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Check out Humans of Hong Kong, our newest video series focused on telling Hong Kong stories!
Copyright © 2022 LOCALIIZ | All rights reserved
Check out Humans of Hong Kong, our newest video series focused on telling Hong Kong stories!
Header image courtesy of @junoshika
Last updated by Mina Chan.
Breakfast is a meal that a lot of us neglect during the week in our never-ending pursuit to sleep in for just one more minute. Weekends, too, when a big brunch past noon takes precedence over an early morning meal.
There is no shortage of great breakfast spots in Hong Kong, but if you’re really craving an authentic local experience, a classic Hong Kong breakfast is the way to go, and an old-fashioned “ice room” (冰室, pronounced as bing sutt) is the place to have it at. Here’s your guide to all the traditional Hong Kong breakfast favourites, and the quintessential bing sutts to eat them in.
Bing sutts are the predecessors to modern cha chaan tengs, popular in Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s when ice and refrigerators were a luxury to the typical person. Bing sutts were actually considered upscale at the time, with its airy interiors, booth seating, and iced drinks, but as Hong Kong grew, bing sutts quickly became outdated. Many of these cafés from decades past have now shut their doors, leaving behind a handful still serving a loyal customer base. Newer cafés that pay homage to these historical bing sutts have strived to retain the vintage flavour both in the food and the decor, recreating the mezzanine floor found in old bing sutts and serving up tried-and-tested favourites with modern updates.
Despite its off-the-beaten-path location in Yuen Long, business at Mrs Tang Café is always booming. Tourists and locals alike flock there for a taste of what local celebrities Shawn Yue and Chow Yun-fat adore. The signature pineapple bun is a must-have, stuffed with a fried egg, fresh slice of tomato, and a thick pat of cold butter. Their corned beef and cheese sandwich has also captured the hearts of customers over the years, the soft yet crispy roll practically overflowing with melted cheese, as well as their egg salad toast.
Craving soup instead? Mrs Tang’s tomato soup noodles are made with fresh tomatoes as opposed to a tomato base, producing a broth that’s both refreshing and filling. Don’t forget to wash it all down with an iced milk tea, served chilled instead of diluted with ice, or an iced lemon Yakult. If Yuen Long is too far for you, they also have four additional locations in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Tin Shui Wai, though nothing beats the true experience of dining in a traditional village house.
Waso Café, Hang Tau Tsuen, Ping Shan, Yuen Long
The Tiffany-blue exterior of Man Fong Café is hard to miss. Once in Tun, Man Fong has since relocated to Yeun Long, where it continues to enjoy patronage from residents all over Hong Kong. The new restaurant has kept its original décor, which hasn't changed for over half a century inside, with mezzanine railings and wall paintings depicting stars of a near-forgotten era. The breakfast portions are modest but satisfying, with fresh fatty beef slices topping the staple macaroni or instant noodles. Instead of an iced milk tea, opt for their homemade chrysanthemum tea for a healthier option.
The real star of Man Fong Café is the massive deep-fried chicken thigh. Seriously, where do they find chickens with legs this big? Order it with a side of crinkle-cut fries or rice topped with a fried egg and sweet soy sauce for a truly indulgent breakfast or afternoon tea.
Man Fong Café, Shop 10, G/F, Chee King Garden, 35-55 Kin Tak Street, Yuen Long | (+852) 2870 2777
Say your friends are in town for the first time and they ask you for recommendations on the best pineapple bun in town: Kam Wah Café tops the list, without a doubt. Their pineapple buns are known as Hong Kong’s greatest, and for good reason. It’s a bun the size of your palm, packed full of flavour both in the crispy top and the fluffy interior. The hefty slice of butter helps, too.
Kam Wah is almost always packed both inside and outside, with lines forming before a fresh batch is even out the oven. This isn’t to say Kam Wah is only good for pineapple buns—their egg tarts, Mexico buns (a Hong Kong-style concha created by a Chinese-Mexican family), award-winning French toast (we’re not sure what award exactly but it’s still dang good), and Singaporean stir-fry rice noodles are also delicious. Don’t forget to order a cha zau, a velvety sweet iced milk tea with condensed milk in place of evaporated milk.
Kam Wah Café, G/F, 47 Bute Street, Prince Edward | (+852) 2392 6830
Star Café is one of those hidden gems that you either stumble across while lost in Tsim Sha Tsui, or you’ve really put in the effort to find it. You’ll be glad you found it either way, as Star Café serves some of the best tomato soup around. Nostalgia plays a big part in the restaurant’s charm: The menu is written on chalkboards on the wall, there’s an old brick TV that’s inexplicably always playing a classic movie, and old-school fans that sometimes don’t work line the walls.
The tomato soup is made with a combination of tomato paste and fresh tomatoes, and always comes filled to the brim no matter what toppings you order. Vegetarians craving an old-fashioned Hong Kong breakfast will be pleased to find (limited) veg options, but we prefer our tomato soup noodles old-school, with a fried egg and luncheon meat. Sometimes we’ll get it with cheese, too, making the whole affair almost hedonistic. Helpful tip: To efficiently reach Star Café, enter Champagne Court B at 16 Kimberly Road, walk to the end, then go down the stairs on your right.
Star Café, Shop 36, Basement, Champagne Court, 16–20 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 2724 4408
Family-run Kam Po Café is the place to go for a hearty bowl of satay beef noodles. Sure, it’s “young” in terms of bing sutts—opened in 1978—but it holds its own compared to its historical compatriots. You’ve got an important choice to make at Kam Po Café: Do you want mixian (thin rice noodles), udon, macaroni, spaghetti, or good ol’ instant noodles under your flavourful satay? And do you want to treat yourself to a generous helping of thick-cut char siu alongside the satay beef? (The answer to the second question is yes, by the way.)
The sides are to be appreciated too, as instead of a thin omelette and plain white bread, Kam Po’s meal deals come with a sweet and savoury roll and a fluffy ham omelette. The spotlight is definitely on the milk tea here though, made with a smooth blend of four different kinds of tea and the classic Black & White Evaporated Milk. The iconic Black & White ceramic mug helps to keep your milk tea hot even after you’ve devoured your noodles.
Kam Po Café, G/F, 53 Hong Keung Street, San Po Kong | (+852) 2320 7684
Well-known by Tsuen Wan locals, Gala Café is a true diamond in the rough. The bright orange sign has been hung above its Tsuen Wan location for over 40 years, even during a brief transitory period before the new owners took over (the OG owner, advanced in his years, sold the business for over $30 million to spend more time with his family). The new owners have kept the original menu and spent almost a year learning his recipes to maintain authenticity, and the regulars are thankful for it. Patrons living near Hong Kong Island will be happy to know that they've opened a second store in To Kwa Wan. Check out their Facebook page for the newest deets!
You can’t visit Gala without ordering their famous five-inch-thick egg roll sandwich. The egg roll is reminiscent of a Japanese tamagoyaki, made with seven to eight eggs and whipped with evaporated milk. Their ham omelette also trumps the rest, with ham slices spilling out of an omelette that’s bigger than the plate.
Egg fans will rejoice at the many egg dishes at Gala, including a tall glass of vintage egg milkshake (made with two eggs, vanilla ice cream, and evaporated milk—lactose-intolerant diners beware) and egg custard with a whole raw egg yolk floating on top. Tsuen Wan locals also highly recommend the soy sauce chicken wings, fried shrimp wontons, and Ovaltine milkshakes with crunchy chocolate malt crumble.
The original owner of Kam Kee Café founded this old school bing sutt in 1967 in Shau Kei Wan, and the quality has remained unchanged since. Though its original location, as well as its successor in Sai Ying Pun, have now closed, it has grown into a wildly successful chain of bing sutts in Hong Kong. Kam Kee’s signature breakfast of pig’s liver macaroni may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we’ve been told it’s delicious (while we stick to our favourite satay beef).
You have your standard options of ham omelette, two sunny-side-up eggs, and milk tea as your sides. We also love the stir-fry beef spaghetti, a less oily version of the stir-fry beef flat noodles commonly found in bing sutts and cha chaan tengs. Kam Kee also makes a banging Black Cow drink, which most of us may know as a coke float topped with chocolate ice cream. Tip: The Wan Chai branch may be the smallest, but it’s the best.
Last but not least, we have Lo Fung Café, a tribute to the traditional bing sutts of old. With two locations under its belt, the bing sutt's décor is super Instagrammable, filled with cinematic reminders of the 1970s and 1980s. Lo Fung has a menu full of fun modern updates to all of your favourite traditional Hong Kong breakfast foods: Examples include scrambled egg toast with heaps of truffle, a bread bowl filled with seafood and cheese, and iced Ovaltine sprinkled with cereal germ.
Upon entering Lo Fung Café, you’ll notice that nearly every table has the same drink order: a classic iced milk tea with a twist, topped with iced coffee or milk tea spheres that keep the drink chilled and undiluted. Lo Fung also has an unusual dish available for breakfast: Order the vintage shrimp toast, which is made by deep-frying fresh shrimp paste slathered on toast, a slight departure from its traditional cooking method.
Capital Café (sometimes known as Chrisly Café)'s food is so good that it has big shots the likes of philanthropist Francis Ngai and actor Brian Chu gracing their stores! That's understandable, considering one of the establishment's owners, Eddie Pang, is an actor and dancer himself. The décor reflects the owners' roots, with nostalgic Cantopop music posters and decorations plastered all over the four walls. The Cantopop music lover will surely delight in this bing sutt when they see also the musician's signatures.
But there's more to Capital Café than a music scene, for the food is also a sight for sore eyes. Head there for a taste of their signature dish, the Principal's Toast, with a generous topping of truffles and cheese. The seemingly strange name originates from the alleged fact that it is singer Alan Tam's favourite toast, who is lovingly referred to by fans as the Principal. Other customer favourites include their crispy bun with condensed milk, satay beef bun, and toasts, which come from Capital Café themselves.
Currently based in Hong Kong by way of Calgary, Inés has always had a passion for writing and her creative work can be found in obscure literary zines. When she’s not busy scouring the city for the best gin-based cocktail, she can be found curled up with her journal and fur-ever friend Peanut. Don’t be surprised if you cross paths with her and she already knows all your mates.
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