i’ll be in hong kong for a week in early december. i’ll be on my own this time. please to provide recommendations for noodle/soup/dumpling places where a single diner will not feel too bad about missing out on other things on the menu. for reference my hotel is in central right between kau kee and yat lok (3 minutes walk each in either direction). places where i won’t have to wait for hours preferred but as i will not have the kids’ patience to worry about, that’s not a requirement.
When are you arriving in HK?
From my research + @beefnoguy’s help , here are relatively cheap eats I’ll be hitting up in Central and nearby when I’m there late Nov to early Dec:
- Tsim Chai Kee Noodle Shop (Central) - Wonton Noodle
- Mak’s Noodle (Central) - Wonton Noodle
- Mak An Kee (Central) - Wonton Noodle
- Tai Cheong Bakery (Central) - Egg Tart
- Sing Heung Yue (Central) - Tomato Noodle with your choice of meat
- Kam’s Roast Goose (Wan Chai) - Roast Goose
- Ser Wong Fun (Central) - Claypot Rice
- Sushi Nakamoto (Central) - Lunch Omakase / $82USD for the 12 piece + soup + dessert
- Kau Kee (Central) - Beef Brisket Noodle
- Eight Treasures (Tin Hau) - Beef Brisket Noodle
- Sister Wah (Tin Hau) - Beef Brisket Noodle
Not sure if you’re looking for high end as well?
that’s great, thanks!
not looking for high end on this trip. might try to do lung king heen’s executive lunch set one day though.
I, and two other friends, had the Executive Lunch last year and it was great. Service is impeccable, and as requested, we got a table by the window to enjoy the view.
Very specifically:
Yung Kee Central - won ton noodles (save quota for other things). The broth is done right and the wontons are wrapped meticulously to include additional dumpling skin slack to resemble goldfish tails, which is a detail lost on many places (including traditional won ton noodle shops).
Mak An Kee (Chung Kee) Wing Kut Street (Central) - wontons are good, there is ample dried roasted tilefish and shrimp roe in the broth (intense umami but also a touch salty) so drink up some water
Look into Peddler Cart noodle 車仔麵. It’s super blue collar but has a unique appeal and you won’t find it outside of Hong Kong (and even if you find it in a USA HK cafe it’s going to suck). You customize the toppings, type of noodles. So much to choose from and it’s quite fun too.
Ho To Tai (Yuen Long) - decor still looks very 1950s. Likely no English menu but look it up on openrice and social media, screencap pictures and show waitstaff for ordering. Probably the best dry prawn roe brothless noodles in town, and supposedly some of their dumpling skins are made with additional material (fish paste? Can’t recall exactly). A bit of a trek but it’s unique enough.
Some examples and worthwhile places
車仔麵之家 – 香港灣仔的港式車仔麵 | OpenRice 香港開飯喇 (Car Noodle’s Family Wanchai) - might be a standing bar only.
https://tinyurl.com/ybzapqxy (Wing Kee, Causeway Bay) - might be the most famous in the area
Clear broth beef brisket noodles (ho fun/rice noodles is your best bet, egg noodles has alkaline water and affects the broth and the overall taste) - this is tough…Kau Kee is the most well known but locals find it the absolute worst (expensive, only tourists go there, bad service, long wait and lines). Sun Sin in Yau Ma Tei, Sister Wah (Tin Hau) and Eight Treasures (Tin Hau) may be better options, although Eight Treasures version of the broth has more medicinal herbs in it.
Shui Kee (dai pai dong) in Central just up the slope across from the Stanley Street dai pai dongs - this one specializes in beef tripe, and it tastes so clean (owner spends hours cleaning the parts which he gets fresh daily, it’s a lot of work for what he’s charging). Tripe with ho fun noodles is solid. You can also try the dai pai dong Leaf Dessert 玉葉甜品 in Central (Bourdain ate here in Parts Unknown), their pock knuckle noodles are good, and brisket (stewed version) should be very decent too.
Cheong Fat (dai pai dong) - Sham Shui Po (closer to Shek Kip Mei). Sweet soy sauce and pork lard lo mein, the piece de resistance. Hong Kong Food Photo: Cheong Fat Dai Pai Dong noodles - Without Baggage. Pork knuckle also good here.
There’s also Chiu Chow style fishball noodles, but I’m not entirely sure of the best place for them.
What else are you looking for? Lots of Sichuan, Guizhou, Chiu Chow, Yunan and smaller pockets of other kinds of regional Chinese fare as a result of the influx of immigrants from the North.
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My HK friend, who works in Yuen Long, recommended the following there:
Have you been to any of these @beefnoguy?
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Nope but that is excellent blue collar bang bang material right there, thanks!
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thanks!
i’m not looking for anything in particular–mostly just good spots within easy reach for casual, tasty dinners and the occasional lunch (my meetings have not been set up yet so not sure how many lunches i’ll have free). i have good friends who’ve lived in hong kong for some time now and they’ll have recommendations too.
my first stop, of course, will be at crystal jade at the airport before getting on the airport express.
by the way, we were not terribly impressed last time with qi-house of sichuan, which has a michelin star (or did in jan 2016). my friends have been talking up a sichuan home kitchen place that they really like. i’ll probably also do some old-school dim sum with them. mostly, however, i’ll be on my own and so noodle soup/wonton places are just the ticket.
(by the way, if this trip goes well i’ll be back in hong kong for five weeks at a time every two years starting in 2022.)
i will also add, having looked up wing kee on open rice, that if i’m dining without any chinese speakers in tow i cannot do places without english menus/service. this is because for medical reasons there are some things i have to be careful about eating, which unfortunately are not things likely to be strangers to hong kong kitchens. i’n not talking gluten or dairy but stuff that interferes with some medication i take (don’t really want to be more specific). so suggestions for places where the non-chinese reader/speaker will be okay are especially appreciated.