Hong Kong was all about the Michelin star! Once we’d discovered you can eat at restaurants with a Michelin star and not break the bank, we made it our mission to visit them. We ate at 4 in total and here they are:
We loved it here. We had to queue for about 30mins outside at about 5pm but it was totally worth it. They have a good system where you out your name on the list then you’re given a ticket with a number on. You wait outside until your number is called (which they will call in English so don’t worry) then go inside to be seated. If there’s only 2 of you, you will probably share a table with other people but this is the norm in Asia so don’t feel awkward about it.
We ordered the belly pork and a quarter of a goose between us and shared some boiled rice and noodles. The meat was unbelievable and if you like roasted meats from a Chinese Restaurant at home, you are in for a real treat!! The fat just melts in your mouth and the meat is so fresh and tender but still with beautifully crispy skin. How they do it, we’ll never know and we could easily understand why it had received a star. It isn’t fancy or anything but the food is just amazing. Think more cafe than restaurant and you’ll be on the right track. If you’re ever lucky enough to visit, try and go outside of peak hours to reduce your queuing time.
This restaurant looks a little bit fancier and is on a high floor in a shopping mall called Hysan Place but started back in the 1940s as a roadside food stall. Ho Hung Kee are famous for their wonton noodle soup and it’s no wonder. I’m not usually the biggest fan of wonton noodle soup and can take or leave it but this one changed my mind. The noodles were so springy. I mean, how do you even make noodles springy? The broth was fresh and sweet but not bland in the slightest and the wontons were perfectly filled with prawns. The restaurant is quite big inside but it does get very busy and queues form quickly but we got there just before the major lunchtime rush so didn’t have to queue. Result!! HK$100 will get you a good sized meal here with dim sum as well as the soup. What a bargain!!
A michelin starred dim sum restaurant? This had to be visited! We were lucky and didn’t have to queue and got a seat really quickly despite it being very busy! You are given a menu and you have to order on a slip of paper then give to a waitress once you are happy with your choices. Don’t worry though, as they have english translations on the order slips so you know what you’re ordering but try not to order too much as it’s easily done and we’ve learned to try and hold back a little bit if possible! Anyway, we opted for BBQ Pork buns, turnip cake, lotus cake mixed with pork, steamed shrimp dumplings, steamed chiu chow style dumplings, steamed beef balls in beancurd skin, steamed pork and shrimp dumplings and vermicelli rolls filled with beef. The highlight for me were the BBQ pork buns but this was an epic feast and we will definitely be visiting again if we get to go to Hong Kong.
Finally, another restaurant specialising in roasted meats which has been running since 1957. This place is in competition with Kam’s for the best roast goose in Hong Kong and it is extremely hard to choose! We ate the roast goose and BBQ pork on rice and it was just divine. Simlar to Kam’s in that the fat just melts in your mouth and the meat is unbelievably tasty and tender. Don’t expect overly friendly service here as it isn’t that type of place. They want you in, for you to enjoy your food then they want you out ready for the next people waiting in line and that’s it. It suited us just perfectly!
We did eat more food in Hong Kong but they were the places we wanted to talk about. We ate from a lot of bakeries which are just full of tasty buns etc but one of our favourite street food snacks were curried fish balls. They are deep fried then boiled in a spicy curry sauce and we would definitely recommend them if you’re ever lucky enough to visit!
