The Most Famous Restaurants in Hong Kong

The Most Famous Restaurants in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Restaurant by City Foodsters from Wikimedia Commons

It is quite possible to get an overview of Hong Kong’s history and culture by eating your way through this metropolis. We may not be proud of the fact that the city now imports 97 percent of its food, but it is also a testament to Hong Kong’s incredible ascent as one of the world’s largest trading centres.

This group of islands was formerly a collection of little fishing communities, but now since it serves as an international port, “EastmeetsWest” has become much more than PR talk. As a result of out-of-touch food license restrictions and a lack of interest in the grittier end of the market, street food and food court culture are rapidly fading.

On a daily basis, however, eating like a Hongkonger means eating Cantonese, one of the most important regional Chinese cuisines; noodle dishes that speak to the city’s halieutic past; hybrid diner-style foods that feature the first imported British and American ingredients, such as macaroni and canned evaporated milk; adopted colonial meals such as afternoon tea; and today’s newgen Chinese cooking and internationally recognized fine dining.

1. Hoover Cake Shop 

egg custard tart by F Delventhal from Wikimedia Commons

Hoover creates one of the greatest egg tarts in Hong Kong, which are little tarts with a pie crust or flaky pastry foundation filled with a delicate egg custard. Despite the shop’s location in a rundown neighbourhood, don’t be shocked if white-gloved chauffeurs arrive to load goods into expensive automobiles.

2. Chiu Chow Hop Shing Dessert

This fourth-generation dessert shop specializes in desserts from Chiu Chow (also

Strawberry Sundae by Kritzolina from Wikimedia Commons

known as Teochew or Chaozhou), an area in far eastern Guangdong with its own distinct culture, including lotus seeds cooked in light syrup and served with a hard-boiled egg.

Vanilla sundaes with black glutinous rice and mango jelly with evaporated milk are among the new innovations served at this late-night favourite.

3. Islam Food

Hong Kong has a sizable Muslim community from China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others, providing lots of opportunities to sample robust halal Chinese meals inspired by Xinjiang cuisine, which is famed for its spiciness. Every table has at least one dish of veal goulash pockets; you won’t go wrong if you follow suit.

4. Mui Kee at Fa Yuen Street Market 

Congee, a rice and water (or stock) porridge, is Hong Kong’s comfort food, and it provides a filling breakfast or light lunch. Mui Kee’s fish stock congee draws crowds to the food court on the top level of a municipal market on a regular basis. Choose your own toppings, such as fresh fish slices or pig’s liver, then slurp it down with an iced lemon tea on the side.

5. TAP The Ale Project

Craft brewers abound in Hong Kong, and craft beer bars have sprouted up all over the city. Few, though, take beer as seriously as TAP, where local and foreign brews are constantly rotated on draft and in bottles, and the staff has a genuine enthusiasm for the stuff. Excellent bar nibbles like a Cubano cooked with siu yuk aren’t an afterthought, either (Cantonese crispy roast pork).

6. Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Restaurant 

Vegetarian Curry by GracinhaMarco Abundo from Wikimedia Commons

The city’s oldest Indian vegetarian restaurant is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is renowned as a centre for Hong Kong’s Indian population. Dosas are the name of the game at Woodlands, a large South Indian restaurant where spice connoisseurs have been devouring these huge, crispy pancakes for over 40 years.

7. Peking Garden Restaurant

Peking Duck by City Foodsters from Wikimedia Commons

Peking Garden’s duck, beggar’s chicken (chicken cooked in a pastry wrapping), and noodles pulled tableside have been served to local families for decades. While no one seemed to dislike the ’80s decor, the recent renovations made it an even better site to take in the views of Victoria Harbour, and at a reasonable price.

8. Yan Toh Heen

The greatest view of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor is from Kowloon, and Yan Toh Heen’s sea-level, the harborside location provides front-row seats. Although the hotel is scheduled to be refurbished this year, its flagship Chinese restaurant received a makeover earlier this year, ensuring that the popular eatery remains open during the building’s shutdown. Chef Yiu-fai Lau has been with the hotel since its inception, and his perfectly prepared Cantonese classics like dim sum, as well as Chinese favourites like Peking duck, continue to wow.

9. Hoi On Cafe

Locals adore cha chaan teng food, a uniquely Hong Kong cuisine that consists primarily of pseudo-Western concoctions such as macaroni with ham in soup, deep-fried peanut butter sandwiches known as “French” toast, and sweetened condensed milk poured over red bean paste and a compressed ball of shaved ice, a dessert/drink hybrid.

Sailors arriving at adjacent ports used to flock to Hoi On for cha chaan teng. Several years ago, the owner’s daughter scrubbed the property and hired new personnel, including bakers to prepare their famed coconut tarts, to restore it to its former grandeur.

10. Yardbird

Matt Abergel (a Masa alum) and Lindsay Jang founded Yardbird as their debut restaurant, and they’ve since become legendary in Hong Kong’s famously demanding food sector. Their restaurant has been open for over five years and is still one of the most popular in town.

The name of the game is Yakitori. From skewers of hearts to crispy skin over rice, every part of the chicken is offered. There are no reservations; waiting in line is part of the fun. And don’t forget to order a drink; the Japanese-influenced beverage program is unique.

Dining out is one of the most popular tourist activities in Hong Kong, which is renowned as the “World’s Food Fair.” Hong Kong provides a diverse range of cuisine options, from roadside vendors to world-class restaurants which is why if you happen to visit then you should visit any of the restaurants above.