Hong Kong Dining

Hong Kong Dining Page is of great helpful if you want to have a nice food experience in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Food surely will be the highlight of your Hong Kong Tour as Hong Kong is a "gourmet paradise" where the world's delicacies are gathered. In Hong Kong, food is divided in to specific categories, which are strictly adhered to. Due to Hong Kong's past as a British colony and a long history of being an international port of commerce, Hong Kong provides an unlimited variety of food and dining in every class.  Essential food in Hong Kong includes the traditional dim sum, delicious sea food, and Chinese barbeque.

Food Styles in Hong Kong

Hong Kong cuisine is mainly influenced by Cantonese cuisine, European cuisines and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisines, as well as Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian cuisines. From the roadside stalls to the most upscale restaurants, Hong Kong provides an unlimited variety of food and dining in every class.

What to Eat in Hong Kong 

Hong Kong’s food culture is brimming with vibrant, authentic flavors that will surely leave you wanting more. In such a big and diversified city, it is difficult to know what to expect and how to fit in, so that is why we have this page as your Hong Kong Dining Guide.  If you have time, wander into any old-fashioned tea house and enjoy a “milky tea” or a cup of Yuanyang. If you eventually get tired of local food in Hong Kong, there are plenty of other options: you can try every type of Cantonese dish, and indulge in food from other cuisines such as India, Vietnam or the Philippines.

Must-Eat Food in Hong Kong

Dim Sum

The allure of Dim sum may be one of your reason for Hong Kong Tour. Hong Hong is the best place to try various kinds of dim sum.  There is an ancient Chinese tradition of drinking tea, known as yum cha, and with tea it’s common to eat little bite sizes dishes which are known as dim sum. That’s why dim sum is often served at teahouses and always goes with hot tea.  Dim sum in Hong Kong offer you wide range of choice ranging from braised chicken feet, to porky siu mai, to shrimp filled har gao, all guzzled down with hot tea. Not only is dim sum one of the most famous foods to eat in Hong Kong, but eating dim sum is one of the most fun and delicious food experiences you can have.

Siu Mei - Hong Kong-style Barbecued Meat

Hong Kong-style roasted meat — locally known as siu mei (烧味),  is a must-try for you and it also serves as your window into traditional Chinese roasts. It is impossible to miss this cuisine in Hong Kong because the succulent, flavorful meats can be found in streetside shops all over the city as well as in upscale Chinese restaurants. After the highly seasoned meats are roasted on spits over an open fire or in a rotisserie oven, they are hung inside the restaurant and visible from the street. It is a sight — and taste — that is ubiquitous wherever there are Chinese communities. Chinese barbecue restaurants in Hong Kong usually have highly flexible menus that allow you to pair your roast meats with rice, noodles or rice noodles. The mostly ordered ones are Barbecued Pork, Roasted Pork belly Roasted Goose and Siu Ngaap, etc.

Noodles and Congee

Noodles and congee (rice porridge) in Hong Kong are often served in the same food shop or restaurant. Some of the more traditional restaurants that serve both will have two open kitchens flanking the entrance. One kitchen is used for solely making congee, the other for making noodles. Congee dishes range from the plain starchy variety to the lighter versions that include vegetables and meat and even hotpots in which the ingredients are cooked in a congee soup. In Hong Kong, you can enjoy the huge variety of noodles and congee in 24 hours a day. In fact, these are popular late night eats. We listed the most common orders below for your reference:

Winter Foods in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a great quick getaway destination for those who are looking to spend their year-end holiday in cooler temperatures of below 15°C. Visitors can expect plenty of festive attractions to celebrate the Christmas and also New Year’s Eve while indulging in the year-end sale at  famous shopping spots like Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and more. However the highlight of winter, especially during festive seasons would be to indulge in warm comfort food, such as hot pot, clay pot, snake soup barbecue and winter desserts like black sesame and walnut soups, etc. Try these Hong Kong-style winter treats that will warm you right up in the cold weather. 

Dai Pai Dong (大排档)

Dai pai dong are open-air street stalls that serve cooked food. It is a phenomenon that used to be one of the most iconic elements of Hong Kong’s food scene. Dai pai dong will serve just about any snack or food but they are best known for stir fries. Eating at a dai pai dong is also a truly Hong Kong dining experience as you will probably end up sharing a table with strangers during busy hours, can cross order from different vendors and get a front-row view of the local street life. Dai pai dong can be found almost anywhere in the city. Side streets and lanes are the most likely place to spot them. Please check What to Order at Hong Kong's top 5 Dai Pai Dongs for your food experience tour.

Sea Food

One of the best dishes in Hong Kong definitely has to be seafood. Being one of the biggest ports in the country, Hong Kong is guaranteed to give you the freshest, biggest and tastiest catch. A lot of restaurants here are well renowned for serving world-class seafood fare. You can have them steamed, baked, fried or roasted. Don’t leave Hong Kong without trying white boiled shrimp, lobster or crab with ginger and scallion served on a bed of al dente egg noodles or steamed fish with soy sauce, scallions and ginger. Seafood in Hong Kong is largely based on market prices and can range from 500 THB to over 3,000 THB depending on the season.

Snacks in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is well-known for its amazingly indulgent street food, hot pot restaurants and Cantonese desserts. But what about Hong Kong snacks? Snacking in Hong Kong is a diverse business, with everything from slush drinks and egg tarts to octopus balls available on the streets.  The entire repertoire is vast, but here are some classics:

Sweets in Hong Kong

People in Hong Kong often take time from the rush of urban life to enjoy the rush of sugar in the city’s dessert shops. Everything from light traditional Chinese sweet soups to Hong Kong fusions are served day and night. Sweets can be ordered in many types of eateries and there are even restaurants dedicated solely to them. The most popular ones among locals are White fungus and pear soup, Red bean soup, Tofu pudding, Mango pudding and Durian creations. You shouldn't miss these sweeties on your Hong Kong trip.

What to Drink in Hong Kong

Imported beverages are widely available, but popular local drinks in Hong Kong include:

  • Zhian jing: a rice wine served hot like sake
  • Liang hua pei: a potent plum brandy
  • Kaolian and Mao toi: whiskies
  • San Miguel and Tsingtao: locally brewed beers from China
  • Yeun yeung: a blend of tea and coffee

Yum Cha, or "drinking tea" Custom

Yum Cha, or "drinking tea", refers to the custom of eating small servings of different foods, and is a popular family tradition at tea houses on weekend mornings. There are many tea houses in Hong Kong where tea can be drunk accompanied by Bow law yau, a steaming hot bun stuffed with melted butter, Daan tart, a baked egg custard or Yau char gwai, a deep fried dough.

Hong Kong-style Milk Tea

Hong Kong-style milk tea originates from British colonial rule over Hong Kong. Hong Kong-style milk tea is a tea drink made from black tea and milk. Milk tea has become a ubiquitous part of Hong Kong culture. Sweetened or unsweetened, hot or cold, Hongkongers drink it in the summer and winter with their breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.  Hong Kong style milk tea is listed on the representative list of the Intangible Culture Heritage of Hong Kong in 2017 by Intangible Culture Heritage Office which under the Leisure and Culture Department. Hong Kong milk tea is commonly made with a combination of black tea leaves and is known for its smooth texture and depth of flavour. With time, however, the famous drink has evolved into many different varieties, some of the best ones include milk tea With evaporated milk (奶茶), With condensed milk (茶走), In a metallic cup (冻奶茶), In a bottle (樽仔冻奶茶), In a bowl of ice (冰镇奶茶), In a carton (盒裝奶茶), In a can (罐裝奶茶), In instant form (即溶奶茶).

Hong Kong Herbal Tea

Beyond the fancy drinks in sleek bars, Chinese herbal teas remain as popular as ever in Hong Kong thanks to their vaunted medicinal benefits. A soup with some ginger root, for instance, aids digestion, while a touch of lemongrass in tea makes for a calm, restorative brew. Whether you’re looking for something to cure a cold or to soothe a sore throat, the herbal tea would be your best choice.

Where to Eat in Hong Kong 

As a compact city with more than ten thousand restaurants, Hong Kong could be described as a dining district in itself. Working out where to eat in Hong Kong is not easy for there are endless options. Where to go? Here below we list you some useful food guides for Kong Kong travel.

Hong Kong Gourmet Areas by Region

We classify the popular dining areas in Hong Kong according to the three major hot tourism regions: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories & The Outlying Islands.

Dining Areas in Hong Kong Island

Dining Areas  in Kowloon

Dining Areas  in New Territories & The Outlying Islands

Seafood Street in Hong Kong

Most seafood streets are found in the New Territories and on outlying islands. Some of the most popular include Lei Yue Mun in Kowloon, Sai Kung Seafood Street, Sok Wu Wan Village on Lamma Island and Pak She Praya Road on Cheung Chau.

Recommeneded Restaurants in Hong Kong

Considered to be one of the best culinary destinations in Asia, Hong Kong offers a multitude of venues and cuisines that keep foodies interested – from traditional dim sum to creative concepts in which East meets West. You have wide choice of restautants serving different food styles. We listed the recommended ones according to its rates and the food style it serves, please check it for your reference.

  • Tosca Italian Restaurant
    Address:International Commerce Centre (ICC), 1 Austin Rd, West Kowloon, Hong Kong 香港柯士甸道西1号环球贸易广场
    Tel: +852 2263 2270
  • Le Reve French Restaurant
    Address: 10/F, ZING!, 38 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong  香港铜锣湾耀华街38号Zing!10楼
    Tel: +852 2866 1010
  • Man Wah Chinese Restaurant (文华厅)
    Address:  25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Rd Central, Hong Kong  香港干诺道中5号香港文华东方酒店25楼25层
    Tel: +852 2825 4003
  • Happy Paradise Cantonese Restaurant 
    Address:  UG/F, 52-56 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong 香港中环苏豪士丹顿街52-56
    Tel: +852 2816 2118
  • Ta Vie Japanese Restaurant
    Address: 2/F, The Pottinger, No. 74 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
    Tel: +852 2668 6488

Read More:

Chinese Food Restaurants in Hong Kong

Foreign Restaurants in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Dining Tips