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As one of the great culinary capitals of the world, Hong Kong can boast not only a superb native cuisine - Cantonese - but also perhaps the widest range of international restaurants of any city outside Europe or North America. This is due in part to the cosmopolitan nature of the population, but perhaps more importantly, to the incredible seriousness attached to dining by the local Chinese. As well as the joys of dim sum - another Hong Kong speciality - the city offers the full gamut of Chinese restaurants from Beijing to Shanghai to Sichuan (and many smaller localities). It also offers excellent curry houses from the Indian subcontinent, surprisingly reasonable Japanese sushi bars, British pub-style food and endless cheap outlets of the noodle-and-dumpling variety, which are often the best value for money of all. You'll also find the local Chinese fast-food chains, Café de Coral and Maxim's, alongside McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC. The choice is endless, and all budgets are catered for. Travellers arriving after a long stint in mainland China are in for the gastronomic blow-out of their lives. The places listed below are a mere fraction of the total, with an emphasis on the less expensive end of the market. Serious gourmets should consult HKTA's Dining, Entertainment & Shopping Directory or the independent free weekly, HK Magazine. |
All the bigger hotels serve expensive buffet breakfasts. For cheaper, traditional Western breakfasts head for any of the cafés listed (all open throughout the day), although dim sum with tea is a more authentic way to start the morning.
Eating is an enormously large part of life in Hong Kong, and restaurant dining in particular is a sociable, family affair. The authentic Chinese restaurants are large, noisy places where dining takes place under bright lights - not as discreet as the candle-lit ambiances so beloved in the West but much more fun.