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Food tours in Hong Kong: what to eat and which tour to book
Hong Kong food is mostly Cantonese, with Chaozhou, Hakka and Shanghainese influences and a strong layer of its own café culture. The essentials are dim sum at a morning yum cha, wonton noodles, roast goose and char siu over rice, and the cha chaan teng, a fast diner serving milk tea, pineapple buns and macaroni soup. Classic open-air dai pai dong stalls are now rare, but cooked-food centres above wet markets, small family noodle shops in Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok and Sheung Wan, and seafood places in Lei Yue Mun and Sai Kung keep the street-level food going.
Use this page to know what to order, where to find it and what a reasonable price looks like. The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked them; confirm the current price and details on the booking page.
What to eat in Hong Kong
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dim sum 點心 dim sum / 飲茶 yum cha | Small steamed, fried and baked dishes eaten with tea, mostly in the morning and at lunch: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), cheung fun (rice rolls), turnip cake. | Big Cantonese restaurants citywide; a few old teahouses in Central and Sheung Wan still use trolleys. Several inexpensive dim sum chains are Michelin-listed. | about HK$30–60 (≈€3.50–7) per basket; HK$120–250 per person for a full meal |
| Wonton noodles 雲吞麵 wan tan min | Thin, springy egg noodles in a clear shrimp-and-flounder broth with shrimp wontons. Bowls are small by design; locals often order two or add a plate of greens. | Specialist noodle shops in Central, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai and Mong Kok. | about HK$40–70 (≈€5–8) a bowl |
| Roast meats over rice 燒味飯 siu mei faan | Char siu (sweet barbecue pork), siu yuk (crisp-skin roast pork) and roast goose or duck, chopped and served over rice with a little sauce. | Roast-meat shops with the meats hanging in the window, found in every district. | about HK$45–80 (≈€5–9) for one or two meats on rice; roast goose costs more |
| Milk tea and pineapple bun 港式奶茶 nai cha / 菠蘿油 bo lo yau | Strong black tea strained through a cloth bag and mixed with evaporated milk; the 'pineapple' bun has a sweet crackly top (no pineapple) and often a thick slab of cold butter inside. | Cha chaan teng diners and bakeries citywide. | about HK$20–35 (≈€2.50–4) each |
| Egg tart 蛋撻 daan tat | Small tarts with a smooth, lightly sweet egg custard in either flaky puff or short pastry. | Bakeries and cha chaan teng, best warm from the oven. | about HK$8–15 (≈€1–2) each |
| Egg waffle 雞蛋仔 gai daan jai | A sheet of sweet batter cooked in a bubble-shaped iron, crisp outside and soft inside; eaten while walking. | Street-side snack shops in Mong Kok, Causeway Bay and North Point. | about HK$20–35 (≈€2.50–4) |
| Curry fish balls and street skewers 咖喱魚蛋 gaa lei yu daan | Fish balls simmered in a mild curry sauce, sold on bamboo sticks alongside siu mai, stuffed peppers and fried intestines. | Snack shops around Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po and Causeway Bay. | about HK$15–25 (≈€2–3) a skewer |
| Clay-pot rice 煲仔飯 bou zai faan | Rice cooked in a clay pot over a flame with Chinese sausage, chicken or spare ribs, with sweet soy poured over and a crisp crust at the bottom. Mostly a winter dish. | Specialist shops in Yau Ma Tei, Sham Shui Po and around Temple Street. | about HK$70–120 (≈€8–14) |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Sham Shui Po
Working-class district in Kowloon with old-style noodle shops, tofu pudding shops, cheap dim sum, cha chaan teng and wet markets; many of the city's remaining street-side food traditions are here.
Sheung Wan and Central (Graham Street, Stanley Street)
Mix of old teahouses, wonton shops and roast-meat places with newer restaurants. The few licensed dai pai dong left in Central are around Stanley Street and Gage Street.
Temple Street and Yau Ma Tei
The night market area has clay-pot rice, seafood and noodle stalls with outdoor seating. Busy and touristy, but some long-running places remain.
Mong Kok
Dense, crowded district for street snacks (egg waffles, fish balls, skewers), dessert shops and cha chaan teng, plus Ladies' Market.
Cooked food centres (e.g. Bowrington Road, Wan Chai)
Government-run hawker halls upstairs from wet markets where former street stalls were moved; cheap Cantonese dishes, stir-fries and beer at shared tables.
Lei Yue Mun
Former fishing village in east Kowloon where you choose live seafood from tanks and a restaurant cooks it.
Food tours in Hong Kong compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong: Gems Food Tour with Dim Sum, Goose & 7+ Tastings | 3 hours | from €93 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Hong Kong: Private Street Food Tour with a Local Insider | 4 hours | from €180 per person | private | Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them. | Check dates |
| Hong Kong Kowloon: Michelin Street Food & Culture Walk | 4 - 5 hours | from €100 per person | — | First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go. | Check dates |
| (H5)Hong Kong: Kowloon Guided Tour with Street Food Tasting | 5 hours | from €60 per person | — | First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go. | Check dates |
| Hong Kong: Tastes & Traditions Food Tour with Tram Ride | 4 - 5 hours | from €100 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
Hong Kong: Gems Food Tour with Dim Sum, Goose & 7+ Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Secret Food Tours
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from €93 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 77 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Beef brisket soup and rice noodles — a comforting local classic Roasted goose with rice and plum sauce — a Cantonese favorite Seasonal fruits — fresh and locally sourced Local sweets — traditional Hong Kong-style dess…
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- Tin Hau Station
Hong Kong: Private Street Food Tour with a Local Insider
On GetYourGuide · run by City Unscripted
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €180 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 28 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- private
- Suits
- Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them.
Hong Kong Kowloon: Michelin Street Food & Culture Walk
On GetYourGuide · run by Hello Hong Kong Tours Limited
- Length
- 4 - 5 hours
- Price
- from €100 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 14 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go.
(H5)Hong Kong: Kowloon Guided Tour with Street Food Tasting
On GetYourGuide · run by Shaohua Travel Service H.K. LTD
- Length
- 5 hours
- Price
- from €60 per person
- Rating
- 4.0 ★ from 5 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Visit to Kowloon district; Visit to Mei Ho House; Visit to Sham Shui Po Food Street; Visit to Apliu Street; Visit to Lui Seng Chun; Visit to Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market; Visit to Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple; Visit to Old Ya…
- Suits
- First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go.
- Starts
- 深水埗站D2出口
Hong Kong: Tastes & Traditions Food Tour with Tram Ride
On GetYourGuide · run by Hello Hong Kong Tours Limited
- Length
- 4 - 5 hours
- Price
- from €100 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 4 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- All food tastings and drinks English-speaking local guide Ding Ding Tram ride Guided walking tour through Sheung Wan, Central, and Wan Chai Insider stories and cultural insights into Hong Kong’s food history Private t…
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- If you book a small group tour or a 4-hour private tour, the meeting point is outside the main entrance to the Ibis Hotel. The ground floor of this hotel is a Starbucks coffee shop. We will meet you outside the Starbucks. If you book a 5-hour private tour, the guide will meet you at your hotel lobby. Please provide your hotel details after the booking.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Hong Kong street food is mostly snack shops that open onto the pavement rather than carts: fish balls, egg waffles, skewers and drinks. True dai pai dong (licensed open-air stalls) are now very few. Cooked-food centres above markets fill the same role with seating.
Sit-down meals
Cha chaan teng and noodle shops are fast and you may share a table with strangers. Dim sum restaurants are busiest before 10:00 at weekends; at some you tick a paper order sheet. Many Cantonese restaurants charge for tea and add a 10% service charge, which covers what elsewhere would be a tip.
Cooking classes
Classes cover dim sum folding, wok dishes, or Hong Kong-style milk tea and egg tarts, and some include a wet-market visit. Dim sum classes are useful because the doughs and wrappers are hard to learn by eating alone.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | HK$200–350 (≈€23–40): cha chaan teng breakfast, noodle lunch, roast meat on rice |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | HK$500–800 (≈€60–95): dim sum lunch, Cantonese dinner with tea and drinks |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | HK$1,500+ (≈€175+): Cantonese fine dining or a seafood feast |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (zai) are well established and serve mock-meat dim sum and vegetable dishes; some temples, including Po Lin Monastery on Lantau, have vegetarian kitchens. Ordinary Cantonese food often uses oyster sauce, chicken stock or lard, so 'vegetable' dishes are not always vegetarian.
Halal: Halal options are concentrated in Tsim Sha Tsui (near Kowloon Mosque), Chungking Mansions for South Asian food, and Wan Chai around the Islamic Centre, where there are halal Chinese and dim sum restaurants. Pork is in many Cantonese dishes and lard is used in some pastries.
Gluten-free: Challenging. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, wheat-starch dumpling wrappers and egg noodles are common. Steamed fish, plain rice, congee and some rice-noodle dishes are safer, but ask about the sauce. Cross-contamination in busy kitchens is likely.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Seafood priced by weight (per catty or tael) at Lei Yue Mun, Sai Kung or Temple Street, with a much higher bill than expected after cooking charges. Ask the price per catty (about 600 g), get the fish weighed in front of you, agree the cooking fee and write the total down before cooking.
- Tea, peanuts, pickles and wet towels charged automatically at dim sum and Cantonese restaurants. This is normal, usually HK$10–30 per person for tea; check the menu or ask before you start.
- Touts in Tsim Sha Tsui and Chungking Mansions steering visitors to restaurants or 'curry houses' that pay commission. Choose places yourself; the food is better and cheaper without a tout.
- Expensive bottled water and drinks pushed at seafood restaurants and some tourist-facing places. Order tea, which is the norm, or ask the price of drinks before they open the bottle.
Top tours & activities in Hong Kong
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Do I tip in Hong Kong?
Most sit-down restaurants add a 10% service charge, and no extra tip is expected. In cha chaan teng, noodle shops and street stalls there is no service charge and no tipping. Leaving small change is fine but not required. Guides on food tours may appreciate a tip, but it is optional.
When is the best time for dim sum?
Dim sum (yum cha) is mainly a breakfast and lunch meal, roughly 7:00–15:00. Weekend mornings are the busiest, with families queuing from 9:00 to noon. Go early or on a weekday to avoid queues. Some restaurants serve dim sum in the evening, but the full range is usually at lunchtime.
Is street food safe to eat?
Generally yes. Hong Kong food hygiene is regulated and inspected, and snack shops have very high turnover. Choose busy places, eat cooked items hot, and be more careful with raw seafood and cut fruit in hot weather. Tap water is treated to a high standard, though many people boil it or drink bottled water.
How much should I budget for food per day?
Hong Kong can be cheap or very expensive. A budget day of cha chaan teng breakfast, wonton noodles and roast meat on rice is about HK$200–350. A mid-range day with dim sum lunch and a Cantonese dinner with drinks is around HK$500–800. Hotel restaurants and seafood dinners cost far more.
What is a cha chaan teng?
A Hong Kong-style café-diner that grew up after the 1950s, serving cheap Western-influenced food: milk tea, yuanyang (tea mixed with coffee), French toast with condensed milk, macaroni in broth with ham, pork chop buns and pineapple buns. Service is fast, tables are shared, and menus are often only in Chinese, but pointing works.
Can I pay by card at food stalls?
Many places accept the Octopus card, which also pays for transport, and contactless cards are now common in chains and restaurants. Smaller noodle shops, dai pai dong and old cha chaan teng may still be cash only. Carry a few hundred Hong Kong dollars in cash and top up your Octopus card.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.