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Von chenchen21621, 08:31The Beauty of Hong Kong Food As we all know, Cantonese cuisine dominates the Hong Kong food market. Two distinct features of Cantonese cuisine are freshness and simplicity. As a general rule, the simpler the cooking process is, the fresher ingredients are required. Therefore a typical Cantonese feast is a guarantee of quality.
As a native Cantonese living in Hong Kong, let me walk you through a day’s Hong Kong food tour. Please make an effort to enjoy the delicious Cantonese food as suggested.
Agenda of a Classic Hong Kong Food Tour
Breakfast or Lunch – Dim Sum Dim sum breakfast or lunch is a major social life style of Hong Kong residents. Locals and expatriates all love it.
Dim sum is only served at breakfast time through late afternoon. Never try to order dim sum at dinner time.
Dim sum as a representative Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong is widely available in town. Never have dim sum at a hotel restaurant. That is not the authentic style. Look for some noisy however tidy restaurants. There are plenty of quality dim sum restaurants in town. Just check with your hotel concierge for a nearby one.
Here are the super trio ‘must-eat’ items: • Steamed shrimp dumplings • Steamed pork dumplings • Steamed BBQ pork buns
You’ll have to pay for the cost of tea (per head) and 10% service fee. A dim sum lunch might cost HK$50-100 per person.
Recommended Restaurant: Maxim’s Restaurant at City Hall, Lower Block, Central, Hong Kong. This restaurant is always full due to its quality of food. Tel: (852) 2521-1303
Tea Time – between 2.30pm and 5.30pm At this time of a day, foods are sold at reduced rates. Why not go for a late lunch? A tea set usually costs HK$15-30.
Hong Kong Milk Tea This is the single item from casual dining restaurants that out-performs five-star hotels.
Hong Kong milk tea is very strong tea mixed with condensed milk. The tea is also strained through a stocking-like apparatus, making the texture very smooth and silky. You just need to have at least a cup of it while visiting Hong Kong.
During tea time, a cup of hot milk tea is sold at HK$6 at Café de Coral. Even MacDonald’s is now serving this localized milk tea in addition to their traditional American tea.
Recommended Restaurant: Café de Coral, a fast-food restaurant chain that you can easily find one everywhere in town. No service charge.
Wanton Noodle This is another famous Cantonese Hong Kong food. It is considered as a light lunch or tea time snack.
Cantonese wanton is something similar to dumplings in Beijing. But its shape is more like a small ball. The filling is mainly fresh shrimps mixed with minced pork and mushrooms. With a special type of ‘elastic’ Cantonese noodle in broth, you would have an extremely wonderful feeling in your mouth.
At tea time, a bowl of fresh shrimp wanton noodle might cost as little as HK$10. Don’t go to shops selling at HK$20 or more. You can always get a bowl of good quality wanton noodle at around HK$15.
Wanton noodle shops are easy to find especially in shopping areas. These are causal restaurants usually no service charge incurred. Wanton noodle is seldom served in fine dining restaurants.
Dinner Time – Seafood and others Seafood is a typical Cantonese Hong Kong food, especially during dinner time. Good quality seafood restaurants are everywhere. Dim sum restaurants generally serve seafood at dinner time.
If you want to eat the best cooked seafood with the best ingredients, Hong Kong is the place. Frankly, live seafood could be expensive, depending on the type and size. A deep sea grouper of one kilogram would cost a few hundred Hong Kong dollars. However, this is a life time experience only available in Hong Kong. There is nowhere else in the world you could have such great seafood dining experience.
Though live seafood is expensive, you do have a choice to have chilled ones. They are also very good. Chilled fishes are usually sold at fixed price. Some restaurants even offer seafood set menu. That would allow you to control your budget more easily.
Steamed chicken (plain version) is another classic Hong Kong food. The whole chicken is steamed and cut after it is cooked. No seasoning is applied. You only eat with a sauce made of smashed ginger and salt mixed with hot cooking oil. Smashed green union is sometime added to the sauce. The sauce is only to bring up the natural taste of the chicken.
The best chicken restaurant in Hong Kong is called Yuet Heung at 105 Thompson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Unless you stay at a nearby hotel, you don’t have to make your way there as steamed chicken is available in every Cantonese restaurant.
Roast sucking pig is another highlight of Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong. It is highly recommended. Like seafood, you should have it at least once in Hong Kong. Its skin is so crispy and meat is so smooth and juicy. If you like Beijing duck, you must love Cantonese roast suckling pig.
Suggested Four-course Dinner for Two • Steamed fish • Steamed chicken (a dish is enough for two, half a chicken is good for four, order for one whole chicken only if you have more than four) • Fried vegetable (pick your favourite vegetable, have it fried plainly or with garlic) • Daily soup (Soup of the day is usually well prepared with finely chosen ingredients by the executive chef)
This menu might cost around HK$150 per person in a regular restaurant. It might be more expensive depends on the type of fish and the class of the restaurant.
Click here to see more on Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong.
Tips • Chinese food is meant for sharing. Order several dishes and share among your group members. • Split bill is not popular in Chinese restaurants. Each table is a chargeable unit. • Say ‘mai dan’ when you are ready to go. This is the Cantonese way of asking for a bill in a restaurant. • No smoking is allowed in any Hong Kong restaurants, effective January 1, 2007.
As a native Cantonese living in Hong Kong, let me walk you through a day’s Hong Kong food tour. Please make an effort to enjoy the delicious Cantonese food as suggested.
Agenda of a Classic Hong Kong Food Tour
Breakfast or Lunch – Dim Sum Dim sum breakfast or lunch is a major social life style of Hong Kong residents. Locals and expatriates all love it.
Dim sum is only served at breakfast time through late afternoon. Never try to order dim sum at dinner time.
Dim sum as a representative Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong is widely available in town. Never have dim sum at a hotel restaurant. That is not the authentic style. Look for some noisy however tidy restaurants. There are plenty of quality dim sum restaurants in town. Just check with your hotel concierge for a nearby one.
Here are the super trio ‘must-eat’ items: • Steamed shrimp dumplings • Steamed pork dumplings • Steamed BBQ pork buns
You’ll have to pay for the cost of tea (per head) and 10% service fee. A dim sum lunch might cost HK$50-100 per person.
Recommended Restaurant: Maxim’s Restaurant at City Hall, Lower Block, Central, Hong Kong. This restaurant is always full due to its quality of food. Tel: (852) 2521-1303
Tea Time – between 2.30pm and 5.30pm At this time of a day, foods are sold at reduced rates. Why not go for a late lunch? A tea set usually costs HK$15-30.
Hong Kong Milk Tea This is the single item from casual dining restaurants that out-performs five-star hotels.
Hong Kong milk tea is very strong tea mixed with condensed milk. The tea is also strained through a stocking-like apparatus, making the texture very smooth and silky. You just need to have at least a cup of it while visiting Hong Kong.
During tea time, a cup of hot milk tea is sold at HK$6 at Café de Coral. Even MacDonald’s is now serving this localized milk tea in addition to their traditional American tea.
Recommended Restaurant: Café de Coral, a fast-food restaurant chain that you can easily find one everywhere in town. No service charge.
Wanton Noodle This is another famous Cantonese Hong Kong food. It is considered as a light lunch or tea time snack.
Cantonese wanton is something similar to dumplings in Beijing. But its shape is more like a small ball. The filling is mainly fresh shrimps mixed with minced pork and mushrooms. With a special type of ‘elastic’ Cantonese noodle in broth, you would have an extremely wonderful feeling in your mouth.
At tea time, a bowl of fresh shrimp wanton noodle might cost as little as HK$10. Don’t go to shops selling at HK$20 or more. You can always get a bowl of good quality wanton noodle at around HK$15.
Wanton noodle shops are easy to find especially in shopping areas. These are causal restaurants usually no service charge incurred. Wanton noodle is seldom served in fine dining restaurants.
Dinner Time – Seafood and others Seafood is a typical Cantonese Hong Kong food, especially during dinner time. Good quality seafood restaurants are everywhere. Dim sum restaurants generally serve seafood at dinner time.
If you want to eat the best cooked seafood with the best ingredients, Hong Kong is the place. Frankly, live seafood could be expensive, depending on the type and size. A deep sea grouper of one kilogram would cost a few hundred Hong Kong dollars. However, this is a life time experience only available in Hong Kong. There is nowhere else in the world you could have such great seafood dining experience.
Though live seafood is expensive, you do have a choice to have chilled ones. They are also very good. Chilled fishes are usually sold at fixed price. Some restaurants even offer seafood set menu. That would allow you to control your budget more easily.
Steamed chicken (plain version) is another classic Hong Kong food. The whole chicken is steamed and cut after it is cooked. No seasoning is applied. You only eat with a sauce made of smashed ginger and salt mixed with hot cooking oil. Smashed green union is sometime added to the sauce. The sauce is only to bring up the natural taste of the chicken.
The best chicken restaurant in Hong Kong is called Yuet Heung at 105 Thompson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Unless you stay at a nearby hotel, you don’t have to make your way there as steamed chicken is available in every Cantonese restaurant.
Roast sucking pig is another highlight of Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong. It is highly recommended. Like seafood, you should have it at least once in Hong Kong. Its skin is so crispy and meat is so smooth and juicy. If you like Beijing duck, you must love Cantonese roast suckling pig.
Suggested Four-course Dinner for Two • Steamed fish • Steamed chicken (a dish is enough for two, half a chicken is good for four, order for one whole chicken only if you have more than four) • Fried vegetable (pick your favourite vegetable, have it fried plainly or with garlic) • Daily soup (Soup of the day is usually well prepared with finely chosen ingredients by the executive chef)
This menu might cost around HK$150 per person in a regular restaurant. It might be more expensive depends on the type of fish and the class of the restaurant.
Click here to see more on Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong.
Tips • Chinese food is meant for sharing. Order several dishes and share among your group members. • Split bill is not popular in Chinese restaurants. Each table is a chargeable unit. • Say ‘mai dan’ when you are ready to go. This is the Cantonese way of asking for a bill in a restaurant. • No smoking is allowed in any Hong Kong restaurants, effective January 1, 2007.
