A visit in Chiang Mai is not complete without visiting its Holiest Shrine – Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Here sharing the Doi Suthep travel guide blog with tips from our visit!
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, or commonly known as Doi Suthep, is one of Chiang Mai’s most impressive temples. This holiest temple lies just outside the city atop Mount Doi Suthep at 5,400 meters above sea level. Visitors can see the great view of Chiang Mai City and its surrounding from the mountain above. The temple is a sacred place for Buddhists.
A visit to Doi Suthep offers you some gorgeous golden pagodas and amazing panoramic views of Chiang Mai. The chedi is coated almost completely in gold which is truly amazing! It is a must-see for your Chiang Mai itinerary!
To help you make the most of your time exploring Doi Suthep, here sharing some useful travel information and tips in this Wat Phra That Doi Suthep travel guide blog.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
First established in the 1380s, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a sacred site and an important temple to the Thai people. It is known as one of the most beautiful temples in Chiang Mai and is famous for its incredible piece of architecture and skilled craftsmanship.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is also often referred to as “Doi Suthep” although this is actually the name of the mountain where it is located.
Below are some of the handy travel tips when planning your visit to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep:
What is the opening hour for Doi Suthep?
Doi Suthep is open daily from 6:00 to 18:00.
What is the best time to visit Doi Suthep?
We recommend taking a trip to Wat Phra Doi Suthep in the late afternoon to the Doi Suthep mountain for the best sunset view.
What should I wear to Doi Suthep?
Doi Suthep has a modest dress code and you’re supposed to wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees.
Is Doi Suthep worth visiting?
Absolutely! Doi Suthep is worth visiting during your trip to Chiang Mai. It is a beautiful historic ancient temple with incredible pieces of architecture and skilled craftsmanship.
How To Get To Doi Suthep from Chiang Mai
Located on the hilly side, Doi Suthep is about 11 kilometers away from the center of Chiang Mai. Although it is slightly far from the city, Doi Suthep can be easily reached from the city.
Here are the options for how to get to Doi Suthep from Chiang Mai:
Songthaew: The cheapest way to get to Doi Suthep is by taking a Songthaew. From Chang Pauk Gate, Songthaew leaves frequently to take you to the entrance with a nearly hour-long journey.
Tuk-Tuk: You can also hire a Tuk-tuk to take you to the temple. Expect to haggle for the price.
Renting a motorbike and driving yourself is also doable. But take note the hilly windy road to the temple required about an hour’s drive.
A better option is the e-hailing (car or minivan) if you are traveling with a group of people. It is also the easiest way and more comfortable.
Alternatively, you could visit Doi Suthep on a guided tour. Several tour options will take you to Doi Suthep and combine other locations in the area.
Once you arrive at Doi Suthep, there are two ways to get to the main temple ground.
You can choose to climb a monstrous staircase of 306 steps with the Naga Serpent (dragon’s body) to reach it. No worry as there is a beautiful view along the hike.
If this is difficult for you, there is an optional funicular for an extra 50 baht (30 baht for the ride and 20 baht for donation) to get you to the temple ground at top of the hill.
Doi Suthep Travel Tips: We recommend taking the funicular up and walking the 306 steps down the staircase when leaving.
Please remember to dress respectfully as it is restricted to enter the main temple ground.
Make sure your knees and elbows are covered or you can rent a sarung at the entrance. You will also be asked to remove your shoes while walking around inside the main temple. There are shoe racks to store them or you could put them in your backpack.
Golden Stupa and Chatras
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is artistically crafted and magnificent. It is truly stunning with towering pagodas, glittering temples, and Buddha statues bathed in gold.
The 24m tall stupa is gold-plated and shines brightly. It is the Holiest part of the temple with Chatras (umbrellas) surrounding it. It’s really beautiful on a blue sky day as the golden architecture really shines in the sunlight
Follow local and walk around the Golden Stupa for praying.
There is so much to see here. You can easily spend a couple of hours here admiring all the detailed and captivating religious artwork and architecture.
There are also many smaller structures surrounding the temple when you wandering around. All are decorated with paintings, historical murals, and statues that depict Buddhist stories and teachings.
Doi Suthep is crowded with worshippers and tourists. But the temple remains quiet, clean, and well-maintained. The atmosphere is peaceful and serene, with the sound of chanting monks adding to the tranquil ambiance.
Observation Deck
Lastly, make sure to tour the back of the temple before the end of your visit.
At the back of the temple, there is an observation deck where you could have a panoramic view of the city. The surrounding area is really beautiful with mountains and forests around it. The view of Chiang Mai is majestic!
Overall: A Visit to Doi Suthep
All in all, a visit to Doi Suthep is highly recommended. We walked around the stupa, sit in front of the giant Buddha statue, and pray for healing. It was indeed an experience and one of the most beautiful temples I’ve been to in Chiang Mai. Definitely worth a trip!
That’s it! We hope you enjoy this simple and easy Doi Suthep Travel Guide Blog. We have more Thailand travel stories to share for your holiday. Free feel to check it out.
If you’re visiting Hong Kong and wondering where you can go to get the best food in Hong Kong, then you’ve come to the right place. This Hong Kong Food Guide gives you a list of where and what to eat in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a food lover’s paradise and it has a wealth of restaurants to choose from. You could easily spend several days in the city, just exploring the local cuisine. From cheap and cheerful street stalls to high-end fine dining establishments, there is so much great food to be discovered in the city.
During our trips to Hong Kong, we wanted to find the best restaurants in Hong Kong so we pored over Hong Kong food blogs to know where to find the best local dishes. We enjoyed the food so much and sampled a lot of local cuisine, including dim sum, roast goose, tofu pudding, wonton noodles, and many more great foods. The city has more than that to offer for any foodie.
If you’re visiting Hong Kong and enjoy Hong Kong food as much as we do, then this Hong Kong Food Guide with the best restaurants for what to eat will be very useful to you. We’ve included all the must-eats and local authentic Cantonese food in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Food Guide
There are so many delicious foods to eat in Hong Kong. Here is the best place for the great food in Hong Kong that we tried and recommended for your food hunting in Hong Kong.
Congee / Rice Porride – Sang Kee Congee Shop, Mui Kee Congee Hong Kong
Hong Kong Street Food – spicy curry fish balls, deep-fried smelly tofu, marinated octopus, and more.
and more Hong Kong best food.
Dim Sum
No visit to Hong Kong is complete without eating Dim Sum at least once. This Chinese-style cuisine is one of Hong Kong’s national dishes and eating dim sum has become a unique heritage culture.
Traditionally, Dim Sum is served as a small plate from a rolling cart. Diner can choose what you want from the offering.
Savour quintessential dim sums such as cha siu bao (barbecue pork buns), Har gau (shrimp dumplings), Siu Mai, Xiaolongbao, cheong fan (rice noodle rolls), fish balls, Chicken feet, and many more.
Hong Kong is the best place for eating dim sum, so it’s no surprise that Hong Kong has many options for the best dim sum in Hong Kong. Here is some recommended place to eat Dim Sum in Hong Kong.
Lin Heung Kui
Best place for dim sum in Hong Kong – Lin Heung Kui
Lin Heung Tea House is the best place to taste the authentic feel of old Hong Kong-style Dim Sum. Sadly, the Lin Heung Tea House is closed down, but you can still taste its serving style in Lin Heung Kui – its sibling restaurant with the same serving style and menu. The two-floor eatery is packed with dim sum trollies and bamboo baskets filled with classic Cantonese dishes.
Do not miss out on the Spare Ribs, Sesame Paste Buns, and Soft Fish Maw in Lin Heung Kui!
Lin Heung Kui (蓮香居) Opening Hours: Daily from 6:00 until 20:00. Address: 2-3/F, 40-50 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.
Another popular option is Tim Ho Wan (添好運), a Michelin-awarded restaurant in Hong Kong. Every day there are many anxious people waiting in line just to get a bite of some of the city’s best dim sum. The restaurant specialises in traditional Hong Kong dumplings but you’ll never go wrong with what you order.
Claypot Rice
Claypot rice is a rice dish where the entire rice bowl is cooked in a clay pot, leaving you with a layer of crispy rice, topped with sizzling hot ingredients. The rice can be topped with an assortment of ingredients like chicken, pork, duck, Chinese sausage, vegetables, seafood, cured duck leg, eel, frog’s legs, and many more.
The clay pot rice looks blank when first served. But once you pour the dark sauce over and stir it, the rice becomes very flavorful and delicious. Claypot rice is also a popular food for midnight and supper.
Hing Kee Claypot Rice Restaurant
Popular place for claypot rice in Hong Kong – Hing Kee Claypot Rice Restaurant
Hing Kee Claypot Rice Restaurant (興記煲仔飯) is another popular restaurant famous for its Hong Kong-style clay pot bowl. Located on Temple Street, it is very easy to find as the restaurant is occupied by a few shops along the street. Still, it is packed and many people queue to taste their claypot rice.
The claypot rice from Hing Kee is flavorful. It is soft on top, and extra crispy at the bottom without getting burnt too much.
Hing Kee Claypot Rice Restaurant (興記煲仔飯) Opening Hours: Daily from 12:30 to 00:30 (next day) Address: 15, Temple St, Yau Ma Tei.
Kwan Kee Claypot Rice
Kwan Kee Claypot Rice is a famous restaurant famed for its signature charcoal-cooked claypot rice and local Hong Kong-style dishes. The restaurant is rewarded with Bib Gourmand and is extremely popular among locals and tourists. There are two branches situated near each other in Sai Ying Pun.
Kwan Kee Claypot Rice (坤記煲仔小菜) Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 14:30, 18:00 to 22:30. Sunday is opened from 18:00 to 22:30. Address: 263 Queen’s Road West (Sai Ying Pun MTR Station, Exit A1)
Roast Goose (Siu Ngo)
Another popular dish in Hong Kong is roast goose. Like char siu, we enjoyed roast goose so much in Hong Kong. The goose meat is more oily than chicken and duch meat, but more flavarful.
Yat Lok Roast Goose
If you are looking for the best place to eat roast goose in Hong Kong, we recommend Yat Lok (一樂燒鵝). This restaurant has long been known for serving some of the city’s best and rewarded with a one-star Michelin.
Their roasted goose is amazingly delicious. The meat is tender and flavourfully juicy, while the skin is crispy. The best roast goose in Hong Kong!
Be aware that this is a local restaurant and is always busy. You may wait in line, and will probably share your cramped table with others. Come here for the food, not the ambiance or the service.
Yat Lok (一樂燒鵝) Opening Hours: 10AM – 9PM (Mon – Sat); 10AM – 5.30PM (Sun) Address: G/F, 34-38 Stanley St, Central, Hong Kong (4 mins walk from Central MRT Station, exit D2)
Kam’s Roast Goose
Another best place for roast goose in Hong Kong is Kam’s Roast Goose. Same as Yat Lok, Kam’s Roast Goose also had one Michelin Star for continuously 8 years and still counting.
Kam’s Roast Goose is known for serving the best roast goose in Hong Kong. The shop is extremely popular among eaters and always crowded. No reservation can be made, and you can choose to dine or take away.
Due to the long waiting line, we decided to take away the roast goose. Crispy fragrant skin and good textured meat of the Roast Goose. It is very juicy and very flavorful. This roast goose is by far the best I have ever tasted in Hong Kong. Highly recommended.
Kam’s Roast Goose (甘牌燒鵝) Opening Hours: Daily from 11:30 until 21:30. Address: 226, Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-style Milk Tea (Nai Cha)
Hong Kong–style milk tea is a tea drink made from Ceylon black tea and milk. This popular drink is also known as “silk stocking tea” and has a smooth, creamy texture.
Nai Cha from Hong Kong is more toward the milky side and sweet. Drink it hot or cold at any time of the day!
Lan Fong Yuen
Best Nai Cha in Hong Kong – Lan Fong Yuen
Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) is a popular cha chaan teng (local tea shop) in Hong Kong. The shop is one of the oldest existing Hong Kong milk tea shops in Hong Kong. This quaint little Cantonese coffee shop was opened in 1952 and it remained popular to both locals and visitors for decades.
Lan Fong Yuen is said to be the origin of a classic local beverage – yuan yang (a combination of coffee and milk tea). Worth stopping by for its milk tea if you are in the area.
Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) Opening Hours: Daily from 7:30 to 18:00. Closed on Sunday. Address: 2 Gage St, Central, Hong Kong.
Wonton Noodles
In Hong Kong, wonton noodles are arguably the most iconic noodle dish and a must-try on everyone’s Hong Kong food guide.
Mak Man Kee Noodles Shop
Hong Kong Food Guide – Mak Man Kee Noodles Shop
Mak Man Kee Noodles Shop (麥文記麵家) is another Michelin Bib Gourmand Noodle shop in Jordan, Hong Kong. This 60-year-old establishment is famous for its Cantonese wonton soup noodles.
The noodles were firm, springy, and great texture. The wonton was scrumptious – large in size and filled with fresh, succulent, and bouncy prawns.
We also recommended to try their pork trotters and beef brisket noodles from Mak Man Kee, which are also very popular among eaters.
The shop is quite small and a bit busy. It is located a few doors from the Australian Dairy Company), another great restaurant to eat listed in the Hong Kong Food Guide.
Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop (麥文記麵家) Opening Hours:Daily from 12:00 to 00:30 (next day mid-night) Address: 51 Parkes Street, Hong Kong (2 minute walk from Jordan MTR station).
Another recommended place to eat wontan noodles is Tsim Chai Kee (沾仔記) in Wellington Street, Central Hong Kong. This establishment is famous for its bouncy noodles and flavorsome broth. Their wontons are generously filled with pork and shrimp. Something to die for.
Australia Dairy Company
Australia Food Dairy has been around in Hong Kong for decades. Some comment this establishment is overhyped. But still, Australia Food Dairy remains one of the well-loved and must-try food places in Hong Kong for a great reason. The food is fantastic and the price is very reasonable!
Australia Food Dairy specializes in Macaroni Soup, Fried or Scrambled Eggs, and Steamed Egg Pudding so be sure not to miss those out.
From the menu offering, we had the set consisting of buttered toast, scrambled eggs, macaroni soup with ham, and coffee or tea. The scrambled eggs were a miracle and they were fluffy and hot. It warmed my heart to taste the macaroni in soup with shredded ham. All the food tasted as good as you’d expect.
The egg-milk pudding is also impeccable and very milky.
Although the turnover is quick and the food place is cramped and crowded. We enjoyed our food in a nostalgic environment. Fully a Hong Kong local food trip experience.
Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司) Opening Hours: Daily from 7:30 to 23:00. Closed on Thursdays. Address: 47 Parkes Street, Jordan, Hong Kong (2 minute walk from Jordan MTR station).
Beef Brisket Noodles
Another notable noodle dish that must eat in Hong Kong is beef brisket noodles.
Kau Kee Restaurant
Kau Kee (九記牛腩) specializes in beef brisket and beef tendon. I actually did not enjoy beef brisket before I tried the beef brisket noodles is Kau Kee. I have fallen in love with beef brisket noodles since then and even tried to explore beef brisket noodles after back to my home country. But still, Kau Kee beef brisket noodles are still the best so far.
Their two most ordered items are beef brisket noodles served in clear broth and curry beef tendon noodles. The beef is extremely tender and just melts in your mouth. Apart from succulent beef brisket, the broth is amazingly flavorful.
Paired with E-fu noodles, the bowl of beef brisket noodles from Kau Kee tastes so good!
Kau Kee is a famous local restaurant for beef brisket so expect long queues. There is usually a long line once the restaurant opens.
Kau Kee Restaurant (九記牛腩) Opening Hours: Daily from 12:30 to 22:30. Closed on Sunday. Address: 21 Gough Street, Hong Kong.
Congee / Rice Porride
The congee or rice porridge is a well-loved food for Hongkongers or even Asia. The dish can be served plain, or with ingredients like fish, offals, and meats. It is also commonly served alongside side dishes like stir-fried noodles, century eggs, and Chinese doughnut sticks (yau za gwai). My favorite dish for breakfast whenever I am in Hong Kong.
There are many congee shops in Hong Kong that are worth recommending. Sang Kee Congee Shop (生記粥品專家) has been popular serving tasty porridge for more than 40 years. Their congee is freshly prepared daily and famed for its famed for its fish belly congee. The small eateries are located in Sheung Wan.
Another worth recommendation is Mui Kee Congee Hong Kong (妹記生滾粥品). Their congee is made with high-quality ingredients, with long hours of cooking. Their signature congee is congee with sliced beef, congee with pork meatballs, and congee with shredded salted pork and preserved egg. Mui Kee Congee Hong Kong is located at Mong Kok.
Hong Kong Street Food
If you want an authentic and immersive street food dining experience in Hong Kong, then you may want to check out street food stalls in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. There are lines of stalls serving Hong Kong unique and authentic street food.
Treat yourself to all the tasty street snacks after exploring Hong Kong!
Popular Hong Kong street food includes deep-fried tofu, spicy curry fish balls, marinated octopus, meat skewers, and different types of offal as well like beef tongue, pig intestine, gizzard, and duck stomach.
A cup of spicy curry fish balls, a Hong Kong food icon and marinated octopus.
All the food was so delicious and we couldn’t pick a favorite. I would recommend eating as much as you can!
The beautiful deep-fried sticky tofu is another must-eat food in Hong Kong. It is so delicious – lightly crispy on the outside and soft and silky in the middle.
Overall: Best Food To Eat in Hong Kong
All in all, we hope this Hong Kong Food Guide post will inspire you and lead you to some great food in the city. There are still plenty more classic local food and must-eat places that I would like to share here. We’re excited to go back and experience more of Hong Kong food!
Traveling to Hong Kong and looking for some inspiration? Here is our Hong Kong travel stories:
