Eating on the Move Is Part of the City

Hong Kong has a street food tradition that runs deep. Before the gleaming malls and the Michelin-starred restaurants, there were the street stalls - the dai pai dong - set up on pavements and in alleys, serving cheap food fast to working people who did not have time for anything else.

The stalls have changed shape over the decades. Some have been moved into buildings, some have disappeared, and new street food formats have emerged. But the culture of eating on the move - of grabbing something cheap and excellent from a street stall and carrying on - has never gone away.

Mong Kok is the best place to start. The streets around Sai Yeung Choi Street and the Ladies Market area have a concentration of stalls that in the evenings becomes one of the best informal food corridors in Asia.

The Classics

Curry fish balls (gaa lei yue daan): The unofficial snack of Hong Kong. Bouncy fish balls on skewers, served in a paper cup, coated in thick, mildly spicy curry sauce. Available everywhere, cost almost nothing, completely addictive. The texture is different from a European fish cake - springier, chewier. Once you eat them, you understand why Hong Kongers consider them comfort food.

Egg waffles (gai daan jai): A Hong Kong invention: a batter poured into a grid mould that produces a waffle made of small bubbles rather than squares. Eaten folded, warm from the iron, slightly crispy on the outside and soft within. Sometimes plain, sometimes flavoured with matcha, taro, or chocolate. The original plain version remains the best. Look for queues - locals know which stalls have the right batter-to-crisp ratio.

Stinky tofu (cau dau fu): Deep-fried fermented tofu, and yes, it smells exactly like the name suggests. You will smell a stall before you see it. The taste, however, is significantly milder than the smell suggests - crispy outside, soft inside, served with chili sauce. If you can commit, this is worth trying at least once.

Cheung fun from a street stall: Steamed rice noodle rolls dressed with sweet soy, sesame paste, and sometimes hoisin sauce. There are cheung fun stalls with specific toppings - some have dried shrimp, some are plain. Simple and very good, especially at morning stalls.

Roast chestnuts: In autumn and winter, street vendors roast chestnuts with sand and sugar. The smell is impossible to resist. They come in paper bags and are eaten walking. Seasonal and specific to the cooler months.

Sugar cane juice: Fresh-pressed from whole stalks of sugar cane, handed over in a plastic cup. Refreshing in summer and cheap. The machine pressing the stalks is part of the street stall aesthetic.

Siu mai at street carts: A slightly humbler version of the dim sum classic, steamed and served on skewers. Available at small stalls with wicker steamers, usually a few dollars each.

Sweet Things

Egg tarts (daan taat): Available both at street bakeries and inside cha chaan tengs. Two main versions: Portuguese-style with a slightly charred custard in a flaky pastry (this version came via Macau) and the original Hong Kong-style with a smooth custard in a short-crust pastry. Both excellent. The famous Tai Cheong Bakery in Central is worth the slight detour for its version.

Tofu pudding (dau fu fa): Silky smooth fresh tofu pudding served warm or cold, with either ginger syrup or clear sugar syrup. Lighter than it sounds, delicate in texture, available at dessert shops across the city. This is the kind of thing that people from Hong Kong miss most when they move abroad.

Mango pomelo sago: A dessert soup of mango puree, grapefruit segments, sago pearls, and coconut milk. Best in summer when the mangoes are at their peak. Order it at any dessert specialist.

Ice cream in a bun: A particularly Hong Kong thing: a scoop of ice cream - often coconut, peanut, or red bean flavour - wrapped in a white sandwich bread roll. This is less common than it once was but still found in certain neighbourhoods. Trust the process.

The Rules of Street Food in Hong Kong

**Follow the queue.The places with no queue at peak hours are not worth the experiment.

Eat it immediately. Most street food is designed to be eaten fresh. Fish balls cool fast; egg waffles lose their crispness; tofu pudding is best within minutes.

Carry small change. Most stalls work in cash only and in small denominations. Having HK$10 and HK$20 notes makes life easy.

The smell is not a warning. Stinky tofu smells alarming. The durian fruit sold at some stalls smells extraordinary. This does not mean the food is bad. Let curiosity override hesitation at least once.