It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there will always be dishes you need to try before you die. Hong Kong alone is considered the Mecca of unbelievably good food ranging from traditional mouthwatering local foods to Westernized fusion based cuisine; Hong Kong has it all.
With so many dishes to try, where can you start? What types of Hong Kong food is right for your tingling taste buds? There’s more food than could be written in one article thus, a compilation of the best Hong Kong dishes will make the cut in this article.
Grab your napkins, spoons, forks and knives because you’re going to be hungry. Very, very hungry!
Chicken Feet
This probably looks gross and probably tastes gross but what’s not to like/love about chicken feet?
Chicken feet, although it’s exclusive to Asia alone, Asians love deep fried chicken feet and stewed in black bean sauce. The foot, or rather, the skin around the feet melts in your mouth. Though you have to spit out the excess, indigestible cartilage!
Hong Kong-styled French Toast
What should be the first thing you try when you touch down in the land of delicious, savory cuisine? Hong Kong French toast of course! Mmmm… French toast. Why the excitement with French toast? Isn’t French toast the same around the world? On the contrary, Hong Kong-styled French toast is slightly different. It consists of 2 slices of thick toast smothered with peanut butter or kaya jam, soaked in egg batter, deep-fried in more batter and topped with anything of your choice.
Most would go with butter or a simple, fruitful explosion of jam or syrup. It’s cheap and sinfully good with its sweet, savory and soft blended flavors!
Stinky Tofu
Sure, you’ve heard of stinky tofu before but have you ever had the guts to try stinky tofu? It’s been said that foods that give off a foul odor taste the best. Hands down. In every culture there’s gotta be a dish or so that you may be reluctant to try because of the empowering odor. In Thailand, it’s durian or jackfruit. Fermented to the core, stinky tofu can be a big turn off for tourists, although the smell doesn’t turn off the locals. Well, some, of course.
5 Layered Roast Pork
From chicken feet to layers of Sus meat, this next dish is simply divine. Okay, maybe that’s too strong of a word when the dish is basically 5 layers of roasted pork meat. However, the catch to this dish is the pork itself. Each layer in the dish tastes differently and boasts a myriad of mouthwatering, teeth grinding gooeyness or crunchiness. The top layer is crispy and the layers below alternate between chewable rubbery fat and soft meat. There is no single method to making this dish as many restaurants create their own interpretation of the dish. One dish, tons of interpretations. Dinner is served!
Roast Pigeon
Feeling like eating some other type of feathered creature? What flies in flocks and is considered a city pest? Pigeons. Yes. There is pigeon on this delightful menu. The Cantonese-styled pigeon is braised in soy sauce, rice wine and star anise then roasted to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Duck is expensive so why not go for something that’s locally available and flying around your heads every once in a while?
The list of divine dishes could continue forever but this is just the tip of the iceberg of introducing people into the world of Hong Kong food. Many of the foods are influenced by the West but there’s no shortage of local knowledge put into these dishes. Regardless what dish you try for the first time, maybe it’s best to avoid something too exotic. If you’re comfortable with chicken, stick with our fried feathered friends rather than going out of your way to eat a pigeon. Trust me.
Ethan Pisano is a food addict and self-proclaimed globetrotter. Traveling to over 50 countries to date, his latest adventures lead him to Hong Kong, trying out the best Asian cuisine at the Novotel Hong Kong Nathan Road hotel. Ethan Pisano loves eating foods from street stalls to extremely lavish establishments of Kowloon.
