Cooked food markets in Hong Kong
Information on dining out in Hong Kong's cooked food markets and centres
Cooked food markets in Hong Kong rose in popularity as the
government began to heavily regulate the dai pai dongs (cooked food street
stalls) in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, they are often located in government
municipal buildings and above wet markets. Exceedingly popular, it’s best to
arrive early and to go in large groups, improving your chances of getting a
table to yourself and waging a fair battle against the impressively large
portions.
Nestled inside the Java Road Municipal Building, this cooked
food centre is filled to the brim, but one stall’s reputation excels. Tung Po
is a cheap and cheerful seafood restaurant that’s become known for its revelry,
larger than life hosts and clientele, and the drinking games that come from
drinking beer in bowls.
2/F, Java Road Municipal Services Building. 99 Java Road,
North Point. Open daily from 6am-2am.
With Thai, Indian, and Italian cuisine on offer, to name
just a few, patrons of the Queen Street Food Market are spoiled for choice. One
of the more popular stalls is a dumpling vendor; made fresh each day, the stall
often closes early as orders sell like hot cakes. Italian restaurant ABC
kitchen is popular in the evenings, as it offers no corkage.
1/F, 38 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan. Open daily from
6am-2am.
Located on the junction between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay,
across the road from the popular Times Square shopping complex, Bowrington Road
offers a range of Cantonese-style dishes, including the popular Wai Kee
restaurant, which sells Halal dishes, catering to the district’s large Muslim
population at lunchtimes.
South Block, Bowrington Road Market, 21 Bowrington Road, Wan
Chai. Open daily from 6am-2am.
Dubbed Little Thailand, Kowloon City has long held a
reputation as hosting the best and most authentic Thai cuisine in Hong Kong.
Such cuisine is alive and thriving in the district’s cooked food centre. This
may be one of the smaller and more intimate venues in the city but, it is uncompromising
on flavour and authenticity.
102 Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City. Open daily from
6am-2am.
One of few standalone cooked food centres, the Mui Wo Cooked
Food Market is situated under a series of permanent tents along the waterfront,
with open kitchens, fresh seafood cooked to order and views of Silvermine Beach
and the incoming boats.
Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road, Mui Wo, Lantau Island. Open daily
from 6am-2am.
A relatively new complex with a thriving wet market
underfoot, the Tai Po Hui Market plays host to one of Hong Kong’s larger cooked
food markets, with four rows of vendors and stalls. With no fixed seating,
visitors can order from multiple vendors to one table, with the choice of food
from multiple cuisines, including Cantonese and Hakka.
G/F-2/F, Tai Po Complex, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, New
Territories. Open daily from 6am-2am.
The Ap Lei Chau Market is adjacent to the Aberdeen Fish
Market, where 70 percent of Hong Kong’s live fish are sourced. With jet fresh
seafood on its doorstep, there are few better places to order seafood in Hong
Kong. Visitors can purchase seafood from the fishmongers at the wet market on
the ground floor, and take it to one of the cooked food vendors to be prepared
for the table.
Ap Lei Chau Municipal Services Building, 8 Hung Shing
Street, Ap Lei Chau. Open daily from 6am-2am.