Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Header image courtesy of Lily Valette
Hidden between Lantau and Hong Kong Island lays the small Cheung Chau island. Picture multicolour rows of fishing boats, servers hailing you to their seafood restaurants, locals on bikes pushing their way through the crowd, and you have Cheung Chau. With only a few streets making up the busy town centre, there is a surprising number of (good) places to eat. Make sure you get your fill before adventuring around the island, as there is nowhere to refuel once you venture out towards Coral Beach or Pak Tso Wan!
First things first, street food is an art on Cheung Chau. Delicious dine-in options exist, but we do recommend you experience the food on the go. Grab your snack of choice, make a pitstop at Islander Cheung Chau for craft beer or at Wow Tea for a refreshing drink, and head off to the beach. Make a picnic out of it! Here are some landmark street food stalls not to miss.
Fish balls are visually simple and unassuming, but, oh my, are they delicious. Cheung Chau is famous for its many stalls serving on-the-go cups and skewers of fish balls with a wide selection of sauces available. Kam Wing Tai, located just a few metres away from the Cheung Chau Ferry Pier, has been around for decades. The stall is known for serving larger-than-usual fish balls, among other takeaway items. We assure you, for once, the queue is worth it.
Kam Wing Tai Fish Ball, 106 San Hing Street, Cheung Chau
If you are more in the mood for fried deliciousness, head over to Island Brewery to try the Cheung Chau chip skewers. The chip skewer is a thinly sliced, spiralled, fried whole potato. It is simple, it is good, it looks cool, it is easy to eat, and Island Brewery has the best ones.
Island Brewery, 16 Tung Wan Road, Cheung Chau
Whatever savoury meal tickles your fancy, you cannot leave Cheung Chau without trying the ping on “peace” buns from Wing Kai Cake Shop. The island is known for hosting one of the most engaging events of the year in Hong Kong, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. Luckily for us, the buns are sold year-round! Just by the ferry pier, Wing Kai Cake Shop has sesame, lotus, and red bean paste ping on buns on display.
Wing Kai Cake Shop, 95 San Hing Street, Cheung Chau
Now, if you would rather sit down, take your time, and enjoy the buzzing ambience from the comfort of a chair, here are some of our favourite places to dine-in on Cheung Chau.
When you step off the ferry and turn left, walk along the harbour until you reach the seafood restaurants. You will know when you have made it—just look for big round tables, coloured umbrellas and tablecloths, fish tanks, and servers hailing. All the restaurants you see are good options and will serve you the classics. However, New Baccarat Seafood stands on the top of the podium for us. The eggplant and pork claypot is the best we have tried, and the chicken dishes are insanely good for a seafood place.
New Baccarat Seafood Restaurant, 9A, Pak She Praya Road, Cheung Chau
Bustling Locomo is a Hong Kong-style noodle shop that should be on your list of places to try. Locomo knows everyone has their personal preferences when it comes to the perfect noodle soup, which is why they let you choose your broth, your noodle, and your toppings.
Locomo, 36 San Hing Street, Cheung Chau
Located to the right when you exit the ferry pier, The Pink Pig has converted tuk-tuk bikes into the most picturesque tables on the island.
Head there at the end of the day and order a draught beer and a generous plate of fish and chips. Take in the scene as the light shifts and the fishermen come back from a day at sea.
The Pink Pig Music Bar and Restaurant, 11 Kin San Lane, Cheung Chau Island
A little further down from Tung Wan Beach, you will come upon Kwun Yam Beach. Kwun Yam Beach is a smaller and quieter strip of sand to visit on your island trip, ideal if you do not feel like straying far from town centre. Standing on Kwun Yam sand since time immemorial is Hing Kee Beach Bar. It is also a beach store, so look out for the tabletop surfboard! The bar serves simple meals in a great atmosphere.
Hing Kee Beach Store, Kwan Yam Beach, Cheung Chau
The seafood restaurants on Pak She Praya Road are great if you like to eat outside, but they can get a bit loud. For a quieter outdoor meal, try out the terraces along Chung Hing San Street. Go to your right as soon as you get off the ferry until you come across a space that looks like a small, lively town square. Head to Fresh Basil Pizza, order yourself a classic margarita pizza, and if you squint, it is almost like being in an Italian coastal town (might have to squint hard, but still).
Fresh Basil Pizza, 19 Tai Hing Tai Road, Cheung Chau
Finally, if you find yourself on Chung Hing San Street, there are many options for Asian food, too. Our current favourite is Phong Cách Việt Vietnamese House. Serving all sorts of phở, bánh mì, bò bún, spring rolls, and more of Vietnam’s yummiest local dishes, it is also the place to go for a phin filter coffee.
Phong Cách Việt Vietnamese House, 17 Chung Hing San Street, Cheung Chau
Born and raised in the French countryside, Lily arrived in Hong Kong looking for an adventure. Passionate about books, she spent some time in Parisian publishing houses and is the author of an illustrated book about hair. Life in Hong Kong for her entails looking for seaside places to eat and a lot of hiking.
Top
