From dim sum to fusion, put at least some of the must-eats of Asia's world city on your menu.

Dim Sum

Dim Sum means 'touch your heart' and with as many as 150 items on a restaurant menu, and 2,000 in the entire range, it is a challenge to not find something you love. As Cantonese people tend to avoid fried foods early in the day, steamed dishes dominate most dim sum menus. There are also snack-sized portions of pan-fried, and baked served in bamboo containers, which are designed to be eaten communally and washed down with tea. Hence, going for dim sum is known as yum cha, which literally means 'drinking tea'. Usually a brunch or lunch affair, it is a common form of family, co-worker and other group get-togethers.

Although a traditional style of dining, dim sum is in a constant state of evolution and there are always new and innovative dishes to taste.

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling                                             

Shrimp wrapped in a thinly-rolled piece of translucent wheat dough. Often, the dumpling will include pork. Ideally, the contents will be 70 per cent shrimp and 30 per cent pork.

Shao mai

A type of Chinese dumpling. The typical Cantonese dim sum variant consists of ground pork, whole or chopped shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, green onions and ginger, wrapped in thin wheat dough, seasoned with Chinese rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil, and garnished with a dollop of crab roe.

Cheung fen

A thin roll of rice flour, filled with shrimp, beef, sweet barbecued pork or other ingredients. It is usually steamed and served with soy sauce.

 

Seafood

It's fried, baked, steamed, grilled, sliced, diced and stuffed. More to the point, Hong Kong's seafood is very fresh. So fresh, you can see it swimming minutes before it's on your table. Asia's world city also offers up seafood in a variety of dining experiences that range from cosmopolitan fusions that would impress the most jaded epicurean all the way down to the best-served-with-beer 'sampan-style' concoctions.

Stir-fried crab

This is a sampan-style classic. Unique to Hong Kong, sampan style refers to the fishermen delicacies served on small boats. It usually involves the pungent flavous of ginger, garlic and chilli.

Deep-fried shrimp

The number of methods of cooking shrimp in Hong Kong would even impress Bubba, but deep-fried is an all-time favourite. Many restaurants wrap the shrimp in other ingredients, such as noodles, before deep frying.

Chinese Barbecue

Barbecue might conjure up images of steaks and salad in a backyard, and while this is also common in Hong Kong it comes nowhere near the popularity of Chinese barbecue. Known as siu mei, restaurants serving these barbecued meats-they also usually serve a delicious type of steamed chicken--are your window into traditional Chinese roasts.

Fine Dining

While no-nonsense Chinese cuisine can be found on every corner, Hong Kong's spectacular rise into a major centre of international trade along with its penchant for innovation has enabled the blossoming of a renowned fine dining scene heavily decorated in Michelin stars and other prestigious accolades. World-class cuisine and wine-pairing can now also be found all over the city, and often with breathtaking harbour views. Expect the very best, not only in the quality of food and ingenuity of cooking, but also in terms of service and atmosphere.

Late Night Eats

To experience the vibrant eating culture, you also have to consider when to eat. Hot, humid days are the probable cause of the busy night markets found in southern China; but in Hong Kong this tropical custom is only one factor in the popularity of midnight munchies.

Hotpot

When eating hotpot, diners stew ingredients including meats, seafood and vegetables in a pot of soup; but Chinese hotpot comes in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes. Nonetheless, it is always a hearty, communal eating experience best enjoyed with friends and beers on a wintery evening.

Noodle and Congee

Noodles and the rice porridge called congee are often served under the same roof and in late night eateries. Congee ranges from the plain starchy variety to the lighter versions that include vegetables and meat and even hotpots in which the ingredients are cooked in a congee soup.