How To Eat In Hong Kong

Food is cheap, plentiful and wonderfully varied – no wonder most locals eat out at least four times a week. Want to find the best noodles, hairy crab, bao buns and more? Read on…

- Fiona Beckett

One of the world’s great gastronomic cities, Hong Kong draws chefs and gourmets from across the globe. From top French restaurants to Cantonese fine dining, there’s nothing you can’t eat here – including, most notoriously, snake, and shark’s fin soup. People tend to dine out as working hours are long, locals’ flats are small, and restaurants are cheap. ‘We eat out a lot, especially compared to the UK,’ says local blogger Chris Dwye. ‘Prices are reasonable, especially at many Chinese and Asian restaurants – certainly cheaper than trying to cook the same thing at home. There’s a real culture of dining out, while the number of new restaurant openings can be mind-boggling.’

3 Must-Eats

Food and cocktail pairing

Cocktails are hugely popular with Hong Kongers who love to experiment at events like the annual Wine & Dine festival , which last year featured such pairings as miso marinated pork and a karasi sour cocktail. Restaurant VEA offers a menu paired with inventive cocktails such as a consommé of shiitake mushrooms laced with whisky.

Vegetables

‘Hong Kong is seeing a boom in veggie food,’ says Australian chef Shane Osborne and according to chef Randy See of Le Port Parfumé, expensive caviar and white truffles no longer excite wealthy locals, who are more interested in the provenance of simple vegetables. And the quirkiest vegetable trend of all? Cindy Kuan of the Chinese Culinary Institute says it’s purple sweet potatoes, which appear in a huge range of snacks, including toast, cakes, sandwiches and ice cream. Our suggestion for veggie eats? Sustainable eating hub Sohofama .

Snacks