Easily the highlight of my time in Hong Kong was the walking food tour that I was invited to join. I spent an afternoon with Eating Adventures on their Hong Kong Food Tour led by our host Yan. Yan was so friendly and upbeat and provided tons of information about the area, the restaurants, and all of the various dishes we tried. We had so many stops and tried so many different things- in this post I’ll show you my favorites and even the one dish from the tour I didn’t like. I promised the guys at Eating Adventures I wouldn’t give away the names and addresses of the restaurants they visit so if you want to try these dishes you should definitely book the tour!
Roasted Goose: my favorite stop of the tour
We began on a high note with a stop at a restaurant famous for their roasted goose. We learned that the geese are raised on the farm for 90 days before being sent to the restaurant where they will have been processed less than sixteen hours before being served. Also, the locals say that because of the way the geese stand the left drumstick is the most tender, as the geese use it less. Therefore, the left drumstick is more expensive and sought after. Our guide told us that older Chinese people enjoy sucking the juice from the blood vessels of a cooked goose head and having it with wine. They will also chew the bones from the head and neck of the geese. I’ll save that for the next visit- this time I was just happy to try the perfectly cooked, tender and juicy roasted meat this restaurant is famous for.
Snake soup:
Easily the most exotic dish we tried on the tour was the snake soup. The locals believe it to be good for your health and our guide told us that since she’s began working the tours and having snake soup more often she has noticed the health benefits. The soup is made from the meat of either pythons or water snakes, chicken and a broth made from pork bones. The soup was very thick and our guide told us that different restaurants will prepare it in different ways, with the soup being more or less thick depending on where you try it at. Once you get past the description the soup was actually really delicious. It was one of my favorite stops on the tour and I would definitely have it again.
A tour of the wet markets:
Yan also took us to see the wet markets where local people buy seafood. The selections were incredible- fresh fish, lobster, crabs, scallops, dried seafood, clams, oysters and snails. You could make your selection and the employees would clean and package your items for you while you watched and waited.
A stop at the bakery:
I’m not much for sweets but I knew I couldn’t leave Hong Kong without trying the famous Portuguese egg tarts. I actually really liked these because they’re not too sweet and the crust was layered and flaky. We only sampled the tarts but there was a huge selection of incredible looking pastries and baked goods if you have a sweet tooth.
Spicy curried fish balls:
With so many stops and different dishes to try it was inevitable I would find one I wasn’t as crazy about. The spicy curried balls of minced fish on a stick were the only dish from the tour I didn’t care for. Although several other people did like them and there was a line to order so it must be a personal thing. They tasted overly fishy and seemed like the hot dog of seafood- the byproduct from processing.
Dim Sum- Asian tapas
I already knew I would enjoy this part of the tour because dim sum is something I eat fairly often. Dim sum is small portions of different dishes that are meant to be shared. The restaurant Yan chose for us is known for having creative variations on standard dishes. This day we tried wasabi deep-fried dumplings, crispy shrimp stuffed rice rolls, chocolate crusted mushroom buns, pork stuffed soup dumplings topped with truffles and several other dishes. I really liked the chefs creativity with these dishes.
Finishing on a sweet note:
We ended the tour at one of the most popular ice cream shops in town. The place is so well known and liked that when we arrived there was a forty minute wait to be served. Fortunately for us the company had called ahead and made arrangements so that we would not have to wait. We tried Pandan ice cream that had a crunchy cereal layer on the bottom of the cup. It was delicious and really the perfect way to end the tour.
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Practical Information:
Cost for the tour is 620 HKD/$80 USD. To purchase tickets or find out more information about the tour click here.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank Eating Adventures for having me as their guest on this tour. Although I received the tour at no cost all opinions remain my own, as always.
Travel writer and owner of the blog. My work has been featured on Fodors, Eater.com, International Living, and Great Escape Publishing, among many others. My story? Nearly six years ago, I left my job at an Oklahoma City law firm and embarked on a journey around the world. At the time, I thought I would only be gone for 6 months, but the more I traveled, the longer my bucket list became. Flashpacker describes how I travel. Rather than traveling as the normal world wise backpacker and staying in hostel dorms, I prefer a more comfortable experience, and typically stay in private rooms, take Ubers instead of taxis, and now use a suitcase instead of a backpack. Foodie, on the other hand, describes one of the key reasons why I travel. I love to pick a central “base camp” and then explore the surrounding area, really immersing myself in the culture and interacting with the people, and enjoying and exploring the food of an area is an essential part of this experience.
Holly
Thursday 16th of June 2016
Woah that is a serious food tour. I am not sure I would have been brave enough to try everything you did. Snake soup...wow.
Rosemary
Tuesday 14th of June 2016
Snake soup....not quite sure about that at all. Glad to know that you enjoyed it despite it's name. We hope to visit Hong Kong soon and it sounds like a food tour is the way to go! Thanks for sharing your adventurous experience.
Aditi Chauhan
Monday 6th of June 2016
Oh, I loved the post. I had a similar experience recently in Wangfujing Street in Beijing (http://wanderingpassport.com/?p=38) and absolutely loved it. I havent tried the Snake Soup though!
Karen Burns-Booth
Sunday 5th of June 2016
This post makes me SO homesick, as I lived and went to school in Hong Kong for 9 yrs when I was younger; this is a fabulous post and I recognise all of the food you ate and enjoyed! GREAT photos too! Karen
Nathan
Sunday 5th of June 2016
Thanks, Karen! What was your favorite dish you had when you were living there? The roast goose is high on my list.
Liana
Sunday 5th of June 2016
That is quite an adventurous food tour! I can't believe you ate snake soup! I would never eat this, even if it seems good as you describe it! I have a thing that I can't eat bugs or snake or whatever reptilian. It's not for me! x
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Nathan
Sunday 5th of June 2016
I would actually eat it again! I've also tried the bugs and while it makes for a good story I don't ever need to try those again. One of the only things I've flat refused to try was balut when I was in the Philippines. Have you heard of it?