Hong Kong Food Guide - Where and What To Eat

Hong Kong Food Guide: Where and What To Eat

posted in: Hong Kong, Macau | 0

Last updated on November 24th, 2024

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.

Hong Kong Food Guide (Where and What To Eat):

  • Dim Sum – Lin Heung Kui, Tim Ho Wan
  • Claypot Rice – Kwan Kee Claypot Rice, Hing Kee Claypot Rice Restaurant
  • Roast Goose (Siu Ngo) – Yat Lok, Kam’s Roast Goose
  • Hong Kong-style Milk Tea (Nai Cha) – Lan Fong Yuen
  • Wontan Noodles – Mak Man Kee Noodles Shop, Tsim Chai Kee
  • HK Style Breakfast – Australia Dairy Company
  • Beef Brisket Noodles – Kau Kee Restaurant
  • Cart Noodles – Wing Kee Noodles 
  • 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

Hong Kong Food Guide - HK 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.

HK Dim Sum - Har gau (shrimp dumplings)

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

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

What To Eat in Hong Kong - 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

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.

Hong Kong Food Guide - 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)

Hong Kong Must Eat Food - 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
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!

Hong Kong Food Guide - Best Roast Goose from Yat Lok

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

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.

Best roast goose from Kam’s Roast Goose

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

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.

Nai Cha from Lan Fong Yuen

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

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.

Wonton Noodles Soup from Mak Man Kee Noodles Shop

The noodles were firm, springy, and great texture. The wonton was scrumptious – large in size and filled with fresh, succulent, and bouncy prawns.

Beef Brisket Noodles from Mak Man Kee

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

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.

HK Style Breakfast from Australia Dairy Company

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

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.

Hong Kong Best Beef Brisket Noodles - Kau Kee

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!

Curry Beef Tendon Noodles from Kau Kee

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

What to eat in Hong Kong - Congee

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

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.

What To Eat in Hong Kong - Street Food in Mong Kok

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!

Hong Kong Must Eat Food - Deep-Fried Smelly Tofu

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: