An Asian Holiday: Part 13 – From Fine Dining to Food Stalls, Eating in Hong Kong

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Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Twitter! Emily Jablon:  Daraius and I celebrated Christmas with his family in Macau and Hong Kong for ~8 days.  It was our 1st time to Macau and Hong Kong and we were very excited to visit!
Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Trying Chinese Hot Pot in Hong Kong

An Asian Holiday – Trip Report Index:

This post will cover various restaurants we tried in Hong Kong, including:

Eating In Hong Kong – Part 2

Conrad Hong Kong, Breakfast at the Garden Café

Our second morning at the Conrad, we decided to go for breakfast downstairs at the Garden Café.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Bird’s Eye View of the Garden Cafe Breakfast Buffet

We arrived at around 9:00 am and there was a 10 minute wait.  The restaurant was very large, and there was a lot of food on the buffet.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Emily Happy to Have a Seat and Eager to Try the Food

There were cold cuts…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
There Were Several Types of Protein
…mackerel and salmon…
Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Craving Sushi?  You’ll Love the Giant Sashimi Sized Pieces of Fresh Fish!

…freshly cut fruit, including pineapple, melon, honeydew, and watermelon…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
I Was Happy to See All the Fruit Because It’s One of My Favorite Foods

…yogurt and smoothies…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Emily Wondering If She Should Start With Yogurt or Sashimi

…a selection of bread and pastries…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Croissants, Tarts, and Rolls So Tasty, but Straight to the Hips It Goes

…fruit in syrup…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
I Wanted to Like the Pears, but the Fruit Syrup Was Too Sweet

…and a wide selection of hot foods….

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Suggested We Have an Early Breakfast at 8:00 am to Start the Day Right

…including all of the American favorites.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Crepes…Where to Start?

There was also Chinese food…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Dim Sum Was Included in the Buffet

…with a variety of Chinese meat.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
I’ve Never Seen Fish Balls, Bean Curd, and Bean Sprouts at a Breakfast Buffet

Lastly, there was fresh juice.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
The Watermelon Juice Was My Favorite

Daraius and his dad had a great time trying out all of the food.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Surprisingly There Was Still Food Left After Daraius and His Dad Ate Breakfast

Because of all of the fish on the menu, I ate packaged yogurt, granola, ground flaxseed, and pastries.  The manager said he would make anything I wanted, but I felt like having a smaller breakfast and didn’t want to take risks.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
A Small Breakfast Means More Room for Dessert Later!

Tsui Wah Restaurant

Daraius had given up on the guidebook recommendations, and instead ate at a nearby restaurant when he was hungry.

For lunch, we went to Tsui Wah Restaurant, in Central Hong Kong.  It wasn’t the closest Tsui Wah location to the Conrad Hong Kong, but it was nearby where we were at the time.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Tsui Wah Is a Chinese Chain Tea Restaurant With 26 Restaurants in Hong Kong

The dining area was busy, but we quickly got a table for 4.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
You Know a Restaurant Is Good When It’s Packed With Locals

Tsui Wah had a large menu.  One entire page was fish dishes.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
All Sorts of Dishes I Can’t Eat Because of My Fish Allergy

Daraius ordered pork…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
It Came With Broccoli Which Daraius Didn’t Eat

…and shrimp.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
No Green Vegetables Here So Daraius Ate the Whole Thing!

Daraius thought the food was okay, and wouldn’t return.

Food Stalls Near Temple Street Night Market

For dinner, Daraius and his dad went to the food stalls near the Temple Street Markets.  After scouting out a few stalls, Daraius decided on the Woosung Street Temporary Cooked Food Hawker Bazaar.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Ate at a Food Stall

There weren’t many places to sit, but we found a table.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius and Emily Trying “Street” Food

Most of the menus were in Cantonese…

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We Couldn’t Read the Menu

…which made ordering a bit tough for me because of my allergy.  So I decided to skip eating.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
It Was a Challenge Trying to Figure Out What to Order

However, there were 1 to 2 small menus with pictures and a little bit of English.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Thankfully We Found a Menu With Photos!

That helped a lot!  But Daraius noticed that the menu had only a few items, and wasn’t as extensive as the Cantonese menu.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
The English Menu had Fewer Choices

So Daraius walked around and pointed out to what the locals had on their table which looked good to him!  In the end, Daraius ordered a Chinese hot pot…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
The Chinese Version of Fondue

and steamed fish with black bean sauce.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Enjoyed his Fish!

Daraius liked the fish better than the hot pot.  He had visions of a tasty hot pot which his Chinese business colleagues had made him eat years ago, and was yearning for something similar.  This was a bit different and wasn’t as tasty as what he had eaten before.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Stuffed to the Gills

Golden Leaf, Conrad Hong Kong

For dinner, we went to the Golden Leaf, the Chinese restaurant in our hotel.  The Golden Leaf is a 1 star Michelin restaurant.  We’ve had great meals at other 1 star Michelin restaurants, like the Mirabelle Restaurant in Rome, so I was looking forward to to the food.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius, Emily, Daraius’ Sister and Father Enjoying Dinner at the Golden Leaf

There was an expansive menu that included a variety of dishes, including bird’s nest soup!

Daraius ordered duck…

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Duck Meat Is Fattier Than It Looks
…and fish…
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The Fish Was Prepared in 2 Ways

…and a spicy beef dish.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
Daraius Loves Spicy Chinese Food

Even better was that they brought me food from Nicholini’s, the Italian restaurant upstairs because of my fish allergy.

Places To Eat In Hong Kong
I Couldn’t Resist the Pasta With Shaved Truffles!

Bottom Line

I tried to stay away from Chinese food on this trip because there’s so much fish everywhere and cross contamination was a potential concern.  The staff at the Conrad took great care of me.  And it made my trip much more enjoyable because I could relax and eat what I wanted instead of my energy bars, pizza, and McWings.

But Daraius was adventurous and tried lots of Chinese dishes, including street food!

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