Sham Shui Po: The Ultimate Guide

So the name sounds a bit dodgy, but rest assured, there’s no dog meat involved in any of Block 18’s noodles. The name refers to their speciality glutinous rice noodles. Here at this street food locale, tuck into a hearty bowl of noodles served in rich broth with liberal helpings of mushrooms and minced meat. Their fake shark fin soup with duck is popular too. The noodles make for the fuel after a long day spent shopping around Sham Shui Po.

Fancy a bit of variation from all the noodles on this list (see below)? Grab a burger instead. Burgerman serves up big portions of juicy burgers from their signature double patty trucker burger to the seafood-ception mermaid burger, which consists of deep fried shrimp wrapped in octopus meat. Order sweet potato fries or buffalo wings to make it a full meal.

While SSP isn’t exactly known for its coffee shops like, say, Sheung Wan, Sausalito is a mecca for javaholics across the city. You’ll find all the usual suspects – your latte and your cappuccino – but Sausalito also serves single origin pour over coffee and the cucumberano, a cucumber flavoured coffee and soda water concoction. Stop by during weekends for some awesome live music.

One of the most beloved brands in all Hong Kong, countless locals have grown up eating Garden Bakery’s cakes and bread. All the magic happens in its factory building located on Castle Peak Road, which also has an exhibition area and a café. Visitors can walk down memory lane and view retro biscuit tins from eras past and tuck into Garden made muffins, cornish pasties and good ol’ ham and cheese toasties.

Sham Shui Po has no shortage of mouth-watering street food but Hop Yik Tai’s cheong fun, or rice noodle rolls, are worth heading to neighbourhood for. Made fresh every day, the cheong fun is incredibly smooth and pairs perfectly with sweet sauce, sesame sauce and soy sauce. It’s no wonder there are queues all the time. The popular local eatery was also recommended in the Michelin Guide last year.

Tucked away inside the bustling Dragon Centre is a dingy little ramen joint. Don’t let appearances fool you, Kakurega serves up some brilliant noodles which are kneaded, shaped and cut on-site every morning. Kakurega’s tsukemen (ramen served separate from the broth) is mixed in with black garlic oil and spicy tomato sauce, which diners can choose to garnish it with a half-boiled egg, scallions and chasu pork. The place only sells 100 bowls everyday, so be sure to show up early.

Recommended in the 2016 Michelin Guide street food section, locals travel from far and wide to this humble corner eatery for its renowned homemade steamed rice pudding, aka put chai ko, as well as its array of old-school Chinese steamed puddings like the white sugar cake and black sesame roll. Sold by the bag, enjoy a taste of old Hong Kong at this historic street vendor.

When it comes to tofu pudding Kung Wo is king. The tofu is smooth as silk and brings out that rich soy bean flavour – soy is their expertise – that old timers love reminiscing about. This authentic retro restaurant is famous for its tofu puffs, deep fried tofu dishes and homemade sugar-free soy milk. What’s more, most of the tofu dishes don’t cost more than $10.

There aren’t many eateries left in Hong Kong that still make noodles the traditional way from scratch, but Lau Sum Kee is one of the few. Best known for its wonton soup noodles with dried shrimp roe, the noodles are made daily by kneading with a bamboo pole. Try the beef stomach noodles and the tableside pickled radish for a winning combo.

If you’re looking for authentic Malaysian dishes at incredibly low prices, look no further. Semua Semua is a narrow little eatery tucked between two Chinese restaurants that serves up everything from chicken curry to silver needle noodles to otak otak. We particularly love the puntastic names on the Chinese menu such as 辣死你媽 (So Spicy it Kills Your Mum) for nasi lemak.