Eating in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a great place to visit. Not just for the many attractions and shopping, but also for its great food. Prices are also reasonable and comparable to Singapore.

If you would like to try authentic local food, you definitely can't go wrong by trying out Tsui Wah. This "cha chan teng" has many branches and opens early at 7am till late at night. On our first night in Hong Kong, we saw many people having supper there at midnight. However, we decided to visit Tsui Wah for breakfast the next day instead.

After pondering the menu, we decided to choose 2 different breakfast sets (one for HKD26, the other for HKD27). Both sets came with hot coffee/tea. Do note that you need to pay extra if you prefer them cold. My set was macaroni with ham as shown in the picture. It looks really simple, but it was really really yummy!

Our next meal was at Citygate Outlets at Tung Chung. As we wanted a fast meal, we headed to food court. I was quite surprised to see that there was a Food Junction in Hong Kong too, similar to Singapore. There was even one stall selling Hainanese Chicken Rice!

In the end, we ended up satisfying our love for Korean food by ordering from Korea House. The dishes were affordable with prices at less than HKD40 each.

Hong Kong is famous for its wanton noodles, but if you have the chance, do try out the fishball noodles at the Aberdeen Fishball & Noodle Restaurant. It is big in portion and equally as delicious as the best wanton noodle out there. Just look at the delicious fishballs in the photo on the right! Yummy....

Note: HKD26 for fishball noodles. HKD33 for braised noodles. HKD12 for hot milk tea.

When mentioning breakfast in Hong Kong, how can anyone ignore Dim Sum. For us, we tried dim sum at a local chain called Tao Heung (known locally as Dou Heung). We visited the outlet at 3/F, Carnavon Plaza at 20-20C Carnavon Road but there are branches elsewhere too. On weekdays, there is a promotion from 7-11am and you can have 2 types of selected dim sum for just HKD13. All in all, we ordered 7 types of dim sum including cha siu bao, a dish of vegetable, ha kao, cheong fun, custard buns and cun kuen. The total bill for 2 (including service charge and tea) came up to HKD88.50. Quite reasonable I would say. But if possible, do come with more people, you will get to try more items. Another point to note is that I didn't see an English menu though. Ordering would be easier if you know some Chinese!

Besides dim sum, there is also a choice of fast food like McDonald's and KFC. During the morning which we headed to Macau, we had a quick meal at McDonald's. Just like in Malaysia and Singapore, they offer breakfast sets too. These cost about HKD13-15.

If you love dessert, you will also love it that Hong Kong has many dessert shops located all over the island. One of the more famous chains are Hui Lau Shan. It is especially well-known for its mango desserts. Hence, we decided to try the outlet at Carnavon Road. It was indeed good, but I felt that it was slightly over-priced at HKD35 as the portion wasn't that big. On the other hand, the mango panna cotta was so so only, and we paid HKD16 as there was a promotion for this new item. As with most places in Hong Kong the shop is also cramped. Takeaway is an option if you don't wish to share tables or wait for tables.

On the day which we explored Central, we had a late lunch at Kam Wah, located at Jubilee Street. From 2.15pm till 6pm, they offer promotional prices for roasted meat with noodles at HKD20 each. Besides that, we ordered a vegetable dish of Kailan in soy sauce for HKD15. On another note, there is also a Tsui Wah branch nearby.

Later that day, we had dinner at Zong Guo Song located at G/F 6 Wo On Lane. They offer daily meal sets at HKD54 each. The set comes with one bowl of soup-of-the-day, a bowl of rice and a main dish which changes every day. Each day they provide you with a list of 4 main dishes to choose from. That day, I selected the Grilled Chicken in Honey and my mother selected fish. The food was delicious and definitely no MSG as their banner outside the shop states. The portions are also quite big and our meal that day could have been shared by 3 people. The business was quite good with lots of people calling up the shop to order takeaways in advance. Note that there is an additional 10% service charge.

Besides the restaurants/cafes mentioned previously, we also ate at places like Cafe de Coral. It is a well known local fast food chain. Honestly, the food wasn't that fabulous but what I liked was they had a variety of sets to choose from. As I like to drink soup, I chose one which came with rice and meat. A pretty well balanced meal the soup had vegetables in it, and a drink was also included.

Another place was the Praise House Congee & Noodle Cuisine at iSquare on Nathan Road. I chose the shrimp roe noodle (har zi loe min) while my mum had roasted duck rise. The meal for 2 with tea came up to HKD71.50. The food, atmosphere and service is good! And after eating, you can shop at the mall itself.

As I mentioned in the beginning, Hong Kong is definitely a great place to visit again and again. This was my second trip and I really enjoyed myself throughout despite the super hot weather! I will be back again someday for more!