It’s crazy to think I’ve officially now been living in Hong Kong for over SIX years! So here’s an updated list of restaurants and eateries that are most worth trying, particularly if you’re visiting. I’m careful to not call this a definitive “best restaurants in Hong Kong” list since there are so many places on own hit list, so I focused on Chinese and Asian food or only-in-Hong Kong experiences. I hope this still serves as a good guide to exploring Hong Kong’s dining scene, whether it’s your first time or 5th!
All of the restaurant names below link to their OpenRice page, which lists the address in Chinese to show to your taxi driver. Read more tips on dining out in Hong Kong here.
Take the Airport Express train for a easy, fast, and cheap way to get to/from the airport (I take it every time). Be sure to get your tickets through Klook to get them at a discount!
Price key (including 1 drink, excluding service charge, per person):
- $$$$ – 800 HKD (~100 USD) and up
- $$$ – 400-800 HKD (~50-100 USD)
- $$ – 100-400 HKD (~12.50-50 USD)
- $ – Less than 100 HKD (~12.50 USD)
Read my ultimate Hong Kong travel guide for more tips.
Ho Lee Fook
$$$. Translating to “good fortune for your mouth,” Ho Lee Fook delivers consistently great and creative Chinese cuisine that’s even better since their revamp last year with Chef Archan Chan with friendly service and reasonable prices in a lavish, banquet hall-inspired dining room. I’ve been 3 times since the revamp and the food continues to impress.
Must try: steamed razor clams with glass noodles and garlic, crispy skin three yellow chicken, salt and pepper tofu, australian lobster with cheesy e-fu noodles (must pre-order, best with a group as it’s quite pricey), horlicks ice cream (secret menu item)
Other favorites: pork jowl dumplings, prawn toast x okonomiyaki, ho lee duck (must pre-order, best with a group)
See more photos from Ho Lee Fook (pre-revamp)
One Dim Sum
$-$$. You can’t visit Hong Kong without eating dim sum, and One Dim Sum is my personal favorite spot for it. It’s incredibly popular, with wait times of 45 minutes+ during peak weekend times (though the wait is generally quicker for parties of 2). I find it to be worth it for the quality and wide selection of dim sum at low prices (and I also always try to go off-peak). Plus there’s a cute mural of the neighborhood and restaurant to add to the local charm, and it’s located right next to the Prince Edward Flower Market to shop for plants, flowers and trinkets after your meal (the 2nd floor of Brighten Mall is great for buying small souvenirs).
You can also try a limited selection of their dim sum from their takeaway shop in Central (right around the corner from Barkada and down the street from Cheung Hing Kee Pan Fried Buns), perfect for a snack or quick lunch if you’re short on time
Must try: bean curd wrap with chicken & fish maw (my all-time fave dim sum in HK, only available at their Prince Edward location), siu mai, deep fried glutinous rice pork dumplings, fried shrimp bean curd rolls, beef tripe with black pepper, mango custard rolls, mango pudding
Other favorites: turnip cake, beef rice roll, har gow
Dragon State Kitchen
$. No-frills eatery serving delicious siu mei (Cantonese roast meats) that’s always busy with local customers. You might need to share a table with strangers and the service is non-existent, but you’ll get the real Hong Kong experience. Plus it’s worth it for affordable yet superior char siu (barbecue pork) that rivals the more expensive versions at other restaurants on this list. They also have English menus to help with ordering.
Eat this: BBQ pork over rice aka cha siu fan (recommend asking for half fatty half lean with burnt edges boon sau lung cha boon fay lung cha siu fan), roast duck leg. You can also add a fried egg zeen daan
If you want a slightly nicer environment, check out Chukfo
Men Wah Bing Teng
If you only have a layover or 1 day in Hong Kong and are visiting Victoria Peak, I’d recommend this Hong Kong diner (cha chaan teng) to get your char siu fix instead. It’s a little more expensive than Dragon State Kitchen, but the environment is more pleasant, especially with the view. I get it almost every week during my regular hikes to the Peak.
Eat this: char siu and fried egg over rice, pork chop and fried egg over rice, kaya toast, milk tea
Tung Po Kitchen
$$-$$$. Famous local seafood restaurant that once hosted Anthony Bourdain. It gets rowdy on weekends thanks to a wild owner who pops beer bottles with chopsticks and moonwalks to Michael Jackson, though the rest of the staff do a great job of joking around with the tables even when the owner isn’t there. Drink beer out of bowls while indulging in delicious seafood and meat dishes. The cost adds up quickly if you opt for market price dishes like their black bean razor clams and giant typhoon shelter crab (which is ~100 USD alone), but they are worth it if you can split with a big group.
Eat this: wind sand chicken (must pre-order), black bean razor clams, filet of fish deep fried with black pepper, sweet and sour pork, scallops with garlic and vermicelli, salted egg yolk prawns, fried rice with scallop and shrimp, typhoon shelter crab
Tung Po inspired two recipes in my cookbook: Salted Egg Prawns and Typhoon Shelter Squid
Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan Fried Buns
$. These pork buns are like pan fried soup dumplings with a soft chewy top and crispy bottom, filled with piping hot soup and juicy pork (you can also get them with both pork & shrimp, and even with truffle). So satisfying and addicting but be careful when eating or you’ll squirt soup all over yourself. Plus you can pick up the creamiest Chinese-style egg tarts in HK with a crispy cookie-like crust from Tai Cheong Bakery right across the street.
Eat this: signature pork buns, signature shrimp buns, signature pork buns with black truffle
Islam Food
$. Famous for their pan fried beef buns, which are hockey puck-shaped buns that are crispy on the outside and exploding with incredible juicy, fragrant, cumin-spiced beef on the inside. It’s worth the trek for this unique and cheap eat that’s also a great option after hiking to Lion Rock which is a 50HKD taxi away. You an also pick up one of my favorite egg tarts in HK at Queen Sophie nearby.
Eat this: pan fried beef buns, mutton dumplings, beef brisket curry, deep fried lamb ribs
Check out my Juicy AF Xianbing in my cookbook that were inspired by Islam Food
Barkada
I couldn’t write a guide on where to eat in Hong Kong without including my very own restaurant! Part of Hong Kong’s Singular Concepts hospitality group, Barkada serves up both traditional and new versions of Filipino dishes. The airy space opens onto a pedestrian-only street right under the Mid-Levels escalator, so it’s the perfect place to kick off before a night out with your barkada (group of friends), especially while grooving to my very own playlist of hip hop and R&B. You can read more about the restaurant in this in-depth interview.
Eat this: pagtikim package (tasting menu of all our signature items)
Hutong
$$$$. Elevated Northern Chinese food and spectacular views that are worth the splurge. Located in Tsim Sha Tsui one floor below their Japanese-Italian sister restaurant and bar Aqua. I’d recommend trying their weekend brunch which includes their creative menu of all-you-can-eat dim sum and starters for 3 hours, your choice of shared mains, a dessert platter and the option to add unlimited champagne—you can watch my video to see the full experience. If you’d prefer sunset views, then try out their flaming Peking duck and other Sichuan-inspired mains during dinner.
Eat this: charcoal yu xiang crispy pork dumpling, Hutong prawn roll, wagyu beef puff, red lantern soft shell crab, crispy deboned lamb ribs, flaming Peking duck, Sichuan-style lobster
Mott 32
$$$$. Chinese food and dim sum with elevated ingredients and modern twists in a dark, sexy space that used to be a bank vault. Expensive but worth it for excellent char siu and Peking duck with top-notch service and gin drinks made tableside on a gin trolley.
Eat this: Iberico BBQ pork & Peking duck (must pre-order both), Iberico pork siu mai with soft quail egg & black truffle, claypot king prawns with black pepper & garlic, crab meat fried rice with flying fish roe
Duddell’s
$$$$. Unlimited dim sum brunch with free flow Veuve Cliquot (with the option to upgrade to Ruinart) and brunch cocktails like espresso martinis and Aperol spritz. Unlike brunch buffets, all of the dishes are made to order and served to your table. They also have an adorable garden-inspired rooftop (though not all of the tables are in the shade, so be wary if it’s a sunny or rainy day).
Eat this: spicy wontons, Peking duck, crab and fish maw soup, pork and shrimp fried wontons, bean curd wrap, honey mustard duck breast, braised e-fu noodles. Skip the fried rice and hot and sour soup so you have more space for the excellent dim sum
Harbourside
$$$. Located inside the Regent Hotel, Harbourside is arguably the best buffet in Hong Kong with the most spectacular ground-level views of Victoria Harbour as featured at the top of this post. The quality of all of the food is superb, from fresh sashimi and seafood to restaurant-quality, freshly made pizzas, flaky egg tarts and even a seared foie gras station, though selections change depending on the time of day.
Eat this: everything
Big Bay Cafe
$$$. My favorite mid-tier hotel buffet brunch, featuring a wide variety of stations including sushi, grilled meats and seafood, and build your own bibimbap to go with harbourfront views on their terrace and freeflow Veuve Cliquot champagne. While you’re at the Kerry Hotel, you can also check out Red Sugar for more stunning views and drinks.
Eat this: grilled lobster and prawns, sushi, pan fried dumplings, bibimbap, prime rib, donuts, fresh waffle with a wide selection of ice cream
Yardbird
$$$. This cult favorite highlights every part of the chicken through yakitori (Japanese grilled skewers) and other small plates in a laidback, hip space.
Eat this: tsukune (chicken meatball), chicken oyster, furai o’ fish (special), katsu sando, chicken rice, Korean fried cauliflower
Cafe Seasons
$. HK style diner (cha chaan teng) serving creamy scrambled egg dishes and other Hong Kong-style fast food in Central. My pro-tip is to go around 11:15AM to order the breakfast-only sandwich, then stay until 11:30AM when the char siu scrambled eggs over rice is available.
Eat this: char siu or pork chop scrambled eggs over rice, corned beef egg and cheese sandwich, milk tea
順興車仔麵大牌檔
$. Outdoor food stall (dai pai dong) with an indoor cha chaan teng around the corner that’s a local favorite for pineapple bun egg sandwiches and scrambled eggs with char siu and shrimp over rice (Cafe Seasons listed above serves a slightly better version of the scrambled eggs, though this spot also has the option of adding beef and shrimp). Just show them photos of what you want as they don’t speak English well and there are no English menus.
Eat this: scrambled eggs over rice with char siu and shrimp, pineapple bun egg sandwich
Chau Kee
$-$$. One of my favorite dim sum spots, made famous for their Instagram-worthy exploding French toast that’s a must try on its own. I love it so much I recreated it for my cookbook. Just skip the milk tea here as it doesn’t have as strong of flavor as other yum cha (dim sum/tea houses) on this list
Eat this: golden lava exploding French toast, shrimp toast, shrimp spring rolls wrapped in steamed rice rolls, siu mai, satay beef tripe, cheong fan with xo sauce, assorted meat with bean curd sheet
Sijie
$$. Pay a fixed price of 340 HKD per person for a family style feast with some of my favorite Sichuan food in HK. The more people you have, the more dishes you get to order so go with a group so you can try all their delicious items. Even better, it’s BYOB 🍷
Eat this: Sichuan cold noodles and poached fish in Chongqing style (must-orders!), pork belly in garlic sauce, spicy and sour cucumber, dry-fried string beans, ma-po tofu, Sichuan style salt and pepper shrimp, Sichuan braised beef
Kau Kee
$-$$. No-frills soup noodles with long lines for a reason. Tender beef brisket plus chewy beef tendon with spongy e-fu noodles and silky comforting broth. You’ll rub elbows with your neighbors and you shouldn’t expect any form of service, but focus on slurping and you’ll be just fine.
Eat this: Beef brisket e-fu noodles, curry beef tendon e-fu noodles, milk tea
Yat Lok
$. Despite the cramped, casual dining room and gruff service, this local roast meat restaurant earned itself a Michelin star for their seriously good roast goose with slippery lai fun noodles in a rich yet clear broth. You’ll be tempted to try other items, but in my opinion you should focus your stomach space on this single dish and then head to other places in the area if you’re still hungry (like the aforementioned Cheung Hing King Pan Fried Buns or Barkada)
Eat this: goose leg noodle soup
Bakehouse
This French-meets-Asian bakery by master baker Gregoire Michaud now has locations all over Hong Kong and attracts long lines of both tourists and locals alike (though the lines are short in the mornings). It’s a must-visit solely for their famous egg tarts, with a wonderfully flaky and crispy sourdough pastry shell and creamy, caramelized Portuguese-style egg custard, though many of their other pastries are also amazing. They also serve great coffee if you need a pick-me-up before heading up the escalator to Victoria Peak.
Eat this: sourdough egg tarts, beef rendang pie, curry chicken pie, cinnamon roll, salted caramel banana bundt cake (seasonal)
27 Kebab House
$. Go here after a night out in Lan Kwai Fong or SoHo. Cheap but great Turkish-style döner with seating made for people watching.
Eat this: Chicken or lamb döner, samosas
Via Tokyo
$. Smooth and creamy Uji matcha and Hokkaido milk soft serve and a variety of other parfaits, sundaes and kakigori.
Watch me eat their soft serve on YouTube
Eat this: Okome shiratama azuki mix soft cream, Cremia (limited availability)
Shari Shari Kakigori House
$. Creamy yet light Japanese shaved ice in a variety of flavors, including monthly specials. Large enough to share with 2-4 people depending on how full you are from lunch or dinner.
Eat this: Matcha cream special kakigori
Stay tuned as I will be pulling together a part 2 of Where to Eat in Hong Kong featuring western food! And check out my list of the Top Things to Do in Hong Kong
[…] Read more: Where to Eat in Hong Kong […]
[…] you’ve read my guide on Hong Kong restaurants, then you may have seen my love for a Sichuan spot called Sijie. […]
[…] places to be stuck in! Kerry Hotel Hong Kong has long been a favorite of mine to visit for their fantastic boozy brunch buffet at Big Bay Cafe, sprawling terrace at Red Sugar, and the oasis that is their infinity pool, so I […]