🍜 Food & Drink in Hong Kong

A street market in Sham Shui Po crammed with stalls selling second-hand electronics, cables, gadgets, old cameras, watches and assorted oddities, next to shops of electronic components. It's a fascinating browse even if you buy nothing, and a good introduction to Sham Shui Po's workaday character. Busiest in the afternoon and evening.

📍Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong

One of the oldest street markets on Hong Kong Island, trading on steep Graham Street in Central for more than 160 years. Stalls sell fresh produce, tofu, dried seafood and household goods, just below the glossy towers and restaurants of SoHo. Part of the area has been redeveloped, so go soon; mornings are the busiest and most interesting time.

📍Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong

A covered market in Yau Ma Tei packed with stalls selling jade bangles, pendants, carvings and other stones, from cheap trinkets to serious pieces. Quality and authenticity vary widely, so enjoy browsing and only buy expensive jade from a reputable dealer. It's a short walk from Temple Street Night Market, so the two combine well.

📍Kansu Street and Battery Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong

A long open-air street market on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok selling clothes, bags, accessories, phone cases and souvenirs, with snack stalls nearby. Despite the name, it sells for everyone. Bargaining is expected, so start low and walk away politely if the price doesn't suit. Stalls are fullest from mid-afternoon into the evening.

📍Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong

The Four Seasons' Cantonese restaurant, which in 2009 became the first Chinese restaurant to earn three Michelin stars; it held them until 2022 and has two stars today. The harbour-view dining room serves refined Cantonese cooking, and its lunchtime dim sum is the most accessible way to try it. Book well ahead, especially for window tables.

📍4/F, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong

A classic wonton noodle shop on Wellington Street, serving small bowls of springy egg noodles and shrimp wontons in a clear, flavourful broth, from a family recipe going back generations. It's tiny, fast and no-frills — you'll likely share a table and be done in 15 minutes. Portions are small, so order a side of noodles with beef brisket too.

📍G/F, 77 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

A covered market in the seaside village of Stanley on the Island's south coast, selling clothes, silk, souvenirs, art and trinkets. It's easygoing rather than bargain-packed, and the real appeal is the setting: afterwards walk along the waterfront promenade to Murray House and Blake Pier. The scenic bus ride over the hills from Central is part of the trip.

📍Stanley Market Road, Stanley, Hong Kong

A long night market in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan where stalls sell souvenirs, gadgets and clothes, and open-air dai pai dong restaurants set up plastic tables for seafood, clay-pot rice and Cantonese dishes. Fortune tellers and street singers add to the atmosphere. It gets going after dark — about 7pm onwards is best — and is easy to explore alone.

📍Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong

The dim sum shop famous for once being the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant; the original Sham Shui Po branch is now a Michelin Bib Gourmand and has been recognised by the guide for 17 years running. Order the baked barbecue-pork buns, cheung fun and pan-fried turnip cake. Queues move quickly, and solo diners are seated fast.

📍9–11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong

An elegant Michelin-starred restaurant in the Marco Polo Hotel at Harbour City, serving Shanghainese and Jiangnan cooking: xiaolongbao soup dumplings, smoked fish, braised pork and seasonal hairy crab in autumn. The lunchtime dim sum is the most affordable way in, and the calm, well-spaced room suits a solo meal.

📍6/F, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, 3 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong