What to Eat in Hong Kong: 12 Dishes First-Timers Should Try (and Where to Try Each One)

If you are working out what to eat in Hong Kong on a first trip, start with the cheap stuff. The dishes locals actually eat every week (wonton noodles, roast goose over rice, a pineapple bun with milk tea) are the ones visitors remember, and plenty of the best versions sit in the MICHELIN Guide's Bib Gourmand list, its value category. Below are 12 dishes worth a stomach slot, with one place to try each, so you can plan meals around the sights rather than the other way round.

The short list

• Breakfast: milk tea and a crispy bun at a cha chaan teng, or tomato noodles at a dai pai dong.
• Lunch: wonton noodles, beef brisket noodles, or roast goose. Go early; the queues are real.
• Afternoon: dim sum, egg tarts, tofu pudding.
• Walking around: curry fish balls on a skewer, egg waffles, cart noodles.

Noodles: wontons and beef brisket

1. Wonton noodles. Thin, springy egg noodles in broth with shrimp-and-pork wontons. Try them at Tsim Chai Kee, 98 Wellington Street, Central. MICHELIN's inspectors note there are only three toppings (dace fish balls, pork-and-shrimp wontons and sliced beef), and you can order any two or all three. Expect a lunchtime queue and to share a table with strangers. Over in Kowloon, Mak Man Kee at 51 Parkes Street, Jordan, is another Bib Gourmand noodle shop.

2. Beef brisket noodles. Slow-braised brisket on noodles, in clear broth or curry. Kau Kee, 21 Gough Street, Central, has been trading since the 1930s and is the name everyone knows. Order the curry broth if you want the house speciality, or clear broth if you want to taste the beef. The yi mien noodles cost extra; MICHELIN calls them the most famous noodle in the house. Gough Street is a short walk from the stops on our self-guided Central walking tour, so it slots easily into a morning of sightseeing.

Roast meats: goose and char siu

3. Roast goose. Crisp-skinned, dripping, usually served by the quarter over rice or in a bowl of lai fun (thick rice noodles) in clear broth. Yat Lok, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central, is a family business founded in 1957 that holds one MICHELIN star. The guide says the goose goes through a 20-step process. It is still a casual, elbow-to-elbow place, and there can be a line even before noon.

4. Char siu (barbecued pork). Sticky, sweet-glazed pork you will see hanging in shop windows all over the city. The easiest way to try it on a first trip is inside a bun at dim sum (see below).

Dim sum (yum cha)

5. Dim sum. Small plates with a pot of tea, mostly eaten from morning to mid-afternoon. MICHELIN traces it back to working-class tea houses where "one pot, two items" was a quick, cheap meal. Two very different first tastes:

• Tim Ho Wan (Sham Shui Po), 9-11 Fuk Wing Street. A Bib Gourmand branch with more than 20 dim sum on the menu. The signature is the baked barbecue pork bun, crisp outside and soft inside. Shrimp dumplings (har gow) are the other must-order. It is a natural stop on a Sham Shui Po street food walk.
• Luk Yu Tea House, 24-26 Stanley Street, Central. Open since 1933, three floors of old-school decor and waiters in white jackets. You go as much for the room as the food; MICHELIN's inspectors single out the crispy deep-fried chicken.

Cha chaan teng classics: milk tea, buns and egg tarts

A cha chaan teng ("tea restaurant") is Hong Kong's everyday cafe: fast, cheap, cramped, with a menu that mixes Cantonese and Western comfort food.

6. Hong Kong-style milk tea. Strong black tea with evaporated milk, strained through a cloth that gives it the local nickname "silk stocking" milk tea. Lan Fong Yuen in Central, around for roughly 70 years, is the one MICHELIN's writers call the city's most iconic cha chaan teng.

7. Pineapple bun. There is no pineapple in it. The name comes from the cracked, sugary top. Get it with a thick slab of cold butter inside, or do as MICHELIN suggests at Lan Fong Yuen and pair your tea with a crispy bun with condensed milk and butter.

8. Egg tarts. A wobbly egg custard in pastry, best eaten warm. For a modern take, Bakehouse is famous for its sourdough egg tarts. Most bakeries in the city sell the classic version.

Street food: fish balls, tofu pudding and egg waffles

9. Curry fish balls. Bouncy fish balls on a skewer, drenched in curry sauce. According to MICHELIN, post-war hawkers in the 1950s and 60s started frying them and adding curry sauce, and every stall guards its own recipe. Hop Yik Tai in Sham Shui Po is a classic stop (its steamed rice rolls are the bigger draw). If you want a bowl rather than a skewer, try cart noodles, where you pick your own toppings; Man Kee Cart Noodle is a MICHELIN-listed example.

10. Tofu pudding. Silky, warm, just sweet enough. Kung Wo Beancurd Factory, 118 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po, has made its own tofu since 1893. Add an order of pan-fried stuffed tofu.

11. Egg waffles. A sheet of crisp, bubble-shaped waffle, sold folded in a paper bag at street stalls. You will find them in busy shopping streets; follow the smell.

Dai pai dong: eating at an open-air stall

12. Tomato noodles and crispy buns at a dai pai dong. A dai pai dong is a licensed open-air food stall with folding tables on the pavement. Licences can't be transferred outside the family, so each closure is permanent, and only a handful are left (travel bloggers Hustle Around the World counted 17 at the end of 2023). Sing Heung Yuen in Central, founded in 1959, is the easy first one: order the tomato noodles, a crispy bun with lemon, butter and honey, and a milk tea.

Tips before you go

• Go off-peak. The famous noodle and roast-goose shops queue hardest at lunchtime, so eat early or late.
• Expect to share tables. It is normal, and nobody expects conversation.
• Carry some cash. MICHELIN's own filters show a number of its Bib Gourmand picks are cash-only.
• Travelling with kids? Our guide to kid-friendly restaurants in Hong Kong covers where small children are easiest.
• Vegetarian? The Po Lin Monastery vegetarian meal pairs well with a day at the Big Buddha.

Quick answers

What are classic Hong Kong dishes? Wonton noodles, beef brisket noodles, roast goose, char siu, dim sum, curry fish balls, egg tarts, pineapple buns and Hong Kong-style milk tea.

What are the top 5 most popular foods in Hong Kong? For a first trip: wonton noodles, roast goose, dim sum, curry fish balls and a pineapple bun with milk tea. With one day, do milk tea and a bun for breakfast, noodles for lunch, dim sum in the afternoon and fish balls while you walk.

What are the best restaurants in Hong Kong for first-timers? For value, start with the MICHELIN Bib Gourmand list: Tsim Chai Kee, Kau Kee, Tim Ho Wan (Sham Shui Po) and Kung Wo Beancurd Factory are all on it. For one splurge on a local dish, Yat Lok's roast goose holds a MICHELIN star.

Is Hong Kong food expensive? It doesn't have to be. Noodle shops, cha chaan tengs and street stalls are the cheapest meals in the city, and they are also where most of the dishes on this list come from. Drinks and hotel restaurants are where the money goes.