A foodie on a budget: 6 places for 50HKD meal
With cost of living in Hong Kong constantly rising, a lot of people start to hunt for restaurants that are reasonably priced, and with good food quality too.
I live in the NT but I travel across HK for work. Being a foodie I'm always looking out for good and reasonably priced places to eat.
Here are six places to have a meal for around $50 Hong Kong Dollars which have been tried and tested by me. Hope you will like the list of my favorite ones on HK Island - 3 in Eastern District and 3 from Western District. Go check them out....
1. Po Lin Yuen vegetarian restaurant (寶蓮苑素食) - Western District (Sai Ying Pun)
For the vegetarians among us this is a lesser known gem! Located on the G/F, 308 Queen's Road West in the Sai Ying Pun District it is a popular eating place for the locals and a few expats. Just to specify the restaurant though does have fish products (so not totally vegetarian). They do have an English menu. You can also order dishes you fancy eating from the window (pic below).
Noodle soup is great and the Turnip Taro Cake and Vegetarian Pork Buns are yummy!
Price: $45-$55
Satisfaction level: 4/5
Environment: 3/5
Share table? Normally no ( We went in rush hour)
Will I come back? Yes, for sure
2. Wong Lam Kee (王林記) - Eastern District (Shau Kei Wan)
This noodle place is situated at Main Street East at Shau Kei Wan. Main Street East is a street full of Hong Kong style restaurants, it is basically a restaurant street on the east side of Hong Kong Island.
Wong Lam Kee is famous for its beef brisket stir noodles, I especially like their chili oil, and deep fried Garlic, which you can use to mix with the noodles. It always give me an energy boost after eating. The beef brisket is tender but not with a strong beef taste.The seating is not very comfortable as most of the noodles shop in Hong Kong, and most likely you will need to share table. The price is $50, the portion is large, but sometimes you will get a smaller portion of meat, so it depends on luck. Generally speaking, you can feel full , you can treat it as a lunch or dinner, and not just a tea time snack.
Price: $50
Satisfaction level: 4/5
Environment: 3/5
Share table? Yes
Will I come back? Yes
3. Ying Kee Noodles ( 英記麵家) - Western Distict (Sai Ying Pun)
Ying Kee Noodles is on High Street, it serves Cantonese style, traditional noodles soup, I recommend their beef brisket noodles soup, and also beef brisket stir noodles. The portion is bigger for stir noodles, and the beef brisket is tender, other famous dishes includes fried fish skin, cha siu( roast pork). I had gone there for a few times, and I go back because of the food quality. However, I have to say the environment is not comfortable, so many people choose to get takeaway instead, which is a good option if you live nearby. Price ranges from $43-51, which is very reasonable given the size and quality of the food.
Satisfaction level: 4/5
Environment: 3/5
Share table? Yes, most of the time
Will I come back? Yes
4. High Street Cart Noodles ( 高街面霸) - Western Distict (Sai Ying Pun)
Hong Kong style cart noodles is a favorite for the locals and tourists, the idea of the cart noodles is that, you get to choose your noodles and also the different food items that go with the noodles , usually it has around 30+ items to choose from, including fried fish skin, beef brisket, soy sauce chicken wings, among others, and you pay accordingly. The good thing about cart noodles is that, if you just go by yourself, you can still try several kinds of food, with meat,vegetables and noodles so you will not feel bored with your food. If you go with your friend,
and you have a large appetite, your friend can have a small bowl, and you can have a large bowl full of food. Price varies but you can get a decent bowl for $50-60. If you come at the tea time ( from around 2:30pm to 6pm , Monday to Friday) you can get noodles with three food items for $38, and it comes with soft drink too.
Satisfaction level: 4/5
Environment:3.5/5
Share table: No if you come during tea time
Will I come back? Yes
5. Marugame ( 丸龜製麵) All over HK (CWB, Quarry Bay)
Marugame is the world’s largest udon chain shop from Japan. It is a fast food chain, it is the Japanese style cart noodles, which the noodles base is udon, and you choose food items by yourself, which are a variety of tempura, fried squid, fried chicken and fish cake. Some people may think their meals are too salty, but for me it tastes fine. The good thing aboutMarugame is again, it has many food items to choose from, and it is usually located in convenient locations. The one I go to is on the 11/F ( The food court) in Hysan, Causeway Bay. Although it is a food court, it is more comfortable than most restaurants, with relatively large tables and enough spaces between each table too. The not so good thing about it is that sometimes the fried food and tempura are already cold because they are being put in the counter for customers to chooseand they are not warmed. For me, I will go again , I like their stir noodles and not the recommended noodles soup.
Outlets of this very popular eaterie are all over HK including Quarry Bay and CWB on Hong Kong Island. And here are some that I tried,
Satisfaction level : 4/5
Environment:4/5
Share table: No if it is before 1pm or during tea time
Will I come back? Yes
6. Snake King Leung ( 蛇王良) - Eastern District (Fortress Hill)
Snake King Leung is located in Fortress Hill, near the residential neighborhood of City Garden. Snake soup is a famous dish in Hong Kong, it serves year round but it is more popular in Autumn and Winter. Snake soup helps you to warm your body, in the soup, there are chicken , snake meat and boil with Chinese medicine, so people come to have a snake soup when they want a energy boost or to nourish their bodies. For me, the snake meat tastes like chicken, the soup tastes good though, I like it as it tastes like homemade dish. A small snake soup costs $48, you can also try their set meal, main dish with rice and snake soup, from $68-97.
Satisfaction level:4/5
Share table: No if during tea time
Will I come back ? Yes
If you go to one of these eateries, do share your experience with us at Team LocalHood via email (info@localhood.org) or whatzaap (61098138). We would love to hear from you.