Hong Kong: Food
I promised a Hong Kong food write-up so here it is! For this post, I'm going to adopt a rating system. Heads-up, I think I'm a pretty harsh critique so a 3 star doesn't mean it's bad. It probably did meet expectation but didn't give me the "pop".
There will be 3 categories, Real food, HK cafes & snacks.
Rating system
★☆☆☆☆ not worthy at all
★★☆☆☆ just maybe you can think about it
★★★☆☆ it's okay
★★★★☆ now we're talking
★★★★★ it's a MUST to make this part of your trip
(A) Real food
Tai Hing Roast Restaurant 太興
No. 75, G/F, NMP, 14 Science Museum Road,, Tsim Sha Tsui
尖沙咀東部科學館道14號新文華中心地下75號舖
★★★★★
The roast here is godlike!
Rosat goose was really juice and it's so fragrant. I don't know how I'm going back to roast duck after this. Char siew aka chinese bbq pork was so well marinated we had to order a second serving. The tricky thing about char siew in my opinion is that usually the really tasty ones are those marinated well with honey, so the skin is usually burnt (because of the honey) but the ones here had that honey coated skin that was slightly crisp and NOT burnt. And the charsiew had a good combination of lean and fatty meat. Last but not least, roast pork. That crackling skin, need I say more.
Another plus point, the place is quite decently priced. I'm genuinely jealous simply thinking how this is just another lunch spot for them Hong Kongers.
G/F, 21 Gough Street
歌賦街21號地下香港島, 中環
★★★★★
Expect to queue for about 30 minutes but trust me, the wait is worth it! I was quite worried initially because beef sirloin if not prepared well, can have a stench to it. This one albeit still have that beefy scent, it was the good kind of beefy scent. Meat was really tender and the soup complimented just nice. Spring onion gave a refreshing crunch.
There's some other variations such as curry and oyster sauce. Go ahead and try the curry but oyster sauce can take a pass. My favorite was still the basic, clear beef noodles soup.
Be ready to share seats. The place isn't that big to begin with and really, sharing seats I've learnt, is a very common thing in Hong Kong.
Lin Heung Tea House莲香楼
Wellington Street, Central
中環威靈頓街160-164號 160-164
★★★★☆
This place is special for its prominent taste of Hong Kong and I'm not referring to the food. It's how you get your food, the people you sit with, the bird cage hanging from the ceiling and everything else. It's not like I'm from Hong Kong but as a tourist, this place was full on Hong Kong.
I've mentioned in my previous post but I will reiterate it here. This place is a war zone. You want your food, you better god damn sure you fight for it. Once you see the waiter/waitress pushing out that cart, start moving. Be borderline rude by shoving your ticket (where they record the steam trays you took) in their face and with clear voice, tell them what you want.
Or alternately. Be borderline rude with the waiter/waitress getting you your tea and order some sort of fried noodles.
The Seafood Kitchen 鱼小馆
G/F, 51 Chung Wui Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
★★★★☆
This place is not insta or blog famous. Heck I can't even find them in Openrice nor do they have a website. But the food here is really quite yummy. Some of them at least.
My favorite dish was actually this steamed rice with crabs/prawns wrapped in what I believe is lotus leaf.
Po Lin Monastery 寶蓮禪寺
Ngong Ping, Hong Kong
大嶼山
★★★☆☆
Food is not "wow". You clearly can get better vegetarian dish elsewhere but it's winning point is its strategic location just right opposite the Tian Tan Buddha! So after walking up all the stairs, it's just perfect timing for lunch.
Yung Kee Restaurant 鏞記酒家
32-40 Wellington Street, Central
中環威靈頓街32-40號
★☆☆☆☆
Food is decent but for the price you'll be paying, not worth it at all. Period.
(B) Hong Kong Cafes
Lan Fong Yuen 蘭芳園
2 Gage Street, Central
結志街2號, 中環
★★★★★
They have another branch located at Tsim Sha Tsui but this would be a much preferred stop just because it's where it all started. Fret not. Albeit it's supposed to be "old", it's air-conditioned. Hooray! Like all other shops in Hong Kong, sharing seats are common #culture.
Lan Fong Yuen is famous for their milk tea so make sure you order that! We also got some of the typical Hong Kong breakfast dishes and I must say, their French Toast and Polo Bun (not featured in the photo below) is pretty good.
Tsui Wah Retaurant 翠華餐廳
Almost everywhere
★★★☆☆
Food is so-so but it's convenient because it's located almost everywhere, or at least it gave me such impression. Choices are plenty too.
Kam Wah Cafe 金華冰廳
G/F, 47 Bute Street, Prince Edward
太子弼街47號地下
★★☆☆☆
Tried the polo bun here. It's either by this time I'm sick of it already or it really wasn't that great.
(C) Snacks
Lee Keung Kee North Point Eggette 利強記北角雞蛋仔
492 King's Road, North Point
北角英皇道492號
★★★☆☆
Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar
Shop 509, 5/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣軒尼詩道500號希慎廣場5樓509號舖
★★★☆☆
Froyo is really dependent on personal preference. Some people like it sour (definitely not me!), some people like it when it's indifferent from ice-cream and some people like it when it has really odd flavors.
Well the one here is inclining towards the sour side especially those blueberries! But otherwise, it's an ideal treat to beat the summer heat.
King of Coconut 椰汁大王
Dundas Square, 43H Dundas Street
登打士街43H登打士廣場地下
★☆☆☆☆
As I was doing my research, I was informed that this coconut shake was meant to be "refreshing". Boy oh boy how wrong can all this reviews be. The only part it was refreshing was probably because it's a chilled drink and summer in Hong Kong can be extremely humid and unbearable. I suspect the coconut they used wasn't even that fresh in the first place. It had this "unauthentic" taste, like they've used some artificial coconut flavoring just to make it more "fragrant".
Unknown curry fishballs stall 加哩魚蛋
Literally next to King of Coconut .
★★★☆☆
I actually quite enjoy the texture the fishballs offer and the spicy level was just nice to give it a good kick. Featured in above photo.
Real food
Hong Kong Cafe
Snacks
Things to be wary of:
To read about how I've squeezed all this in my 4D3N Hong Kong trip, please click here.
