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Noodles—a staple in Asian cuisine, and a symbol of long life, is well-loved by many. From soup noodles, dipping noodles, stir-fried noodles to cold noodles, the variety of flavours all have its own special place in our hearts. Whether you’re a casual noodle lover, or an avid noodle consumer, or a complete newbie noodle explorer, our guide to the best noodle spots and restaurants in Hong Kong will open your eyes to the variety of choices we have. Slurp away!
If you’re looking for a fail-proof and super accessible noodle spot and are trying to experiment with your spice tolerance, there will always be a TamJai SamGor near you. This Yunnanese-style rice noodle restaurant has a variety of spice levels to choose from. With spice level one spice to super spice, with other tomato and sour and spicy soup bases to choose from and the variety of side dishes to choose from, the menu might be a little overwhelming, but sticking with a low-level spice and simple side dishes like chicken and fishball is a good place to start. The Hunan herbs chicken wings at this local noodle joint is also worth trying, complementing your spicy noodle soup with a kick of herbs
Cart noodles are as local as it gets when it comes to noodle choices, and Wing Kee Noodles is a highly rated choice. With twenty years of history and appearances in multiple food blogs, the small noodle shop tucked in a street in Causeway bay serves crowds of tourists and locals. Their beef brisket soup base and your choice of noodle and side dish will surely have you slurping happily. Few of the more popular dish choices include pig blood jelly cubes, beef brisket, squid tentacles and radish, but if you’re looking for a less adventurous choice, their shrimp wontons also do not disappoint. They also have a signature side dish—chicken wingtips—that is served separate from the noodles. Don’t forget to add a splash of their flavorful chilli oil to give your soup a bit of a kick!
Wing Kee Noodle, G/F, 27A Sugar Street, Causeway Bay | (+852) 2808 2877
This hole-in-the-wall Macanese noodle shop on Wellington Street is also a pick your own noodle and dish spot, but with a choice of thick sauce to mix with your noodles other than the usual soup default. The sauces include onion sauce, satay sauce, oyster sauce, tomato, soy sauce, and sha cha sauce. They also have dishes that are Macanese-style like Colaone fish cakes and teatime snacks like pork chop sandwich. They have almost thirty kinds of side dishes to choose from, with fish cakes, fishballs and Swiss chicken wings being a few of the most recommended ones.
Chopsticks Kee, Shop A1, G/F, Khuan Ying Commercial Building, 85–89 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2854 9969
This roadside dai pai dong in Central is a hot spot for both tourists and locals, with their tomato soup base served with instant noodles or macaroni being one of their greatest selling points. Their side dish choices consist of mostly cha chaan teng breakfast style choices such as sausages, ham, beef, spicy pork cubes, bacon and eggs. They are also known for their crispy buns with condensed milk and other spreads, served together with a signature Hong Kong Style milk tea, makes a simple but fulfilling lunch, breakfast or teatime.
Sing Heung Yuen, G/F, 2 Mei Lun Street, Central | (+852) 2544 8368
This local noodle restaurant serving wonton and handmade fishballs recommended on the Michelin guide eight consecutive years is well-loved by locals and flocked by many tourists. A simple wonton noodle or a wonton noodle with carp fishball is a staple for many growing up in Hong Kong, and Tsim Chai Kee is where you’ll find extra juicy and filling wontons to satisfy your cravings. The restaurant has only three side dishes, the shrimp wontons, carp handmade fish balls and beef, served with thin noodles and soup, with their wontons being at least two times the size of average wontons.
Tsim Chai Kee, Shop B, G/F, Jade Centre, 98 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2850 6471
To really have some local style noodles, one has to dwell deep into Sham Shui Po, and this restaurant well known for their tossed noodle with dry shrimp roe is one of the restaurants you’ll find in the bustling district. Also recommended on the Michelin guide, Lau Sum Kee is also well known for their wonton with dry shrimp roe, as well as their pork knuckles served with beef brisket sauce. They also have an unlimited amount of pickled radish provided in a jar on every table, complements the delicious noodles and dishes.
Lau Sum Kee Noodle, G/F, 48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po | (+852) 2386 3533
For Taiwanese cuisine lovers, this restaurant is a top favourite. What to eat, located at Wyndham street, serves various Taiwanese snacks and dishes, from egg rolls, black pudding, to braised pork rice, there’s bound to be something that makes you nostalgic for that last trip to Taiwan.
Their spicy beef noodles, served as a mixed noodle with sauce and slices of beef, are spicy with hints of sesame flavour, a perfect main dish to go with the spicy fish cakes and egg rolls and a bottle of Taiwanese beer. They also have mixed noodles served with braised pork, or if you fancy a slurpy option, they also have braised beef noodles in soup, which is the more commonly known Taiwanese beef noodle.
What to Eat, Shop A, G/F, Carfield Commercial Building, 75–77 Wyndham Street, Central | (+852) 2810 9278
For all the ramen lovers, you can now enjoy this famous ramen spot from Osaka, right here in Hong Kong. Having recently opened in May, they are serving their famous Madai fish broth ramen, which is made by brewing snapper fish and other ingredients for eight hours. The soup is the highlight of this ramen, so if you’re a soup lover and want to try something new, this flavorful fish broth is for you.
They also serve dipping ramen, and clear Madai—snapper broth ramen, crispy fish skin, and fried chicken. Perched on the hill in Aberdeen Street, this small ramen spot only serves 150 bowls of ramens per day, making the ramen even more enticing.
Maru De Sankaku, G/F, 13 Aberdeen Street, Central | (+852) 2810 9278
This tsukemen— dipping ramen spot in Kennedy town is another highly rated Japanese noodle restaurant. Their menu is simplistic, with only three choices for soup bases, regular, black garlic oil and shrimp miso, paired with your noodle of choice, wheat or black pepper, or a pick of the daily specials.
Each bowl comes with seaweed, bamboo shoots and pork, adding an extra soft-boiled egg is also possible, complementing the already flavorful soup base. The tender Japanese style cha siu pork served with every bowl also elevates the whole tsukemen experience to another level. Whether you’re new to the dipping noodles experience, or just want to try a new tsukemen spot, Aya is definitely the place to go to.
Aya, G/F, Kam Ling Court, 16 Whitty Street, Shek Tong Tsui | (+852) 2440 0900
When it comes to noodles and Vietnamese cuisine, most people will think of pho, the beef broth noodle soup served with flat rice noodles, but other varieties of Vietnamese noodles such as Bun Mam and Bun Bo Hue, that are just as flavorful and can be found in Hong Kong, in Cô Thành to be specific, a restaurant located in Kau U Fong in Central as well as at the newly opened Basehall food court. The restaurant serves noodles such as Bun Mam, which is Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste soup base noodle served with pork balls, seafood, and rice noodles.
Cô Thành, Basehall Food Court, LG, 1 Connaught Place, Central
Lovely is a Filipino-Indian born and raised in Hong Kong. Being a fitness enthusiast and a book lover, you’ll usually find her in the gym or lurking in the bookstore. She’s also always on the hunt for the most relaxing cafés and drinking spots with the best vibes. Check out Lovely’s blog for her book recommendations and short essay pieces.
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