For fine dining in Hong Kong, I would recommend these in general. If there are more specific requests, do let me know:
Dim Sum at Forum or Luk Yu
If you are after fine dining dim sum, Forum is the place to go. Best shrimp dumpling in town and everything is done with care and at a high standard. If you want more historic atmosphere, go to Luk Yu Tea House. They still have many traditional dim sum on their menu which are not seen at other restaurants anymore
Wing or Seventh Son
I think Wing is the benchmark for high end Cando fine dining right now. Use of seasonal ingredients and Chef Vicky has his own take on traditional dishes. Mind you, this is not a traditional kind of place but rather a cantonese take on seasonal ingredients. If you want really traditional food, go to Seventh Son
Western
For western food, my go to place is Neighborhood. Casual bistro style food that are often one of a kind since the chef creates many dishes based on what he gets at the market that morning. If you want higher end, Vea is a combination of French and Chinese. If you want something more Latin American, Mono is always good and chef is very talented. For 3 star dining and Japanese French fusion, Ta Vie is the place to go
Iām intrigued by Macanese cuisine, so Iād be trying the distinct Macanese dishes if I was to visit Macao. Itās not easy to find Macanese food in Toronto.
Either place would be fine to stay in as thereās lots of great food in HK Island, and as others in this thread have posted itās a short MTR ride (or a longer, more scenic Star Ferry ride) between Kowloon and HK Island. In my last visit to HK I stayed in Central and didnāt have any issue getting across to Kowloon. The MTR is fast and efficient.
Also mentioned a few times upthread - Sai Kung may be worth a visit. Itās a former fishing village that also has seafood restaurants where you can pick live seafood from tanks and have it prepared to your liking. It does require a drive/bus/taxi/rideshare though to get there.
Thank you everyone for chipping in. I have a plenty of materials now to work on my Hong Kong agenda.
I am still very short on Taiwan opinions. For now I am planning to spend 4 nights in Taipei and 1 in Kaohsiung. Anything food-wise to pay attention too?
Itās been a few years since I last went to FLM, and I have zero desire to return now that the Brother Fiveās side was forced to sell to settle their debt as his son was declared bankrupt in 2022.
āoriginalā DTF location no longer offers dine-in, only takeout. They opened a newer, larger location a couple of blocks down at Xinsheng so that is where the main location is now.
I suppose that was inevitable, considering how big they are now with their global locations and outlets. I will kind of miss the grunge of the original. Similar to the original Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong that sat like 10 people. Maybe queueing up for an 1 hour is not fun, but I did appreciate the sparse interior and small tables.
I am looking for dishes/ plates which are typical and well-made in Taiwan.
I do not have much time, so I am looking for the places representing dishes well.
For instance, I would like to try stinky tofu, but I will not be able to try it in the multiple locations because of the time restrains. As well I have only one stomach. So I am looking for one place where I can try the ābenchmarkā plate.
A lot of people eat, for example , sushi. But very few ones outside of Japan understand what it suppose to be. You can stumble on very reasonable sushi here in NYC, but the chances are it will taste nothing like real Edomae style ones with the warm kohishikari rice and proper seasoning blend of high quality vinegar along with the high quality shoyu placed in proper amount by the experienced sushi chef. The people are not prohibited to like their neighborhood-friendly-Chinese restaurant-made sushi. But it is not what I am looking for.
All the plates we eat exist for a reason. I am trying to find that reason. In the past I was pretty successful in that. I am posting here the question for people who are more experienced than I. I am looking for someone give me a competent advice.
I can give you a very good advice on where and what to eat in Japan/Thailand/ Spain/Italy/ Russia/ USA/ Mexico and number of the other countries, but East Asia (outside of Japan) is a mystery to me.
I love Szechuan food, but all my experience is based only on frequenting all three NYC Chinatowns. Although I believe DaXi (大åå·čé¦) use to be incredible (not anymore by the way), I do not know if I was eating the real Szechuan food. You can read all the Fuchsia Dunlop books about Szechuan food, but you can not taste it in the book. So in summary, I am looking for the REAL food. It does mot matter if it is sold from the street cart or 3 star Michelin restaurant. I hope I am expressing myself wellā¦
are you traveling solo? Small party size limits the number of plates you can order, and my recommendations will change and skew towards the simpler establishments where youāre likely to get full on 1-3 dishes.
As an example: I LOVE braised pork rice - luroufan - and my favorite version is at My Stove. But if youāre going alone itās unreasonable to order more than 1, maybe 2 dishes plus the rice. I donāt even know if theyāll give you a table when dining alone. Then I would ask you to go to the popular chain of Formosa Chang, where dishes are much smaller and you can order a small bowl of the braised pork rice plus 1-2 other small dishes like fried pork chop in red lees. Or Fu Ba Wang for their braised pork trotter plus the braised pork rice. Both alternatives will be good but My Stoveās version is FAR superior. https://www.diarygrowingboy.com/2022/07/the-most-sinful-bowl-of-rice.html
Rice vermicelli with pig intestines / oysters - Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle has a few outlets, is extremely popular and some consider benchmark, but thatās all they serve. If you go to Wang Ji Rice Dumplings, you can get the vermicelli and also get to try other things like the rice dumplings or savory rice pudding.
Beef noodle soup - opinions vary widely, but for me the benchmark has always been Beef Father Beef Noodles. They serve the most expensive bowls, with the top 2 tiers coming in at TWD 5,000 and 10,000. Whether the pricing is worth it is wholly subjective, but they have their fans and I have been going there for almost 2 decades, albeit infrequently as I donāt live in Taipei anymore. My wife prefers a more popular and pedestrian shop. https://www.diarygrowingboy.com/2022/07/beef-noodle-soup-hers-and-his.html
Many other examples but you need to give me more guidance before I can be more specific.
Thank you Peter.
I will put an effort of trying out these places. It is a valuable info!
I will be traveling with my wife who is a good sport when it comes to eating. Unfortunately we are getting older and can not consume amounts of food we use tooā¦ I will probably have to starve for a few months before going to East Asiaā¦
I am figuring where would be a good place to sample stinky tofu.
Is a goose indeed something I need to seek?
Is Addiction Aquatic a good experience?
I do not understand why hot pot is so popular in restaurants. My limited attempts to try it in reputable Chinese chains in NYC (happy lamb, spice world ect) were very disappointingā¦ Is there a place which can change my mind?
(Although I should admit that nabe at home is not a bad thing)
Thank you again
goose isnāt as popular in Taiwan. Get it while in HK
personally not a fan. nothing special. people like it because itās considered cheap and the seafood is fresh, but itās not particularly Taiwanese in terms of flavors
as a Taiwanese - who left Taiwan decades ago - I donāt understand how this became associated with Taiwanese cuisine, because itās not. I donāt eat food that is very spicy so all the mala hot pot places are off-limits to me. Other hot pots are either northern Chinese with pickled napa cabbage and pork, or just general hodgepodge shabu shabu. Not on my recommendation list for people going to Taiwan
