he problem of mobile apps is that at the time you find them necessary… but after a few weeks, you forget about them completely. I remember from my time in Edinburgh, that only one was used constantly. Before I even set my foot in HK I already knew about three – thanks to friends from work (of course). The following hours on this strange soil told me other things, I cannot live without. And days – the “must-haves” I would want.

Now, a few weeks later, I think that they are not “must-haves”. I use them sometimes, find them handy and haven’t deleted them yet. This is why I will describe them to you, and you will decide on your own.

My Observatory, and Open Rice will be introduced first. From them the third one was deleted instantly – it is mostly in Chinese. Plus, I am not a type that searches for a restaurant through an app. I rather trip and enter the one that seems nice.

KMB (app1993-kmb/lwb), MTR Mobile and Price will be next. The first one was quickly deleted (no use for busses), the second one is used rarely, the third one – from time to time.

Those that I had found useful are HKTVmall, myDSG, Octopus, MoneyBack and Pacific Coffee.
Let’s start then.

My Observatory

This is the weather app. Again – recommended by a friendly co-worker to know what are the weather threats. For now, it is calm, nothing like Manghut hasn’t happened yet, but the app is useful. If only to inform about strong winds that can steal your laundry, or about rains – so that you can take an umbrella with you.

Lately (December 2019) we think that fire warnings may be connected with the demonstrations and protests. Like…something can happen so be warned – there is a “fire danger”. But we are not sure, so it is just a curiosity.

Download from google play – click here.

Open Rice

As I wrote before it is an app connected with food and it is very popular among Cantonese. It can give you a list of nearby restaurants, tell you what you can eat there. You can order something through it.

I am sure there is a lot of useful features there and promotions… But again – it is not for us.

Download from google play – click here.

KMB and MTR mobile apps

Both apps cover public transport in HK. KMB tells you about bus lines; the other one is the metro. Both have maps, timetables, and itineraries.

I supposed KMB would be the most useful if only we didn’t live on Ma Wan. In Edinburgh, the bus app was useful. Here, the idea died on its own, the bus is used when needed and uncle google is helping in those cases. It is easier, although – sometimes troublesome because of all of this concrete. But you will know which bus to take and the rest – you will manage.

The MTR app turned out to be useless because the metro is that easy in HK. You are well informed by the maps and signs on the stations, it is easy to remember. Trains go every 2-3 minutes (more if you are traveling in the middle of the day or you look for the metro at 3 AM. It is even better to take the metro instead of the bus – a tourist can find there more useful information!

I stick to it because of the news panel. If something happens in the city MTR will likely be involved.

Download from google play – MTR – click here.

Download from google play – KMB – click here.

Price

As the dollar on the yellow background insinuates – it is all about prices and savings. It covers the HK region and its surroundings, nothing else. It tells us where we can buy something (usually RTV and AGD) and what a price could be.

The only problem is that it is in Chinese with only a little English. It works if you put the name of the item in English… more or less. It is even better if you know the exact model you are looking for, instead of a hair-dyer for example.

I am sure that the Cantonese use it in many cases. Because of my lack of language skills I was using it to compare prices. This way, when I was shopping, I was checking the prices in the app – when it was similar, I bought a thing in an ordinary shop.

My only experience with buying with Price turned out to be a fiasco. I was looking for an Iron, wandering around Sham Shui Po and turned to the app. I found three shops which I visited with no results. It would be a waste of time but on my way, I found a ton of other things. The shops from the app were close, didn’t exist or didn’t have my device. Life… I bought an iron with another app, slightly more expensive and counted this experience as one of many adventures in HK.

Download from google play – click here.

HKTVmall

It is like polish allegro and was recommended by yet another, helpful Cantonese friend. Home stuff in good price she said.

I started using the Internet browser first. It was quite enjoyable to browse through the stuff, looking for everything necessary while moving. I had even found the german sourkraut!

The app was later and it is ok. In general, you can find a lot in HKTVmall. Now as I look around me I see a lot of cars coming with deliveries – it is quite popular among the Cantonese.

Another profit from having an app installed on your phone is the instant accessibility to tracking and QR codes. You need the code to pick up the delivery from the shop – and it makes talking in Chinese unnecessary. You can get your delivery straight home but you know, sometimes you need to pick it up.

Download from google play – click here.

Octopus

It serves to manage our Octopus Cars, of course. Although I suppose, that this very low on the list of the things that you can do with the app.

Its main goal is to create a virtual credit card for you (why on earth?! – read here) and inform you about the promotions. The sales cover only the shops where you can buy with the Octopus – co you can pay less or get some points.

The use of the Octopus Mastercard is secondary. The registration – tricky. But it is worth it – this way you can charge your Octopus Card (for transport) via the app, online. Otherwise, you need to visit stationary points – like the machine in the metro station.

Why we wouldn’t want to use these machines? For once – they do not take 500HK$ banknotes and we are never sure which button to press. And you usually get a 500 when you happen to take a big amount of money from your ATM. There is also a slight possibility that a Lady at the counter will take a provision from you. It happened to me once (with 500 she took 12HK$) – I don’t know why I may be mistaken. My other half didn’t have any problems like that. So… what’s going on?

Why all those troubles, you think? Why should anybody write about such trivial things? Because after your hard work of registering your Octopus in an app, registering your HKID Card, etc. After two weeks of waiting you get the information that you need to have the O! epay Mastercard Card to charge the Transport Card! Time wasted (because you won’t get an HK credit card this easy)! This is why I write it to warn you. The app is good later. At first, it is only good for registering your Octopus, in case it is lost.

So go to the ATM, change the big notes (buy some sushi) and go to a machine/point on your way home. But this is me – you may have other experiences.

Download from google play – click here.

Money Back

It is like an old, polish PayBack. I remember that because of all this shopping done in Tesco we were able to take the coffee machine using our points.

In HK you can still collect points in different places. They make you loyal, you need to buy only there, but the points are quite useful. And it is especially easy when a grocery shop is close to your home – so why not.

At the beginning of the moving house process, there is a lot to buy. We had only two suitcases with the most crucial stuff and some clothes. We had to buy everything starting with toilet paper and finishing with an iron. It is good to find an app for points as soon as possible. Our points gave us a rice machine and more.

I write about it because we do not have American Express or other things that gather miles. Getting a credit card in HK also takes some time – so neither miles nor cashback (more here).

Some practical notes – this specific one is connected with shops: Fusion, Taste, ParknShop (grocery), Fortress (electronics) and Klook (travel). There is also something about others, beauty shops, etc, but you can find more in the app.

Download from google play – click here.

Pacific Coffee

Another app that gathers points. It was installed because it was close home. Later we learned that they are all over town. But what is most important – we are addicted to a good coffee, especially one from an espresso machine.

We found it quite fast and it became part of our daily routine. I looked for a loyalty card, found one and registered. One dollar spent gives 1 point. And 20 points give 1HK$ to be spent in the cafeteria. It was perfect for us – either way we needed a place to drink a good coffee. Even better because August brought some promotions (1 bought 1 free) and September a gift – a beautiful notebook. Yey!

HK is full of promotions – the true ones. They like clients that are loyal and they take care of them. Loyalty is also important in wet markets – but about that later. Just remember for your beginnings – if you find an interesting place, make it your place and look around. You never know when you find some promotion.

Back to the subject. For this cafeteria, there is an online form to fill in. You get an internet card (basically the app is your card, so you need to carry the phone). The physical card you can get in the shop or order through the online form. Your choice – with the cards and with the restaurants/cafeterias you will like.

Download from google play – click here.

MyDSG

This one is for the ShellGas Company clients – it would be you if they provide gas to your home. Nothing special – all that you need you can do online. The app was installed, deleted, then installed again only to input the meters.

The story of paying our first bill is connected with it, but you can read about it here.

Download from google play – click here.

This is all for now in the department of useful apps. The article was written in September 2019… In April 2020 not much has changed. But if there is something worth mentioning, you will know about it.