Affordable eats and fine dining treats – a culinary adventure in Hong Kong

Fine dining treats

In a city that has more than 70 Michelin-starred restaurants and 200 Michelin recommended restaurants, it’s no surprise that the dining scene in Hong Kong is a cut above the rest. At Bo Innovation, you can enjoy incredible, work-of-art dishes that fuse molecular gastronomy techniques with Chinese cooking and Western ingredients to create ‘Xtreme Chinese Cuisine’. At The Chairman, organic ingredients from local suppliers are used to create elegant dishes, layered with flavours (try the steamed crab with aged Shaoxing wine). While Lung King Heen is a must-visit to sample exquisite dim sum in a refined atmosphere.

There are also Michelin-recognised restaurants championing cuisines from around the world. Chow down on melt-in-your-mouth, award-winning wagyu beef specially flown in from Kagoshima’s Oda Chikusan ranch at Ushidoki, a wagyu-centric Japanese restaurant. For Spanish cuisine, head to Agora, a fine-dining restaurant serving contemporary, premium tapas with a focus on seasonality. While at Amber, choice Japanese ingredients are combined with exacting French technique to create exceptionally crafted, delicate dishes.

If you’re a seafood aficionado, Bar Bleu serves a French-inspired seafood menu focused on casual fine dining; expect dishes like oysters topped with a cucumber vinaigrette and tangy watermelon granita. Or keep it local at Chineseology, an unconventional restaurant and bar that serves a menu of creative dishes that highlight the complexities of the flavours commonly found in Chinese cuisine.

Street food for the soul

You’ll find traditional dai pai dongs scattered around the country – open-air food halls serving everything from traditional Cantonese fare to street food for the more adventurous diner. You have to visit at least one to fully embrace the quintessential Hong Kong food experience, where you’ll find vendors serving hungry locals and travellers day and night.

A local favourite is Woosung Street Temporary Cooked Food Hawker Bazaar, which has been open since 1984 and serves classic cha chaan teng, stir-fried or seafood dishes from dawn until late evening.No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a day spent exploring this fun, vibrant side of the city’s culinary scene.

For sweet tooths, egg tarts are a must-try: made with a delicious shortcrust pastry that crumbles in your mouth and filled with a vibrant yellow egg custard. Best eaten warm, you can pick them up at one of the Tai Cheong bakeries dotted around the city. Or opt for a classic pineapple sweet bun – although these don’t actually contain any pineapple at all, and only acquired their name because of the criss-cross pattern sketched on the top.

Alternatively, go savoury with curry fish balls made from minced fish and topped with different sauces and oils, or sink your teeth into fluffy char siu bao barbecue pork buns that you can pick up from hole-in-the-wall spots all over the city, but most commonly found in Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei and Wan Chai.

If you do consider yourself an adventurous diner, then you’re in luck. Aside from the irresistable dim sum, fluffy baos and steaming bowls of noodles, there’s also an entire world of street food that will delight the more audacious traveller. Some more out-there dishes include sea cucumbers, wine infused with a whole snake, jellyfish salad and ‘stinky’ fermented tofu. All making for a fascinating foodie journey, whatever you end up sampling.

As you’ve probably figured by now, Hong Kong doesn’t mess about when it comes to street food, a point further supported by Michelin Hong Kong, which has included an entire street food recommendation section in its guide. From soupy bowls of hot noodles and umami-injected soy milk to deep-fried mochi balls and pork belly and yuca marmalade bao buns, you’ll certainly not go hungry on a Michelin street food quest around the city.

Bars and nightlife

Characterised by innovative cocktail venues and welcoming hotspots, Hong Kong’s nightlife and bar scene is one of Asia’s best. Bars like Coa, which bring the flavours and spirits of Mexico to Hong Kong, are regular features on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. Other big hitters include ARGO, the Four Seasons’ beautiful new cocktail concept, which also appears on the revered World’s 50 Best Bars list, and DarkSide, a low-lit, atmospheric venue above the Avenue of Stars on on the Kowloon waterfront serving rich, dark spirits and classic cocktails with a twist.

Discover more about Hong Kong's amazing restaurant and bar scene

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