travelmbs

Anyone know of good clean noodle shops anywhere in Hong Kong?
Planning our annual visit to Hong Kong this fall and lots of research to do! One failing on previous visits, is to find good, clean noodle shops. We have wandered Mong Kok, Canton Rd, and Wellingon St, to no avail. We travel to most areas via public transit. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

rkkwan

Seriously and no offense, if you can't find a clean noodle shop on Canton Road or Wellington Street, you should just stick to the high-end Chinese restaurants (like those inside the 5* hotels). Noodle shops don't get much more "original", authentic or clean as a place like Mak's Noodle on Wellington Street.

ekscrunchy

Tasty Congee and Noodle is a sanitized and very good chain; we ate in the location in the IFC center--a handsome space-- but there are others, see the link below. It is even listed in Michelin! More pricey than the average noodle shop, but still possible to eat well for not much money.


http://www.tasty.com.hk/shop.html



http://www.ifc.com.hk/english/restaurant.aspx?id=3016

ekscrunchy

ps. I was so sorry that I did not have time to try Maks on Wellington--that place was high on my list!

travelmbs

No offense taken, rkkwan.
I think that Mak's is the shop with the wooden facade on the first block of wellington. I was unable to match the name with the street number and chickened out. I will put it back on my list. thanks!
thanks to you too ekscrunchy. Nice to have a lower end place at ifc. Will check out the link for other locations too.

rkkwan

travelmbs:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p163727794/hc0c2e77#hc0c2e77

The store under the green and red signs is Mak's Noodles. 77 Wellington St. Just east of the Mid-Levels Escalators.

Cicerone

“Good” and “clean” noodle shops and dai pai dongs may be a bit of a contradiction in terms with regard to Hong Kong. While I think most would pass a health inspection (and are inspected from time to time) it ain’t Singapore by a long shot. But I would not worry too much about it. One thing to consider doing, which tip I learned from my assistant here, is to ask for a pot of hot tea water and wash your chopsticks etc in it. Or bring your own chopsticks and spoons.

There are tons of little places in Wellington Street, and you can find small noodle shops in virtually all parts of Hong Kong. If you feel adventurous, just get on the MTR or a bus and go someplace like North Point or into the New Territories (Tai Po or Tsuen Wan in particular) and walk around until you see something which interests you. Both areas offer lots of things to see and do, like biking in Tai Po or the wonderful Sam Tung Uk “walled village” museum in Tseun Wan. Note that English menus may be hard to find in those areas, but that should not pose too much of a problem.

In Wan Chai, there are noodle shops on Landale Street which is about 3-4 blocks east of Pacific Place Mall. Two I can recommend are:

Prawn Noodle Shop
Shop 4 / 2 Landale Street
Wan Chai
Tel: 2620-0268

Their specialty is a prawn-based noodle soup, to which you can add seafood, chicken, meat, etc. A little bit spicy and good, they also have a laksa version which is spicier. Basic soup with veg is HK$35, when adding seafood or meat it is about HK$45. This is very crowded at lunch times, so go early or after lunch hours.

Charlie’s Place
Shop 8/ 2 Landale Street
Wan Chai

This is just one or two shops down the street from the Prawn Noodle Shop. Also offers basic noodles with ad-ons. This is a little bit more upscale in décor. They have menus in English.

For a slightly more upscale (and perhaps cleaner) experience in the same area, try:

O La La
Corner Star Street and St Francis Street
Wan Chai
Star Street area
Tel: 2294-0426

A Michelin “Bib Gourmand” recco. They serve excellent Shanghai noodle.

I also love Xi Yan, which is too nice a place to qualify as a noodle shop, but has excellent food. There are several outlets, I usually go to the one on Wing Fung Street as it is closest to my office, but see the website for information on other outlets.

Xi Yan Sweet
8 Wing Fung Street
Three Pacific Place
Wan Chai (Star Street Area)
Tel: 2833-6299
http://www.xiyan.com.hk/

Finally, while I have not been, there is a noodle restaurant in Tai Po which was featured on an episode of Antony Bourdain’s <i>“No Reservations”</i>:

Ping Kee
2nd Floor Tai Po District Market
Heung Sze Wui Street
Tai Po
Tel: 2658-4567
(MTR Stop: Tai Po Market)

travelmbs

Thank you for the helpful information! Lots of adventures outlined here, and we will investigate all. The problem is always the wandering until we find something - my partner is not that adventerous, & if it isn't on "a list", we won't go. So thank you for the list! If there is time to go to Tai Po, we will. "No Reservations" is a favorite show in this household (as are most travel shows). You have been most helpful, thank you!!

travelmbs

Thanks to all for the tips on noodle shops. After visiting a few noodle shops, we finally found the best noodles! At Ping Kee in Tai Po District Market (CFS24). The noodles are perfect, and the seafood looked great (although didn't have time to go back for another visit this trip). This place advertises the meats, but I think the seafood is second to the noodles. All of the tables around were ordering just those, and the beer (only 500 mL bottles). The stand opens at 6pm and is easy to find, as it is directly behind the escalator to the second floor. Thank you Cicerone and Anthony Bourdain!

Cicerone

OK, now you have inspired me to try it! As soon as the weather cools down a bit more and hiking nearby Pat Sin Leng is not so exhausting, I will try to get to Ping Kee as well....

DonTopaz

Speaking of noodle shops ... does anyone have a recommendation of a place that specializes in Char Siu?

Cicerone

West Villa Restaurant
Ground Floor
Gee Tuck Building
16-20 Bonham Strand
Sheung Wan
Tel: 2543-3990

This place supposedly has the best cha xiu bao in Hong Kong; and I have to agree. The dim sum is otherwise generally very good as well, and in season, the hairy crab is very good too. The Sheung Wan location is in an interesting local neighborhood, good for a look and then walking down to the “dried fish” street area or going up to the Graham Street and Hollywood Road areas.

Other locations:

Room 101-102
1st Floor, Lee Garden Phase 2
28 Yun Ping Road
Causeway Bay (near Sogo)
Tel: 2882 2110

Shop No.208
2nd Floor, Cityplaza II
18 Taikoo Shing Road
Tai Koo (Tai Koo MTR)
teL: 2885 4478

ekscrunchy

The best char siu I've ever eaten was at Fu Sing in Wanchai; we had two dinners here on a recent trip to HK.


http://www.openrice.com/english/mobi...m?shopid=13169

ekscrunchy

Rizzuto: I should add that Fu Sing is not a noodle shop but a full-fledged Canto restaurant, with char siu being one of their claims to fame. While I had two dinners here, they are also known for dim sum.

DonTopaz

Thank you, Cicerone & ekscrunchy! Looking forward to trying (at least some of) these in a few weeks.

travelmbs

Also consider Shanghainese style char sui at Wang Jia Sha. We went to the location in Festival walk (a mall connected to the MTR stop in Kowloon Tong). I believe that they have many locations throughout the city.

sf7307

I am so looking forward to eating on our SEA/HK trip next spring!

DonTopaz

> <i>I am so looking forward to eating on our SEA/HK trip next spring!</i>

My goodness, are you fasting until then?

sassy_cat

>I am so looking forward to eating on our SEA/HK trip next spring!<

sf7307, Me too and maybe occasional fasting until then would be wise

ekscrunchy

Rizzuto: This food blog by an acquaintance of mine has more info and pics of the char siu, and other dishes, at Fu Sing. Also check out his other posts on HK food. I am ready to board a plane this minute after reading about the chili crab in a more recent post:




http://www.lauhound.com/2010/10/fu-s...aurants-in-hk/