Hong Kong is the best place in the world to eat Cantonese food, and most of the best of it is cheap. A basket of har gow at a dim sum hall costs HK$30-60 (about $4-8), a bowl of wonton noodles HK$40-60, a plate of roast goose on rice HK$70-150, and a milk tea and pineapple bun at a cha chaan teng less than HK$40. The city also has more than 60 Michelin-starred restaurants for the nights you want to spend more, but across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon the meals people remember are the ones eaten at a shared table under a fluorescent light.
The eating day runs on its own clock: dim sum from 7am to mid-afternoon, cha chaan teng breakfasts and set lunches, roast meats at lunch, noodle shops all day, and the street stalls, seafood and claypot rice after dark. Plan by meal, not by sight, and you will eat well in every neighbourhood.
Hong Kong food at a glance#
Dim sum
Steamed and fried small plates with pots of tea, eaten from morning to mid-afternoon. HK$150-300 a head at a classic hall.
Cha chaan teng
Hong Kong’s cafe-diners: milk tea, pineapple buns, French toast, macaroni soup, set meals for HK$40-80.
Roast meats
Siu mei: roast goose, char siu pork and crispy pork belly hanging in the window, chopped to order over rice.
Noodles and congee
Wonton noodles in a shrimp broth, beef brisket noodles, silky rice congee with fish or century egg.
Street food
Curry fish balls, egg waffles, cheung fun and skewers from hatches in Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po and Temple Street.
Seafood
Choose from the tanks at Lei Yue Mun or the Sai Kung waterfront and have it steamed, fried or salt-and-peppered.
Dim sum and yum cha#
Yum cha (“drink tea”) is the meal; dim sum are the dishes. The essentials are har gow (prawn dumplings in a translucent wrapper), siu mai (open pork and prawn dumplings), char siu bao (steamed barbecue pork buns), cheung fun (rice-noodle rolls with prawn or beef), lo mai gai (sticky rice in a lotus leaf), fung zao (braised chicken feet), and egg tarts or mango pudding to finish. In most places you tick dishes on a paper order sheet and hand it to a server; a few halls still push the trolleys around.
Tim Ho Wan is the famous cheap one. Its original Mong Kok shop won a Michelin star in 2009 and became known as the world’s cheapest starred restaurant; the chain now has branches in Sham Shui Po, North Point and Hong Kong station (under the IFC mall, handy before the Airport Express). Order the baked char siu buns with their sweet, crackly topping, three for around HK$30-40, and expect a short queue.
Maxim’s Palace at City Hall in Central, is the classic big hall: a ballroom with harbour views, trolleys, and families at round tables. Queue before it opens at weekends or come mid-week. Luk Yu Tea House on Stanley Street, open since 1933, is the old-guard alternative with ceiling fans and white-jacketed waiters, at higher prices.
Lin Heung Tea House on Wellington Street, the old trolley house where you grabbed dishes from the carts yourself, closed in August 2022 and reopened under new owners in 2024; in early 2026 it announced a move from Wellington Street to a new address on Des Voeux Road Central. Check its current location before you go.
Cha chaan teng: milk tea, pineapple buns and French toast#
The cha chaan teng (“tea restaurant”) is Hong Kong’s most local institution: a fast, noisy cafe that mixes Cantonese and British colonial food and serves it from breakfast to late. Seats are shared, service is brisk, and the menu on the wall runs to a hundred items. What to order:
- Milk tea: strong black tea strained through a cloth “silk stocking” and mixed with evaporated milk, hot or iced, HK$20-30. Yuenyeung mixes it with coffee; lemon tea is the other staple.
- Pineapple bun (bo lo bao): a soft sweet bun with a crackly sugar crust (no pineapple), best as bo lo yau with a thick slab of cold butter inside, HK$12-25.
- Hong Kong French toast: two slices sandwiched with peanut butter, deep-fried, topped with butter and golden syrup, HK$25-40.
- Breakfast sets: macaroni in ham soup, scrambled eggs, toast and a drink for HK$40-60; satay beef instant noodles are the other classic.
- Egg tarts: short-crust or flaky-pastry custard tarts from bakeries such as Tai Cheong on Lyndhurst Terrace, Central.
Lan Fong Yuen on Gage Street in Central is the milk-tea shop people queue for. Australia Dairy Company on Parkes Street in Jordan is famous for scrambled eggs, steamed milk pudding and very fast, very curt service; you will be out in 15 minutes. Kam Wah Cafe on Bute Street in Mong Kok, north of Yau Ma Tei, is the pineapple-bun pilgrimage. Pay at the till on the way out, usually cash or Octopus.
Roast goose, char siu and siu mei#
Siu mei shops are the ones with lacquered birds and strips of red-edged pork hanging in the window and a cleaver going behind the glass. Roast goose is the Hong Kong speciality, with crisp skin, a layer of fat and plum sauce on the side; char siu is honey-glazed barbecue pork, ideally slightly charred at the edges; siu yuk is roast pork belly with a crackling top. Order a plate over rice (“faan”), with a fried egg if you like, or a quarter goose to share.
Yat Lok on Stanley Street in Central is the best-known roast goose; expect a queue at lunch and a higher price for the leg. Kam’s Roast Goose on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai holds a Michelin star and also queues. Joy Hing, a few blocks along Hennessy Road, is the char siu specialist. Any neighbourhood siu mei shop will give you a two-meat rice plate for HK$50-80, and it will be good.
Wonton noodles, congee and claypot rice#
Wonton noodles are thin, springy egg noodles with prawn wontons in a clear broth of dried flounder and shrimp roe, served in small bowls so the noodles do not go soft. Mak’s Noodle and Tsim Chai Kee, facing each other on Wellington Street in Central, and Mak Man Kee on Parkes Street in Jordan are the classic shops, at HK$40-60 a bowl. Beef brisket noodles are the other noodle-shop staple; order them with the tendon.
Congee is rice cooked down to a silky porridge, a breakfast and late-night food with fish slices, pork and century egg, or beef, plus a stick of fried dough (yau ja gwai) to dunk, HK$30-60. Sang Kee Congee on Burd Street in Sheung Wan, and the congee shops of neighbouring Sai Ying Pun, are reliable stops.
Claypot rice (bo zai faan) is a winter dish, served from about October to March: rice cooked in a clay pot over charcoal or gas with Chinese sausage, chicken or spare ribs, finished with sweet soy, with a crisp crust at the bottom you scrape off at the end. The cluster of shops around Bowring Street and Temple Street in Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, including Four Seasons Pot Rice, cooks it to order; allow 20 minutes and HK$60-120.
Dai pai dong and street food#
Dai pai dong are open-air food stalls with folding tables on the pavement, licensed in the 1950s and now down to a few dozen. The cluster on Stanley Street and Gage Street in Central, and Sing Heung Yuen on Mei Lun Street (tomato soup noodles and crispy buns with condensed milk), keep the format alive in the middle of the financial district. Expect plastic stools, a shared table and dishes for HK$40-80.
Street snacks are sold from hatches rather than stalls. The best streets are Fa Yuen Street and Dundas Street in Mong Kok, Kweilin Street and Pei Ho Street in Sham Shui Po, and Temple Street Night Market in Jordan, where the seafood and claypot tents open from about 6pm. Look for:
- Curry fish balls: on a skewer, HK$10-20.
- Egg waffles (gai daan jai): a bubble-shaped waffle, crisp outside and soft inside, HK$20-35; Lee Keung Kee in North Point, near Fortress Hill, is a famous name.
- Cheung fun: street-style plain rice rolls with hoisin, sesame and peanut sauce, HK$15-25.
- Siu mai on a stick, fried squid tentacles, stinky tofu and put chai ko (red-bean pudding in a bowl): HK$10-30 each.
Sham Shui Po is the best district for a cheap eating crawl: dim sum, tofu pudding, rice rolls and noodle shops within five minutes of the MTR, most under HK$50.
Seafood at Lei Yue Mun and Sai Kung#
At Lei Yue Mun, a fishing village on the channel at the east end of Victoria Harbour, the system is simple: walk past the seafood stalls and their tanks of grouper, mantis shrimp, lobster and razor clams, buy what you want by weight, and carry it (or have it carried) to one of the restaurants behind, which charges a cooking fee per dish. Ask for prices per catty (about 600 g) before you agree, and ask the restaurant’s cooking charge before you choose. Take the Kwun Tong Line to Yau Tong, exit A2, and walk 15 minutes downhill. A full meal for two with drinks costs around HK$800-1,600 depending on what you pick.
Sai Kung Town works the same way along its waterfront promenade, with boats of live seafood moored at the pier and restaurants with outdoor tables; combine it with a beach or a kaito ride to Sharp Island. On Lamma Island, the restaurants of Sok Kwu Wan serve set seafood dinners for groups and are an easy ferry ride back to Central afterwards.
Dishes to try and what they cost#
| Dish | What it is | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Har gow | Prawn dumplings in a thin rice-starch wrapper | HK$30-60 for 4 |
| Siu mai | Open pork and prawn dumplings | HK$30-55 for 4 |
| Char siu bao | Steamed or baked barbecue pork buns | HK$30-45 for 3 |
| Cheung fun | Rice-noodle rolls with prawn, beef or fried dough | HK$30-50 |
| Roast goose rice | Crisp-skinned goose over rice | HK$70-150 |
| Char siu rice | Honey-glazed barbecue pork over rice | HK$50-80 |
| Wonton noodles | Prawn wontons and thin egg noodles in broth | HK$40-60 |
| Beef brisket noodles | Slow-braised brisket in broth | HK$45-70 |
| Congee | Rice porridge with fish, pork and century egg | HK$30-60 |
| Claypot rice | Rice with sausage or chicken cooked in a clay pot | HK$60-120 |
| Milk tea | Strong tea with evaporated milk | HK$20-30 |
| Pineapple bun with butter | Sweet bun, sugar crust, slab of butter | HK$12-25 |
| Hong Kong French toast | Peanut-butter toast, deep-fried, syrup | HK$25-40 |
| Egg waffle | Bubble waffle from a street hatch | HK$20-35 |
| Curry fish balls | Skewered fish balls in curry sauce | HK$10-20 |
| Egg tart | Custard tart, flaky or short crust | HK$10-15 |
Meal prices, tables and tea etiquette#
| Budget | Where | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap | Cha chaan teng, noodle shop, siu mei rice, street snacks | HK$40-90 ($5-12) |
| Mid-range | Dim sum hall, Cantonese restaurant, dai pai dong dinner | HK$150-400 ($20-50) |
| Splurge | Hotel Cantonese, Michelin-starred, harbour-view dining | HK$800-3,000+ ($100-385) |
Sharing tables: in cha chaan tengs, noodle shops and busy dim sum halls you will be seated with strangers (daap toi). Take the seat you are given, keep your bags off the table and do not linger after eating when there is a queue.
Tea: a tea charge of HK$8-30 a head is added at dim sum halls and Cantonese restaurants. Pour for others before yourself; tap two or three fingers on the table to say thank you when someone pours for you; leave the teapot lid tilted or upturned to ask for hot water. Many locals rinse their bowls and chopsticks with the first pour of tea; you can too.
Paying and tipping: sit-down restaurants add a 10% service charge, and no extra tip is expected. Cha chaan tengs, noodle shops and dai pai dong do not charge service and many take cash or Octopus only. Chopsticks rest on the holder or across the bowl, never stuck upright in rice.
Dietary needs: vegetarian food is easiest at Buddhist restaurants and the monastery at Po Lin beside the Big Buddha on Lantau, and Tai O’s stalls of salted fish and shrimp paste are the island’s other food stop; Cantonese stocks often contain pork or seafood. Halal food is easy near the Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui, including the South Asian restaurants of Chungking Mansions.
Eat dim sum on a weekday morning before 10am or after 2pm. Weekend yum cha from 11am to 1pm is a family ritual, and the famous halls run hour-long waits; a ticket from the host and a phone number on it is how you hold your place.
Where to eat in Hong Kong#
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More Food, Nightlife & Shopping#
Hong Kong food FAQs#
What food is Hong Kong famous for?
Dim sum, roast goose and char siu, wonton noodles, and cha chaan teng staples such as milk tea, pineapple buns and Hong Kong French toast. Egg waffles and curry fish balls are the signature street snacks, and claypot rice is the winter favourite.
How much does a meal cost in Hong Kong?
A cha chaan teng meal, noodle bowl or roast-meat rice costs HK$40-90 ($5-12). Dim sum for two at a classic hall runs HK$300-600 with tea, and a Cantonese dinner at a good restaurant HK$400-800 per person.
Is Lin Heung Tea House still open?
It closed in August 2022, reopened under new owners in 2024 and announced a move from Wellington Street to Des Voeux Road Central in 2026. Check the current address before you go, or go to Maxim’s Palace at City Hall for trolley-style dim sum.
Do you tip in Hong Kong restaurants?
Not usually. Sit-down restaurants add a 10% service charge, and cha chaan tengs, noodle shops and street stalls do not expect a tip. Leaving the small change is a polite extra, not an obligation.
What time is dim sum served in Hong Kong?
From about 7am to 3pm or 4pm at traditional halls, with weekend lunch the busiest time. A few chains such as Tim Ho Wan serve dim sum into the evening.
Is street food in Hong Kong safe?
Yes. Hygiene standards are high and food stalls are licensed and inspected. Eat where the turnover is high and the food is cooked in front of you, and you are unlikely to have problems.
Is Hong Kong good for vegetarians?
It is manageable rather than easy. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants, the monastery lunch at Po Lin on Lantau and vegetarian dim sum at specialist tea houses are the best bets; ordinary Cantonese dishes often use pork fat or seafood stock, so ask.
Where is the best seafood in Hong Kong?
Lei Yue Mun near Yau Tong MTR and the Sai Kung waterfront, where you choose live seafood from the tanks and a restaurant cooks it for a fee. Confirm the price per catty and the cooking charge before you order.