Hong Kong style dining
If you decide to add on Hong Kong to your Trans-Siberian trip, you can be in for a wonderful gourmet experience. For Hong Kong is a dazzling city rich in culture, colour and taste, with sizzling woks and tinkling glasses around every corner. With some 11,000 restaurants in service, you can design your own eating experience to suit your taste, diet and preference.
What to eat in Hong Kong
There are many foods that you really should try when visiting this city. Dim Sum is a particularly famous treat to be enjoyed here: it is delicious and an easy meal to have amongst friends or as a light bite. Dim Sum means “touch your heart”; with over 2,000 items in the entire range available, you are certain to find something that you fall in love with. Some of the most popular Dim Sum dishes are the steamed shrimp dumplings and barbecued pork bun which includes slow-roasted pork seasoned in oyster sauce and encased in a soft bun.
Steamed fish is a staple of Hong Kong seafood menus and one of the favourite delicacies. Prices can vary depending on the type of fish but knowing that it’s fresh and full of flavour can make it worth every penny. Steamed fished is most commonly seasoned with ginger, mushrooms, dried fruit peel or shallots and is packed with taste. There are also plenty of baked and stir-fried seafood dishes available such as drunken shrimp, soaked in spirits for extra oomph, baked lobster or stir-fried crab.
Hong Kong is also famous for its barbecue dishes and though this may spark up the thought of steaks and salads that is not how the Chinese do barbecues! Known as siu mei, restaurants often serve various barbecued meats and steamed chicken. The meats used are highly seasoned before being cooked on spits over an open fire or in a rotisserie oven and then hung inside the restaurant. Most restaurants are flexible with their menus, meaning you can mix and match your dishes and side dishes to suit your mood.
Fusion, which essentially means the blending of flavours, is another popular and exciting way to eat. In the kitchens of Hong Kong, the chefs work tirelessly to fuse together flavours from around the world to create something unique.
Noodles and congee have always been firm favourites in the Chinese culture and many restaurants are dedicated to preparing these dishes. Meals made with them can be quite starchy but there are many lighter versions with vegetables and meats.
Special diets
There are a great number of restaurants in Hong Kong preparing halal food for the indigenous and Muslim population. Some restaurants may serve alcohol so check this before dining to avoid any discomfort. Before journeying there are many websites and tourist information points that can give you a list of the certified halal food outlets.
For vegetarians, there are many vegetarian-based options when dining out and many meat dishes can easily be adapted to suit your needs. There are many specialist vegetarian restaurants and bars, which are worth discovering.
Where to eat
As mentioned above, there are 11,000 restaurants in Hong Kong. It would be difficult to list them all here! But here are a few of the popular and well-known ones to whet your appetite:
Jumbo Kingdom is home to one of the world’s largest floating restaurants and can be found in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Designed like a Chinese palace it can sit up to 2,300 guests and is also a multi-faced complex comprising of a tea garden and gourmet restaurant. Prices vary and are changed often but prepare for a big spend here.
SoHo is a chic and thriving area full of bars and restaurants for the diners, wine lovers and party goers. It’s located in the South Hollywood Road area and is the hub of fashion, class and good taste.
Cheung Chau Seafood Street is the hotspot for seafood. Catch a ferry from central pier 5 to Cheng Chau and within minutes you’ll arrive at the line of alfresco fish bars and taste some of the best seafood you can dream of.
Murray House is a famous building that was moved, brick by brick, to a new location some years ago. The first floor of this magnificent building is where the restaurant lies and it has some stunning views out to the sea. People are drawn to the gourmet restaurant in Murray House because it offers style and class.
[Photo by caspermoller]