I am going to be in HK for 8 days in March with a group of 6 people who are on a tight budget (law students traveling to HK for a competition). Any recommendations for cheap but good food? None of us have been to HK before and would like to get a good variety of asian cuisine.

We will probably get a few meals from street vendors in the night market. I understand that Dim Sum can be very cheap and will probably be a good option. Buffets also... Can anyone recommend Dim Sum and other restaurants that are cheap and tourist (English speaking) friendly?

in what part of the island will you be.. street food, dim some and KFC is basicley the cheep mans food intake..

I doght you'll be on he self imposed budget I was in where I basicly ate most of my meals in 7-11's. stragly enough the stores were always packed with locals eating 3 week old chicken pot pies.. life is verry expensive in HK.

I yah. there are some verry cheep indian restaurants aounnd the backpacker ghettos on Nathon rd. Kowloon.

We don't need to eat THAT cheap. We will probably plan to avoid the 7-11 pot pies. I think we would like to keep it around $10/meal per person, maybe a little less for breakfast. Location really does not matter since we are planning on going to many different areas.

thanks!

dim sum is not usually very cheap...sometimes it can be as expensive or more than a standard meal...

There are several chinese chains that are the local fast food restaurants (sorry, I don't have a clue of the names) as well as other (non chain) options. Look for things that are below street level. They are often located one floor below the street.

Although they aren't typically English speaking many will have illustrations of the food in the menus and some even have models of the food on display. Just point, nod and pay for your meal.

The same method works at the street side food vendors that the chinese frequent - street side operations with boiling pots of nearly everything chinese. There is a great one near Sogo/Times Square (again, I have no clue what its called).

If your accomodations include microwave, frig and hot water pot you can also buy staples at a local grocery store and save money by creating some of your own meals. Follow the student/young people's lead (starving students on a tight budget are a universal phemonenon.

Which part of HK are you staying in? I may be able to provide cross streets/locations if its a part of town I frequent.

HK was an expensive city to live in but the deflation in recents years has really taken the prices down. You should be able to get a bowl of wonton noodles in many places at HK$10 (US$1.3). Although you might not be able to dine in style at US$10 per person, you won't be going hungry either.

For dimsum, there is now a chain which operates around the clock. It is cheap (HK$10-15/dish), decent quality (I actually lik some of the dishes a lot) and carries lots of varieties. The slight problem might be in ordering but I am sure you can find a helpful hand in the restaurant. The chain is called Dimsum King and they have many outlets. Try the one underneath Elizabeth house in Causeway Bay.

You should also try out the local "tea restaurant". These are effectively local eateries that serves rice dish, congee, noodles and they are usually cheap and efficient. One of the better ones is right across from Yung Kee in Central. It operates around the clock as well.

I would also recommend exploring some of the local eateries ("dai pai dong&quot in temple street or near any wet markets (like the west of Times Square).

A few people have asked where we are staying in order to give better recommendations:

Two of us are staying in the Eaton Hotel on Nathan Rd. near the night market. The other 4 are actually staying at the university which is very far north (where the MTR and KCR meet at the Kowloon Tong station). I understand there is a new mall (festival walk?) right by the university, but there seems to be very little info about it.

SJLBK-

There are a few chinese fast food chains in HK which cjbryant brought up. They are:
Maxim
Cafe de Coral
Fairwood

They are all very good, cheap, and located everywhere. The menus are in both Chinese & English.

HK is a small city and you can get to most places pretty easily. City Poly (which I think is the university you are referring to) is hardly far north of the city. It is on the MTR line and you can get to Nathan Road or Central in 15 to 20 mins.

Festival Walk is a large mall with many shops and restaurants. It is actually close to a large residential neighbourhood. Go to www.festivalwalk.com.hk and you can see all the info.

Hong Kong is such a great place that you could find tonssssssssss of places for dining, be it cheap or reasonable (dont have to mention about expensive because fine dining is Hong Kong could be found everywhere!).

I wonder if below $10 HKD could give you a decent meal. As far as I know, the cheapest you could get would still be around $15-$20 and if you go to fastfood chains like Cafe de Coral or Maxims, you could get some good deals. However, they are real fast food. Dont expect a lot. Actually I am sure your classmates in Hong Kong would be more than happy to let you know where you could get something nice and cheap to eat. Do ask your classmates or even your teachers/tutors! They may appear "cold" but I am sure most of them are willing to help if you ask!

If you live near Nathan Road, you could go to Tsim Sha Tsui easily and on Canton Road there are a number of restaurants you can try. Try those chinese BBQ stuffs ("char siu", roasted duck etc). I saw a couple (tourist) eat in a small local shop (to be honest, it is a place I would not go as a local! not that the food is not nice, as I were buying take away there, but the place is just terrible), however, the couple looks happy and took photo outside. I guess like most western tourists, they found it funny to see roasted duck hanging at the door of the shop!

But the better place to eat is definitely Causeway Bay. You could find anything there!

Those who live in CityU is at a convenient location cos is right next to the Kowloon Tong MTR station (subway). Although Festival Walks is a nice place, the restaurants there are all nice BUT expensive. There is a foodcourt there though, but you know what you expect.

Where you guys from? US?