Where should we eat in Taipei and Hong Kong?
November 29, 2015 10:02 PM Subscribe
My family and I are taking a trip to Hong Kong and Taipei in a week. Where should we eat?
The group is four adults, no children. One person has an allergy to oysters, otherwise no real dietary restrictions. Tastes are moderately adventurous--yes to roast goose, no to offal. We're cool with upscale/expensive food as well as homey/cheap food.
Several of the adults in the group will be cranky if they don't get to eat a lot of vegetables, so some places with a lot of salads or cooked vegetables would be great.
Bonus points for restaurants that have websites in English so we can peruse the menus beforehand.
Also I am a huge chocolate fan, so if there are any particularly noteworthy local chocolatiers, or places to buy lots of chocolate bars, I'd appreciate that too.
The group is four adults, no children. One person has an allergy to oysters, otherwise no real dietary restrictions. Tastes are moderately adventurous--yes to roast goose, no to offal. We're cool with upscale/expensive food as well as homey/cheap food.
Several of the adults in the group will be cranky if they don't get to eat a lot of vegetables, so some places with a lot of salads or cooked vegetables would be great.
Bonus points for restaurants that have websites in English so we can peruse the menus beforehand.
Also I am a huge chocolate fan, so if there are any particularly noteworthy local chocolatiers, or places to buy lots of chocolate bars, I'd appreciate that too.
For HK, there is a web site called Open Rice (on mobile, hard to link..) It is like the Yelp for HK, and has an English version (but most reviews are in Chinese, obviously). You can search by location / cuisine and there are LOTS of pictures...!
Any full service Chinese restaurants will serve you vegetables. A few highly specialized restaurants (e.g., we sell only wonton noodles) may not...
Happy eating and I'm soo jealous!!!
posted by yonglin at 11:16 PM on November 29, 2015
Any full service Chinese restaurants will serve you vegetables. A few highly specialized restaurants (e.g., we sell only wonton noodles) may not...
Happy eating and I'm soo jealous!!!
posted by yonglin at 11:16 PM on November 29, 2015
Try the soup dumplings at Crystal Jade, in the shopping center above the Airport Train at Hong Kong station.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 11:37 PM on November 29, 2015
posted by the agents of KAOS at 11:37 PM on November 29, 2015
Ding Tai Fung is very good food! They serve some of the finest steamed dumplings I've ever had and I live in Taipei.
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/default.htm
There are number of branches, but an easy one to find would be at the Taipei 101 building.
Happy travels.
posted by rmmcclay at 2:05 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/default.htm
There are number of branches, but an easy one to find would be at the Taipei 101 building.
Happy travels.
posted by rmmcclay at 2:05 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Roughly speaking, in Taiwan I would explore more of the local night market options and small vendors-- much better than in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has *amazing* food, but think more fusion and high end culinary adventures. Though I would definitely do dim sum in Hong Kong.
Other people can tell you more about Taipei, but here are my Hong Kong picks:
In Hong Kong the Grassroots Pantry on Hollywood Road has very good vegetarian options. I also really like Veggie Family 素食一家 in Mong Kok-- it's close to the Flower Market and the food is affordable and delicious and you'll get plenty of veggies. There's also Nur, which is kind of European fusion-- they only serve a tasting menu and it has a lot of veggies-- all locally sourced.
I love Yardbird, it's a Japanese Yakatori place-- obviously big on chicken, but they have surprisingly good salad and veggie options as well. They don't take reservations and it fills up very quickly, so I would get there early. Another Soho favorite of mine is Chom Chom-- Vietnamese street food and a great atmosphere. Chachawan is expensive but fabulous Isaan Thai-- guests of mine usually pick this as their favorite. La Cabane is the cafe for the French in Hong Kong-- wonderful food, relaxed atmosphere and a great selection of organic wines.
Mott 32 is expensive, but offers a stylish surrounding and high quality Chinese food. I like it, but it is definitely not cheap. If you want the Michelin stars, then Bo Innovation is genuinely great-- they call themselves "X-treme Chinese". Sohofama in PMQ has good veggie options and good dishes, but indifferent service.
Tim Ho Wan in Mongkok (world's cheapest starred restaurant) has great dim sum, but seriously expect to wait 2 hours or more to be seated. Mak's noodles (I like the branch on Wellington best) is really good. If you're adventurous, try hotpot somewhere in Sham Shui Po-- I like Golden Chiu Banyan, but there are a lot of options.
Have fun! I have gained weight since moving here, for sure.
posted by frumiousb at 3:28 AM on November 30, 2015
Other people can tell you more about Taipei, but here are my Hong Kong picks:
In Hong Kong the Grassroots Pantry on Hollywood Road has very good vegetarian options. I also really like Veggie Family 素食一家 in Mong Kok-- it's close to the Flower Market and the food is affordable and delicious and you'll get plenty of veggies. There's also Nur, which is kind of European fusion-- they only serve a tasting menu and it has a lot of veggies-- all locally sourced.
I love Yardbird, it's a Japanese Yakatori place-- obviously big on chicken, but they have surprisingly good salad and veggie options as well. They don't take reservations and it fills up very quickly, so I would get there early. Another Soho favorite of mine is Chom Chom-- Vietnamese street food and a great atmosphere. Chachawan is expensive but fabulous Isaan Thai-- guests of mine usually pick this as their favorite. La Cabane is the cafe for the French in Hong Kong-- wonderful food, relaxed atmosphere and a great selection of organic wines.
Mott 32 is expensive, but offers a stylish surrounding and high quality Chinese food. I like it, but it is definitely not cheap. If you want the Michelin stars, then Bo Innovation is genuinely great-- they call themselves "X-treme Chinese". Sohofama in PMQ has good veggie options and good dishes, but indifferent service.
Tim Ho Wan in Mongkok (world's cheapest starred restaurant) has great dim sum, but seriously expect to wait 2 hours or more to be seated. Mak's noodles (I like the branch on Wellington best) is really good. If you're adventurous, try hotpot somewhere in Sham Shui Po-- I like Golden Chiu Banyan, but there are a lot of options.
Have fun! I have gained weight since moving here, for sure.
posted by frumiousb at 3:28 AM on November 30, 2015
Best answer: Here's my pro-tip for Tim Ho Wan: Bring a book and either show up super early to get in line early enough to get seated first, or if you wind up getting into the second seating batch (in which you will be quoted a one hour wait) but then stick around the area. Lots of people wind up wandering off to kill time in one of the street markets or shops while waiting to be called. We wandered off too, but when we came back after 15 minutes, the door person just started calling numbers as a table came up for grabs, and they went through four numbers before calling ours; and they basically let us skip that entire queue.
Speaking of street markets, I'm a big fan of having tropical fruits in the tropics. If you're living in North America or Europe, the mangoes, lychees, and papayas that you can get in your supermarkets are terrible approximations of their freshly harvested brethren, plus there are a ton of fruits that you'll hardly ever see outside of the tropics like sugar apples, sapodillas, and loquats. I'd usually get at least one piece of fruit for every day that I'm staying in the city and just buying it to have for mornings or midday snacks.
As someone else mentioned above, I found Openrice. To be super useful for navigating culinary Hong Kong.
posted by bl1nk at 3:55 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Speaking of street markets, I'm a big fan of having tropical fruits in the tropics. If you're living in North America or Europe, the mangoes, lychees, and papayas that you can get in your supermarkets are terrible approximations of their freshly harvested brethren, plus there are a ton of fruits that you'll hardly ever see outside of the tropics like sugar apples, sapodillas, and loquats. I'd usually get at least one piece of fruit for every day that I'm staying in the city and just buying it to have for mornings or midday snacks.
As someone else mentioned above, I found Openrice. To be super useful for navigating culinary Hong Kong.
posted by bl1nk at 3:55 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Night markets should fit the bill of moderately adventurous food. The two most famous ones in Taipei is Raohe and Shilin. Just try whatever doesn't look gross to you and you can't go wrong.
Since you mentioned oyster allergies, avoid the oyster omelette (but those without the allergy should get it, it's yummy and gooey...sssoooo good). It's called 蚵仔煎 (o-wa-chian) in Taiwan, and apparently in Hong Kong it's known by several names with "蠔" in it. You can probably substitute shrimp for the oysters if that's fine.
Someone mentioned Din Tai Fung, and it's pretty good... just super-popular, so hello long lines. But get the soup dumplings if you go; they're famous for it.
Can't help much with chocolate, but chocolate in general tastes a little different in Taiwan than in the US, probably because the milk is different.
posted by curagea at 3:58 PM on November 30, 2015
Since you mentioned oyster allergies, avoid the oyster omelette (but those without the allergy should get it, it's yummy and gooey...sssoooo good). It's called 蚵仔煎 (o-wa-chian) in Taiwan, and apparently in Hong Kong it's known by several names with "蠔" in it. You can probably substitute shrimp for the oysters if that's fine.
Someone mentioned Din Tai Fung, and it's pretty good... just super-popular, so hello long lines. But get the soup dumplings if you go; they're famous for it.
Can't help much with chocolate, but chocolate in general tastes a little different in Taiwan than in the US, probably because the milk is different.
posted by curagea at 3:58 PM on November 30, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks to all that answered. Now that I've mostly recovered from jet lag and my return to work, here are the highlights of our trip (including our own finds as well as the suggestions):
For Hong Kong leg of the trip:
Bo Innovation: definitely in the "pricey but worth every penny" category. Just about every course would be the standout dish at most restaurants. I particularly liked the "Umami" course with toro and shrimp oil noodles, and the truffles + Wagyu beef course. Presentation was playful and fun. One of the best meals of my life.
Yau Yuen Siu Tsui (in Kowloon): Xi'an or Shanxi cuisine. Terrific biang biang noodles.
Tim's Kitchen for roast goose and pork belly.
Temple Night Market:Temple Spicy Crab: spicy crab (of course) and sauteed morning glory.
For the Taipei leg of the trip:
Street omelet from vendor near the Caesar Park Hotel.
Shida Night Market: Green onion pancake with pickled cabbage.
Shilin Night Market: sugar apples, Big Sausage Little Sausage, fried cuttlefish with fried basil.
Snow King: date paste ice cream (along with dozens of other varieties, including unusual ones like pig knuckle.
NKSD Choco for an intense blueberry ganache (for the Christmas season only) and a subtle matcha chocolate truffle. The staff was super kind and patient with us despite us not speaking a word of Mandarin. I'd have been fine with picking something at random, but they insisted on letting us know what all the flavors were before we made our choices.
Thank you all for the suggestions. We're going to try to visit both cities again as soon as we can, and it's nice to have more suggestions in hand for the next trip.
posted by creepygirl at 9:34 PM on January 11, 2016
For Hong Kong leg of the trip:
Bo Innovation: definitely in the "pricey but worth every penny" category. Just about every course would be the standout dish at most restaurants. I particularly liked the "Umami" course with toro and shrimp oil noodles, and the truffles + Wagyu beef course. Presentation was playful and fun. One of the best meals of my life.
Yau Yuen Siu Tsui (in Kowloon): Xi'an or Shanxi cuisine. Terrific biang biang noodles.
Tim's Kitchen for roast goose and pork belly.
Temple Night Market:Temple Spicy Crab: spicy crab (of course) and sauteed morning glory.
For the Taipei leg of the trip:
Street omelet from vendor near the Caesar Park Hotel.
Shida Night Market: Green onion pancake with pickled cabbage.
Shilin Night Market: sugar apples, Big Sausage Little Sausage, fried cuttlefish with fried basil.
Snow King: date paste ice cream (along with dozens of other varieties, including unusual ones like pig knuckle.
NKSD Choco for an intense blueberry ganache (for the Christmas season only) and a subtle matcha chocolate truffle. The staff was super kind and patient with us despite us not speaking a word of Mandarin. I'd have been fine with picking something at random, but they insisted on letting us know what all the flavors were before we made our choices.
Thank you all for the suggestions. We're going to try to visit both cities again as soon as we can, and it's nice to have more suggestions in hand for the next trip.
posted by creepygirl at 9:34 PM on January 11, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
http://www.hongkongfoodietours.com
posted by jessca84 at 10:46 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]