If you’ve been paying attention to your wallet and your stomach, you’ll have already worked your way through our list of cheap eats on Hong Kong Island. After some serious dibbing, dabbing and drooling, we’re now back with the Kowloon side edition!
Rather than sending you to separate addresses, however, this one’s more of a looping tour. Follow in our footsteps on the Yellow Brick Road to street food heaven, which meanders around the intersection of Tung Choi Street (also know as Goldfish Street) and Mong Kok Road.
1. Siu Mai and Fishballs
Sat at the corner of Tung Choi Street and Mong Kok Road is a place where you can experience two truly iconic Hong Kong street food staples: Siu Mai (steamed pork dumplings) and Fish Balls. While you can order them separately, served on a bamboo stick, we recommend getting a combination of the two in a bowl for HKD10. This way you can even out the smooth fishy taste with some of the chewier, yellow dumplings. Both of these classics are even better with the spicy sauce.
2. Grilled skewers
After you indulge in Siu Mai/Fish Balls Sundae, we hope you’ll have room for a grilled chicken or lamb skewer or four (HKD12-14 each). Just two shops down from the corner of Tung Choi Street, the smell of charcoal roasting a crisp and evenly seasoned piece of meat will grab you by both the nose and the tastebuds. Here you will find a strong and distinct Chongqing flavour: smoky, spicy and salty. Sign us up for some of that! The prime time to arrive is after 4pm.
3. Bubble Tea
In the scorching heat of Hong Kong, keep calm and drink bubble tea. Along the same road at 124-156 Tung Choi Street (next to the McDonald’s entrance), Share Tea is the perfect place for a a delicious chilled beverage with a bite. Be sure to try their Bubble Milk GREEN Tea (HKD16-20), and ask for it with less sugar. It’s healthier but also much tastier this way, in our humble opinion. This selection, different from the normal red tea base, is also incredibly refreshing – an instant walk into a spa, cucumbers over the eyes kind of feeling.
4. Fa Yuen Cooked Food Market
Continuing on our path around the delicious “Dark Side”, make sure you try the cooked food market down the road (Fa Yuen Street Municipal Services Building, 123 Fa Yuen Street). Yes, we know this isn’t exactly street food, but it’s close enough and worth a mention for sure. After passing up through nutritious greens and fruits and rack-upon-rack of protein, head to the third floor. In comparison to a mall’s food court, you’ll only get the freshest ingredients here, all sourced from downstairs. Take a seat on a stool and immerse yourself in a local’s hangout. We recommend the stir-fried rice noodles with beef with a cold milk tea (乾炒牛河 and 凍奶茶, HKD35) from the stand at the back. The beef is thin and tender, and the soft noodles are complemented by a crisp bite of sauteed onions and green sprouts. Together with the strong and rich tea, this is an iconic Hong Kong taste.
5. Lou Mein
6. Stinky Tofu
This pungent choice absolutely reeks of Hong Kong’s must-try street foods, but be warned that it’s not for everyone. Its name is an understatement, because stinky tofu in fact carries a breeze of stanky rank odour across the entire block. Nonetheless, after biting into its deep-fried crust and tasting the soft, creamy goodness inside, you’re likely to entirely forget about the smell. Choose the type of sauce (sweet, sour or spicy) and the staff at Delicious Food (30-32 Nullah Road, Prince Edward) will serve up the uniquely scrumptious tofu taste for just HKD10 per portion. Don’t worry – just because some say, “you are what you eat” doesn’t mean you’ll become a white and wobbly foul-smelling person. At least we hope not.
What you will be after all this, however, is one satisfied Kowloon street food explorer!