A first trip for any visitor to Hong Kong is a magical one. The bright lights, fragrant smells, alluring sights, and steamy restaurants tease the palate that no other city can do. Every first-time can remember their first bite of dim sum, the first sip of tea, and the first chomp of the city’s traditional fare.
This guide features 8 must-visit restaurants accredited by the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) Scheme of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), detailing high standards of food quality and service. These are the best restaurants in Hong Kong to dine at for your first visit to Hong Kong.
01 | Beef Bang Taiwanese Hot Pot
A trip to Hong Kong cannot be complete without a dunking head first into a pool of hotpot broth. At Beef Bang Taiwanese Hot Pot, Taiwan’s rich beefy flavours come to the forefront. Located in the center of Tsim Sha Tsui for easy access to the restaurant’s traditional and authentic Taiwanese flavours, including spicy duck blood, bubble milk tea, and taro balls, the hotpot restaurant aces value-for-money with their Ultra all-you-can-eat hot pot set for dinner. The set features unlimited refills of eight types of beef including Australian M9 Wagyu, plus a DIY Taiwanese dessert station with ice cream. All the staff at Beef Bang Taiwanese Hot Pot speak English and English menus are provided.
Beef Bang Taiwanese Hot Pot
Location: 1/F, 32-34 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Phone number: +852 2701 8928
Opening times: 12pm – 10:30pm, Sunday – Thursday, 12pm – 11pm Friday – Saturday
02 | Black Lamb Company
Specialising in black lamb rice noodles, Black Lamb Company professes the power of Yunnan cuisine in areas easily accessible by public transportation. For visitors intent on exploring China’s central provincial cuisines, such as the spicy and starchy Yunnan-style noodles, this is the restaurant to visit. If lamb is not your preference, they also sell beef brisket, pork, and chicken noodles, and plump dumplings packed with juicy meat.
Black Lamb Company
Location: Shop 1A, G/F, 24 Shanghai Street, Jordan
Phone number: +852 3480 2382
Opening times: 11:30am – 10pm, Monday – Sunday
Location: 1/F, 90 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong
Phone number: +852 3482 3328
Opening times: 10:30am – 9pm, Monday – Sunday
Location: Shop 10-12, G/F, Hong Ning Court, 55 Hon Ning Road, Kwun Tong
Phone number: +852 9422 2539
Opening times: 11am – 10pm, Monday – Sunday
03 | Café de Coral
There may be no dish more representative of Hong Kong food than Café de Coral’s Baked Pork Chop Rice, a dish first introduced to the market in 1968 and enjoying grand fanfare since. Prepared with a bone-in pork chop, pan-fried and baked to perfection, it is a must-order for first time visitors to Hong Kong, plus their Hong Kong-style beef tendon & brisket curry. With bilingual menus and self-service kiosks featuring various language options, a meal at Café de Coral is convenient with locations across major transport hubs and tourist districts such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, and Mong Kok.
Café de Coral
Location: https://bit.ly/cafe-de-coral_locations
04 | Ginger Grill (Ocean Park)
At Ocean Park’s Aqua City, the theme park’s aquarium complex, Ginger Grill invites visitors to savour Thai cuisine prepared over their open flame-powered sizzling charcoal grills. With top dishes like the Charcoal Grilled Sea Bream in Thai special sauce and Thai-style Roasted Kamei Chicken, all dishes adhere to traditional Thai culinary and strict sustainability practices. The staff speak various languages to assist with customers arriving from all over the world.
Ginger Grill
Location: Aqua City, Waterfront, Ocean Park, 180 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen
Phone number: +852 3923 2161
Opening times: 11am – 9pm, Monday – Sunday
05 | Men Wah Bing Teng
Originally a standalone “bing sutt” opening five decades ago, Men Wah Bing Teng now boasts dozens of locations in Hong Kong sharing the classic 1970s Hong Kong taste and feel. Most popular for their nostalgic Men Wah BBQ Pork with Egg and Rice and Chiu Chau Style Sa Cha Beef Noodles, great care goes into every dish to provide a taste of Hong Kong to residents and visitors alike. English menus are available for customers across the city, including spots on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
Men Wah Bing Teng
Location: https://www.taihing.com/?route=brands-detail&id=5&lang=1
06 | Tao Heung Tea House
For visitors seeking a real Cantonese dining experience, Tao Heung Tea House is a must-visit establishment on your trip. With locations within major shopping malls in Kowloon and the New Territories, the restaurant chain offers quintessential dim sum bites and their signature roast goose. With bilingual menus with photos and dish descriptions, Tao Heung Tea House is well suited for diners diving deep into the rich techniques, flavours, and traditions of Cantonese cuisine.
Tao Heung Tea House
Location: https://bit.ly/tao_heung_tea_house_locations
07 | Very Good Seafood Restaurant
Specialising in Cantonese cuisine, inclusive of dim sum, hot pot dishes, and sea food, Very Good Seafood Restaurant is an English-speaking-friendly restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui perfect for visitors. The restaurant is located opposite the Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre, and besides two MTR exits, making for a convenient visit. Their signatures include the Steamed Crab with Taro Paste, Braised Fish Maw with Goose Feet, and Fried Lobster with Garlic.
Very Good Seafood Restaurant
Location: B1/F, Burlington Arcade, 90-94 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Phone number: +852 2366 5660
Opening times: 8am – 11pm, Monday – Sunday
08 | Yum Cha
Forever enshrined as a must-visit restaurant in Hong Kong, simply for its new way of presenting dim sum, Yum Cha turns the cuisine on its head. Literally meaning to ‘drink tea’, Cantonese cuisine is made modern and playful here, with the hot custard molten buns and BBQ piggy buns a signature on its menu. Alongside enjoying baked pineapple pugs, steamed red bean, and tangerine buns, Yum Cha is easy to visit in Central and easy to order, with English-speaking staff well-equipped to recommend you a menu guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Yum Cha
Location: Shop 1-2, 2/F, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road Central, Central
Phone number: +852 3541 9710
Opening times: 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm, Monday – Sunday
This feature is brought to Foodie in partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
