Where To Eat In Hong Kong
Sep 5th, 2008 by admin
[NB All Postcards from my China trip can be found under Restaurant Reviews - China, and the entire set of food photos on Flickr. A summary of my recommendations AFTER the trip can be found at A Short Guide To Eating In Hong Kong, Macau & Beijing. And all food photos have been subsequently added to this post.]
This is the last of three posts on where I plan to eat in Hong Kong, Macau and Beijing during my two week trip in October. Part of the fun of traveleating is the planning stage, and more than anything, I love researching local food shops, markets, cafés and restaurants to visit.
Following Where To Eat In Beijing and Where To Eat In Macau, here, finally, is my attempt to draw up the Hong Kong list! I’ve been putting it off for weeks, because even though I’ve gathered a lot of information, having to eliminate restaurants is just too heartbreaking! If only I had a month’s worth of lunches and dinners in Hong Kong…
I’ve never lived in Hong Kong, and my parents left in the 60s, but I used to visit quite regularly when I was younger. However, I haven’t been back since 1997, the year I left Beijing after two years studying Mandarin. So it’s going to be a whole new experience for me, as well as for vegetarian husband, who’s never been. I’ve asked Hong Kong friends and relatives for recommendations, and researched endlessly online, to come up with the following. It’s by no means a definitive list, as I still have a few weeks to refine it.
Although Hong Kong is a gastronomic destination, famous for its Chinese as well as international cuisine, as with Beijing, my list is restricted to Chinese food only. We’re not in Hong Kong for many days, and it’s my chance to eat as much excellent Chinese food as possible!
Of course there’s much debate amongst local foodies as to which is the best place for wonton noodles, beef brisket noodles, roast goose, practically anything really. I’ve read a lot and made my own decisions. As always, I’ve had to consider vegetarian husband when making my choices, which is why this list might not be every carnivore’s dream. We’re also not going to try things like hot pot, because we can have that at home, nor as we going to visit high-end seafood restaurants for dinner, because our eating budget has to last two weeks. Still, I think we’ll both be happy with what I’ve come up with so far. And being able to speak Cantonese will be a bonus.
Incidentally, rather than writing individual posts for each eaterie that I visit in China, I’m going to keep a diary for the 16 days, outlining all the food we eat, with condensed reviews, foodie snippets and useful tips.
Restaurants:
- Yung Kee - famous for its roast goose, which my mother likes. There’s not much for the husband, but I’ve got to have the roast goose. See website for interesting history and of course, the substantial menu. Reservations are a must
- Mak Aun Kee (Mak’s Noodles) - 77 Wellington St, Central. Famous for its wonton noodles
- Tsim Chai Kee - 98 Wellington St, Central. Another contender for best wonton noodles
- Tsui Wah - famous ‘cha chaan teng’ open 24 hours. It’s always packed and there is a huge menu. It’s popular with local celebrities in the early hours who crave milk tea with their food. An ‘authentic Hong Kong experience’, whatever that may mean!
- Hutong - hip eaterie with fantastic views, serving northern Chinese food. It has had mixed reviews, but I can’t wait to try the crispy lamb ribs. A window table is recommended
- Kung Tak Lam - Shanghainese vegetarian. Non-vegetarians love it here too, so I’m looking forward to it, especially the cold noodles with seven different dipping sauces! Our HK friends are taking us there for dinner
- Dai Wing Wah - full of local flavour, this village-style restaurant in Yuen Long, New Territories, is well-known for its fresh seasonal ingredients and traditional dishes. A speciality is the black head fish. They also serve dim sum
- Modern China - known for its Shanghainese food, particularly xiao long bao, and recommended by HK friend
- Spring Deer - Luk Ming Chun - 2/F, 42 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Tel: 2723 3673. Famous for Peking duck carved at the table, though I’ll be having that in Beijing. Waiting is inevitable even with reservations. Recommended by HK friend
- Yat Lok - Po Wah House A, Tai Ming Lane, Tai Po, New Territories. Featured on Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’. Recommended for roast goose (apparently better than Yung Kee) and roast suckling pig. If I go to Yung Kee, I won’t go to Yat Lok this time
- Tung Po Seafood Restaurant - 99 Java Road, North Point, Cookedfood Center, Tung Po. Inside the food market. Traditional dai pai dong serving seafood, recommended by a friend who ate here recently. Also featured on Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’
- Tin Heung Lau - 18C Austin Avenue, Kowloon. Tel. 2366-2414. Classic Hangzhou cuisine. Expensive but delicious, according to Diary of a Growing Boy. A friend ate here recently too and said it was lovely. Eating here would probably ‘eat up’ my budget for the entire trip, so I may save this for another trip
- I really wanted to go to a ‘private kitchen’ for dinner, as they’re quite special to HK. However, they all seem to offer only set menus, which would have been fine, if I didn’t have to worry about vegetarian options. I contacted Yellow Door, one of the original private kitchens, which serves Sichuan food. They can do a vegetarian option for the same price (HK$288), but the booking has to be for a minimum of 6 people. I’m not sure if my friends will want to eat here. My relatives certainly won’t, as it’s not their style…
Dim Sum:
There are far too many choices, and I only have 6 lunch slots, unless I have dim sum for breakfast too, which then creates 12 slots! These aren’t exclusively dim sum restaurants by the way, and some are also famous for their dinner menus. So far, the options are:
- Lin Heung - for traditional, old-fashioned dim sum served in trolleys. A tip from a friend: ‘Don’t be afraid to get up and rush the carts as they come out of the kitchen. Everyone was doing it and you’ll get the best choices cause at the busy lunch hour they go fast’. I’d like to eat here for the overall local experience, but I hope the hustle and bustle doesn’t stress me out! Sounds like a breakfast destination with HK friends who can help with the ordering. Click here for some amazing ‘atmos’ shots
- T’ang Court - at the luxurious Langham Hotel. The dim sum menu is not large, but the focus is on quality over quantity according to The Traveling Foodies
- Fu Sing Shark Seafood Restaurant - 1/F Sunshine Plaza, 353 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai, Tel: 2893 0881. The crab roe xiao long bao are recommended
- Lock Cha Tea Shop - traditional teahouse, with over 100 different types of tea. Also serves great organic vegetarian dim sum supposedly prepared by Buddhist monks (only available at the Admiralty branch from 10am-10pm)
- Lung King Heen - at the other end of the spectrum from Luk Yu and Lin Heung, recommended for its innovative dim sum as well as for traditional Cantonese cuisine. Voted one of HK’s top restaurants by Zagat, while Fodor’s regards it as ‘quite possibly the best Cantonese restaurant in HK‘. Read review by Terry Durack
- Yan Toh Heen - another high-end restaurant, with top quality dim sum and an excellent view of Victoria Harbour. A popular (but expensive) choice for Cantonese lunch and dinner as well. Click here for mouthwatering account of meal from Chowhound thread
- Star of Canton - Lee Theatre Plaza, Causeway Bay. Read Chowhounder Charles Yu’s review here. He loved the ‘crispy skin’ Har Gow sprinkled with fried garlic dust!’
- Luk Yu - open since 1933, it offers a trip back in time. There is better dim sum to be had elsewhere, but I want to eat here for the ‘experience’, like all the other tourists. I’ve read that regulars all have their favourite tables on the first floor, and it’s always busy. No trolley service after 11am. Maybe another breakfast option
Miscellaneous:
Tai Cheong - 32 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Tel: 852-2544 3475 for the best egg tarts. Here’s a super detailed review from Food & Makan Places, who clearly knows what he’s talking about
Wong Chi Kee - airport branch of wonton noodle restaurant, where I’ll have lunch at the airport before catching the plane back to London… An alternative is Hang Heung.
Hong Kong Resources:
- Chowhound China board - thank you, fellow Chowhounders!
- IHT: Comfort food in HK - useful article on cha chaan teng food
Of course, I could have continued forever with this research! It’s by no means a definitive list, but I had to stop before my head exploded. I hope you’ll find this post useful for a future trip to Hong Kong! Please let me know if you’ve been to any great places there…
Great list Helen! Makes me very wistful for my days in HK…for the cold noodles at Kung Tak Lam….the duck at Spring Deer…xiao long bao from anywhere! … and if you have time, try Woodlands, brilliant Indian vegetarian at 61 Mody Road.
S
Thanks Stephanie! Now you’re getting me excited! I’ve read about Woodlands, so thank you for that tip. I wish I had a month at least, to eat all the food I want to try.
Just booked my HK hotel as well, so it’s all feeling quite real now!
Helen Yuet Ling
Your list brings back great memories ! Especially the roast goose at Yung Kee and the wonton noodle places on Wellington St. If the $’s don’t stretch to a visit to Tin Heung Lau, try Xiao Nan Guo (see youtube link). They do the shrimp with longjing tea leaf dish and the most wonderful “bao” (ffwd 2m 26s on youtube).
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=t9sG-_hUMG8
For seafood, the waterfront restaurants in Sai Kung and Cheung Chau are worth an excursion. Also worth trying are the chilli crab places in Wanchai. Unlike the Singapore version, the crabs are dry fried with chilli & garlic and go really well with a bowl of juk. I’m sorry I can’t remember the names of the places I went to.
I can’t wait for your food diary !
Hi Sung! Thanks so much for the tip and YouTube link for Xiao Nan Guo. It’s been allocated the FIRST slot in HK, on the night I arrive! I did come across the name, along with about a thousand others, but it’s hard to pick out the great from the good when there are sooo many options in HK. I don’t think I’ll have time to go to Sai Kung or Cheung Chau this time round, but the chilli crab places in Wanchai sound good, so I’ll look into those. Yesterday I was briefly tempted to blog during my travels, but I think I’d rather take good photos & notes and write everything up when I’m back. Otherwise it’s going to be too stressful (I doubt there’s Wifi on the HK to Beijing express train!), and the posts won’t be as informative as I want them to be!
Great list! Make sure you also try some Chinese dessert places!
DimSumDiva - thanks, I’ll try my best. I am worried I will never feel hungry when I’m there. I’ll have to walk everywhere, in order to work up some semblance of an appetite! Do you have any favourites you can recommend?
PS Great blog by the way! I love Kiehls…
Helen Yuet Ling
Helen, sounds like a well researched line up, I’m sure you’re going to eat superbly well in HK. I was there for a few days earlier this year (after a gap of 14 years) and had some great food. Lung King Heen is one of the best meals I’ve had this or any other year, the puff pastry abalone dim sum is awesome, the BBQ pork not far behind, I’m just disappointed that I was dining solo and not able to try more from the extensive menu.
I tried a highly rated Sichuan private kitchen near Yellow Door called Da Ping Huo and wasn’t that impressed to tell the truth. Great setting, a live Chinese operatic performance (by the female chef no less) during the course of the meal and good value at about HK$ 300 per person for 9 courses but way too much food, repetitive flavours, not much subtlety, I guess that I just prefer Cantonese food to Sichuan food especially when in Canton
Tried Yung Kee which was fine overall although the roast goose didn’t blow me away by any means.
Don’t miss the bakeries, I’m addicted to the buns covered with rousong (aka pork floss).
Also visited an excellent store in Soho specialising in soy sauces and vingears, if you’re interested I can try and dig up the details.
Oonth - thank you for this. Your gap was even longer than mine! As I can’t possibly eat at every single place on my list, I’ll definitely try Lung King Heen. We’ll have to see how much I can eat on my own, as husband will be doing his vegetarian thing. I’ve heard good reviews about Da Ping Huo - shame about the food! If you have time to find the details about that shop you went to, that would be great. I’m actually on the lookout for some soy sauce. The mother of a Japanese friend bought me some incredible stuff last time I was in Japan, and I’ve missed good quality soy sauce ever since then. Thanks!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hello Helen
First time poster here. Will you have time to check out Chiu Chow cuisine in HK too?
If for some reason, you have extra time (and capacity), can you do a report on “Sheung Hing Chiu Chow Restaurant” at 29 Queen’s Rd West. Apparently it’s favoured by local celebs, and it’s Chiu Chow Cold Crab is legendary. And I think October is crab season too in HK.
Sim
Sim - thanks for this tip! I’ll have to check with my uncle, who’s originally from Chiu Chow, to see if he thinks it’s worth a visit. If anyone’s an expert on Chiu Chow food, he is. I’ve filled up all my lunch and dinner slots already, but it’s never too late to make changes! Especially for crab!
Helen Yuet Ling
Helen, just filling in the piece of missing information from above, the shop is called Kowloon Soy Company, 9 Graham Street, here’s a link to the website - http://www.kowloonsoy.com/
I’ve enjoyed the soy sauce I bought from there, I was also hoping to get some black vinegar but couldn’t identify/explain exactly what I was after (something from inner China which I had sampled in a restaurant, almost like balsamico).
I may also be in HK later this month, I am looking into a couple of jobs there which may involve my going over for an interview, I’ll certainly be taking advantage of your research if I do make it over
Oonth - what a coincidence! I was just thinking of getting some soy sauce today when I received this. Thank you. I was going to Graham St wet market anyway, so the location is very handy. Might have to take my mother along with me (she knows much more about these things!). If I find the black vinegar, I’ll email you the Chinese characters for it, or take a photo of the bottle for you. My eating shortlist has changed dramatically since I drafted this list! Credit crunch has meant having to drop a few of the more expensive places (but I’ve fought hard to keep Lung King Heen!). Others on Chowhound China board (I posted under HK foodie trip recently) have recommended Sheung King Chiu Chow Restaurant in Sheung Wan, Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant in Causeway Bay, Sang Kee (Cantonese) in Causeway Bay and Kau Kee for beef brisket noodles. Also Honolulu Cafe for flaky pastry egg tarts and Wing Hop Shing for claypot beef rice. I hope you’ll get to try some of these, and good luck for the interview! I’m off next Wednesday…
I am going to HK in April for a couple of weeks and looking forward to trying out a couple of the restaurants that you have recommended. The food pictures look delicious. I was there last year but didn’t manage to sample many restaurants as I ended going to Shenzhen for a few days. Hopefully I will have more time to sample the HK culinary delights.
Sophie W - hello! I hope you have a wonderful time! Check out Chowhound’s China board nearer the time as well, as local tips are the best. There were so many places I couldn’t fit in, including Kau Kee for beef brisket and didn’t have a single egg tart in HK, only in Macau.
Helen Yuet Ling
Thanks for the tip Helen and will check it out nearer the time. I am also going to Macau for a day in my 2 weeks adventure. I was there last year and went to a Portuguese restaurant and thought it was really good - wish I remembered the name of it though. I am so looking forward to going back and I will plan a trip to Sai Kung for some seafood.
Sophie - have you read the Where to eat in Macau post? It might jog your memory - it could be either Litoral or A Lorcha perhaps? You’re going to have such a great time. Please let me know if you find any great discoveries to recommend to me!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hmm - All I remember is that the restaurant is situated in a small alleyway. I am sure I will find out the name when I go back. I will also let you know if I find any good places to eat. Catch up when I am back.
Sophie - Looking forward to hearing all the stories and recommendations! Have a wonderful time…
Helen Yuet Ling