Must Try Food Hong Kong
Having lived here before I should easily know what are the must try food items that any visitor should try, from street food to fine dining Hong Kong has it all. A big metropolis like Hong Kong definitely there are tons of options even to those picky eaters, the combination of Cantonese cuisine, British Cuisine, other Western Cuisines, Japanese cuisine, and Southeast Asian cuisine will definitely yield a rich and diverse Gourmet Paradise.
I went back and forth here regularly during the late 90’s and early 2000’s and trust me the food scene here is vibrant, you will never run out of choices and that has not changed. During my last visit early this year the offerings gets larger and larger but if I will compile a list of 10 items this will be my choices.
Let’s start with the street food.
Egg Waffles – Gai Daan Jai (鷄蛋仔) as what the local call it, this is the one of the most popular sweet street food in Hong Kong. Made with eggs, flour and sugar cooked in a hot griddle until golden brown perfection, it’s quite easy to fall in love with this one.
Fish Balls – This is usually sold just beside the egg waffles, basically it’s just fried fish balls made with fish meat. served either with spicy or sweet sauces.
Cart Noodles – For the brave and its more of a DIY treat where you can mix and match a variety of toppings like beef and pork innards, beef brisket, squid balls or chicken to match with different soup bases and noodles. You should not leave Hong Kong without trying this one out.
This next one is partly street food as most of the good ones in Hong Kong are sold on those fly by night restaurants that are set up on streets.
Clay pot rice – Best enjoyed with lots of friends on a cold night with some ice-cold beer. Like the name say, it’s a rice cooked on clay pot combined with an array of ingredients like chicken, pork, mushrooms, Chinese sausages and vegetables to name some. Also don’t forget to scrape that burnt rice in the bottom, Nom nom nom.
Now let go to those traditional Chinese dishes where Hong Kong does it really best.
Roast Meats – Duck, chicken or pork, go for any of it. It’s everywhere and it is a really must try. Hong Kong makes good roast meats there are Michelin Star restaurants that serve this beauty, and best of all they are so affordable.
Dim Sum – Talking about Michelin Star restaurants, well some dim sum places have it as well like Tim Ho Wan. All dim sums in Hong Kong is a must try from steamed, fried, pan fried and baked ones. We love our shumai and steamed barbecue pork buns, how about you what’s your favourite.
Beef Noodle Soup – Tender beef in a rich broth with noodles, nuff said! So, who does it better? Taiwan or Hong Kong? Up to you to decide but before doing so try the Kau Kee Noodle soup first before any judgement is made.
Pork Chop Rice – Now this is my comfort dish back when I was still working there just imagine egg fried rice baked with breaded tender pork chops in a tangy sweet tomato sauce topped with melting cheese. If you haven’t tried this you are missing half of your life 🙂
Congee – You thought it’s just over cooked rice with lots of liquid, you are wrong in Hong Kong it takes a lot of patience to do this. The many hours of painstaking process results in a very creamy, flavourful smooth bowl of congee topped with your favourite ingredients like pork, pork balls, prawns and century egg to name some.
To wash all of those great food, there is only one drink to do that
Hong Kong Ice Lemon Tea – If you are used to the sweet instant ice tea and never had tried this then your system will go to a shock, this is a totally different drink. Made with real tea and real lemon without sugar, this is the national drink in Hong Kong.
Bonus: Turtle Soup – Just kidding 🙂 but yes, they are real, I saw a lot of this even until now. Never had the guts to try it, they’re such cute creatures.
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