Hong Kong

Take Your Taste Buds on a Culinary Adventure, Hong Kong Style

by CHRISTOPHER DWYER

Photograph by CHRISTOPHER DWYER

best restaurants in hong kong

Tempt your taste buds at Ho Lee Fook. (Photo: Courtesy of Ho Lee Fook)

With an astonishing 25,000 places to eat in Hong Kong, there’s no shortage of choices when hunger calls. But how to narrow down so many options? Here are six of the best spots around town that together make for a true culinary adventure.

Yardbird

This purveyor of yakitori — chicken parts on sticks grilled over charcoal — quickly became the coolest spot in town when it opened in 2009, and remarkably, it’s still a go-to a decade later, no mean feat in such a restaurant-heavy city.

The Japanese-inspired cocktails are dangerously good and the service is friendly and slick, while the laid-back feels are added to by a pingpong table for those who want to play. Most importantly, however, the food is delicious.

Their KFC — Korean Fried Cauliflower — is rightly famous, as is a brilliant dish of sweetcorn tempura. Of course, it’s their sensational chicken that steals the show, often featuring parts you wouldn’t expect to be appealing, showing how they creatively make the most of produce.

Ho Lee Fook

best restaurants in hong kong
Tuck into tasty dumplings. (Photo: Courtesy of Ho Lee Fook)

A great soundtrack, quirky cocktails and an Instagram-friendly interior are some of the draws of the cheekily named Ho Lee Fook (it means “good fortune for your mouth” in Cantonese) in the heart of the SoHo district on Hong Kong Island. In a dark and occasionally loud basement space, their food riffs on Cantonese dishes with Taiwanese and Japanese touches.

You can see the excellent dumplings being hand made in the open ground-floor kitchen, but the dish not to miss is the wagyu short rib with green shallot kimchi, a soy glaze and a jalapeño smear. Playful desserts include a deconstructed bowl of cereal called “Breakfast 2.0.”

Pier Lounge & Bar

hong kong restaurants
Sip and savor at Pier Lounge. (Photo: JWM Creatives Ltd.)

Not every hotel lounge is created equally. Take, for instance, Pier Lounge, at the Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel. This upscale hangout serves modern bites, and offers an inventive cocktail menu, allowing guests to sip and socialize.

Favorite drinks include Fancy, One More?, a mix of Absolut Citron, rosé, a raspberry balsamic glaze, lemon juice basil and bitters. If you prefer something a bit lighter, order the Jasmine Tea Mimosa, a blend of — you guessed it — jasmine tea, yuzu jam, orange juice, prosecco and vodka.

Tim Ho Wan

best restaurants in hong kong
Trying dim sum is a Hong Kong must. (Photo: Getty Images)

Visiting Hong Kong and not eating dim sum is like leaving New York without having eaten a hot dog. The beloved Cantonese morning tradition features dumplings, buns, pastries and more, all washed down with endless pots of Chinese tea.

Tim Ho Wan has a number of branches, but its Sham Shui Po home is the original, where the dish that made them famous is a barbecue pork pastry known as cha siu bao. At just one U.S. dollar each, these calorific beauties are a brilliant mouthful, combining a sweet pastry dome with rich, barbecued pork underneath. A righteous classic. For the more adventurous, chicken feet are another local favorite.

Imperial Treasure

The thousands of Chinese restaurants across Hong Kong, celebrating every conceivable price point and regional specialty, can sometimes feel bewildering. A good option in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon is the one-Michelin-starred Imperial Treasure, thanks to its great views and consistently good renditions of Chinese classics.

Baked crab is a local favorite, and they cover the crustacean with a decadent golden crumb with Gruyere cheese. Their most famous dish is a brilliant suckling pig served boneless with sticky rice, the skin perfectly crisp and crackling.

The inventive presentation of the dish is also a sight to behold — and a firm favorite with those who like photographing their dishes and posting on social media.

Australia Dairy Company

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Australia Dairy Company is a foreign import, but in fact, it’s one of Hong Kong’s most popular breakfast spots.

It’s a cha chaan teng (tea restaurant) that has locals and visitors alike queuing for famously creamy scrambled eggs with toast, macaroni soup and a hot drink — but try something different and opt for the Hong Kong–style milk tea. Yours for a remarkable $4. Another noted aspect is the famously surly and abrupt service, so consider getting shouted at as part of the charm.