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Fei Jie
Photograph: Ann Chiu

Where to find the most satisfying cheap eats in Hong Kong

Get the best bang for your buck with these bites around town

Cherry Chan
Edited by
Cherry Chan
Written by
Time Out Hong Kong
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Hong Kong is known as one of Asia's top culinary capitals for good reason. Not only is there great food to try, but there is also variety. Its gastronomical diversity can take you from the fine-dining establishments, and Michelin starred restaurants to local street food spots and (our bank account's favourite) cheap eats. In our mission to find the best, here's a compilation of our top budget-friendly bites that we think you have to try in Hong Kong. 

RECOMMENDED: Continue saving on money while stuffing your face at the best places for cheap dim sum in Hong Kong.

  • Restaurants
  • Mid-Levels

A historic noodle joint and a neighbourhood institution, Chi Kee has remained unchanged for the past fifty years and is the definition of old-school. Don’t let its run-down exterior – and interior – fool you, the folks here at Chi Kee cook up some excellent noodles. The customer favourite is by far the beef brisket noodles in ground bean sauce. Its fantastic beef flavours and the chewy noodles make a heavenly combo. The wontons and fish balls are worth ordering too. 

  • Restaurants
  • Korean
  • North Point

Noodle Bridge in North Point takes instant noodles to the next level. This shop invites customers to prepare their own bowl of instant noodles (from $24 to $30) on induction cookers, as well as jazz them up with add-ons (from $4 and up) like spam, cheese sausages, scallions, and kimchi. Currently, Noodle Bridge’s menu has a large selection of Korean noodles that come in varying spice levels, and can be enjoyed with or without soup. If you’re not sure what toppings to add, they’ve helpfully provided topping suggestions for each instant noodle on their menu, so you’ll always end up with a great bowl of ramyun.

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  • Restaurants
  • Mong Kok

This halal-friendly restaurant has been operating in Kowloon City since 1950, and has kept its charm as a homely family-style restaurant. Their menu offers a wide variety of dishes like cold cuts, curries, noodles, and even dim sum items. But if we have to recommend only one item you need to try here, it would be their pan-fried beef buns ($48 for two) – a crowd favourite for their crisp exterior and irresistibly juicy filling.

  • Restaurants
  • Taiwanese
  • Sai Ying Pun

Bun Bun is a vibrantly coloured takeaway food stand in Sai Ying Pun that specialises in Taiwanese gua-bao (stuffed buns). This spot offers various types of bao (from $58 and up) on their menu, with fillings such as sous-vide pork belly, deep-fried chicken, cuttlefish ink sausage with a spicy meat sauce, and more. If you’re after something more filling, Bun Bun also offers Taiwanese rice bowls topped with braised pork sauce (from $46), side dishes like fries (from $38 and up) and deep-fried mushrooms ($58), and even decadent French toast ($48) that comes sweet or savoury.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Mong Kok

Twins Liangpi specializes in serving Sichuan spicy noodles. It provides a wide range of options, including the iconic Chongqing liangpi, sour and spicy noodles as well as other authentic Sichuan dishes like saliva chicken. Twins has been listed in Michelin's Bib Gourmand list for the past two years, and there is definitely a good reason for that. The kick of heat from the spicy broth with the al dente bites of cool liangpi should complete a meal that powers up your day.

  • Shopping
  • Specialist food and drink
  • Jordan

Head to Jordan to find Mrs. Fong Chinese Desserts, a stall that specialises in traditional Chinese desserts. The store sells 18 kinds of homemade treats, and it has been run for almost 20 years by the Fong family and Mrs. Fong, the store’s matriarch who has been passing down her dessert-making skills to the next generation. The signature item at Mrs. Fong’s are their black sesame rolls ($35 for one roll), which are also affectionately known as ‘film rolls’. Be sure to try out some of their other desserts such as put chai ko ($8) (red bean bowl pudding) available in flavours like brown sugar or coconut, osmanthus flower pudding, thousand-layer pudding, split pea pudding (all $21 for three pieces), and many more.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sham Shui Po

Head to Sham Shui Po to find this popular shop that specialises in potstickers called guo tie. Here, you can order dumplings with fillings such as pork with cabbage, pork with watercress, or pork with leek in fish soup (each $32), or try them pan-fried ($20 for three pieces) to crisp perfection. They also sell uncooked dumplings by the dozen ($30), so you can enjoy Yuen Fong’s tasty morsels in the comfort of your own home.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po is home to Hop Yick Tai, who are best known for their crowd-pleasing cheung fun (rolled rice noodle sheets). Their plates of steamed cheung fun (from $10 and up) are made fresh daily, and pair wonderfully with generous slatherings of sweet sauce, peanut sauce, and soy sauce.

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  • Restaurants
  • Jordan

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, be sure to visit Kai Kai. This Chinese dessert shop has consistently been on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list ever since 2016, and they churns out a selection of quintessential classics like red bean soup with lotus seeds ($26), black sesame soup ($27), mango and pomelo sago ($39), as well as sweet almond soup ($29).

Kadorar Bakery

Local bakery Kadorar Bakery offers a myriad of classic Chinese-style baked goods, like sausage buns and pineapple buns. But what's made their popularity sky-rocket amongst Hong Kong's sweet tooths are their pudding buns and choux puffs, which have taken Hong Kong by storm. If you want to get your hands on these sweet treats, be prepared for a long wait, but we promise it's worth it!

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  • Restaurants
  • Mong Kok

Street food stall Fei Jie in Mong Kok offers some of your more usual options like cuttlefish balls and soy-braised snacks, but they’ve gained fame for their unusual yet immensely delicious turkey kidney, squid, and pig intestine skewers (all three for $40). While it might not sound the most appetising, throw on some sweet sauce and mustard and you’ll know why there’s always a queue by their storefront.

  • Restaurants
  • Eating

Tai O is one of the most popular destinations for city dwellers to visit on the weekend for a quick getaway and its array of cheap eats offerings. The fishing village offers a ton of delicious street bites that will keep you fuelled throughout the day. Eat your way around the area and indulge in streetside treats from streetside grilled dried seafood, fish balls, tofu fa, eggettes, rice cakes, and much more. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sham Shui Po

When it comes to tofu pudding, one of Hong Kong’s beloved classic desserts, Kung Wo is king. Their silky tofu pudding (from $11 and up) comes in two sizes, and can be enjoyed hot or cold. Don’t forget to try out their other soybean treats, such as tofu puffs ($14 for five) and homemade soy milk (from $7 and up).

  • Restaurants
  • Malaysian
  • Mong Kok

This little eatery will transport you into the bustling hawker centres of Malaysia with just one bite. Two Greens, a name inspired by the old Cantonese slang for ‘$20’, prides itself on offering authentic dishes at affordable prices. Must-tries include their peppery bak kuh teh (from $38 and up), crispy kaya toast ($24), and cha chaan teng favourites like the crispy meat patty with egg on rice ($42). Other Cantonese dishes include poached egg mixed rice with fried lard ($38) which is excellent to pair with the egg-fried cheung fun ($27).

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  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • Sham Shui Po

Kwan Hong Bakery is a family-run bakery with over 40 years of history. The shop temporarily closed in August 2021 due to rent problems, but on May 8, the owners took over the venue next door and reopened the shop with a brand new look. Apart from western-style baked goods, you can also get your hands on traditional cakes and pastries such as walnut cookies, Chinese shortbread, wife cakes, red bean cakes, and much more. The fan favourite here is the ‘chicken biscuit’, which the owner insists on using traditional methods and ingredients like fatback, five-spice powder, and fermented bean curd. It may not sound too appetising but trust us, you’ll be missing out if you don’t try it.

  • Restaurants
  • Street food
  • Shau Kei Wan

Well-loved by hikers who refuel after hiking in the Eastern District, this Shau Kei Wan street food store has been serving delicious egg puffs and egg waffles for over a decade. Along with the original flavours of their waffles and egg puffs ($21),  must-tries include their chocolate flavoured treats (starts at $32) and their signature Golden Waffle, which puts a spin on the traditional snack filled with a lavish explosion of salted egg yolk, condensed milk, and brown sugar. 

Note: Prices shown on the video have been updated since the video was taken. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Snack bars
  • Causeway Bay

 

Kuma Yummy is one of Causeway Bay's best spots for cheap Japanese-style handrolls and affordable fresh oysters. Try made to order handrolls (price starts from $18) with fillings that range from the classic salmon or tuna belly to more indulgent sea urchin, crab roe paste, foie gras and more. There are also a variety of fresh oysters (price starts from $14) sourced from Japan, France, Ireland, Scotland and Korea, that can be shucked there or packed for takeaway. 

 

  • Restaurants
  • Ice-cream parlours
  • Central

With a bunch of different and unique gelato flavours to choose from, Gelato Messina is well-loved by many in the city, as evidenced by the long queues on weekends. They even have exclusive Hong Kong flavours, with flavours such as black sesame tong yuen (glutinous rice balls) ($85 for 2 scoops) made with roasted black sesame and chewy pieces of glutinous rice balls in the middle.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Whampoa

Moon Tong Lok specialises in dishes that you're more likely to find in Shanghai and Beijing. Try the shop's signature sticky rice rolls ($25) as well as other crowd favourites such as hot and sour soup ($30), savoury soy milk ($13), and dumplings ($36).

  • Restaurants
  • Snack bars
  • Yuen Long

Both Street's Taiwanese-style gua-bao (or stuffed buns) are very popular and keep all the regulars returning. The store was awarded Michelin Guide 2022's Bib Gourmand distinction after opening for less than a year, and if you've ever eaten the gua-bao here, you'll know why. Signatures include five different flavours of buns (from $45 and up) and crispy pressed bread (from $32 and up) which come in sweet and savoury options.

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  • Restaurants
  • Street food
  • Ngau Chi Wan

Ding Ba earned a spot on the list of Michelin Bib Gourmand venues in 2022 and serves up some legit Taiwanese-style street food. The crispy oyster omelette ($45), egg pancake wraps ($28), and braised pork rice ($25) are all worth trying and if you’re into the mouth stink, make sure you get some of the fried stinky tofu ($50).

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Wan Chai

Keung Kee in Wan Chai has over 70 years of history in making one of the best bowls of glutinous rice with preserved sausages in Hong Kong ($64), but you also don't want to miss their flavourful supreme soy sauce fried noodles with cabbage ($25) or pan-fried cheung fun with dried shrimp ($26).

More food for thought

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