A Short Guide To Eating In Hong Kong, Macau & Beijing
Nov 19th, 2008 by admin
After returning from our 16 day traveleating trip to Hong Kong, Macau and Beijing, I wrote a series of thirteen ‘Postcards’, filed under Restaurant Reviews – China. The Postcards are long, but contain detailed information about food, sightseeing and travel tips. If you want to just browse through food photos, click here for the entire set taken on the trip, in chronological order. For those readers who need a snappy summary about what and where to eat, read on!
I spent weeks researching this before the trip, creating three wish-lists, Where to Eat in Hong Kong, Where to Eat in Macau, and Where to Eat in Beijing. I didn’t and couldn’t go to every restaurant and eaterie on the lists, but some of the ones I visited deserve a special mention. So here are my recommendations (click on the links below to read more).
As the vegetarian husband contributed to this list, vegetarians will be pleased to read that, apart from Mak’s, all these places offer great vegetarian dishes and far more options than either of us could have hoped for. And if you’re worried about deciphering menus, they’ were all bilingual with great quality photos, except for Hakka Restaurant (which has a Chinese menu with photos).
HONG KONG:
- Lock Cha Tea Shop – this serene tea house in the middle of Hong Kong Park serves only vegetarian dim sum, which was so incredible even a die-hard Cantonese carnivore like me had to eat here twice
- Mak’s Noodles – the famous wonton noodle portions are small and pricey, but worth the visit!
- Chung’s Cuisine – our first meal in HK remains one of the nicest when compared with the subsequent meals. No MSG, fresh ingredients, good presentation, friendly staff and lovely environment
- Xi Yan – not on my original list, but discovered when shopping at GOD. Unusual dishes (not all of them worked!), including bean curd sheet with beansprouts, greenhouse tomatoes in sesame sauce and cashew nut ice cream
- Kung Tak Lam – Shanghainese vegetarian restaurant, popular with both meat-eaters and vegetarians, serving interesting ‘mock’ dishes like fish, goose and chicken
MACAU: as we were only there for a day trip, I can only recommend the three places we visited!
- Restaurante Litoral – serves Portuguese / Macanese cuisine, including the famous African chicken
- Margaret’s Café e Nata - ex-wife of owner from Lord Stow’s runs this place, which serves very tasty Portuguese egg tarts. Hard to locate, but worth it
- Ko Kei Bakery – well-known bakery chain permanently mobbed by tourists for the free samples and delectable goodies – slightly ‘eggy’ Portuguese egg tart though
BEIJING: I don’t think there’s a single restaurant I visited that I can leave off my list of recommendations, despite this being a ’short guide’. Beijing is truly a foodie destination, and dare I say it, with far better quality and more innovative cuisine than I found in Hong Kong. I would happily make all these my regulars if I lived in Beijing!
- Noodle Loft - enjoy hand-made Shanxi noodles while being entertained by the chefs making them in front of you – hand-pulled, knife-cut, single chopstick etc. Many excellent (and cheap) dishes to be found here
- Bellagio – this hip Taiwanese joint serves excellent food. This is where we made the culinary discovery of the trip – dragon beans stir-fried in garlic
- South Silk Road - serves Yunnan cuisine – try the exotic Yunnan mushrooms and fried cheese. I liked also the bitter melon with pineapple, which strangely complemented each other
- Pure Lotus – Beijing’s supposedly best vegetarian restaurant, with beautifully presented food and equally impressive interior. Must try the Beijing duck, Xinjiang skewers, lettuce wrapped green beans and vegetable rolls
- Hakka Restaurant - the only restaurant not on my original wish-list, but a favourite of our friends. Sample foil-cooked fish, san bei (three cup) duck, dragon beans and deep-fried bean curd in a rustic setting
- Noodle Bar – more hand-pulled noodle entertainment as you sit around a tiny counter (12 seats) to tuck into a large bowl of noodles (5 choices only, with one vegetarian made with mushroom broth). Great side dishes too
- Din Tai Fung – after trying the xiao long bao in Taipei (DFT is a Taiwanese chain), I had to visit DFT in Beijing. Not quite as good as the Taipei version, but still very good!
The post China Trip Planning outlines the practicalities of organising the trip and there are a few tips on Chinese food etiquette which might come in handy on your travels. Do let me know what you think of these restaurants and if you have any favourites to recommend to other travellers. Happy traveleating!
All China restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
I’ll have to remember all the places in HK and Macau for my next trip out there (maybe around Spring Festival). I need to take a day or two out of Shenzhen to try something different.
Chinamatt – lucky you, I want to go back! Let me know where you end up eating…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen, I wanted to say thank you. Your list was a great starting point for our traveleating adventure. We spent 2 1/2 weeks starting in Beijing Nov 8, going through Shanghai, and Kaiping, and ending in Hong Kong Nov 8 – 25, so our paths almost crossed.
Luckily for me my vegetarian wife took a “vegetarian vacation”, so we didn’t have any restrictions. (She was even game for some hand made dalu noodles with pork back in Toronto)
We got some of the same pics, some by coincidence and some because I’d already read your post and ordered the same thing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianeandaaron/sets/72157610810491153/
Best meal was in Beijing at Da Li, but it goes to show that its not just the food, but the circumstance that makes a moment great: 3 taxis drivers, no electricity, and being all alone in the courtyard with our own private chef was a pretty special introduction to Yunnan cuisine.
… and then the sweet tofu shack on Lamma island, the unidentified hot pot place some friends took us to … the fried dumplings in Shanghai … etc. yummy trip!
all the best,
-Aaron
Aaron – yes, our paths did almost cross! It’s a great time to travel, as the weather’s not too hot or cold. You were very lucky to have no dietary restrictions. I was a bit sad not to have Beijing duck, but didn’t mind too much as the vegetarian dishes I had were superb. Just looked at your photos (it was fun to see the same dishes!). Was Xiao Wang’s nice? I read a lot of reviews of it, but just couldn’t fit it in. And I would have gone to Dali, had it not been for the set menu which wouldn’t have suited the vegetarian husband. Sounds like you had an excellent foodie trip!
Helen Yuet Ling
We went to Da Dong, and the roast duck was fantastic, but I think its more of an every day kind of duck. For the once in a blue moon kinda duck I kinda wished we’d had a fatty one.
Xiao Wang’s was great, but quite hard to judge at the time because it was our first dinner in China after a 19 hour flight. The staff were very sweet and they all spoke english, which was not what we were expecting.
In retrospect, it was quite different than everything else we had, because it was closer to home cooking. The spareribs were really quite good and the deep fried tofu with sweet and spicy sauce set us up for the trip because it was as good as any tofu we’ve had and met our expectation that we’d really have a knock out trip.
-Aaron
BTW, we tried to go to Mak’s noodles (both locations!), but they closed at 8pm. Ended up making it a two parter, e-fu noodles at Kaugh Kee, on Gaugh street, and the humungous shrimp wontons at Tsim Chai Kee (broth was better here, wontons were better at Ho Hung Kee).
-Aaron
Aaron – thanks for the feedback on Xiao Wang! I’ll go next time. I wanted to go to Da Dong, then we were supposed to go to Duck de Chine, and ended up at Noodle Bar next door (which was delicious though). Mak’s in Central is supposed to open til midnight! I was there from 8ish to 10ish the evening I visited. What a shame. But your substitute doesn’t sound too bad. I also wanted to visit those places originally, though not sure about such huge wontons…
Helen Yuet Ling
Wow this is a fantastic website Helen!
I am going to HK in June on our way to Thailand for our honeymoon. I am so excited but worried about the food as I have several food intolerances. These are egg, dairy and wheat. My partner lived in HK until he was 10, but didn’t eat out much so he is useless at any advice!
Do you know of any ’standard’ dishes (including dim sum if possible!) that avoid these food groups? I know it is a tall order, but I would like to go there and experience the food without worrying too much!
Thanks,
Clair
Clair – hello and lovely to meet you! I bet you’re excited about the trip. I’m not sure how helpful I can be though with regards to the food intolerances. I don’t want to recommend anything in case a particular restaurant uses a different ingredient to make it. But I hope you like meat, fish, tofu and vegetables! There are endless dishes you can choose if you can eat all these.
Dim sum can be a tricky area for people with food intolerances. I think to be safe, you should try Lock Cha Tea Shop. The waitresses all speak English and the vegetarian menu changes daily, so they should be able to help you. If you have a look at my post on the Lock Cha Tea Shop, you’ll see examples of what we had, some of which would be fine for you.
My mum doesn’t eat egg either, but it’s never been a problem in HK. People are usually quite happy to take things out of dishes, or swap ingredients around, if you explain at the beginning. I don’t think you’ll have a problem with dairy products in HK, as not many Chinese foods are made with dairy products. I think your main problem will be products made with wheat, such as certain dumpling wrappers and noodles, so please ask before you tuck in!
Sorry I haven’t been more specific, but it’s an area with which I’m not that familiar. I do wish you a fantastic honeymoon though and I hope you enjoy the food in HK! I look forward to hearing all about it…
Helen Yuet Ling
In danger of sounding like my Dad but some places are taking liberties in HK with smaller pricier portions ! Although tasty, it cost HK$31 for 3 shui gau and thimble of noodles at Ho Hung Kee in Causeway Bay. It’s just as well my aunt wasn’t hungry or quick enough with the extra dish of beef brisket/tendon & won ton lo mein (HK$49).
Better value can be found at Tsui Wah on Wellington St (opposite Yung Kee). I went for a combo of fish balls, squid balls, fish puff, fish paste roll with mi xian (rice noodle with thickness of spaghetti) in fish soup. The fish soup made a nice change and the food had that “made from scratch” look and feel. Prices similar to Ho Hung Kee but with adult portion sizes ! So much so, the back-up bowl of won tons was almost too much for me to finish off.
Sung – can’t believe you’re out there again! I did really want to visit Ho Hung Kee when I was in HK, but for a thimble of noodles?! I think adult portions are more for me. And I love the concept of a ‘back-up bowl’. You must be so much fun to eat with! Will have to consult with you properly before I embark on another trip…
Sadly home now but I certainly had fun during 2 weeks of eating in Vietnam, HK and China ! I was lucky and didn’t have any shocking experiences (portion size excepted). Having said that there are only 2 more places I’d recommend in HK.
I wanted to recommend Ocean Empire in the past but the shopfront only has a Chinese name. They do however have a bilingual website http://www.oceanempire.com.hk/eng/p4.asp where you can pick up their Chinese name and locate branches. I went to the Causeway Bay branch for a breakfast of fish congee (HK$22) and zhaliang (HK$16). The congee was as excellent as I remember although the zhaliang wasn’t quite as good. Despite their monolingual shopfront, they do have full English/Chinese menus so its easy for congee and cheung fun novices to order from.
Fung Shing stood out amongst the places where I had dinner. We went to the Leighton Rd branch in Causeway Bay (reputedly the best). They have a comprehensive bilingual menu but the main action is on the signature dish menu card sat invitingly on the table – also bilingual with photos. Must orders are the crispy chicken and the mandarin fish. I seldom normally order crispy chicken in the UK as it is normally overcooked and served with stale prawn crackers. However, this version was easily the best I’ve tasted – juicy and succulent inside, crispy outside !
The stand out dish was however the mandarin fish, a whole fish cooked two ways. The fillets are rolled around slivers of ham and other stuff then stir fried. These sit on top of the rest of the fish that has been portioned up and deep fried in a light batter. It’s then presented in the form of a fish. Sorry for the vague description but I guess that’s why you have a blog and I have a collection of restaurant namecards !
Sung – thanks so much for these recommendations! And in Causeway Bay too, where I stayed last time. The mandarin fish sounds incredible. Did you take any photos? I think you should start a food blog, definitely!
Helen Yuet Ling
I don’t take photos and only started making notes on this trip so the blogosphere is safe for now ! There are photos of the signature dishes on Fung Shing’s website but I’m having trouble submitting a comment with the link.
More so than HK, I enjoyed the food in Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi on this trip – do let me know if you need recs in the future.
Helen, I love the photos of the food in HK and China and you have convinced me to try a couple of other places in HK I hadn’t considered before. I like Aaron’s choice of sweet tofu hut on Lamma which I assume is tofu grandma’s delightfully ramshackle shelter where there is fresh tofu daily. A great vegetarian option on Lamma is the Bookworm cafe in Yung Shue Wan which has a 70’s hippie feel- huge helpings of organic food and they can do gluten free – my wife is gluten intolerant and eats there whenever she gets a chance. The dessert shop nearby also does very nice tofu cheesecakes.
Have you tried some of the little restaurants in North Point or Tin Hau as these areas are very interesting? I love the dumplings at Little Green Kitchen near the Chung Yuen St markets in Nth Pt. and there is a big vegetarian restaurant upstairs by the tram turnaround that seems to know a thousand fun things to do with tofu.
Sung – of course I’ll consult you for recs, though when I’ll get to travel to that part of the world again is another matter!
Keith – thanks for your recs too! I didn’t make it to either NP or Tin Hau on my last trip, unfortunately, but will definitely try on my next trip…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen, going back over my recent Beijing trip I somehow managed not to visit any of your tips ! Believe me this wasn’t a deliberate snub and I’m gutted that I didn’t try Noodle Loft. I’ll be posting about my Beijing trip over the next few weeks so please drop by !
Mr Noodles – what a shame, but I can’t wait to hear where you did eat in Beijing! Look forward to the posts…