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Branded | 8 March 2023
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Header image courtesy of Miss Lee
Originally published by Inés Fung. Updated by Jen Paolini, Beverly Ngai, and Celia Lee.
If your diet omits eggs, meats, and dairy products, then you may be a vegan, and you may be looking for solid dining options in Hong Kong that cater to your plant-based needs. Or perhaps you’re an omnivore, simply looking for ways to eat cleaner and healthier. Whatever your reasons may be for seeking out a plant-based lifestyle, you’ve got to check out our top picks for vegan restaurants in Hong Kong.
Opened by the same crew behind vegetarian hotspot, Years—which has long been a popular dining destination in Sham Shui Po—this clean and minimalistic café takes on the same Asian-Western culinary influences as its mother establishment, but makes it fully vegan! You will likely have to wait in line before you can score a table here, but the wait is worth it for the tongue-tantalising mala cilantro Impossible burger ($138), served with some of the crispiest sweet potato fries you’ll find anywhere—vegan restaurant or otherwise.
Other choice options for mains include the Sichuan dan dan noodles ($98) and keto cauliflower steak ($138). Expect the portions to be generous, but even so, it’s hard to pass up their unique bevvies, like the banana dragon fruit oat milk smoothie ($48).
The Park by Years, 132 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po | (+852) 5336 4000
Hong Kong’s vegan dining scene can be skewed towards the pricier side. But thanks to The Recipe, vegans can enjoy healthy, plant-based meals without it costing an arm and a leg. Based in Kwun Tong, this fast-casual spot dishes out a wide range of Chinese vegan options, such as homemade dumplings ($45), sweet and sour monkey head mushrooms with rice ($55), and mixed vegetable curry ($45).
Its speciality is the vegan cart noodles ($38) with a nutritious miso soup base enriched with B12 vitamin, noodles, and three toppings of your choice. For those looking to sneak more vegetables into their diet, the spinach noodles or sweet potato noodles are the way to go!
The Recipe, Shop 57, Legend Tower, E Plaza, 7 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong
Evoking the setting of a quaint garden patio with its light woods and dried flowers, this cosy little café makes it impossibly easy for vegans and omnivores alike to feel at home as they delight in a blissful array of coffee, cakes, and light bites. From the savoury selection, take your pick from the likes of make-your-own sourdough toast ($118), handmade charcoal bagel ($158), and three-way Mexican tacos ($138) made with Impossible beef.
Be sure to leave room for the tempting and oh-so-photogenic vegan desserts—tuck into sweet treats like vegan banana bread ($30) and chocolate brownie ($30), or be surprised by the daily vegan cake ($54)!
Vego Coffee, Shop 7B, 154–156 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 6808 3768
With a name perfectly befitting the refinement and sophistication of its food, Emerald offers a French-Chinese fine-dining experience like no other. Every dish is artfully presented and executed with a taste to match.
Its signature rose barbecue pork ($128) and vegan foie gras balls with truffle sauce ($148) give their traditional counterparts a good run for their money, but the creatively conceived dishes—the stuffed scallop taro with Thai hot and sour sauce ($138) and monkey head mushrooms with grapefruit osmanthus sauce ($138)—equally hold their own. In addition to their permanent à la carte menu, look out for seasonal specials!
Emerald, 6/F, M88, Wellington Place, 2–8 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2855 9555
Traditional Chinese vegetarian cuisine can feel dated at times, with many restaurants holding onto time-honoured applications, but an eatery serving modern updates to your favourite Chinese flavours comes in the form of Miss Lee. Coming from ZS Hospitality Group—the folks behind upscale Singaporean Whey, Ying Jee Club, modern Korean Hansik Goo, and Asian food market J.A.M.—you know they know how to whip up a good meal.
Its wholesome menu is vegan in part, as well as gluten-free and Buddhist-friendly, with only one or two dishes in each section made with eggs or dairy. On the recently introduced chef’s signature menu ($428), we particularly love the homemade scallion pancake and courgette zucchini tart made with fermented bean curd and ricotta cheese in a perfectly balanced fusion dish. Old favourites include the lettuce wrap with marinated chopped bean curd and the golden cauliflower coated in salted egg yolk.
Miss Lee, The Wellington, 198 Wellington Street, Central | (+852) 2881 1811
LN Fortunate Coffee is our top pick for the grazing freelancer on a vegan diet. Its floor-to-ceiling windows, cosy seats, and comforting selection of mostly Western fare and vegan spins on local favourites makes this the perfect spot to chip away at a busy afternoon. Its menu of food and coffee offers fantastic fuel for a long day of working on your laptop, and the roasted beans are of high quality, handpicked by the owner and sometimes picked up while they travel.
Instead of the commonly-used soy, creative ingredients like konjac and mushrooms take the place of meat in dishes like pasta with Bolognese sauce ($98) and fried konjac rings ($58). We especially love the dairy- and egg-free cakes that LN Coffee often decorates with smiley faces, and the whole place just radiates with positive energy.
LN Coffee, Altro, 118 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun | (+852) 2858 3998
For a truly special experience, hit up home cook Ayelet for a vegan Mediterranean feast at her private kitchen and family home in the idyllic Pak Kok Village. Born and raised in Israel, Chef Ayelet learnt cooking from her grandparents. Everything served here is plant-based, fresh, and fragrant, and will transport you straight to the Middle East, all without mock meat! Book a meal at Olive Leaf with an empty stomach and open mind, and if you want to learn how to make plant-based Arabic food at home, Chef Ayelet also runs cooking classes.
Olive Leaf, Pak Kok Village, Lamma Island | (+852) 9723 0459
Veggie4Love, formerly Veggie SF, is a meat-free ode to 1950s American diners. If you love a good veggie burger, this is the place to go. Its glamburger options are massive, each stacked so high you wonder how to tackle them (the answer is messily). Although styled eclectically after traditional Americana, Veggie4Love also offers Asian noodle bowls and other fusion dishes, too. Its I Am Fabulous ($168) burger combines beetroot cashew nut lentil mushroom pâté with sundried tomato mayo, and heatseekers will love The Drama Queen ($158) with a crispy soy patty with a Korean spicy sauce.
Veggie4Love, 10/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central | (+852) 3902 3902
2084 is a quaint bistro and tapas restaurant located in the back garden of Hong Kong. On its fully vegan menu is a range of some of the best dishes from South Asia reinvented in plant-based glory. Its meatball with rose harissa sauce ($70/ $105) comes with fried vegan meatballs that taste exactly like the real thing! Our keto friends have the option to swap out white rice for cauliflower rice ($40), too. Enjoying seafood almost seems like a must when you’re in Sai Kung but our fellow vegans won’t feel left out of the experience with the Okonimi fish burger ($115), made with a fishless fillet and paired with tamarind chutney and cheese and coleslaw for a rounded and meat-free experience of the sea!
2084, 5 Sha Tsui Path, Sai Kung | (+852) 6420 8456
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