Hong Kong Eats – my verdict on these fan favorite restaurants

Hi all! Recently came back from a Hong Kong trip, so this blog is really to help document my thoughts on the food we got to eat while there. Hopefully this helps you as you start plotting out your Hong Kong foodie journey!

 

Tsim Sha Tsui Area

Cheung Hing Kee 祥興記上海生煎包

• Address: 48 Lock Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 10AM to 9PM

Delicious Pan Fried Buns – the soup was sooo good. Love the skin also (they have this extra textured crunch at the bottom, which some people like and some people might not), and the meat was flavorful and filling.
I know my writeup is so normal, but this really was good and I have no other way to describe it. The best thing is, there’s barely a queue! Perfecttt!

 

Bakehouse

• Address: 44 Hankow Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 8AM to 9PM
• Pro tip: Line up when a batch of egg tarts has just finished baking – this ensures the queue will move quite quickly!

Really interesting egg tart concept – using a sourdough base. The tarts themselves aren’t that flaky which is fine by me. I also like how the egg filling itself is quite generous. Overall, something I’d definitely keep coming back for

 

Hoixe Cake Shop

• Address: Tsim Sha Tsui East (although there are multiple branches, so you can check which is nearest to you!)
• Operating hours: 8AM to 8PM

I didn’t personally get to try this, but according to my friend who seemed to be on an egg tart tasting spree, this was the BEST egg tart he had (out of the 5 he tasted). So, I’ll make sure to come back here next time and check whether or not his verdict is true!

 

Urban Coffee Roaster

• Address: 7 Bristol Ave, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 8AM to 10PM

Again, not something I’ve personally tried. But my friend went back here 3x in a 4-day Hong Kong trip, and raved about their 85% iced chocolate and matcha latte. So, will come back to try this for sure!

 

Hutong 胡同

• Address: H Zentre, 18/F, 15 Middle Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 12PM to 12AM
• Note: Make sure to have a reservation as you might not have any luck walking in!

Beautiful harbor view – truly only possible in Hong Kong ❤️

Tasting menu:
✨ Black truffle scented abalone: DELICIOUS. The abalone was so fresh and the black truffle flavor so good
✨ Seared Foie Gras & caviar with Shanghainese coddled egg: YUMMYYY! Love the soy egg, topped with the super rich Foie Gras
✨ Spicy and Sour Xiao Long Bao: they brought this out too early… By the time I ate it, it was already rather lukewarm so I don’t think I tasted this in its best form
✨ Purple cabbage and lotus roots dumpling: hmm this was ayt. I liked the crunch
✨ Fried king prawns with ginger, garlic and chili soy: This was alright. Good sauce but i thought it overpowered the delectable and fresh prawn meat
✨ Steamed cod with Sichuan green peppercorn: the cod was silky smooth and the sauce was 🔥. But I found the peppercorn rather distracting and would have preferred this dish without
✨ Wok Fried Baby Kale: yum! Very nice and crunchy
✨ Chicken fried rice with fennel seeds and egg: kinda tasted like a milder biryani to me. Not bad not bad
✨ Guava coconut pudding with homemade longjing Panna cotta: kinda weird…

 

My friend says their ala carte menu is better though. He loves their roast goose and chicken!

 

Tipsy Tap

• Address: Tsim Sha Tsui, Austin Ave, 5號G/F
• Operating hours: 4PM to 12AM

Cute! Nice cozy bar, that specializes in beer. They have a huge variety of options and was located pretty near our hotel. A good chill find, and is great for groups of people who might have varying tastes in beer, because their wide selection can ensure that they’ve got something for each one of you.
Note: beer rather pricey ~starts at HKD 64. Phew. HK is expensive.

 

Butler – Japanese Whiskey Bar

• Address: 30 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 5PM to 12AM

Super nice whiskey bar!! It’s located in Mody House, where you can actually conduct a bar crawl by elevator because every single floor is a different bar. Cool right?
The whiskey person was super helpful too and explained the different whiskey types we can consider: smokey or not smokey (honey flavor or sherry cask). We got to do a whiskey tasting and agreed that we much prefer the not smokey whiskeys hehe.
Also learned that when you place a drop of soft water (no calcium and magnesium) on the whiskey, then the alcohol flavor magically semi-disappears thereby allowing us to better appreciate the notes and flavor of our drink.

 

Other restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui area

• Assembly: traditional drinks w/ a twist
• Tsim Chai Kee: wanton noodle soup
• Jenny Bakery Cookies

 

Tsim Sha Tsui East Area

Mammy Pancake 媽咪雞蛋仔

• Address: Tsim Sha Tsui East, Science Museum Rd, 14號, 16 Kimberley Street, 新文華中心
• Operating hours: 11AM to 9PM
• Note: There are actually multiple Mammy Pancake branches, but placing this one here, because this stretch of road has a fair number of yummy stalls, which I’ll list down below

Went here because we were looking for uni rolls, which were unfortunately closed. Thankfully, I got to try Mammy Pancake instead. Super delicious egg waffle! It’s made fresh so you get it warm and crunchy. Delicious!
We got the Earl Grey flavor (super yum! The waffle flavor is super rich in Earl Grey, no idea how they managed it!) and Banana and Chocolate (this was also delicious, and had actual banana chunks. Having said that, this is of course more common, so the Earl Grey was the most interesting for me)
When I was here, the seller doesn’t speak English, but there is a monitor showing which number they’re serving, and the other people were also super Gung ho to help translate my questions to the seller. Hehe thank you!
Also the packaging is super on point. Had holes to allow the heat to slowly seep out, without resulting in sogginess. Plus, it had a super convenient handle for take away!

 

Fu Wah Cafe 富華冰室 港晶中心

• Address: Tsim Sha Tsui East, Granville Rd, 100號地下59-66號舖
• Operating hours: 24/7

Delicious bbq buns! I found the bbq pork really quite delicious, although the bun-to-pork ratio was rather high for my liking. Although don’t get me wrong, the buns were also delicious, but I’d prefer more bbq pork, ya know?

 

勁回味

• Address: Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 7:00PM to 6:00AM (except Sundays)
• Note: Google says they open at 6:30PM, Google is wrong! They open at 7:00PM… I should know, as we came here 3x just to get our seafood roll fix

We came here 3x!!! Because it was closed the first two times lol. Initially we were gunning after their uni roll, which was touted as HK’s best kept secret. But in my opinion, their maki roll is the best ever! Great combo of super fresh salmon, tamago, crab stick, sushi rice, and cucumber. Mmmm so yummy!

 

Sham Shui Po Area

Lau Sum Kee Noodle 劉森記麵家

• Address: 48 Kweilin St, Un Chau, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 11:30AM to 10:00PM

One of the last traditional HK noodle places in the island. Their noodles are still made using bamboo pole noodle. Kakaiba very springy these noodles, although rather bland… I got them dry, with shrimp roe. Maybe would have been better with soup? But we were advised by locals that it was better dry. Anyway, your wanton will come in soup.
But the real star were the homemade radish pickle (grabe, so so so good!!! I used the sauce to flavor my noodles also hehe), and the shrimp wanton (super big shrimp inside). Yuuum!!

 

Other restaurants in Sham Shui Po area

• Hop Yik Tai 合益泰小食: steamed rice rolls
• Kung Wo Dou Bun Chong 公和荳品廠: taufufa, tofu puffs, deep fried tofu dishes and homemade sugar-free soy milk
• Kwan Kee Snack Store 坤記糕品: homemade steamed rice pudding (put chai ko), red bean cake, white sugar cake ji dan gao
• Wai Kee Noodle Cafe  維記咖啡粉麵: pork liver noodles and kaya french toasts
• Ma Sa Restaurant
• Kwan Kee Claypot Rice
• Lin Heung Kui Dimsum
• House Welley Whiskey Bar

 

Temple Street Area

Hing Kee 興記煲仔飯

• Address: 15號 Temple St, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 12:30PM to 12:30AM

Was super excited for this coz Bon Appétit highly recommended it. I ordered the exact same thing as him and thought it was…. Ayt? Hahaha I mean, it was ok but not mind blowing. I got the ground beef with egg and scallions. As promised, there was a layer of burnt rice at the bottom, which can serve as a crispy snack of sorts. Tbh, I don’t like them haha but this is perfect for those who do.

An alternative option you can order would be their preserved meats and chinese sausage. My friends really liked those!
We also got the Oyster Cake which was too oily, but super big the oysters and quite generous. Yum!

 

Central Area

Kau Kee Food Cafe 九記牛腩

• Address: Ground Floor, 21 Gough St, Central, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 12:30PM to 10:30PM

One of the few establishments in central that close late, thank you Lord! Wow, super delicious beef brisket and beef tendon. So tender and flavorful
The soup itself seemed to be chock full of MSG, and the noodles were alright but nothing too amazing.
My friend also tried the curry sauce, which was excellent too (especially since the noodles also absorb the curry flavor). But medyo nakakaumay after awhile. Best to get for share.

 

Maxim’s Palace 美心皇宮

• Address: Hong Kong City Hall, 2/F Low Block, Central, Hong Kong
• Operating hours: 11:00AM – 3:00PM (dimsum available), 5:30PM – 11:30PM
• Tip: Bring your empty water bottles, because legit the Hong Kong City Hall is the only place in HK I’ve seen with a refillable water station

A traditional sit-down dimsum! Take note they only have dimsum during lunch time (which we found out to our horror when we went here for dinner). Also, this was quite affordable surprisingly! We ordered A LOT of dishes (we were a group of 10) and were stuffed silly, but ended up only spending around ₱1300 each! Woot woot
My personal faves were: beef ball, hakaw, steamed pork dumpling with quail egg, steamed beef spareribs with black pepper, steamed beancurd sheet with abalone sauce, bbq puff

 

Lung Kee Roasted Meat Catering Limited 龍記飯店

• Address: Central, Queen Victoria St, 12號
• Operating hours: 7:00AM to 8:30PM
• Tip: This is walking distance from the Central ferry, so if you’re coming from the Kowloon side, you can take the ferry to come here.

Delicious roast goose – love the skin, fat, meat ratio!!! The char siu was also yum (but my friend said his was dry huhu). The roast pork was also great (crispy skin ftw), but would be better with thinner slices. The white chicken was a revelation though, super clean tasting and flavorful
Reco: Get the combo set, which allows you to choose 2-3 meats (you pay HKD10 more for the 3rd meat), as well as hot milk tea. The serving size is also quite generous too – enough for two to share!
You can also buy takeaway roast goose here – just tell them you’ll bring it via plane back to the Philippines, and they can pack it up for you. Do make sure to purchase around ~6 hours before the flight only though

 

Other restaurants in Central Area

• Joy Hing Roasted Meat: Char siu
• Sister Wah Beef Brisket: Beef Tripe and Tendon
• Second Draft: Star Ferry aesthetic ~beer bar
• Room 309: Speakeasy