Just thinking about writing this post has made me hungry! If someone was to ask me where to eat in Hong Kong, I could rattle off a list of ten places off the top of my head. From traditional fares to international specialties, Hong Kong houses some of the best restaurants. Of course there’s a Morton’s Steakhouse and even a Ruby Tuesday in Silvercord, but when we are there we like to eat in different places – and there are plenty of them.
WHERE TO EAT IN HONG KONG!
IPPUDO: My husband is a huge foodie and for him to say that Ippudo has the best ramen he’s ever tasted, means a whole lot! I ordered Both times we visited on this last trip I ordered gyoza dumplings in tonkatsu broth. R ordered Special Akamaru Shinaji. Tip: if you go to Ippudo after 3pm, definitely order the skewers. The grilled eel and chicken wings are two of my favorites.
HUTONG: If you are looking for an amazing dinner spot – both the food and the amazing harbor view, you need to make reservations at Hutong. Try to book your dinner so that you are seated and ready to view the laser light show from a different angle!
I recommend the Red Dragon and the lamb ribs, but everything we’ve tried has been great. A nice surprise was the noodle puller – I couldn’t believe how he created noodles from one huge piece of dough.
DIN TAI FUNG: I cannot tell you enough amazing things about Din Tai Fung. O.M.G. We at there 3 times during my last visit and I think I could’ve eaten there a few more times. Soup dumplings, or XiaoLongBao, are so delicious. My favorites are pork XiaoLongBao and the shrimp and pork shao mai. I always order the fried rice; R always orders the cucumber salad (quite spicy last time I tried it!). Favorite veggies include the Chinese cabbage and the kale. Try Din Tai Fung once and you’ll know why I ate there so frequently.
AL FORNO: We thankfully stumbled upon this little gem in SoHo as we were a bit tired from walking up the steep streets. I opted for a salad and R tried out their flat bread. Both were yummy and hit the spot, as did the friendly conversation with one of the owners.
THE OPTIMIST: Located in Wan Chai, The Optimist was an awesome, trendy spot for a great Spanish (from Spain as R says) meal. We started with the chorizo and eggplant fries and followed that up with their grilled lobster. The drink menu included an extensive wine menu but what caught our eye was the 2 page spread of gin and tonic options.
BRAZA: My husband is a huge steakhouse fan, especially Brazilian steakhouses as they rotisserie their meats. Braza was delish! We started with the small but intricately picked out salad bar items, then followed with the meat parade. My favorite was the picana (top sirloin), followed by the chicken wings – oh, and I can’t forget the grilled pineapple. That was YUM.
ARUN THAI: Situated at the bottom of the Hyatt in Tsim Sha Tsui, Arun Thai specializes in a modern version of traditional of Thai cuisine. I can tell a good thai place by the pad thai and this one scored a perfect 10 on my scale. I especially enjoyed the friendliness of the owner, Kham Signavong. Kham took the time to speak with us.
DRINKS ANYONE?
THE LANGHAM BAR: The Langham in London houses the “best bar in the world” so there were big expectations when we visited in Hong Kong. BUT – there was something different about this location. The Hong Kong bar has Rush, a true cocktail artist. The Langham was offering patrons to “taste art in a glass”. For a limited time one could make a reservation to experience the new standard in the art of cocktails, all in conjunction with Art Basel Hong Kong.
Super excited to see what this was all about, we made reservations and walked over. What a treat it truly was! Right in front of our eyes, Rush created two drinkable pieces of art. Of the three options I chose the Piet Mondrian “Tableau I”, while R opted for Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory”.
Rush painstakingly created these via food coloring, toothpicks and a super steady hand. I didn’t want to drink it as it was too beautiful but I did eventually, and it tasted just as good as it looked.
We spent some time speaking with Rush, a talented artist whom enjoys sketching bottles from the bar and creating drawings of possible future drinks. We asked question after question about his inspiration and he graciously answered, along with introducing us to a very herbaceous gin and tonic drink that I hope to replicate at home!
THE OZONE BAR: Atop the Ritz Carlton and the highest bar in the world on the 118th bar, this is the perfect venue to grab a drink and enjoy the views.
DID YOU SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT?
LADUREE: Last year when we were visiting Hong Kong, we were traveling on the MTR and my eyes landed on a beautiful mint colored shopping bag. When I see that color, I need to inspect further – it’s like when you see a turquoise blue bag you know it’s Tiffany & Co. I knew this had to be from Laduree. As soon as we get back to the hotel room, I researched and lo and behold there was a Laduree in my favorite mall (Harbour City!) We had to go! Ever since my friend Anouk introduced me to my first macaron at the Laduree in Paris, it has been my all-time favorite dessert.
PAUL LAFAYET: R took me to Paul Lafayet by the IFC, as he knows my love for macarons. I have to say the chocolate macaron was exceptionally good. My husband opted for the Baileys, lychee and salted caramel ones.
Did you pack your bags yet?!
To me, Hong Kong is comparable to New York City when it comes to the variety and quality of dining options. There were so many other places that I’d love to visit given the time (and a very high metabolism…and the will to exercise a lot more).
Which place from the ones above would you go to first?
Jasmine says
How lucky are you! The food looks delicious its my dream to visit Hong Kogn
Amanda says
Ooh this post certainly made me hungry! I had Ipuddo in NYC and LOVED it! The ramen was SO good as were the pork buns <3 I would love to try the one in Hong Kong along with the rest of the places on this list one day!
xx, Amanda
geekyfashionista.blogspot.com
Dana says
Amanda, we wanted so badly to go to the Ippudo in NYC but we were visiting with our boys and they are picky eaters 🙁 Next time for sure – and I want to try their pork buns now that you mentioned them!
Melissa says
I could stare at these pictures all day- this looks so amazing! How neat is that cocktail artist?!?!
Maria says
I’ve never travelled to Asia, would love to visit Hong Kong. These dishes look interesting!
La Yolanda says
I went to Hong Kong two years ago and I gotta say Dim Sum + Tea is a definitely a must have in Hong Kong!
Dana says
Yes! We bought a lot of tea to bring back home because we loved it there. What is your favorite type of tea?
Rachel Ritlop says
This is so cool! What a fantastic resource! Eating in other countries always weirds me out a little, so thank you!
The dim sum looks great!
– Rachel | http://www.theconfusedmillennial.com
Dana says
I was a bit concerned also Rachel, but we were able to find delicious options! The dim sum was AWESOME!!!
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
I would love to visit Hong Kong someday. It sound so exotic.
Crystal // Dreams, etc. says
Those drinks look tasty, but I wouldn’t want to drink them and mess up the art on top either! So cool!
Dana says
I know Crystal – I didn’t want to mess up the masterpiece either!
Adaleta Avdic says
I am so hungry after browsing through all of these delicious pictures! I hope to go to Hong Kong someday and this will definitely be the first post I check! xx
Michelle Gwynn Jones says
Asia is such a great travel spot. I love soaking in a different culture.
Anali Martinez says
OH. EM. GEE. This looks amazing!!! I can’t wait to visit soon!
Elizabeth O. says
Those are all amazing! I am glad you were able to find all these lovely places to dine in. I would love to take note of these in case I find myself in Hong Kong some time soon. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Allison Jones says
Wasn’t Hutong awesome?! We loved the pasta making demonstration! We went there and to Ozone during our recent trip and both were awesome!
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Karlaroundtheworld | Karla says
Hongkong’s practically a neighbor land from where I’m originally from and all the treats there are just like what I’m seeing here, no exotics, just bliss for your tongue! And nothing’s even shocking for western tastes. Overall, good one!
Dana says
Karla, where are you from? I loved everything I ate in Hong Kong!
Autumn says
Omg. These look delicious! Hong Kong is high on my travel list. And I’m definitely going to have to check these out one day.
Kathy says
I’ve never been to Hong Kong before. All of that food looks so delicious though. I would like to try all of it! Yum!
Dana says
It was delicious Kathy!!
Sophie says
Aaaahh XiaoLongBao! It’s funny that I just read about The Langham on my current fiction read.
Dana says
Sophie, such a funny coincidence! What were you reading?
Chelsea L. says
I’m envy you, I’ve been wanted to visit Hongkong for a long time but I have no luck. I make sure next time that we visit Asia I will stop by here. And I will bookmark this post as my guide .
Dana says
Thank you for bookmarking it Chelsea – I hope you get to go there!!
Heather says
Art in a glass sounds fun, it kinda reminds me of coffee art. I see lots of tasty food there! Yum!
Amy Jones says
Everything looks so delicious, i wish local Chinese cuisine looked just like that hehe!
Colette S says
My husband is the world traveler and I know he’d love to learn about this just in case he gets into that neck of the woods!
Yum!
Shannon Peterson says
My husband and I are actually trying to plan a trip to Hong Kong soon so I’ll definitely be saving this for later!
Milena says
My brother just got back from Hong Kong. I have to ask him if he visited any of these places!
Dana says
I’d love to hear where he ate as well Milena!
Marielle Altenor says
All of these spots sounds delicious. I’d go to The Optimist first because that grilled lobster looks heavenly!
Dana says
Marielle, it was heavenly!! 🙂
Dawn gibson-thigpen says
oh my everything looks so lovely and tasty. i love the moments you captured. very nice.
Jenn says
We don’t have any plans to visit Hong Kong in the immediate future, but now I want to! Those noodles look so good, and we absolutely LOVE dumplings of all kinds. Yum!
Dana says
The noodles were delicious! Add Hong Kong to your bucket list!
Claudia Krusch says
I would love to visit Hong Kong one day. It sounds sooo amazing!
Kathy Kenny Ngo says
Going there this June and I am mucho excited! Thanks for the tips!