Where to eat and drink in Hong Kong

I love Hong Kong! I love the endless supply of delicious food, great drinking spots, and practicing my rusty Cantonese. During my recent trip to Hong Kong, I made an effort to try as many recommended foodie spots as possible. This list sets out my favourite places.

Dimdimsum Dimsum Specialty Store

Dimdimsum Dim Sum Specialty Store is a neighbourhood dimsum store. It was really crowded with people from the area and the dimsum was honestly good! I was especially fond of the cheong fun wrapped around deep-fried crispy prawns and the steamed pork ribs. The steamed pork ribs were so juicy and tender! The pig-shaped custard buns were cute but they weren't exceptionally delicious. The shrimp dumplings were super good too with the thin skin and fresh crunchy prawns.

Jordan: 21-23 Man Ying Street, Jordan, Kowloon (Tel: 27717766)
Mong Kok: 112 Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon (Tel: 23092300)
Wan Chai: 7 Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai, HK (Tel: 28917677)
Shatin: Shop 108, 1/F, Citylink Plaza, Shatin (Tel: 22858149)

Australian Dairy Co

Be prepared to queue, eat quickly, and get out of Australian Dairy Co the minute your are done. But the awesome scrambled eggs more than make up for the long wait, the non-existent service, and having to squeeze into booth seats with fellow customers. Frankly, the scrambled eggs are to die for!

47 Parkes Street

Tsim Chai Kee Noodles

Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is a Michelin-starred cafe serving wanton noodles. Oh my, the wanton noodles was super awesome! The noodles were so springy and the huge wantons were filled with large crunchy prawns. This is definitely one of the best wanton noodles in Hong Kong. 

98 Wellington Street 

City Hall Maxim's Palace

City Hall Maxim Palace is a good place to have dimsum in a slightly more posh environment, and ordering your dimsum dishes from traditional pushcarts. Be prepared to shell out more money for this exquisite experience though.

3 Floor City Hall, 5-7 Edinburgh Place, Central

Lin Heung Tea House

Lin Heung Tea House embodied the traditional Cantonese tea house absolutely. We ordered Braised Pork Belly, Spinach with 3 eggs, and Pipa Tofu. All the items were homely and happy food! Come for their cooked dishes in the evening or their traditional dimsum in the day. 

160 - 164 Wellington Street

Ozone Bar

If you have time for only one drinking spot, Ozone Bar is the one watering hole you should not miss. I swear it is way better than Lan Kwai Fong. Situated on 118 floor of the Ritz Carlton, Ozone Bar offers a breath-taking view of the city below. The outdoor area was completely al fresco so the chilly night wind enveloped the area in its cold arms. The area was circled with high glass windows with a row of chairs facing the glass windows so you could sip your drinks while enjoying the marvelous view below.

International Commerce Centre (ICC)/the Ritz-carlton Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W, Hong Kong

If you are interested in my full foodie itinerary, feel free to drop me an email at toseetofeeltoeat@gmail.com and I will forward my itinerary to you!

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5!

Where to eat in Hong Kong Day 5: Mak's Noodles, Mak Man Kee Noodles, Chung Kee Dessert, Duddell Street Starbucks

Last day in Hong Kong. We woke up late as usual, packed hurriedly, and checked out of the apartment at noon. We rolled our luggage to the nearby Kowloon MTR Station where the in-town check-in was located. In-town check-in was the most convenient facility ever provided! After checking in, we decided to complete our foodie list and decided to start with those near us at Jordan.

Mak's Noodles and Mak Man Kee Noodles were both wanton noodles stores located along Parkes Street, near the Jordan MTR Station. We couldn't decided which one we wanted to try so we decided to share one bowl at each shop. Mak's Noodles were good; delicious juicy wantons and springy noodles. However, the portion was generally quite small and the wantons were especially small. It left me feeling unsatisfied.

G/F, 55 Parkes Street, Jordan

佐敦白加士街55號地下

Mak Man Kee Noodles had bigger wantons, a more fragrant soup base, and equally springy noodles. I found that Mak Man Kee Noodles served better wanton noodles than Mak's Noodles in general. However, after we finished the bowl of wanton noodles, we began to realise why it was so tasty. There was a lot of MSG in the noodles!

In essence, after trying three famous wanton noodles in Hong Kong, I found that Tsim Chai Kee Noodles was definitely the best.

G/F, 51 Parkes Street, Jordan

佐敦白加士街51號地下

After our wanton noodles, we walked down Parkes Street to Chung Kee Dessert for some desserts. Parkes Street was really lined with all sorts of yummy food! I ordered the double-boiled soup with papaya,white fungus, and almonds. It was super yummy and nourishing!

Shop 23, Parkes Street, Jordan

We roamed around aimlessly after filling our tummies. We went over to Tsim Sha Tsui and took the Star Ferry to Central. After walking around a bit, we started to feel a bit thirsty so we went to the Duddell Street Starbucks at Central. This Starbucks was really unique, and decorated like a traditional Chinese tea house (Bing Sutt). I loved the interior design here! Apparently, many couples liked this place too since we spotted three couples having their pre-wedding photoshoot at Duddell Street.

If you would like to have the usual Starbucks drinks at a special location, look no further than Duddell Street Starbucks for something different!

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4!

Where to eat in Hong Kong: Day 4 City Hall Maxim's Palace, Sunset at Cheung Chau, Lin Heung Tea house, Ozone Bar

Spent the previous night watching an episode of Running Man over a bottle of Tsingtao and jagabee chips so we woke up late on the 4th day as well. Was really hungry when we crawled awake but we refused to make the same mistake of eating way too much so we hurried over to City Hall Maxim's Palace. We took the MTR to Central and had some trouble trying to locate Edinburgh Place. Eventually we found out that it was in some sort of concert hall facing the sea, directly opposite the Apple Store in IFC Mall.

The queue was incredibly long and it took us more than 30 minutes to get our table. There was close to nothing in the building and nowhere to sit either, so everybody just stood around outside the door, waiting for their number to be announced.

Dimsum was pushed around the restaurant in traditional push carts! I remember when I was little, Singapore used to have many such restaurants too, and everybody would simply stick their hands out for whichever dimsum they wanted. That system had since been replaced by the usual order-with-the-waiter system so I haven't had dimsum in pushcarts in awhile! I was so excited!

We order the shrimp dumpling, char siew puff, century egg porridge, pork ribs and siew mai. Everything was wonderful! I loved the shrimp dumpling and siew mai especially. The prawns were so juicy and fresh! The century egg porridge was pretty good too. The char siew puff was average. However, the pork ribs were very awful! They were stale, not fresh, not tender, not juicy, and incredibly bad! I could not even chew the meat off the bone properly. The pork ribs were definitely not worth the money. But other than that, City Hall Maxim's Palace was worth a visit.

3/F, City Hall, 5-7 Edinburgh Place,Central 

After our fulfilling brunch, we took a ferry from the pier at Central to Cheung Chau. It was a really hot and sunny afternoon when we reached so we decided to stop by a small roadside stall for a cheap beer. The beachfront near the pier was lined with shops and packed with shoppers. It was awesome to sit back, sip a beer, and watch the crowd go by.

When the sun was no longer as merciless, we ventured out of the roadside stall in search of the North Lookout Point. After asking a local, we managed to find it after walking along the beach all the way till the end where we found a small playground, turned right, and climbed up a little hill. The view from the North Lookout Point was splendid. We could see a vast expanse of sea, the whole Cheung Chau, and a glorious sunset. You have to make your way to the North Lookout Point for the view if you are in Cheung Chau.

Cheung Chau is famous for its seafood and many stalls sprung up along the coast after night fell. However, we were going to meet an old friend back on the main island so we caught the ferry back to Central. We wanted to have Yong Kee Roast Goose at Central but it was a whooping 45 minute wait and it was almost 8pm by then! We were really hungry so we decided to go to Lin Heung Tea House instead.

Lin Heung Tea House embodied the traditional Cantonese tea house absolutely. The interior was extremely Chinese, with the old wooden furniture, tiled floors, and elderly waiters dressed in their white uniforms. The selection was wide and we had no idea what to order so we asked for recommendations. The elderly waiter suggested Braised Pork Belly, Spinach with 3 eggs, and Pipa Tofu. All the items were homely and happy food! The Braised Pork Belly really melted in my mouth and the Pipa Tofu was so nicely fried on the outside, yet smooth and tender within. The Spinach with 3 eggs was average.

After dinner, we walked around searching for some place to sit down for some dessert but we couldn't find a suitable place in Central. Our old friend left to meet his girlfriend at Causeway Bay and we decided to check out Ozone Bar. Ozone Bar was situated on the 118th floor of Ritz Carlton, a short walk from our apartment. Seriously, our apartment had the best location! We went back to change out of our shorts, throw on something less likely to result in us being bounced out of the place, and walked over to Ritz Carlton. We took the lift up to the 118th floor and were told that tables inside required minimum spending while the outdoor seats were free for all. We went outside, and oh my god! I have absolutely no idea why anybody would want to sit indoors! The outdoor area was completely al fresco so the chilly night wind enveloped the area in its cold arms. The area was circled with high glass windows with a row of chairs facing the glass windows so you could sip your drinks while enjoying the marvelous view below. When I peered out the glass windows, I could see the Central Pier and Tsim Sha Tsui Pier. It was really breath-taking to have drinks at the top of the world. 

International Commerce Centre (ICC)/the Ritz-carlton Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W, Hong Kong

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 5!

Where to eat in Hong Kong: Day 3 Tim Ho Wan at IFC, Lan Fong Yuen, Tai Cheong Egg tart. Tsim Chai Kee Noodles, Heng Kee Claypot Rice

Slept late the previous night after Lan Kwai Fong and only managed to crawl awake close to 10am on Day 3. We wanted to check out Tim Ho Wan's Mongkok outlet on Day 1, but realised that it was no longer there when we reached Mongkok. To satisfy our Tim Ho Wan craving, we decided to visit the Tim Ho Wan IFC outlet on Day 3. The IFC Outlet is linked to the Hong Kong MTR station and is easily accessible.

We woke up late and reached Tim Ho Wan even later so we totally deserved being stuck in a large crowd. The process of getting a table was slightly different from what I remembered about the Mongkok outlet. At the IFC outlet, we simply pushed our way through the crowd, approached the lady behind the counter, requested a table for two, and were handed the order chit with our queue number scribbled in the corner.

We were told that the waiting time was approximately 30 minutes. We were incredibly famished and really needed some food in our stomach whilst waiting. There was not much in the area near Tim Ho Wan so we succumbed to Itacho sushi which was located beside Tim Ho Wan. We ordered about 4 or 5 pieces of sushi each and indulged in yummy scallop sashimi, perfectly seared salmon, and delicious soy sauce salmon belly.

We left Itacho Sushi after 30 minutes when our table at Tim Ho Wan was ready. When our table was ready, we handed our order chit to the lady before settling down in a corner table. We were very hungry when we made our dimsum orders and happily forgot to review our selection after eating some considerable amount of sushi at Itacho. The result of this oversight was ordering way way way too much.

The barbecued char siew buns were definitely the very best! This is the one thing which brings me back to Tim Ho Wan every single time. The crust was thin and soft, the char siew within was chunky and well-barbecued, and everything together was just amazing.

We couldn't finish the osmanthus jelly and decided to take them away instead. However, the smart me packed the osmanthus jelly in my bag throughout the whole afternoon without realising that osmanthus jelly had to be kept chilled! So when I took the osmanthus jelly out of my bag in the middle of the day, I found a puddle of liquefied osmanthus tea in the container instead.

The pan-fried carrot cake was pretty good. Nicely fried with a generous portion of lap cheong (chinese sausage) and radish inside.

I did not like the beancurd skin roll at Tim Ho Wan. I've definitely tried better beancurd skin rolls in Singapore with more delicious ingredients. The beancurd skin rolls at Tim Ho Wan did not have the usual mix of fresh crunchy prawns and nicely minced meat. They were filled with bland fish paste and soaked in some gravy.

The cheong fun was not bad! Soft, silky and very thin. I liked the prawn dumplings and siew mai too. Both were filled with fresh juicy prawns. The siew mai was exceptionally good because the minced meat mixed with prawns and mushrooms were delicious!

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

中環香港站12A鋪(ifc地庫一層)

We went to the Midlevel escalator after that and explored Central. It's interesting to take such a long flight of escalator and check out the rows of cafes, bars, and shops along the street. We spent the whole afternoon walking around, or rather trudging along on our tired legs (which were aching badly after the hike up Lantau Peak because we forgot to stretch), eventually settling down for a drink at Peak Cafe and Bar. We ordered Sangria as that was the happy hour drink but the Sangria was pretty disappointing. The fruits were not fresh and tasted really stale. The bar was decorated in a quaint Victorian style, dark and cool, and it was very comfortable to sit in the bar and chill in the late afternoon.

Visited the famous Lan Fong Yuen which was rumored to be the first cha chan teng to introduce the concept of stocking milk tea. We ordered a cup to try and it was really thick, fragrant and yummy! Would recommend those in Central to come by and grab a cup.

2 Gage Street, Central

We continued to explore Central and found the Tai Cheong Bakery. Tai Cheong Bakery is famous for its egg tarts and we decided to buy one each to try. The egg tart was indeed good! The egg tart was served hot, with a thin soft crust, and a thick dollop of egg in the center. We stood along the street, with a egg tart in hand and a cup of hot Lan Fong Yuen milk tea, stuffing our faces happily with food.

G/F, 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central

We were really full by then but as we walked down the slopes back to Central MTR we stumbled upon Tsim Chai Kee Noodles. Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is a Michelin-starred cafe serving wanton noodles and we heard that their wantons were huge! We loitered in front of the shop for a really long time, trying to decide whether we can stomach another food item in our burgeoning bellies. We eventually decided that we could and ordered a bowl of wanton noodles to share. Oh my, it was super awesome! The noodles were so springy and the huge wantons were filled with large crunchy prawns. I tried a few more famous wanton noodles in the next few days, but Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is definitely the best.

98 Wellington Street 

We wandered around a little more, and proceeded to watch the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui. It was close to 9pm by then and we decided that we could have a little supper so we took the MTR to Yau Ma Tei for Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice. It is touted as the best clay pot rice in Hong Kong according to reviews so we came over excitedly. They have many stores along Yau Ma Tei so we found seats quickly despite the crowd. We ordered the chicken clay pot rice. Clay pot rice in Hong Kong uses light soya sauce as a condiment instead of the dark soya sauce used in Singapore. Maybe it is for that reason that I prefer the Singapore version. In any case, I find Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice nice but not spectacular.

G/F, 14, 19, 21 Temple Street & 48 Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei 

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 4 and Day 5!