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One of Hong Kong's busiest areas, Central is particularly crazy at lunchtime, when office workers crowd the streets and eateries. Most restaurants have set lunches—generally good values—with speedy service, so everyone gets in and out within an hour. At night the norm is either a formal dinner or a quick bite followed by many drinks, especially in Central's nightlife center, a warren of cobbled backstreets called Lan Kwai Fong. Mostly known as a drinking hole with mediocre dining options, LKF has stepped up its game in the last few years with some serious restaurants, most of which are tucked away in commercial buildings, away from the hustle and bustle of the street-level bars.
For a wider array of choices, head up to SoHo, but be wary of where you go: a lot of these places are average in terms of food and service quality. NoHo is a bit more bohemian, with some excellent hidden, independent culinary gems, especially along Gough Street.
Admiralty, wedged between Central and Wan Chai, is home to large shopping malls, and much of the food is aimed at meeting the lunch needs of workers and shoppers. It's also home to several large hotels and their respective high-end restaurants.
Once a mainstay of the Hong Kong streets, there are now only a little more than 20 licensed dai pai dongs—that is, open-air food stalls specializing in various types of local dishes. These outdoor eateries are popular for their dirt-cheap prices, minimal service, and—of course—their awesome food. There's usually no English menu, so be prepared to point to the dishes at neighboring tables.
This place is good—really, really good. Tucked away in a nondescript building in a hidden alley off Lan Kwai Fong, this reservations-only private kitchen plates up inventive, French-inspired Shanghainese dishes that are prepped in a polished open kitchen.
A Hong Kong legend, this Four Seasons stalwart was the first Chinese restaurant in the world to be awarded 3 Michelin stars back in 2009, an accolade it retained for 14 years. The elevated Cantonese cuisine on offer emphasizes seasonality and showcases masterful techniques.
Despite its unassuming location in an alley, this dai pai dong (outdoor food stall) remains immensely popular due to its delicious stir-fried dishes. The wok-cooked noodle dishes are especially good—thin noodles are cooked until crispy and topped with strips of pork and bean sprouts.
Visit this retro outdoor stall for authentic Chinese desserts. Sweet soups made with red bean or ground black sesame are served in both hot and chilled versions. Warmed, chewy, glutinous rice balls heaped with sugar, crushed peanuts, and desiccated coconut are messy but delicious.
The real test of a good Cantonese noodle shop is its wontons, and at Mak's they’re fresh, plump, and generously filled with whole shrimp. What started as a stall in Central in 1968 is now a small Hong Kong chain, selling not only wonton noodles but noodles with beef brisket, fish balls, and dumplings in soup.
One of Hong Kong's most successful high-end restaurant exports, Mott 32 has locations in cities worldwide. But this is the original, serving its trademark refined take on Chinese cuisine since 2014. The menu offers classic Cantonese, Beijing, and Sichuan recipes prepared with modern inflections: think applewood-roasted Peking duck and mapo tofu, a Sichuan classic, leveled up with lobster.
This Mid-Levels eatery is known for the high quality of its spicy Sichuan cuisine. The famous Chongqing spicy chicken is heaped with dried red chili peppers for a sensational tingling, mouth-numbing effect. Another unique creation is the homemade silken tofu, which is bathed in a bright-red spicy broth speckled with chunks of whitefish, chopped scallions, and crunchy roasted peanuts. Those in town during the cold winter months should go for the yinyang hot pot—the fiery-hot side dish is perfect for dunking with thin slices of fat-marbled beef and the local favorite, deep-fried fish skin.
Fold-up tables and stools are scattered around this small stall, which specializes in cow offal served with noodles in broth. Tender beef brisket and deep-fried wontons are also popular options.
This outdoor stall has been in operation here since the 1970s and the canopied tables are pretty much always packed from 8 am to 3:30 pm. The iconic dishes are the instant ramen noodles or beef and macaroni served in a sweet tomato broth, as well as the toasted, crispy buns drizzled with condensed milk.
This is one of the rare dai pai dong food stalls in the area that stays open late into the evening. Cheap and cheerful, the seafood-centric menu is nevertheless pretty extensive. You can't go wrong with an order of salt-and-pepper squid and a cold bottle of Blue Girl beer.
