My Little HK Food Guide - Part 1

Dim Sum

HK is of course famous for its dim sum. After all, it is the place where the dim sum dishes are perfected . Back in Malaysia, it is a common affair to have dim sum for breakfast. However, despite having such a large Chinese community in Malaysia, I have to admit that our dim sum is among the lousiest in the world. Dim sum houses in Malaysia try too hard to invent new varieties, cheese siu mai and the like, which suck! Good dim sum can be easily found in New York or London or Melbourne, it is a shame that it is so difficult to find good dim sum anywhere here (Malaysia). It all boils down to the freshness of the ingredients I believe, and HK is just the right place to find fresh ingredients.

Above: Halved fishes still have beating hearts. A testament to the freshness of ingredients in HK.

Above: In Malaysian markets you find dead fish on dry ice, whereas in HK you find live fish.

    HK is a treasure trove of fresh ingredients. Go to any wet market in HK and the fish on sale are jumping about and freshly killed fish, spread into two parts still have their hearts beating. It is from these fresh ingredients that makes the dim sum, and most of the other food, so good in HK. There are many places to find good dim sum in HK, which is not surprising. From shopping malls to hotels. These restaurants are usually rather full, even on the weekdays. Therefore, it is perhaps a good idea to visit early in the morning like most HKers do. Some restaurants have discounts after a certain time, so it is also advisable to ask around with the locals. Of course, by the time the discounts are on, chances are many dishes had already been sold out.

    A recommended dim sum house that is easy to find is Super Star Seafood at the 10th floor of Times Square. Just take the MTR to Causeway Bay station and you won't miss the tall brown building, get some glasses if you do miss it. Besides the recommended restaurant, there are quite a few dim sum houses that serve above average dim sum in the same building. Ask around, you might find your own hidden gem.

    Pricing is a bit on the high side for a yum cha (tea drinking) session, dishes start at an average of about 18HKD per dish. Usually it ends up at about 50++ HKD per person or more, depending on your dim sum sickness level.

    Below, an assortment of dim sum dishes for you to drool after. They have real prawns in them, not shrimp like what we get here. ;)

Above: Chicken feet.

Above: One of my favourite dim sum dishes, steamed spare ribs.

Above: Carrot cake HK style. Delicious.

Above: Har Gao, prawn dumplings. In Malaysia, SHRIMP dumplings.

Above: Siu mai, porkilicious with prawns and roe on top.

Above: Cheong Fun, rice paper rolls filled with prawns and barbecued pork.