A Tourist's Guide To Hong Kong Street Food

HK STREET FOOD

6 DISHES

Kylie LAU

Disclaimer: All resteraunt reccomendations are based on my personal opinion.

It is subjective when it comes to which street food resteraunts are the best.

2 3 4 5 6

Sublime Siu Mai

Page 4 Page 3

Fabulous Fishballs

Eggcellent Egg Tarts

Page 5

Wonderful Wife Cakes

Pungent Pineapple Buns

Page 7

Radiant Rice Noodle Rolls

Page 6 Refer to pages 9 and 10 for bibliography.

Supreme Siu Mai 1

The siu mai can be served in a high quality bamboo steamer or a styrofoam cup but either way, its divine aroma presents no change. Its outer wonton layer has a golden gleam and is generously coated in soy sauce. The savoury pork filling is seen peeking out of the wrapper waiting for you to indulge in its goodness. Hence its simplistic design, endless amounts of time, hard work and love have been put into this chewy snack that rightfully dominates the streets of Hong Kong.

Siu Mai is one of the most popular street foods in Hong Kong and a few people believe it originated in HK but its origin traces back to around 700 years ago, during the Yuan Dynasty. This dish originated in Hohhot, China but throughout the years, it gradually spread to the south, gaining massive popularity in Hong Kong.

‘The Queen Of Sui Mai’

‘Tong Tat Shi Dian’

‘Lam Cheong Kee’

2 Fabulous Fishballs

The fishball originally originated in the Fujian and Chiu Chow provinces in China. It was a dish enjoyed by all in Southern China since the Qing Dynasty. But, it was not until its visit to Hong Kong, where it started to become an international favourite. At first, fish balls were boiled and paired with noodle soup. Although many still enjoy this traditional style of food, there are many new serving styles which have captured the food hearts of all.

The delicacy that is the fishball is served in multiple styles across restaurants in Hong Kong. However the most popular kind would be the curry fishball. The fishballs are bathed in curry sauce and served in a classic styrofoam cup by the vendors to the hungry customer. The rich and luxurious curry sauce complements the fishballs perfectly.

‘Tong Tat Shi Dian’

‘Kai Kei Snacks’

‘Chan Kei Fishballs’

‘Ming Ming’

3 Eggcellent Egg Tarts

Although it isn’t entirely clear, many believe that the egg tart was a variation of Britain’s custard tart. In the 1920s, the custard tart was introduced to chefs in Canton, China, by the British. The chefs then adapted the start using their dim sum and pastry skills to make the famous egg tart, a popular snack that roams the streets of Hong Kong. The egg tart was invented in a Guangzhou restaurant in 1927 and projected a big influence over food in Hong Kong in the 1940s-1950s. The egg tart began to gain popularity as an afternoon snack for the wealthy but instead of the HK egg tart we know today, it was similar to the portuguese tart. However, World War 2 left Hong Kong with lots of financial loss, making it almost impossible to serve western/foreign foods such as the egg/portuguese tart. This lead to the uprising of 茶餐厅, traditional HK style restaurants, that aim to serve affordable meals to the public, hence, the egg tart.

‘Tai Cheong Bakery’

4 Wonderful Wife Cakes

The wife cake originated in the Guangdong province, China. They are rumoured to be made by a street hawker’s wife. The street hawker sold his wife’s cakes to customers and it gained mass popularity. The cakes were named after the street hawker’s wife: ‘老婆饼’in chinese, translating to ‘Wife Biscuit’, which then turned into ‘wife cakes’. Another myth suggests that these Wife Cakes were made by a devoted husband. He made these cakes and sold them to earn money to buy back his wife who sold herself into slavery.

Wife cakes aren’t actually cakes. Instead, they are actually a thin, flaky pastry wrapped around a sweet and chewy winter melon filling. They taste best when served warm and with a cup of tea. It is made with a frozen winter melon paste and using oil, cake flour and lard, the outside layer is carefully moulded into the desired shape. The wife cake is soft, delicate and it presents a rich, sweet flavour. It serves as an exquisite afternoon snack and can be bought in many traditional bakeries.

‘Hang Heung Cake Shop’

5 Pungent Pineapple Buns

The pineapple bun, given the name, does not contain pineapple in it. It originated in the 1940s in Hong Kong and gained popularity quickly. Many believe that it was inspired by a Mexican bread known as the concha. In the late 1930s, Mexicans were forced to depart from the USA. These also included Chinese Mexicans who went back to China. It is said that a Chinese-Mexican family opened up a store selling a rendition of the concha to Chinese locals which is how it took off.

The pineapple bun is a popular food choice for HK locals as well as tourists. It consists of a soft, fluffy piece of bread with a sweet, crumbly blanket on top of it. Whilst the bread has its own qualities, what makes this food really unique is its top layer. The cracked, golden layer on the top of the bun is mostly what shines and captivates customers. The different textures collaborate with one another to form a delicacy that is not too sweet and can be served with a cup of HK style milk tea. However, the pineapple bun itself is just as good with a quarter inch thick slice of butter slipped into the middle.

‘Kam Wah Cafe’

6 Radient Rice Noodle Rolls

豬腸粉’ (zhu cheong fen) is made using a mixture of water and glutinous rice flour. The mixture is spread thinly onto a pan and steamed. After steaming, it is rolled together and cut into bite-sized pieces. Zhu cheong fen requires lots of skill and craftsmanship to make sure the sheet of rice noodle isn’t too thick or thin to create the perfect texture. Generous amounts of soy sauce, peanut sauce and hoisin sauce (a sweet, thick, rich sauce) are drizzled on top to captivate hungry customers that pass by.

This dish is called Rice Noodle Rolls or ‘豬腸粉’ (zhu cheong fen) in Cantonese and can be mistaken for ‘腸粉’ (cheong fen), as they both use the same thin sheet of rice noodle. However, cheong fun has a stuffing inside of it (eg. shrimp) whilst zhu cheong fun does not. Originating from Guangdong and Hong Kong, zhu cheong fun dominates the Hong Kong street food market making it a must eat.

‘Hop Yik Tai’

‘Tong Tat Shi Dian’

Information:

Gao, Sally. “Everything You Need To Know About The Hong Kong Egg Tart.” Culture Trip, https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/hong-kong/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-hong-kong-egg-tart/. Accessed 17 May 2023.

Lam, Doris. “Hong Kong-Style Breakfast: Where To Find The Best Cheung Fun in Hong Kong.” Tatler Asia, 25 May 2021, https://www.tatlerasia.com/dining/food/hong-kong-style-breakfast-cheung-funhong-kong. Accessed 17 May 2023.

Lo, Zabrina. “Bridal Pastries: The Long History of these very special Chinese treats.” ZOLIMA CITYMAG, 22 January 2020, https://zolimacitymag.com/bakedtogether-the-long-history-of-chinese-bridal-pastries/. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Pineapple Bun History: Hong Kong’s Beloved Bao.” Foodicles, 5 April 2022, https://foodicles.com/pineapple-bun-history/. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Savor the Lively Teahouse Culture & the King of Dim Sum – Siomai (shumai) | ANKO FOOD MACHINE CO., LTD.” Anko Food Machine, 14 March 2021, https:// www.anko.com.tw/en/news/News-epaper-202103.html. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Sex, Money, Food, Politics: How Hong Kong’s Humble Fishball Defines Us.” South China Morning Post, 11 March 2016, https://www.scmp.com/magazines/ hk-magazine/article/2037736/sex-money-food-politics-how-hong-kongs-humblefishball-defines. Accessed 17 May 2023.

Bibliography & Reading

Image:

Tracy O. “Cheung Fun Recipe (腸粉) Rice Noodle Roll.” Oh My Food Recipes, 22 May 2017, https://www.ohmyfoodrecipes.com/rice-noodle-roll-cheung-fun%E8%85%B8%E7%B2%89/. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“A Gold Lining • Tai Cheong Egg Tarts - The Best Damn Dessert in Hong Kong.” A Gold Lining • by Jaclyn Goldbaum, https://www.agoldlining.com/post/taicheong-egg-tarts-the-best-damn-dessert-in-hong-kong. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls (and Siu Mai / Shu Mai).” That Spicy Chick, 4 October 2021, https://thatspicychick.com/hong-kong-curry-fish-balls/. Accessed 17 May 2023.

Jieying, Yip. “HK Wife Biscuit Bakery Hang Heung Opens Second Outlet At Raffles City.” Today Online, 7 January 2021, https://www.todayonline.com/8days/ eatanddrink/newsandopening/hk-wife-biscuit-bakery-hang-heung-opens-second-outlet-raffles-city. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Nostalgic Hong Kong Style Fish Siu Mai.” Rita the Foodie, 14 June 2020, https:// www.ritathefoodie.com/post/nostalgic-hong-kong-style-fish-siu-mai. Accessed 17 May 2023.

“Where to find the best pineapple buns in Hong Kong.” Localiiz, 10 December 2021, https://www.localiiz.com/post/food-drink-best-pineapple-buns-hong-kong. Accessed 17 May 2023.

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