COMMUNITY

Have Your Say – Maria Reyna Astellero

Author/ Being Neighbourly
11 January 2025

Maria Reyna Astellero is a FDW from Philippines. She is 46 years old, married, with one daughter who is studying medicine. She has been working in Hong Kong since 2000 and currently lives in Mid-levels Central with her employers, an American family of three. When she’s not working, Astellero is walking the family’s dog or running Bowen Road Fitness Trail.

How long have you lived where you’ve lived?

I arrived in Hong Kong on October 2000 to work as a domestic helper. Being here for more than two decades, I’ve had several employers and have moved from one place to another around Hong Kong. From the New Territories to Kowloon-side, I’m now on Hong Kong Island. I’ve been working for an American family for the past nine years. We lived in Happy Valley, which I loved, for four years, but then my employers decided to move to Mid-levels. If it were up to me, I would want to stay in Happy Valley for the remainder of my time in Hong Kong, but my boss decided to move in 2019 to Kennedy Road.

What’s so great about your home/neighbourhood?

What I love the most about our place is that it’s near Bowen Road Fitness Trail, where I go for a walk with our two dogs every morning. Sometimes, I go all by myself. For someone like me who loves to walk and hike, the trail is perfect. Walking along it, you get lovely views on to the high rises of Hong Kong (Central, Admiralty and Wanchai areas). There are many sitting areas along the trail, if you need to rest. It is also a very nice trail for running.

Along the trail, you can see a board stating ‘Lover’s Rock’. I’ve climbed up the stairs to the top and there are lovely statues along the path, and when you continue up another flight of steps, there is a beautiful view from the top.

At first, I had a hard time figuring how to do my daily routine after moving from Happy Valley, but then, day by day, I became familiar with Mid-levels and began to love the neighbourhood. Our place is just a two-minute walk to the Hong Kong Park aviary, and I can hear the birds chirping early in the morning. We are also just six minutes walk to the Botanical Gardens for when I do yoga on Sunday mornings; just a four-minute walk to St. Joseph’s Church where most Filipinos attend mass and also a four-minute walk to the Peak Tram Station. There is a small coffee shop named Tram View Cafe along Tramway Path for a great view of the tram while sipping coffee. The place is Instagram-able!

Best places to eat breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner?

I seldom eat out, but whenever I’m craving fried chicken, Jollibee is, of course, my number one choice! It’s located on Connaught Road Central. Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast-food restaurants and even Hong Kong locals love their fried chicken with gravy. It’s crunchy, salty and juicy!

The Chef’s market in Central Market offers a variety of Filipino dishes on Sundays only. The staff are mostly Filipino and they are very friendly and for the price of $65, you get a set meal of rice and a choice of two dishes (a meat dish and a vegetable one). I love their roasted pork belly dipped in spicy vinegar.

On special occasions, me and my friends love to go to Cinta J in Wan Chai. They serve a mixture of western and Asian foods, but as Filipinos, we love their Pork Sinigang – pork in a sour soup made with tamarind and assorted vegetables. You can also enjoy listening to music and watching a live band while you eat.

I also love Beef Pho and usually go to PHO VI on Thompson Road in Wan Chai. Their beef pho tastes amazing and is the perfect portion size for a very reasonable price. Staff are very accommodating as well.

Best places to drink coffee/find a drink?

Whenever I want to treat myself during a day off, summer or winter, a hot Oatly Vanilla Latte from Starbucks is all I want. The oat milk and aromatic sweet vanilla scent is just perfect and has lower calories than a latte with regular milk.