Hong Kong: the Food Tour

Hong Kong is a city filled with good eats. As a vegetarian, my family was worried I wouldn’t be able to find much variety. Not to worry, parents, I successfully gained 15 billion pounds over the short period of four weeks.

For this post, I’m going to give you all a food tour of Hong Kong. On this tour, everyone will be able to find something they love, vegetarian or meat-lover. If you only have 24 hours in Hong Kong, skip the tourist sites and follow this guide!

Start your morning by heading to SoHo. First stop on this tour is the PMQ building. Standing for Police Married Quarters, PMQ is an ex-school house turned military bunker. Today, the PMQ has been renovated to serve as a hipster paradise. Housing many local artists and restaurateurs, the PMQ building is a great place to start.

Spend some time getting lost in the local shops. When you start to feel a little famished, seek out one of the many coffee/pastry shops. You can’t go wrong! If you are feeling really hungry, check out Aberdeen Street Social’s weekend brunch.

After exploring PMQ and picking up a painting or a new cool pair of “No Brand” shades, head across the street to Little Bao. (Exit PMQ on the Staunton Street side. Little Bao will be slightly to the left and across the street).

Get a small bite at Little Bao. I suggest ordering one of their signature bao sandwiches, described as an “Asian burger.” They are very small, so this will serve as a good snack before lunch!

Next, move the feast to Da Ping Huo, a cozy Szechuan restaurant. Brace yourself – almost all the food is spicy here! (Pro-tip, don’t go here hungover).

As a vegetarian, I ordered the vegetable dumplings and vegetable noodles (order them less spicy). The menu has a convenient spice rating next to each item. Make sure to order sides of plain rice to help put out the fire in your mouth!

Move toward Elgin Street to find the next foodie paradise, Posto Pubblico. Two New York chefs, inspired by southern Italian traditions, create some of the best pasta in Hong Kong here! You can’t go wrong at Posto Pubblico. If you are having trouble picking one dish, my meat-eating friends love the Spaghetti Carbonara!

By now, it should be around 2pm. But the food tour doesn’t stop here. If you’re ready to tap-out, head back to your hotel for a nap. If you’re in it to win it, follow me to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST).

TST is across Victoria Harbor on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. The Georgetown Study Abroad program took place in TST at the Hong Kong Management Building, so our group got to explore the area for lunch.

I suggest trying one of our favorite places here. Din Tai Fung (or DTF as we like to call it) is a traditional dim sum restaurant. Dim sum is native to Hong Kong and is a must for anyone traveling here! Din Tai Fung is located in the Mira Mall on the fourth floor. (Make sure you enter the mall on the Nathan Road side; it will make your life a lot easier).

Once seated at Din Tai Fung, order their traditional soup dumplings, sliced cucumbers, and house sauce noodles. To order, mark the corresponding menu item numbers on the order card. To get quicker service, raise your hand to get a waiter’s attention.

Once you’re done with this quick detour in TST, head back to the food mecca in SoHo to Yardbird. Yardbird is a Japanese Yakitori restaurant. The main dishes are all composed of different parts of chicken meat. If you eat meat, you must, must, must order the Meatball. It’s everyone’s favorite dish!

Despite the meaty focus, this restaurant can also be fabulous for vegetarians. Check out the cucumber salad, Brussels sprouts, sweet corn tempura, or infamous KFC (Korean fried cauliflower).

During this food tour, I recommend ordering everyone a meatball and some KFC for the table. To complete the Yakitori experience, order a bottle of sake!

Next stop on this food pilgrimage is Ho Lee Fook. This traditional Chinese restaurant with a modern twist will give you the quintessential Chinese experience while in Hong Kong.

Order a few dishes for the table. The staff is amazing and will surely have recommendations for you! As a vegetarian, I loved the stir-fried cabbage. Don’t forget to order the Hong-Kong style French toast!

Finally, we come to the last stop on the tour – Brickhouse. This is a highly coveted, almost secret Mexican joint. Off D’Aguilar Street, down a sketchy alley, Brickhouse is the perfect place to end our food tour, and not just because it’s in the center of LKF (clubbing/bar district).

If you can manage to find seating, order a pitcher or two of margaritas and the nachos. Enjoy!

All uncredited photos courtesy of Alex Rimoldi, Elisa Romanò, and Tatiana Hadchiti.