aggressive land reclamation over the past century has pushed the harbour back 500 metres from the road, but the area's waterfront legacy is still visible in the many antique shops (right) which occupy most of the road, along with trinket shops, art galleries and bars. Connected to the downtown area by the Mid-Levels escalator, the Hollywood Road area is an ideal location for people who want to be in strolling distance of the central business district and have the town's trendiest entertainment zone on their doorstep. The neighbourhood above Hollywood Road - a handful of streets now known as SoHo - has in the past 10 years become an increasingly fashionable area to live in. As its popularity has grown as a place to dine and socialise, the restaurant and bar scene there has filled out along the narrow streets, especially Shelley Street and Staunton Street. On the opposite side of Hollywood Road, enterprising restaurateurs and bar owners have established a fashionable enclave for diners and revellers - dubbed NoHo - adding to the vibrancy of the trendy area.
RECREATION SoHo's cosy neighbourhood has taken off as a place to wine and dine, stealing thunder from nearby Lan Kwai Fong. Shelley Street is the hub of SoHo's entertainment zone and a favoured hangout for people watchers as the bars face the Central-Mid-Levels escalator. Intersecting with Shelley Street, Staunton Street is densely packed with small restaurants that provide a wide choice for diners. Towards Sheung Wan the restaurants thin out and have been replaced by bars. Opposite SoHo, the neighbourhood which comprises Gough Street, Aberdeen Street and Kau U Fong, has become home to a small group of trendy eateries and bars, branded as NoHo by their owners. The area has started to see a brisk lunch trade with office workers looking for a meal away from the throngs of Central, but has yet to attract significant nighttime crowds in the way SoHo has, which makes it an ideal place for a relaxed dining experience. Eating and drinking aside, Hollywood Road and Upper Lascar Row, or Cat Street (left), are lined with many antique and trinket shops, as well as art galleries looking to catch the tourist dollar. Man Mo Temple (right) is also on Hollywood Road.
ACCOMMODATION SoHo has a high building density with a mixture of old low-rise and modern high-rise blocks. The NoHo area (below) has largely older residential buildings. Property prices in SoHo have risen significantly in the past few years as the area has become more popular. According to real estate agents, older buildings in the neighbourhood have become fashionable with expatriates seeking to buy or rent apartments. This trend has pushed up prices of older apartments to levels close to those in newer high-rise blocks. Prices of renovated or well-kept apartments in SoHo start at HK$5,000 per square foot, while rents are between HK$25 and HK$40 per square foot. Prices at high-end residential developments in the SoHo and NoHo neighbourhoods, such as the recently launched CentreStage, developed by Henderson Land, and Hollywood Terrace, start from HK$6,000 per square foot, with some going for upwards of HK$7,000 per square foot. There are also a few modern serviced apartments in the neighbourhood, including Amber Lodge at the corner of Hollywood Road and Cochrane Street and Tung Wah Hospital's Tung Tze Terrace on Aberdeen Street.
DRIVING AND TRANSPORT SoHo and NoHo are in easy reach of the central business district. The Central-Mid-Levels escalator runs from Conduit Road in Mid-Levels to Des Voeux Road in Central. Passing through SoHo along Shelley Street, the escalator provides easy access for residents to Central and the MTR, as well as shops on Caine Road going in the other direction. Towards the western end of Hollywood Road, the Sheung Wan MTR station is about five minutes walk away. For drivers, Hollywood Road is a one-way route running from Sheung Wan to Central, which is used extensively by taxis and trucks supplying the nearby wet market.
SCHOOLS The area around Hollywood Road has a reputable network of kindergartens and primary schools, but not many secondary schools. For pre-schoolers, some of the better-known kindergartens are the English Schools Foundation's (ESF) International Kindergarten on Yan Po Street in Sheung Wan and St Matthew's Church Kindergarten on Hollywood Road. Further out, reputable pre-schools include the Hong Kong YWCA Tai Hon Fan Nursery School on Queen's Road Central and Small World Christian Kindergarten on Borrett Road. Among primary schools, the Catholic Mission School on Rutter Street, two primary schools under the St Paul's Co-educational College banner on Macdonnell Road and Kennedy Road, and ESF-operated Glenealy Junior School on Hornsey Road are among the closest. Well-known secondary schools in the vicinity include Raimondi College, a private all-boys primary and secondary school on Robinson Road and St Paul's Co-educational College secondary school on Macdonnell Road.
