We at This is Asia Tours are truly the best people to get you acquainted with Cantonese cuisine–we grew up on it and we know the best spots in town to get authentic dishes. Along the way, we’ll tell you all about Hong Kong’s cafe culture, introduce you to the HK style bakery, pop into local markets, and learn how locals prepare food. We hope you’re hungry!

2. Discover true, local Hong Kong cuisine! With the ubiquity of Chinese
food throughout the world, many people believe they’ve experienced
true Cantonese cuisine outside of China. This is rarely the case!

3. We at This is Asia Tours are truly the best people to get you acquainted with
Cantonese cuisine–we grew up on it and we know the best spots in town to get
authentic dishes. Along the way, we’ll tell you all about Hong Kong’s cafe culture,
introduce you to the HK style bakery, pop into local markets, and learn how
locals prepare food. We hope you’re hungry!

4. Join us on a food tour to experience what makes Hong Kong’s Cantonese
cuisine so special! Taste local specialties, visit markets, learn about HK
cafe culture and gain an understanding of local culinary practices.
Check out our list of the 18 must-eat foods in Hong Kong.

5. Hong Kong Food Tour

6. Pineapple Buns

7. Mostly served in bakeries and cha chaan
tengs, the pineapple bun is a soft, fluffy
roll blanketed in a crumbly, sweet
craquelin-esque top.
Sink your teeth into one and you will be
greeted with a glorious medley of
textures– think crunchy bursts of lightly
caramelized sugar crust between bites
of warm, comforting bread.

8. Zhu Cheung Fun (Rice Rolls)

9. Zhu cheung fun (also known as cheung
fun) are steamed rice rolls you can often
find as street snacks or at dim sum parlors.
When made well, these rolls are silky
smooth, not at all gummy, and have a
wonderful aroma of freshly steamed rice.
Have them with lashings of seasoned soy
sauce, sweet sauce, sesame sauce, and a
dollop of chilli sauce on the side for a spicy
kick.

10. Milk Tea / Yin Yang

11. Hong Kong-style milk tea is completely
different from other Asian milk teas– and
dare we say its on a league of its own.
An earthy blend of black tea and
evaporated milk, some even strained
through silk stockings for the silkiest
mouthfeel, Hong Kong-style milk tea is the
epitome of the city’s East-meets-West
culture.

12. Tofu Dessert

13. The tofu dessert is perfectly suitable for both vegans
and vegetarians.
Also known as tofu fa or tofu pudding, this dessert is
smooth like the best panna cotta and slides onto your
tongue effortlessly.
Tasting only of soybeans, the pudding is the perfect
vessel for the light syrup and crunchy red sugar
crystals often offered by tofu dessert vendors.
Have the dessert served warm in the frosty winter air,
or enjoy it cold when it’s blazing hot in summer.

14. Dim Sum

15. Literally meaning “touch the heart”, these little morsels
originated in Guangdong as delicious accompaniments
to tea at tea houses.
Must-trys include har gow– steamed dumplings of firm,
fat shrimps enveloped in a translucent, chewy rice
wrapper; siu mai– open-faced pork and shrimp
dumplings wrapped with a thin yellow sheet; cha siu
bao– fluffy white steamed buns stuffed with sweet and
savory chunks of barbecued pork; and spring rolls– a
variety of meat and vegetables rolled within a thin,
crunchy pastry, served with Worcestershire sauce.

16. Hong Kong-style Egg Tarts

17. There are two distinct varieties of egg
tarts: the shortcrust egg tart, and the puff
pastry egg tart.
Both are equally as good, but we think the
classic will always be the shortcrust pastry
egg tart.
Best served piping hot and with milk tea
on the side!

18. Wonton Noodles

19. Top-notch wonton noodles consist of thin,
springy egg noodles cooked al dente, perched
atop shrimp and pork dumplings and lifted by a
spoon to keep them from turning soggy,
swimming in an umami-packed broth and topped
with yellow chives.
Some spots boast of their shrimp-only
dumplings, but purists will claim that only
wontons that contain pork are the real deal.
Eat the noodles first (with a bit of soup and
chives in every bite) so they don’t go soft!

20. Siu Mei (roasted meats)

21. (cha siu)– juicy cuts of pork slathered in a
gravy of spices, wine, maltose and soy sauce,
roasted in a cylindrical oven until the maltose
caramelizes;
roast goose (siu ngo)– roasted until the skin is
bronzed and crisp, seasoned with an aromatic
mix of five spice powder and wine, and served
with a sweet, tangy plum sauce that cuts
through the richness.

22. Egg Puffs

23. Curry Fish Balls

24. Golden, deep fried spheres of fish paste,
bathed in a spicy curry broth and served on
skewers– this classic street snack has been
around for decades and is here to stay.
Each store claims to have their own secret
blend of curry spices, so definitely try as
many as you can until you find your favorite.

25. Beef Brisket Noodles

26. Beef brisket noodles consists of tender
chunks of braised brisket and springy egg
noodles (or our personal favorite– chewy,
spongy e-fu noodles), served in a flavorful
beef bone broth and topped with a
handful of spring onions.
Some spots also serve a curried variety of
the soup for those who prefer more
intense flavors.

27. Fresh Seafood

28. For Hong Kongers, freshness is first priority
when it comes to seafood, so rest assured
that your meal will be as fresh as you can
get.
Must-trys include steamed grouper with
springy, tender flesh, topped with a
mountain of spring onions and doused with
seasoned soy sauce, and stir-fried mud
crabs with ginger and spring onion, piping
hot and bursting with the complex, smoky
aroma of wok hei.

29. French Toast

30. Peanut butter sandwiched between two
slices of bread, dunked in egg and deep
fried, this snack is an addictive, carby
square of evil goodness.

31. Claypot Rice

32. A winter favorite, claypot rice (bo zai fan)
consists of a variety of fresh and cured
meats cooked over rice inside a claypot,
over a gas or charcoal stove.
As it cooks, savory juices from the meats
coat each individual grain of rice, turning
the humble ingredients into pot of gold.

33. Hot Pot

34. Hong Kongers love gathering their friends
and family around a boiling vat of
seasoned broth, then dipping thin slices of
raw meat, fish, or vegetables into the
broth until they’re cooked, with a lot of
chatting in between.

35. Mango Pomelo Dessert

36. Invented in the 1980s by famous restaurant
chain Lei Garden, this dessert consists of
mango chunks, pomelo segments and
pearls of sago swimming in a sweet soup of
mango puree, evaporated milk and coconut
milk.
Always served cold, this childhood favourite
is super refreshing and perfect for sweaty
summer days.

37. Fried Beef Noodles

38. A true test of skill for any Cantonese cook,
fried beef noodles (gon chau ngau ho) is
an aromatic dish of flat rice noodles
tossed with soy sauce, tender slices of
beef, crunchy bean sprouts and spring
onions over an extremely high heat for
that quintessential wok hei.

39. Sweet and Sour Pork

40. If there’s one dish that reminds all Hong
Kongers of their childhood, it would be
sweet and sour pork.
This Cantonese classic can be found in
Chinese restaurants across the globe but
we are adamant that the best can only be
found in Hong Kong.

41. THIS IS ASIA TOURS
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