Hong Kong food in the UK - and where to get it
Joyce Chiang, Communications Manager of Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers
With more Hong Kongers moving to the UK since the BN(O) visa route opened 2 years ago, we are seeing more and more food stores selling Hong Kong style food. Friendship festivals, pop-up markets and other events are also providing people in Britain with new opportunities to sample the cuisine of Hong Kong - or you may have eaten some with your Hong Konger neighbours and friends.
Hong Kong food is not limited to the Har Gau (dumplings) and Cha Siu (barbecued pork) that many people here already know. But with more variety it gets more difficult to remember their names and what they are. But no worries, let’s take a look into some of these dishes, and you can try to get them if you haven’t tried them all yet! (and don’t worry, you don’t need to go to Chinatown to find them!)
Hong Kong style milk tea (photo source: Flickr)
Hong Kong style Milk tea (奶茶, Ngai Cha)
it may look like English-style milk tea, but it is different! It is influenced by that though - during the earlier colonial period, when going to western restaurant was a luxury for very few people, Hong Kongers developed a cheaper alternative “Cha Chaan Teng” (茶餐廳), serving some more economical meals, and introducing afternoon tea to a wider population in Hong Kong. That’s how milk tea is developed in Hong Kong, with the tea prepared in a way that extracts more flavour from the same amount of tea leaves, and milk that can be preserved for a longer time (which is cheaper). Yes, it is cheaper to make (in Hong Kong, at least), but the taste is worth paying more for!
Milk Tea x Coffee (鴛鴦, Yuen Yeung)
Yes, the Cha Chaan Tengs in Hong Kong also serve coffee. The taste is quite different from espresso, filter or cold brew - it is also cooked in a method whereby most of the taste and caffeine is extracted from the bean. It may not taste the best but it’s definitely the most effective cup of coffee to prevent you falling asleep. Some Hong Kongers find that the coffee is too strong for them but they still want a bit more caffeine, so they mix the Hong Kong style milk tea with coffee, calling this mixture of beverages Yuen Yeung (鴛鴦).
Where to get (both milk tea and yuen yeung):
Egg tarts (photo source: Weekend HK)
Egg (custard) tart (蛋撻, Dan Tart)
They look like Portuguese Pastel del nata but the taste of egg is stronger. They are also a part of Cha Chaan Teng culture as a kind of pastry that Hong Kongers used to have during tea time. The crust of these egg tarts can be made with either butter cookies or lard puff pastry: both have their fans and they are split into two camps - just like those who opt for putting milk first or putting tea first when making tea.
Where to get:
(photo source: Dim Cook Guide)
Fish Meat Siu Mai (魚肉燒賣, Yu Yuk Siu Mai)
It’s different from the Siu Mais that you usually eat as dim sum in Chinese restaurant, which are made with pork and shrimp; we are talking about Siu Mais mainly made with fish and flour. It is also a more economical variation on dim sum Siu Mai, which Hong Kongers used to buy from food carts on the streets in the old days. Now the food carts have almost all gone from Hong Kong, but it’s still very common for Hongkongers to get these Siu Mai at snack shops when they are feeling a bit hungry (but not ready for a full meal yet).
Where to get:
Fish balls (photo source: Hong Kong Fish ball concern group)
Fish balls in curry sauce (咖哩魚蛋, Ka Lei Yu Dan)
Similar to fish meat siu mai, fish balls were sold from food carts as early as 1950s and have also moved to snack shops nowadays. They are popular with Hong Kongers as a snack between meals. It is made with cheap fish, usually those left over from the fishermen's catch, adding flour to reduce the cost. Cooking fish balls with curry sauce makes the flavour more complex and tasty. Most shops would provide a milder version and a more spicy version for customers to choose - or just serve the milder version but offer chilli sauce for customers to add on themselves.
Where to get:
This is how Cart noodles are ordered and cooked in a traditional way. Nowadays it is more common for customers to order at their table. (photo source: Lam Kee Cart Noodles)
Cart noodles / Hong Kong style spicy rice noodles (車仔麵 Che Jai Meen / 米線 mai sin)
Cart noodles originated in the 1950s in Hong Kong, when hawkers started selling noodles from wooden carts along the street. Customers could have their choice of noodles, toppings and sauces. Later when non-licensed food stalls, including the wooden carts, were eradicated by the Hong Kong government in the 80s, the cart noodles eventually moved into shops, just like the other street food described above. They are still very popular among Hong Kongers.
Mai Sin shops in Hong Kong also give customers flexibility to choose their own noodles, toppings, soup base and spiciness (photo source: OpenRice)
Spicy rice noodles, however, which originated from Yunnan, became popular in Hong Kong in the 2010s. They are less oily and spicy than those from China, and also merged with the cart noodle culture, in that customers are able to pick their own toppings and soup base to go with their rice noodles. The spice level of the most famous shop (Tam Jai/Sam Gor), became a common benchmark for Hong Kongers to indicate the level of spiciness they can take.
Where to get:
Sticky rice pudding (砵仔糕, Put Chai Ko)
(photo source: Dim Cook Guide)
Also a traditional Hong Kong snack, this is made from sticky rice powder and red beans, and steamed in tiny bowls. In the olden days, those who sold Put Chai Ko carried a big basket or bucket filled with these bowls of puddings, serving the pudding from the bowls with bamboo sticks. Even quite recently you could see some older people carrying big vacuum buckets to sell Put Chai Ko on the street. Now, however, it is mostly seen at stores selling traditional Chinese cakes and pastries - the traditional versions are white or brown in colour, depending on the colour of sugar used. Nowadays you may find more different colours of Put Chai Ko, with more flavour options. The original flavour is still the most popular.
Where to get:
check out the pop-up markets/friendship festival of Hong Kongers
Egg/Bubble Waffles (雞蛋仔, Gai Dan Jai)
(photo source: Croyaki tea)
In the UK it is common to have waffles with ice-cream or cream, but in Hong Kong people used to have them on their own. Waffles were sold from wooden food carts in the old days but have now moved into snack shops - a more common variation in Hong Kong is putting different filling in the bubbles like chocolate or cheese: eating your waffles with ice-cream is less common in Hong Kong.
Where to get:
(photo source: Uncle E )
Wife cake (老婆餅 Lo Por Pang)
A traditional pastry originated from a restaurant in Guangzhou (Southern part of China) that was famous for its dim sum. The story is that a dim sum chef brought some pastries made by his wife to his place of work and everyone found it so tasty that it’s now become known as ‘‘wife cake’. In Hong Kong, some bakeries in the North-Western part of the city, Yuen Long, were famous for making wife cakes, making it a ‘must have’ item if you travelled to that area (even for Hong Kongers). Nowadays these bakeries have set up branches all over Hong Kong, some even accepting online orders, making it more and more common.
Where to get:
Pineapple shortcake and bubble tea
Both originated from Taiwan but have become more and more popular among Hong Kongers in recent years. Milk tea with tapioca is still the original one, but tapioca with fresh milk, fruit tea and cheese foam milk tea (tea topped with a mixture of cheese, cream and milk) is getting more popular in Hong Kong nowadays. While more and more bakeries in Hong Kong are selling pineapple shortcakes, some used strawberries, mango, or other fruits to replace pineapple as variations.
Where to get:
(Photo source: Goodlife HK)
Sticky rice dumplings (wrapped in bamboo leaves) (粽, Chung)
This is getting more visible now as the dragon boat festival (端午節, Tung Ng Festival, 22 June this year) approaches. Ethnic Chinese people from different parts of the world have their own versions of rice dumplings, with different flavours, fillings, sizes and shapes. In Hong Kong, people usually put meat, salted egg yolk or green beans into the rice dumplings, with a lighter taste than other versions that people usually eat with soy sauce or sugar. There is also a sweet version with red bean and red bean paste.
Where to get:
These are just some of the more common Hong Kong style foods and snacks that you might see at Hong Kong fairs and festivals. Actually there are also some very common Hong Kong foods that are not that common in the UK, due to the difficulties in getting the ingredients. Culture is always subject to change, with new foods and snacks emerging due to the influence of other cultures ( like bubble tea), while some traditional snacks are losing their popularity back in Hong Kong, which would make them even more difficult to try in the UK.
Nevertheless, food is always a good gateway to other cultures. So I hope this illustrated beginners guide to Hong Kong can serve as a starter, for you to have your conversations with your Hong Konger neighbours and friends. The ‘where to get’ suggestions are just some places that I know about, but I probably haven’t covered everything - so you’re very welcome to let us know your number one places for Hong Kong food!