Hong Kong Vacations | Hong Kong Vacation Packages

As more and more tourists come to visit Hong Kong every year, it is quickly turning into a melting pot of culinary specialties. If you happen to love sashimi, sushi, and the famous California maki, then you should take some time off and visit some of the Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong. Here’s a short guide to two famous restos in the city.

Genki Sushi, Hong Kong

Genki Sushi is highly recommended for its traditional Japanese specialties. True to its name, it is best known for its sushi and Japanese dining service. If you order its famous sushi platter, you’ll have it served through a conveyor belt. You just pick up your order from the counter, and you can start enjoying the delectable entree. This place is for sushi-lovers who’d have much delight sampling different flavors. The menu includes tuna and shrimp sushi, crab salad sushi, and corn sushi. California handrolls are also a specialty here. In every bite, you’ll enjoy the mix of seaweed, rice, avocado, and crab in a wrap. You might also want to try their seafood treats and other delicacies such as the salmon, whelks, and fish roe.

Good food is coupled with good service at a more affordable price, making it one of the favorite food chains for traditional Japanese cuisine. From Monday to Sunday, you can drop by the place from 11:30 am to 11:30 pm. However, you may see yourself lining up during lunchtime and weekends when there are usually plenty of customers.

Unkai, Hong Kong

If you want a more relaxing atmosphere, blending the modern and traditional Japanese interior, Unkai in Sheraton Hotel in Hong Kong is a good choice. You’ll be surrounded by bamboo, sandstone, glass, stainless steel, and marble decoration and furniture sets, which all add up to the restaurant’s appeal to customers who want good food and good ambiance. Unkai, Hong Kong has the private Teppan area, open Teppan area, main dining place, three private rooms, and its own Sushi and Sake bar. The restaurant also has a Tatami room. Different dining areas suit the varied dining preferences of customers. The menu includes Bento meals, Kaiseki and Tepanyaki sets. It also has its fresh serving of sashimi and sushi using seasonal fish.

If it’s your first time and don’t have any idea what to order, try its Sake Dinner and cold sakes. For desserts, good choices include corn, green tea, and sesame ice cream. Reservation is required. You also have to specify the dining area you prefer. It is open from 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm and 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm.

These two Japanese restaurants may differ in style and service, but both offer great treats for your traditional Japanese cuisine cravings.

Related questions:

1. How will you rate the food service of Genki Sushi?
2. What are the beverages served in Genki Sushi?
3. What’s included in the Sake Dinner of Unkai in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is filled with dining places that specialize in different types of cuisine. Around the city, you can find restaurants that’s highly rated by Michelin Guide. As you walk along, you’ll also see food chains that offer their own special servings of noodle soups. If you’re looking for something new and tasty but still cheap, some would recommend Lok Yuen and Wing Wah Noodle Shop. These two restaurants are known for their soup bowls. Let’s see why.

Lok Yuen, the King of Beef Ball Chiu Chaw Noodle

Lok Yuen is best known for its Beef and Fish Maw Balls, or Exploding Beef Balls. Beef is the key ingredient in this recipe, which is seasoned with pepper and garlic. These seasonings also help cover the distinct fish taste and blends so well with the ingredients to create such a distinct flavor. Just be careful with when sipping the steamy broth, if you want to fully enjoy your bowl of Exploding Beef Balls. The meatballs are actually chewy, and you’d surely have blast with the exploding juice once you bite into one.

Another specialty of Lok Yuen is the Four Treasures Noodles, which offers a great mix of flavors from different meat/fish balls. The fish noodles here are handmade. The Four Treasures Noodles, as they call it, is highly recommended for first-timers in this restaurant. For the Fish Dumplings, the flavor also comes from dried shrimp and sole. Still, the main ingredient is fish, even for the skin of the dumpling.

Wing Wah Noodle Shop

If you want the classic wonton noodles, then Wing Wah Noodle Shop offers a good treat for your limited budget. The wontons have fresh shrimp in them, and the noodles is known for its crunchy and crispy texture. They all blend so well in a clear broth. The restaurant serves good wonton noodles. But it doesn’t offer much surprise for culinary adventurers because of the rather limited menu.

There are mixed reviews about this noodle shop, but most say that the soup is tasty. If you’re on a budget, this small restaurant offers a good treat at a less expensive price. Just be warned that there are busy days, which means a lot of customers dropping by the noodle shop. Wing Wah Noodle Shop is found along Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.

A trip to Hong Kong won’t be complete without sampling its famous noodles and dumpling as classic treats. Most tourists are busy touring around the city and shopping for great deals. Thankfully, there are small restaurants and noodle shops found along the streets that serve warm bowls of soup and quick treats for people who are ready to move on with their shopping and tours after a quick stop. These shops also offer the best value for money if you want to save more for your buying spree or spend your travel budget for tours and accommodations.

Related questions:

1. Why is it called Exploding Beef Balls?
2. How cheap are the noodle soups of Wing Wah?
3. What’s the best pair for the fish dumplings?

Aside from bargain shopping, the best way to truly experience Hong Kong is to venture into your very own culinary exploration. There’s a lot of great dining places here, from those that offer more affordable meals to the not so cheap entrees. You just have to find your way to your gastronomical desires. Exploring the city on your own, you may come by a restaurant that has customers lining up. There are also posh restaurants housed in Hong Kong hotels. Try Congee King and Dynasty Restaurant in the city to give you a taste of true Hong Kong dining.

Congee King

For those who have no idea what congee is, it is a Chinese version of porridge, or rice gruel with garnishing. The rice is cooked using rice fish broth that creates a silky smooth consistency. Pork liver and eel are also mixed in the congee. Those golden rivulets are actually the oil from the liver. Cooked and chilled curls of carp skin are also part of the mix to bring in a new flavor and that crunchy snap. Congee comes with ginger, peanuts, and scallions and is seasoned with soy sauce.

You can visit Congee King at Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island. It is a small restaurant but it’s worth a try. Though the menu is not as varied as other food chains, you’d love the fact that it doesn’t use MSG in cooking. It’s also good for those who want to try something simple and fairly cheap. Service is good, but you might find the menu quite limited. Also, not all develop a strong liking to congee on their first try.

Dynasty Restaurant

Aside from good food, you’ll also get a great view of the Victoria Harbor when you dine at Dynasty Restaurant in Hong Kong. This elegant dining place serves Cantonese cuisine. Their specialties are dim sum and other home-made treats. You have varied choices from their a la carte menu. For different seasons, expect variations in the menu list. But all in all, you’re sure to find fresh seafood meals, the famous bird’s nest and shark’s fin as classic treats. There are also good reviews for the restaurant’s serving of pea shoots stir-fried with duck liver sausage and black-pepper-crusted smoked beef tongue. Service is good, but expect the meals to be a bit expensive.

Both of these restaurants are found in Wan Chai. You might want to explore and find other restaurants and eateries along Wan Chai if you’re in for a culinary adventure. Hong Kong restaurants may specialize in Cantonese, Chinese, Szechuan, or Asian cooking. What Hong Kong has to offer is a different twist to Asian meals, using century-old cooking styles and fresh ingredients. These are a must-try, especially for foodies from the West.

Related questions:

1. What are the different types of congee served in Congee King?
2. Does Dynasty Restaurant serve exotic Chinese dishes?
3. What are other good restaurants in Wan Chai?

If you are on vacation in Hong Kong’s Central district, you need to visit the Lin Heung Tea House. It is not ultra-modern as one would expect of a Hong Kong recommendation. It is also not filled with pretty china and silk, as you would expect based on books you have read. This is because the tea house is a no-nonsense, unpretentious place stuck in the sixties. Its only focus is to provide delicious and authentic Chinese cooking. So if you are a tourist, you will get a lot of culture during just one lunch stop over at this spot.

Menu and specialties

Dim sum is one of the Lin Heung tea house’s pride and joy. The rice dumplings are sumptuous and the lotus paste buns are simply delicious. So be prepared for an hour or two of indulging in carbohydrates. Forget about the calories you are racking up even just for the moment. Your visit in Hong Kong’s Central District cannot be complete without the Lin Heung lunch or dinner.

HK Restaurant review

The comfort level is appalling, of course. The place has a charm of its own. You will hear Cantonese spoken all around. The patrons are not even interested in modernization. The management has settled on the sixties look. The chairs and tables probably even go back to that particular decade. At one glance and without a food review, you could have turned away from it all – of course, unless you have a strong taste for adventure. However, Lin Heung offers not only proof of just how delicious Chinese cooking can be but also a concentrated area of true culture.

When looking for a Hong Kong restaurant, make sure that you have time to eat dinner at a luxury restaurant and time to mingle with the locals in curious, cultural wonders, such as the Lin Heung tea house. Just bring 100 HK dollars or less and you are good to go. In fact, you can even bring your whole family and friends. If you want to understand what is going on around you, bring a Cantonese interpreter.

Related Questions:

1. Is delicious food worth frequenting in a small but cozy restaurant for?
2. What do people like best about the Lin Heung tea house?
3. What makes culture a strong point of the Lin heung tea house?

Do you want to have a taste of authentic Hong Kong dishes? Then, you should visit the Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum restaurant right there in Hong Kong. This restaurant may not have expensive, supposedly high brow, dishes to offer but it has been rated five stars. Its owner was actually a chef at the Lung King Heen, a restaurant that has been rated 3 stars by the Michelin guide. Pui Gor, the said chef, translated his Four Seasons experience to his own initially drab restaurant space. The space is transformed into dim sum heaven once Pui Gor got his hands on it. The Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum restaurant provides the average person tasty, gourmet dim sum for surprisingly low prices.

The restaurant specialty

As obvious in the name of the restaurant, the specialty is dim sum. The thing about dim sum is that you can find it almost everywhere in Hong Kong. However, many of those dim sum are cooked even on street corners and small eateries. The dim sum found there can be downright mediocre. Even some restaurant offerings are just as mediocre or just passably good. With Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum, however, dim sum is cooked with love and skill.

What to love about Tim Ho Wan restaurant

In a short period of time, Tim Ho Wan has become so popular that tons of people line up to have a taste not only of its dim sum but also of its other authentic Oriental specialties such as the steamed shrimp rice rolls and the baked barbecue pork buns. You can have a taste of all of these sumptuous dishes for only a fraction of the price of high society restaurants. You also do not have to be so self-conscious when enjoying the food you ordered. Tim Ho Wan serves the masses. So, there is no need to hunt for that old suit just to eat at Tim Ho Wan.

Price is not always suggestive of quality. With a highly inspired chef and owner, the Tim Ho Wan thrives in the dim sum and other Oriental delicacies business.

Related Questions:

1. What makes Tim Ho Wan restaurant popular?
2. Did Pui Gor’s Four Seasons’ experience contribute to Tim Ho Wan’s success?
3. Is Tim Ho Wan proof that there are plenty of secret food delicacy providers in Hong Kong?

Before exploring restaurants in Hongkong with 3 Michelin Stars, it is best to understand what those stars stand for. The stars are based on the ratings published by the Michelin Guide, a series of guide books that sparingly awards outstanding restaurants. Three Michelin stars are exceedingly rare. Thankfully, Hongkong is home to some of these rewarded restaurants. The Michelin rating, however, has undergone a lot of controversies. Though a popular basis of whether a restaurant serves great food and wine, the Michelin Guide is allegedly biased towards French cooking according to some people. This may be due to the fact that it only serves its ratings to a few, many of them serving French cuisine.

Robuchon a Galera

Named after a master chef, the Robuchon a Galera has branches in Macau, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong restaurant is regarded as the top in the region though the Robuchon has five restaurants in Asia. The Michelin Guide has deemed Parisian Joel Robuchon’s Hong Kong restaurant as a three-star restaurant. Three stars is supposed to be the highest rating. Again, you can see why some criticize Michelin’s choices, the Robuchon being a place that serves French cuisine. The restaurant just happens to be located in Hong Kong.

Lung King Heen

A Cantonese restaurant, Lung King Heen manages to nab three stars from the Michelin guide. According to theorists, French cooking is undoubtedly the French favorite. If this were true, Lung King Heen has performed quite a feat. Great restaurants, after all, cannot be denied. The Cantonese restaurant is situated in a Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong and shares the building with another Michelin 3 star awardee, this time a French restaurant named Caprice.

It must be quite a job to taste food from the best restaurants in the world just to gather information and ratings for a popular, albeit controversial book such as the Michelin guide. Despite the negative whispers and criticisms, Hong Kong’s 3 star awardees manage to prove that they deserve the rating through their superbly presented and finely cooked meals.

Related Questions:

1. Is it justifiable to base the merits of a restaurant on one guide?
2. Are critics justified in suspecting that French restaurants are Michelin guide favorites?
3. Does the 3 star rating matter a lot in attracting restaurant patrons?

Many think that a vacation to Hong Kong is only for the rich who can afford to splurge. This is actually not true. Even if you are on a budget, you can still buy great items in Hong Kong. There are many flea markets here where you can bargain for the best prices. Read on to know how.

Hotspots for bargain shopping in Hong Kong

There are many shops in Hong Kong where you can do bargain shopping. One of Hong Kong’s most famous markets is the Ladies Market. Despite the name, this market caters to both men and women. There are a lot of cheap items here. You can actually haggle for the lowest prices. Another bargain shopping destination is the Stanley Market. This is a great place to shop for souvenirs. Here, you can hone your bargaining skills before you go to a bigger market. This should be the first market you explore before you head off to other shops. Wan Chai Street market is another shopping hotspot. This is one of the biggest markets in Hong Kong. You will find a good variety of items in this market, from kids’ toys to Chinese clothing. Wan Chai Street market is a haggle-friendly place.

How to haggle over prices

Haggling over prices takes a step by step process. In order to get the best items at a lower price, you have to be patient and persistent. You also have to use your own charm. The first thing to do is to select a haggle-friendly environment such as flea markets and other shops where you can get a good bargain. You then have to select an item that you want and check the product’s quality. It is important that you determine the maximum price you are willing to pay for it. You should start bargaining 40 to 50 percent less than the maximum price you are willing to pay. You have to respond to the counteroffers by increasing your offer in small increments until the seller gives in.

Hong Kong is one of the best shopping destinations in Asia. Here, you will find various quality items at wide price ranges. If you are persistent and you know how to bargain, you could have the items that you want at less expense. So even if you don’t have thousands or millions of dollars, you can afford to buy many souvenirs and amazing finds in Hong Kong as long as you know where and how to get a good bargain.

Related questions:

1. What’s the best thing to buy in Hong Kong?
2. Are the restaurants in Hong Kong very expensive?
3. Are there many cases of pickpockets in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is known for being the ultimate shopping center in Asia. Large shopping malls and flea markets are found in the city. However, there are more to Hong Kong than its bargain shopping and famous markets. At the heart of the city is the district of Wan Chai. This place is said to be the epitome of Hong Kong lifestyle because here you will see and experience almost everything that Hong Kong has to offer. The district has various arts centers, luxury apartments and five-star hotels, metropolitan office towers, and, of course, shopping malls. Aside from these, the district is also known for its bars and classy restaurants. In Wan Chai District, one good food place to visit and try is the Sang Kee Restaurant. Here’s a resturant review:

Sang Kee in Wan Chai District

One of the up and coming restaurants in Wan Chai district is Sang Kee. The restaurant is simple with a touch of elegance. The establishment has a merry ambiance because the interior is dominated by bright colors. Sang Kee’s speciality is congee. The restaurant also has Asian, specifically Chinese, dishes in its menu. The menu includes sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour riblets, Sai Yeung Choi soup, fried squid, salt-baked chicken, Mei Cai Kou, and fried stuffed peppers. All these are worth a bite for your own version of gustatory delight.

Sang Kee is a good choice for Cantonese dishes and some seafood specials. The meals are worth the price if you’ve been wanting to sample authentic Chinese and Cantonese dishes. The highly recommended are pig’s heart congee, liver congee, chicken congee, dried scallop congee, fish belly congee, and vegetarian congee.

Trying out Sang Kee

Sang Kee is a good enough place to be with your peers, family, and friends. It could be a great venue for the girls’ or boys’ night out. The best thing about this restaurant is that, from here, you can have an easy access to many interesting establishments in the Wan Chai district. So, after you’re done with dinner, you can just go out with your friends and hang out in one of Hong Kong’s giant shopping centers and complexes. But if you are planning for a romantic dinner date, this restaurant is not really the best choice. The decorations are loud and the overall atmosphere in the restaurant is a bit noisy to enjoy the company of your date.

The ratings

With a rating of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, Sang Kee gets an 8 for its food and beverage. For the service, it gets a 6 because the restaurant doesn’t offer as much privacy with the noise that might bother you a little. The dishes are good and reasonably priced so the restaurant gets a 7 for the value. For its service, it scores a 6. Much can be done to improve the service to customers.

Related questions:

1. Aside from congee, what are the other dishes that Sang Kee is very proud of?
2. What are the other popular dining establishements in Wan Chai District?
3. What’s the best meal after the congee in Sang Kee?
4. What’s the best restaurant for romantic dinner in Wan Chai district.
5. What’s the nearest mall from Sang Kee?

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Alright, the Afrikana BBQ Restaurant and Lounge might not be a brand-spanking new restaurant, but it is relatively new considering it’s located at the Fisherman’s Wharf.  Since the Fisherman’s Wharf is a newly-developed area in Macau, the Afrikana is a newcomer compared to other restaurants in Macau such as the Litoral or A Lorcha.  And as a newcomer, it brings something new to the table.  By providing some bit of African cuisine to the already diverse culinary culture of Macau, the Afrikana has found its place in the Macanese restaurant scene.

What the Africana BBQ Restaurant and Lounge has to offer

This new restaurant stays true to its name in its building architecture and interior decoration.  The Afrikana is composed of several buildings that are shaped like a hut, with the interiors featuring African artwork and designs.  As such, it does a pretty good job of inspiring an African setting into the place.

The Afrikana is most famous for its BBQ buffet, specifically the roast lamb.  You can find other grilled delights such as African chicken, BBQ meat, and grilled young dove.  And since it is conveniently located at the coast, you also have a wide selection of seafood, such as shrimp, lobster, and crab.  You can also have sushi in the restaurant.  You also have a wide selection of wines and cocktails to choose from, and the dessert is quite decent.
All in all, you would have a nice and delicious eating experience at the Afrikana.  Unfortunately, you can’t just walk in at the Afrikana as reservation is required.  Be also aware that the restaurant only serves dinner, so make your lunch and breakfast plans somewhere else.  Aside from those, the Afrikana is a fun place to eat, especially with a live band as entertainment.  Also, the price is not too bad for a buffet dinner.  With the wide selection of tasty dishes in its buffet, you’re sure to get every bang or burp out of your buck.

Photo Credit : Cloodlebing and Great Kindness

If you’re in a carnivorous mood, one of the new restaurants in Hong Kong that can satisfy that craving for delicious meat is the *BLT Steak Restaurant.  The restaurant is owned by renowned chef and restaurateur Laurent Tourondel.  If anyone can satisfy your need for delectable meat dishes, then that would be Tourondel.  From delectable French specials to American classic dishes, BLT steak is the place to be if you’re looking for a superb dining experience.

The best of BLT steak

The BLT Steak Restaurant offers only the finest ingredients in its dishes.  The meat that the restaurant uses is also imported from the US and Australia for the famous taste of steaks from those countries.  This is one of the reasons why BLT Steak was such a hit in New York.  And since they will continue the tradition in Hong Kong, for sure foreigners and locals would equally love it.  When you look at the menu, you can also see that they offer Wagyu and Kobe beef in their steak selections.  Aside from meat, BLT Steak also offer seafood dishes, such as the Crispy Red Snapper and the Grilled Spiny Lobster.  You also have several side dishes and appetizers to choose from.  You’ve   got grilled asparagus, roasted tomatoes, and jalapeno mashed potatoes, just to name a few.  BLT Steak also has a decent wine collection for you to wash down all that good food.  The restaurant also offers cocktails in its beverages list.

About the price, you will get what you pay for.  Delicious and steaks done just right, along with great ambiance and excellent service, BLT Steak will give you a fine dining experience.  It’s not bad to spend a bit, especially when you’re having steak for dinner.  The important thing is that you get your steak from the right place that will give you the right taste at the right place.  And one of the new restaurants in Hong Kong that can give that to you is the BLT Steak Restaurant.

Photo Credit : avlxyz