The most underrated foodie neighbourhood in Hong Kong

There’s more to Sham Shui Po than Tim Ho Wan. Here are five places that prove this old neighbourhood is worth crossing the harbour for.

Jetstar Asia
January 2019

As one of Hong Kong's opens in new window oldest neighbourhoods, Sham Shui Po is one of the most underrated places for cheap local street food. This list is concise but it’s a food trail that will take you from Michelin-recommended stalls to a hole-in-the-wall 17-seater ramen stall. Wear comfy shoes because there’ll be a lot of queuing to do, and stretchy pants because you’ll be ordering seconds at each stop.

1. Kwan Kee Store

Head to this Michelin-recommended snack store and you’ll see crowds snapping up the signature put chai ko (steamed round puddings of rice flour, brown sugar and red beans). The service is feverishly fast, but the put chai ko at this stall is anything but fast food. The rice is ground every day and made into milk, giving the pudding a delicate aroma that pre-made rice flour can never achieve. Four hundred puddings are made daily and it almost always sells out, so you’ve been warned — get there early.
115-117 Fuk Wa Street

Hop Yik Tai, Sham Shui Po — Silky smooth rice noodle rolls … it’s simple food at its best.

2. Hop Yik Tai

How good can cheong fun be, you ask? Well, in this case, good enough for the Michelin Guide to recommend it. The rice noodle rolls are made fresh daily and are incredibly smooth. Have yours with sweet sauce, sesame sauce, soy sauce and a good dollop of chilli oil.
121 Kweilin Street

Kakurega Ramen Factory, Sham Shui Po — Choose from white, black or red broth but whatever you do, don’t skip the onsen tamago.

3. Kakurega Ramen Factory

Two reasons to head to this 17-seater tsukemen stall: the noodles are made on-site every morning and only 100 bowls are sold a day because the owner Meter Chan does not want overproduction to compromise his exacting standards. Plunge the al dente noodles into the intensely umami dipping sauce and slurp away. When the noodles are finished, ask for more broth to be poured into your soup bowl and drink every last drop.
Shop 7083, Level 7, Dragon Centre, 37 Yen Chow Street

Wai Kee Noodle Cafe, Sham Shui Po — If you’re not a fan of pork liver, go for the French toast with a cup of rich milk tea.

4. Wai Kee Noodle Cafe

If you happen to love pork liver, Wai Kee Noodle Cafe is reason enough to head to Sham Shui Po. There are three shop lots on the same street and even then, queues during peak hour for its signature pork liver noodles can be up to an hour. The liver is tender yet springy without that powdery texture less well-prepared ones have. Liver lovers, you know that’s hard to come by.
62 and 66 Fuk Wing Street

Cafe Sausalito, Sham Shui Po — On Sundays, jazz musicians perform on the tiny outdoor seating area.

5. Café Sausalito

This tiny specialty coffee shop is the perfect place to seek refuge from what can sometimes seem like the constantly bustling neighbourhood. You can’t go wrong with the single origin pour-over but for something more unusual, try the Cucumberano — a fizzy cucumber-flavoured Americano that makes a great thirst quencher.
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