Claire's Top 5 MUST VISIT Food Places in Hong Kong!

2:49 PM claire 0 Comments

In September 2012 I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong for 5 days! Flew Tiger Airways and it was about $270 per person, return. Flew off-peak though. I stayed in Mongkok at a hotel which was near the industrial area, not entirely safe at night (saw some red light massage parlours) and hence I won't really recommend it!


Most days were spent waking up late, having lunch, walking around a bit, having tea, walking around a bit more, having dinner, then head to a bar for drinks, and perhaps grabbing supper (how awesome are late night cafes?) So you can kind of expect how much I had been eating. I haven't stepped on the weighing scale yet.

Wanted to share with you guys my favourite places to eat ;) Will definitely go back to try more dishes there the next time! Am thinking of weekend trips to Hong Kong already, really loved that place apart from random water from air cons dripping from buildings -_- oh, and the impatient service at restaurants. Sorry but I can't read fan ti (traditional chinese)!!

1. Tim Ho Wan

Before I actually flew to HK, I asked around for some recommendations and this was highly recommended by at least 4 friends? I HAD to try it. Was also warned about the queue though.


Went at about 11am? Just to take a number and was asked to come back 2 hours later. They had a branch somewhere else but we wanted to try the authentic, first outlet! We were also asked if we wanted to tapao instead but we declined.

 
Hence, for two hours, we went shopping around Mongkok, and by the time we got back, we saw that our number had passed! No worries though, just told the guy who wrote our numbers on a different list, and within 10 minutes we were properly seated.

The place was relatively small, could possibly only seat 20 people at once? Be prepared to share seats and eat fast though.

Food came relatively quick. When the char siew bao (barbecued pork bun) arrived, we attacked it immediately.

It was SO good.

It wasn't like the typical char siew bao, but the skin was crispy and crumbly, with the barbecued pork tender and juicy. It was perfect. We took a bite and immediately wanted to order more, but we had already over-ordered the other dim sum!




The rest were 'ma3ma2te2' which means average in cantonese. Just eat the char siew bao!

Best of all, it was completely affordable. I think we ordered 8 dishes and it was about 13 SGD per person? We were so full we had to takeaway some dimsum back!

On my last day, I wanted to takeaway some char siew baos to bring to Singapore. I arrived at their shop at 5pm and they made us wait for 20 minutes before telling us that takeaways only start at 6pm. After explaining we were catching a flight, they didn't give a crap -_- and we got chased away. The staff were super unfriendly and uncompromising! Sigh, I guess fame and popularity can do that to a restaurant.


PSST: Go early just to get a number!

2. Tai Ping Koon (Causeway Bay)


We travelled all the way to Causeway Bay just to try these chicken wings recommended by Fann Wong! They had a few set dishes to pick from, and we decided to grab a set dinner for 2, which included 6 "chicken wings in Swiss sauce".

Started out with a soup that was so-so.

I must highlight their beef hor fun. It was lip-smackingly good. The hor fun wasn't too soft, the sauce not mushy at all, and the beef, wow the beef was flavourful and tender.

When we reached the chicken wings... Wow. They were marinated perfectly and I found myself licking my fingers. (So what if it was a relatively higher-class restaurant?? Chicken wings are meant to be eaten with fingers hehe)

This place is slightly pricier though, about $20 SGD a head, with 4 courses to share! Completely worth it IMO.

Signature Dishes: Chicken wings of course!
PSST: Service was much better here and their staff introduced each dish to us with a smile :)


3. Hing Kee
Sneakily located on the 1F (you have to take a lift up) in a building along the main road, is a 2 generation famed Boat People style cuisine. The walls are covered with celebrity signatures and the queue even on a weekday, was long. We were really lucky to get a small table (big groups have to wait longer) so our waiting time was about 15 mins?



We had no idea how to read the menu so the waitress brought us a photo album hahahah and pointed some of their famous dishes to us. We predicted we wouldn't be able to finish a whole crab by ourselves so we decided to get porridge (congee) and noodles, with some center dishes.
Porridge was really smooth and the duck hor fun noodles was simple superb. I think the noodles were home-made. A really enjoyable meal to spend with your family!


Signature Dishes: Stir fry crabs with black beans and chilli, Roast Duck and Rice noodles in Soup and Congee.
PSST!: Everyone seemed to be drinking some flask with carrot and lychee in it. Point to it on the table beside you so you can try one!! It's really good but we had no idea what it was called.


4. Hui Liu Shan

Enough main food? Alright I'll share my favourite dessert place that can be found all around HK!

Try their mango desserts! You get to pick your flavours and toppings as well. Mangoes are really sweet ^_^

5. One Peking

Hidden on the 29th floor is a really nice bar with an amazing view called Aqua.. This one isn't so much food, but indulge in their delicious cocktails. Can't remember which drink I had but it was one of their specials. You get a wonderful view of HK Island and we were lucky it wasn't a hazy night!


Staff was very polite and would switch on their flashlight to guide you towards the toilet and back to your seat. They also came to ask us if everything was fine, if the drinks were good etc. If you have food here, they're quite pricey!



We spent like 2 hours or so here just talking and joking about random things. What's a holiday without relaxing and not worrying about a thing in the world?


Hope you liked my list and get to visit some of them on your next trip to HK!
Will also be giving tips for traveling in HK and more soon! :)

Thanks for reading!

x,
Claire.