Hong Kong - November with 2 kids

Asia
1

Doing a lot of research and have narrowed down my list. Not included are many of the higher end 1*, 2* and 3* Michelin places. At some point we will do DTF and THW but not necessarily a priority. We are going to stay in the Central area for about 6 days total.

Places I know my kids will eat (don’t @ me)
Shake Shack
Carbone
Myung Ga
Motorino
Pici
11 Westside
La Fromagerie

Places recommended from this board and the interwebs
Fook Man Moon
Lei Garden
65 Peel
Kam’s Roast Goose
Mak’s Noodle
Kau Kee
Sister Wah
Tai Cheong Bakery
Sing Heung Yue

Anything else I should add to my list?

2

No idea who this is but found this on Hungry Onion

Yes or no - can we eat at Yardbird with my 7 and 9 year old?

3

Btw word on the street is Yardbird is coming to an arts district near you.

4

Yup I think I read that somewhere. But can I go to the original in Hong Kong with a 7 and 9 year old? We will be super jet lagged so might go very early or super late if that helps.

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They are open from 6 pm to midnight iirc. Not sure how comfortable it will be for them but if they can handle hipster LA restaurants they should be fine in the HK equivalent

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Recommend you go to Mak An Kee on 37 Wing Kut Street in Central, rather than Mak’s Noodles. Mak An Kee has a unique item called Po Yu 甫魚 which are dried tilefish shavings…think of them kind of like bottarga or katsuobushi… the dried tilefish is first roasted over charcoal then used to make wonton broth to give it that umami it deserves. Normally this fish is not even served or sold in any other shape or form, but at Mak An Kee you can. It’s a small soy sauce portion of the dried tilefish shavings that look like crumbs. You put it over egg noodles and eat it like lo mein. You may have to ask for either some brisket gravy or oyster sauce, otherwise it is really dry.

Otherwise their won tons are quite spot on.

Why not try other local food?

  • Kwan Kee Claypot Rice
  • Ser Wong Fun (Central) - focus on their individual portion double boiled soups. They also have claypot rice (quite stellar at that but not heated with charcoal, but they do a damn good job with the burnt bottom rice portion). And their garlic shrimp lotus rice is one of my favorites too. They also have some roasties there, but maybe not the absolute best, though decent for a fix. If you go in the evening you may see Paulina Ng (“Gigi”) and she went to university in Northern California, speaks good English, and is an amazing foodie who goes to all the newest and hottest places.
  • I think if you do Kau Kee you can probably skip Sister Wah. Good friend of mine went to Kau Kee recently and despite the hate many locals give it, he says it has improved (other than the soup being lackluster for him).
  • Leaf On (dai pai dong in Central), they have Cantonese desserts but their pork knuckle noodles look pretty decent.
  • Skip Fook Lam Moon and Lei Garden, just go to Yan Toh Heen.
  • You should do a proper Cantonese Chiu Chow meal…Causeway Bay flagship location of Pak Loh Hysan place http://www.pakloh.com/ will be an upper tier place that works. Marinated goose (also try marinated goose liver and intestines if you can) will be the stuff of dreams. If you are adventurous, their signature fish dishes should be great. Or if you are feeling super generous, get one of those large flower (blue) crabs served cold for the true flavors of Chiu Chow Cantonese.
  • If you have a weekend to spend, go to Tai O Fishing Village Saturday or Sunday (do not go on a weekday). Two streets will have enough bang bang material to keep you satisfied including local snacks and desserts, and one restaurant although mostly for locals, does roast goose supposedly very well, and a lot of other great local food that utilizes local dried seafood as well.
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Thanks for some recommendations. It’s hard to decide which place to go to for some abundant dishes like noodle soup or beef noodle soup. I’ll focus on Man An Kee and Kau Kee.

Leaf On in Central - is this the place?
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294217-d982413-Reviews-Leaf_Dessert-Hong_Kong.html
The reviews on Trip Advisor are pretty funny.

I had Tai O village on the list but we land and take off on Sunday. Why do you say no weekdays?

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The snack shops and many restaurants do not open on weekdays at Tai O fishing village, which are the biggest reason for visiting. Family made the mistake of going on a weekday only to leave disappointed.

Consider walking to For Kee (HK cafe) from Central. Very local. Pork chops are great, and the satay beef onion toasted sandwich is stellar, strong coffee and HK milk tea.

Yes that’s the Leaf On. Peanut mochi dumpling is classic and the green bean dessert soup is wonderful.

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For Kee looks like my type of place.

Good advice on Tai O. Will have to cross that off our list.

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Skip Kau Kee. It’s simply not worth the time and effort the merely decent quality of the brisket. On the other hand, Sing Heung Yue is more for the cultural experience of dining at a dai pai dong and not the food since it’s simply doctored canned food.

Add in the following:

  • Mui Kee Congee in Mong Kok (congee with fish belly)
  • Mammy Pancake in Tsim Sha Tsui (egg waffle)
  • The Chairman in Central (Get the tasting menu that includes Steamed Fresh Flowery Crab with Aged ShaoXing)
  • Fei Jie in Mong Kok (Get their highlight innards combination for $108 HKD and you get to skip the line if you do)
  • Kai Kai Dessert in Jordan (Classic Chinese desserts)
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It’s really not worth the visit unless you’re in it for the scenery. All the street food I had there were just okay at best.

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Thanks I added in a few of these recommendations. Still not sure if we are going to spend the money on one of the higher end Michelin starred Cantonese or dim sum places since we’ll have 2 kids with us.

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HK and Macau Michelin starred eateries are quite casual in contrast to the states. I was able to dine at 4 of the 3 star restaurants wearing jeans.

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Good to know. Getting my kids to wear long pants is hard enough. If the dining room was like EMP or TFL I would feel uncomfortable bringing my kids there. Maybe we’ll add 1 nice dinner to the itinerary.

If we do is the Chairman the one?

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I’m hesitant to say any restaurant can be the one, but The Chairman is great and you can wear anything going there.

I really liked Tin Lung Heen too given the quality of the food and a spectacular view.

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This made me laugh for some reason. I know its an honest mistake.

10%20PM

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#veganbeef

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I don’t have a lot more to contribute to the already helpful info you got above, but had a few comments.

I went to Fook Lam Moon (dinner) on my last trip to HK, and Lei Garden (dim sum) on a previous trip, and neither were that memorable to me. Fook Lam Moon is supposed to be where the tycoons (e.g., Li Ka Shing) hang out, so I met up with a friend there just to check it out :slight_smile: But if you were willing to go to places like that, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to go to a 2 star - as @moonboy403 mentioned, they’re all pretty casual. My personal rec is Sun Tung Lok - I went to the one in TST twice (dinner and dim sum), and it was tied with Lung King Heen for the best dim sum I’ve ever had (and the two were miles above anything else I’ve had).

Btw, just out of curiousity, I googled LKH’s dress code, and it’s below:

"Lung King Heen is delighted to welcome families with children aged three and above.

Dress code is smart casual for male guests aged 6 or above. Covered shoes, long pants and sleeved shirts are required for gentlemen."

Also a fan of Mui Kee for the congee - the place is quite a hoot! There are old schoolers eating there with their pet birds (carrying the cages in toe!).

I also liked going to Lan Fong Yuen in Lan Kwai Fong for their milk tea (and their toast) but given that the others didn’t suggest it above, I’m assuming it’s because they thought it was too touristy and not worth the hassle.

Lastly (DISCLAIMER - one of the owners is a friend of mine from our NYC days, so take the following suggestion with 50 grains of salt) - if you’re in the Mong Kok / TST area, I would suggest TAP Ale room. They serve casual western food (so should be palatable to the young ones) but they also have a bunch of microbrews, including Young Master Ales, which is my friend’s brewery, but I also understand he’s gotten lots of third party praise! Only suggesting this because you seem to have an interest in craft beers based on your other posts, and Young Master Ales has some interesting (Asian) flavor combinations in addition to the usual ones.

Some encouragement to go to Sun Tung Lok :slight_smile:

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The toast at Lan Fong Yuen

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Mui Kee (the congee looks like congee :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks for this info HK seems much more relaxed that I was expecting.

Looks very good. I will keep a couple of options and probably pick one based on availability and convenience of where we are that day.

Nice. This was on my list because of your reasons exactly. Good craft beer and Western food. I think I picked up on this place from @MyAnnoyingOpinions. Will definitely try the Young Master Ales. Love the Asian influenced styles.

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keep in mind that the smaller noodle shops might be very hectic with kids. tables are small, you are expected to share them with strangers, and you’re expected to not dawdle at all. i did see some kids at a few places but mak an kee at weekday lunch or kau kee at peak dinner hours may be a challenge–i don’t know that i would do it with my 10 and 8 year olds. i did not find any appreciable difference between mak an kee and mak’s noodle, but i think the latter will be easier with small kids.

here are all my hong kong reviews for reference.