Cheap Eats in Hong Kong

If you're planning to go to Hong Kong anytime soon, I'm sure you're excited about going to theme parks and doing some shopping and you should be! But in all the excitement, don't forget to take into account your budget for your meals especially if you're not joining a tour with full-board meals. If you're not that picky and you want to spend more on souvenirs, here's a guide to help you find good food at an affordable price.

Image Source: Guardian Newspaper
Street Food

Like any Asian country, Hong Kong has a street food culture that particularly seems to prefer food on a stick. Take your pick: chicken wings, hotdog wrapped in bacon, pork, beef, lamb, gizzards, intestines, sausage, octopus, squid balls, etc. I especially love their intestines. Naturally, as they are street vendors, only cash is accepted.

Cheap Eats Hong Kong / Image Source: Mr. Big Ben
Chinese Noodle Houses

You can't go to a Chinese territory and not eat noodles especially in one of those small and hot restaurants where everything you pay for goes directly to the food, but never the ambience. I love their beef strips and fish balls.

Cheap Eats Hong Kong / Image Source: Followmefoodie.com
However, noodle houses seldom have an English menu so do what I do: look for pictures. If there's none, go straight to the cook and see what's hanging on his display window. Or look around and see what the others are eating and just point---politely.

When paying, your bill will be given to you immediately after you have placed your order. When you have finished eating, you take it to the cashier on your way out. No credit card accepted.

And if you want a doggie bag, it will be self-service. You will be given a box for you to transfer your remaining food.


Fast Food Chains

In my travels, I always drop by McDonald's and KFC wondering how they will taste as I have discovered they don't always taste the same. I don't normally eat at McDonald's in Manila but Hong Kong's chicken wings are the best---ever. KFC in Hong Kong tastes so much better that it forever ruined Manila for me. They're juicier and crispier with no need for gravy.

cheap eats hong kong
Cheap Eats Hong Kong / Image Source: Wikimedia
But don't stop at American fast food chains. Try Hong Kong's most famous local fast food chain, Cafe de Coral. I always order their thick and juicy New Zealand steak and their crispy roast pork rice. I also love their flavorful garoupa breakfast.

At fast food chains, you can pay either by cash or through Octopus, the prepaid card that can also be used to pay for commuting and groceries. You can get the Octopus at the Metro Transit Rail Stations and have it loaded (topped up, as they say in Hong Kong) even at 7-11.

Plan Your Budget

The cost of meals per person mentioned here averages between HK$25-40 (as of this writing). If you're thinking it's kind of steep for a budget meal, well yes and no. Yes, if you're converting to peso but no considering the generous amount of serving particularly the rice. And you know how we Filipinos love rice!

If you notice, except for the fast food chains, there's no mention of a particular restaurant here. That's because you can find them anywhere and---this is what I love about Hong Kong food---they're so consistent in taste that it really doesn't matter where you eat.

But I have to mention something peculiar to Hong Kong's habit of eating out. Be ready to eat with strangers. Don't think you can have the table all to yourself. If there's one seat vacant at your booth, a fellow customer will just help himself to that seat without asking or even looking your way. He's not being rude; that's just the way Hong Kong people dine out at casual restaurants. And don't try to act  like a good host by striking a conversation. Everyone is invisible at the table so you are left to savor one of the best foods in the world---if not the best!

-The Paranoid Traveler

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