Ultimate Review on Yick Cheong Monster Building Hong Kong – Local Insight

Ultimate review on Yick Cheong (aka Monster Building Hong Kong) with history, location, photo tips, local shops and attraction nearby information based on local insight.

First things first, the Monster Building (怪獸大廈), actually refers a combination of five buildings namely the Fook Cheong Building (福昌樓), the Montane Mansion (海山樓), the Oceanic Mansion (海景樓), the Yick Cheong Building (益昌大廈), and the Yick Fat Building (益發大廈), instead of just Yick Cheong alone.

Currently, there are around 2,200 units  in the five blocks of building accommodating around 10,000 people. The five blocks, each around 18 floors high, together form a composite building.

The density is the reason why so many people take IGable photos there. With the growing popularity, most the people will come here even during their first-visit in Hong Kong.

Why Is The Monster House So Famous?

From the local point of view, the estate is just another neighbourhood in Hong Kong. It is located in Eastern District, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. In fact, I used to live in the district during my childhood and take bus there everyday. To me or other locals alike, it is just a residential estate with great local shops nearby.

The composite building has been there since 1972. Until the release of Transformers 4 – Age Of Extinction, where the building was part of an iconic fighting scene, it has become a tourist attraction since then.

Every day you will see tourists from everywhere in the world taking photos in the middle of the estate.

Is Monster House Worth Visiting?

It is worth visiting but you may want to include other nearby attractions to your day. Yes it is a great photo backdrop. Plus, it has multiple historical local shops nearby worth visiting. The whole visit, including the shooting time, would be around an hour. It is a residential building, so you cannot (and should not) get inside the living area.

 The icon itself is also very reachable by MTR, bus, and even tram.  However, it is in the Eastern District of Hong Kong. So there are some distances from other city center main attractions like the Peak, Old Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, and Sham Shui Po.

It takes around 30 minutes from Central to go there and more than an hour if you go from the Kowloon side. If you have limited time for your vacation, you may not consider going there as a standalone attraction.  A better plan is to combine that with a nearby HK trail like Tai Tam Reservoir or visit some nearby attractions in Quarry Bay, Tai Koo, and North Point.

How To Get To Yick Cheong As A Traveler?

Again, you can reach the building by MTR, bus, and tram. You can Google the address by typing in any one of the five buildings, i.e., “Yick Fat Building 1048 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong”.

For every first-time traveler, my recommendation is to take the MTR because it is the most straightforward way. You just need to get off at Quarry Bay Station Exit A, then turn right, walk for 6 minutes straight, and you will see the building.

That’s what everyone usually recommends. Alternatively, you can also get off at “Tai Koo” station B exit (the one showing Tai Koo Primary school). Then turn right, walk straight for 3 minutes, passing through a large Mc Donalds and you will see the building.

As opposed to other blogs’ recommendations, I would suggest you use the Tai Koo route from a local perspective. This is because from the McDonald’s near the King’s Road intersection, you can take pictures of the whole monster building exterior, which is the exact scene in Transformers.

This is the Google Map route for going to Yick Cheong Building from Tai Koo MTR station.

How To Get In The Monster Building Photo Area

The photo area is at the two commercial areas at the ground floor of the Monster Building. Remember what I mentioned, the 5 buildings are all residential area, it is illegal to get inside. However, the two commercial areas at the podiums are open to the public by law because, logically you can patronize the shops downstairs.

You can enter through the left entrance (Yick Fat Building) or the right entrance (Montane Mansion” or Oceanic Mansion). The two podiums look more or less the same with different local shops. The right one is usually less crowded.

The Best Photo Angle

Due to the disturbance created by a growing number of tourists, the estate has decided to put a fence on several platforms in the middle of the podium. This is to prevent dangers associated with climbing up for photos. In that, the usual IGable angle you see on the web is no longer available.

Instead, the best photo angle now is actually from the public stairs at the end of the podium. You just need to walk from the entrance to the end of the podium, then shoot the photo from the end to the entrance with the wide-lens of your phone. Then you can create the most signature photo.

Having been there multiple times, I suppose using the mobile phone only is more than enough.

The Hidden Gems Of Monster Building

What foreign visitors usually miss is the composite, which is not just great for photos. It is also a representation of local Hong Kong culture. I feel a bit pitiful that none of the other blogs on the web cover the local shops at the composite. But no worries, let me introduce you to a few so that you will not miss the local perspective.

May Li Herb (“美利涼茶專門店 “) 

This is probably one of the oldest herbal tea stores in Hong Kong, established in 1981.  Before it transformed into an herbal tea shop, it used to be a Chinese carrot cake (蘿蔔糕) shop. During my last visit in 2025, you could still see the shop serving customers with the traditional herbal tea tap. It has several great herbal teas options including Fo Ma Yan (火麻仁), Twenty-Four Flavours (Ya Sei Mei 廿四味), Chrysanthemum Tea (Gook Fa Cha 菊花茶), Canton Abrus Herb Drink 雞骨草 and  Spica Prunellae Drink (夏枯草).

Other than herbal teas, the shops also sell traditional Hong Kong street food such as fish balls, siu mais, tea eggs, wun zai chi, tofu pudding, and of course carrot cake. I highly recommend the tea eggs and wun zai chi for you. This is probably the best shop I have ever tried in Hong Kong for over 20 years.

The price is very reasonable, ranging from 1 – 3 USD, the price list is transparent at the shop or official website. Unfortunately, the official website is only available in Chinese.

Kam Fung Congee and Noodle (“金峰靚靚粥麵“) 

Also featured on TimeOut, Kam Fung Congee & Noodles is just at the corner of Monster building, at the opposite of the McDonald’s. It is one of the most beloved local eateries in the neighbourhood.  The restaurant offers great congee options: “Smooth Beef Congee,” “Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee,” and “Fish Slice Congee.” Their standout dish is the “Ginkgo White Congee,” offered only before 10 AM.

Because of its fame amongst local populations, you will see lines during peak hours. It is also worth noting that the shop may take a day off on Wednesday or other random days. For example, it was closed during my visit last time.

Other Local Shops Around Monster Building

Other than the two shops I mentioned. Around the Monster Building, you will find a mix of traditional and modern shops. For example, with its popularity, % Arabica shop, a coffee shop chain , has opened its third shop there at the podium.  Inside the podium, you will find a traditional paper craft shop, stationery shop, and laundry shops for the local community. At the right entrance, you will also find a delightful bakery shop that has been there for over 20 years.

Other Things You Should Know Based

Having been in the community for over 20 years, I prefer not to overwhelm you with endless information. Below are the last few insights I would like to share from a local perspective.

Is there a toilet near Monster House?

No, there is no public toilet at the podium. However, you can go for the ones at the shopping complex under the monster building.

There Is An Underground Shopping Complex Below Monster House

There is an underground shopping complex called “East Pavilion” below Monster House. The entrance is just near the entrance of Montane Mansion, or at the opposite of McDonald’s. It is an air-conditioned malls with modern shops and good toilet.

Due to the recent downturn in the Hong Kong retail economy, you will see most shops are empty there. However, the wet market, supermarket, and some restaurant chains are still open there.

There Is Another Monster House Nearby

There is another “Monster House” from around 3 minutes walking distance near Manly Plaza.  There, you can capture a photo of dense building blocks with local fruit and vegetable shops.

Monster House Is Not Cheap

Renting or buying an apartment is not cheap. For example, a ~ 22ft apartment at Yick Fat building would cost you around  2.5m HKD (~300k USD). Renting a similar apartment would be around 10k HKD (~ 1.3k USD) per month.

Living In Monster’s House Is Not Sad or Poor

Despite being named as “Monster”, the building is a very convenient location in Hong Kong. A lot of locals feel totally okay living there. Some of my friends used to live in the building as well. Inside the building, it is just similar to most of the estate in Hong Kong. It has basic facility like lifts, stairs or fire prevention measures.

~ 30ft is quite standard in Hong Kong for family with kids nowadays. Some family even live there with a domestic helper. In that, it is definitely not a poor area like Sham Shui Po.

Monster House Is Best Visited With Other Nearby Attractions In A Day

Again, a photo alone would not take you so long. Even adding the visits to the local shops, you shall have lots of extra time for a day. If so, you should also explore nearby attractions in Quarry Bay (i.e., local shops near Pan Hoi Street), Tai Koo (i.e., the TaiKoo Plaza), or North Point(i.e., the best egg bubble waffle and newly opened harbour-side park).

Technically by MTR you can even visit Monster House after a day in Ocean Park.

Again, Is Monster House Building Worth Visiting?

Spending most of my childhood in the Eastern District, I never thought Yick Cheong would one day become a tourist spot. Thanks to the popularity of the Transformer movie, it helped me to reflect its uniqueness as a local. Probably, I have taken so many things for granted, the best photo scene and the long history local shops.

With that, I recommend you to visit this new icon in Hong Kong.

Of course, if you are staying in Hong Kong for several days, especially for first-time visit. This one may not be the priority. I would recommend you to priotize icons like HK Ocean Park, Disneyland, Cheung Chau, Central or Old Central over this one.