By Localiiz
Branded | 12 September 2023
Copyright © 2023 LOCALIIZ | All rights reserved
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Check out Humans of Hong Kong, our newest video series focused on telling Hong Kong stories!
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Noodles—a staple in Asian cuisine and a symbol of long life that is well-loved by many. From soup noodles and dipping noodles to stir-fried noodles and cold noodles, the diverse flavours all have their own special places in our hearts. Whether you’re a casual noodle lover, an avid noodle consumer, or a complete newbie to noodle exploring, 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, there will always be a TamJai SamGor near you. Specialising in Yunnanese-style rice noodles, this restaurant offers customisable noodle bowls, which you can personalise by choosing from mild-level spice to super fiery, a range of tomato-flavoured and sour and spicy soup bases, as well as a variety of side dishes to pair with your mains. 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-style chicken wings are also worth trying, complementing your spicy noodle soup with a fragrant kick of herbs.
Cart noodles are as local as it gets when it comes to noodle dishes in Hong Kong, and Wing Kee Noodles is a highly-rated choice. With twenty years of acclaimed history, the small noodle shop serves beef brisket soup noodles that will surely have you slurping happily. Other popular dish choices include pig’s 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. Additionally, Wing Kee offers a must-try signature side dish—chicken wingtips—that is served separate from the noodles. Don’t forget to add a splash of their flavourful chilli oil to give your soup a bit of a kick!
Wing Kee Noodle, 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 spot, but with a choice of thick sauces to mix with your noodles other than the usual soup default. Sauces include onion sauce, satay sauce, oyster sauce, tomato, soy sauce, and sha cha sauce. Chopsticks Kee also has other Macanese-style dishes, 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, fish balls, and Swiss chicken wings as some of the most recommended.
Chopsticks Kee, Shop A1, Khuan Ying Commercial Building, 85–89 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2854 9969
This roadside dai pai dong in Central is a popular spot for both tourists and locals, with their tomato soup served with instant noodles or macaroni being one of their greatest selling points. Sing Heung Yuen’s side dish choices consist of mostly cha chaan teng breakfast classics 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, making for a simple but fulfilling lunch, breakfast, or afternoon tea.
Sing Heung Yuen, 2 Mei Lun Street, Central | (+852) 2544 8368
This local noodle restaurant serving wonton and fishball noodles has been recommended by the Michelin Guide for eight consecutive years. Simple wonton noodles or noodles with carp fishball are staples 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: shrimp wontons, handmade carp fishballs, and beef. Served with thin egg noodles and clear soup, their wontons are at least twice the size of average wontons found in most noodle shops.
Tsim Chai Kee, Shop B, 98 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2850 6471
Hong Kong only has a few restaurants left that specialise in nostalgic bamboo pole noodles, and to taste them, one has to dive deep into Sham Shui Po to find Lau Sum Kee Noodle. Now in third-generation hands, this restaurant is well-known for its tossed bamboo pole noodles with dry shrimp roe. Also recommended by the Michelin Guide, Lau Sum Kee is just as popular for its pork knuckles served with beef brisket sauce. They also have an unlimited amount of pickled radish provided in a jar on every table, complementing the delicious noodles.
Lau Sum Kee Noodle, 48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po | (+852) 2386 3533
For Taiwanese cuisine lovers, this restaurant is a favourite. What to Eat, located on 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 yearn for that last foodie trip you took to explore the night markets of Taipei.
Their beef noodles, served as mixed noodles with sauce and slices of beef, are spicy with hints of sesame flavour—the perfect main dish to go with the spicy fish cakes and egg rolls and a bottle of Taiwanese beer. What to Eat also offers mixed noodles served with braised pork, or if you fancy a slurpy option, you can opt for the braised beef noodles in soup—the restaurant’s take on popular Taiwanese beef noodles.
What to Eat, Shop A, Carfield Commercial Building, 75–77 Wyndham Street, Central | (+852) 2810 9278
For ramen lovers, you can now enjoy this famous ramen spot from Osaka right here in Hong Kong. Maru De Sankaku is 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. Perched along the slope on Aberdeen Street, this small restaurant only serves 150 bowls of ramen noodles per day, making the visit even more enticing.
Maru De Sankaku, 13 Aberdeen Street, Central | (+852) 2810 9278
Aya, a tsukemen spot, is another well-regarded Japanese noodle restaurant. Its menu is simplistic, with only three choices for soup bases: regular, black garlic oil, and shrimp miso. Pair that off 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, and adding a soft-boiled egg is also possible, complementing the already flavorful soup base. The tender Japanese-style char siu 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.
When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, most people will think of phở, the beef broth noodle soup served with flat rice noodles, but other varieties of Vietnamese noodles, such as bún mắm and bún bò Huế, are just as flavorful and can be found in Hong Kong. In fact, Cô Thành specialises in them, dishing up lesser-known noodles such as bún mắm. Made of a fermented shrimp paste soup base, it is served with homemade pork balls, seafood, and rice noodles.
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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