Recently, I was lucky enough to spend a week exploring Hong Kong. I started researching all of the things to do in Hong Kong as soon as I booked the flight, and I quickly realized that Hong Kong is considered one of the food capitals of the world!
Whenever you travel, there is such a selection of food to try that it can quickly overwhelm a tourist. So, I took a Hong Kong food tour so a local would show me the best places to try Hong Kong’s unique food.
Now, I must warn you that some of the food in Hong Kong is “different,” to say the least. But that is what makes it so special! Trying a new cuisine is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the local culture.
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Hong Kong street foods you must try
These are some of the best—and most memorable—food items I tried while visiting Hong Kong. If you ever go to Hong Kong, you may want to try them too!
Plus, if you’re squeamish about eating things you don’t recognize—or can’t eat—I can promise you that a guided street food tour is the way to go!
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1. Egg tart
An egg tart is a dessert item rather than a main dish. It has a custard-like filling made with egg and sugar inside of a bite-sized tart shell. While the texture wasn’t my favorite (it was slimy and more liquid than a pudding consistency), the tart itself was tasty.
Egg tarts are sold in the mornings at practically any bakery, especially in Macau. They are such a common item in Hong Kong you will definitely see them while walking around.
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2. Roasted goose with apricot sauce
Roasted goose was my favorite of all the Hong Kong foods I tried! Goose is considered a fancier food item in Hong Kong, so it’s common for families to go out for goose for a celebration. Upper-class locals in Hong Kong will eat roasted goose more regularly.
Roasted goose tastes similar to duck to me. They roast it so that the skin is crunchy and salty. However, roasted goose is not found in street food stalls; you will have to go to a proper restaurant to try it. There are Roasted Goose restaurants everywhere in Hong Kong, but there are a couple tricks to picking a good one
1. First of all, only go to a restaurant in which there is a butcher in the front window chopping up the goose. I know, it doesn’t sound that appealing to go to a restaurant where there is a butcher right at the front. But since these restaurants specialize in serving goose, people buy the goose from them to take goose home to cook as well. It is also fresh!
2. Second, don’t let a long queue or no available tables stop you from eating there. The best restaurants will always be busy, and believe me, they are worth the wait! The service in Hong Kong is usually fast, and the waitresses/waiters are incredibly good at getting tables ready as quickly as possible, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long.
We had a particularly good experience at Chan Kee Roasted Goose in Mong Kok! I really enjoyed the roasted goose that they served, as it came with rice and apricot sauce. The sweet apricot sauce was a perfect match for the goose.
In fact, I liked the roasted goose so much while on the food tour that I had it twice more on my own before leaving Hong Kong!
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3. Fish balls
The name “fish balls” sounds less appealing than they actually are. Fish balls are actually just ground-up fish meat shaped into a ball, which is deep-fried on a skewer. This is a common street food in Hong Kong for locals and eaten as a midday snack.
Fish balls taste just like fish. I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about them except for the way they are served on skewers.
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4. Dim sum
You need to try dim sum if you are in Hong Kong. Dim sum is essentially “dumplings” and comes in all different shapes and types. They are little pockets of goodness; an outer layer is either steamed, boiled, or deep-fried, and inside is a filling of a meat and/or vegetable combination.
Interesting fact: Spring rolls are actually considered to be dim sum!
Choosing what kind of dim sum to try is the hardest part, which is why locals order many different dishes and share them all.
Dim Sum can be found at street food stalls, but because of the variety available, I would recommend going to a restaurant that has an English menu—this may save you from accidentally trying something that you don’t want to!
This Hong Kong food tour gave me the chance to try a few different kinds of dim sum. I am more of a fan of the deep-fried varieties, as the steamed ones were a bit too slimy for me. Deep-fried wontons are always a smart choice, and the deep-fried green peppers stuffed with seafood were also amazing!
There are two good Dim Sum restaurants I would suggest checking out in Hong Kong. One is called Dim Dim Sum near Mong Kok train station, and the other is Canton’s Dim Sum Expert. Both places are well-known Dim Sum restaurants that can cater to tourists: they have an English menu.
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5. Traditional tofu
Tofu has become a regular Western food item. However, in Hong Kong, it is different. Their tofu is usually served warm and is very liquid and smooth. It is eaten with a spoon with raw sugar sprinkled on top.
The difference between the tofu in the western world and the traditional tofu in Hong Kong comes from how it is made. Traditional tofu is made in the traditional way using a machine called a stone mill. It produces the silky tofu that people in Hong Kong adore!
To me, the tofu tasted like nothing, and the texture was too different. It was a bit too “soupy” for me. Nonetheless, the shop owner was very proud of it and watched us closely as we ate. So, in an attempt not to offend her, I ate the whole thing with a smile!
While I don’t think the tofu was amazing, it is worth trying just to note the differences.
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6. Century-old egg
Last, and certainly the least favorite (but most memorable), is the century-old egg.
It is an old egg, not actually 100 years old, but 60 days old! They store the egg in lime juice to preserve it and then cover it in a pastry. The century-old egg is a dessert item and is only served for special occasions.
Lucky for me, I was in Hong Kong just before Chinese New Year, and century-old eggs were available everywhere. I just had to try it, even though it didn’t sound appetizing in the least bit.
I was right; it wasn’t good. The pastry was normal and tasty, but the egg on the inside had the consistency of an avocado and tasted like a boiled egg with lime. It was strange, and although not completely repulsive, I only had one tiny bite just to be able to say that I had tried it.
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Was the Hong Kong food tour worth it?
Hong Kong was sure an adventure for my taste buds! I didn’t love all of the food that I tried, but it was a cultural experience and a memorable one at that.
Would you try it all?
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This article originally appeared on Aswesawit.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
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