Hong Kong restaurant guide WOM ('Word o Mouth') is Hong Kong's answer to the Zagat's survey. The popular restaurant guide is compiled from diners' online reviews and includes over 500 restaurants in Hong Kong, separated under user-friendly categories, such as Best Place to Kiss. We asked Fergus Fung -- one half of the WOM guide team -- five questions about Hong Kong restaurants.
Fergus FungCNNGo:
What is “Hong Kong cuisine” for you and where do you recommend we try it?
Fergus Fung:
Hong Kong cuisine is a combination of Cantonese cuisine with a bit of Western influence. Think: cooking western dishes with soy sauce.
For this I would recommend
Tai Ping Koon. Order the oxtail soup, spaghetti with braised ox tongue and finish off with the soufflé. For a more Chinese experience, order the stir-fried “hor fun” with beef -- it’s a grease attack but delicious when served with chilli sauce! A cheaper option is to visit a cha chaan teng like Hong Kong’s old favourite,
Tsui Wah Restaurant.
CNNGo:
What is grassroots dining culture in Hong Kong?
Fung:
Hong Kong grassroots dining culture is the
dai pai dong. There are not that many dai pai dong left in Hong Kong unfortunately. When you find one, get them to serve you their signature dishes, which are usually stir-fry dishes, since each dai pai dong has its own famous dishes.
For other street food, try fish balls, siu maai, fake shark’s fin soup, and cheung fun.
CNNGo:
What’s your worst experience at a restaurant?
Fung:
The worst dining experience I have had in Hong Kong was watching a cockroach crawl out from the bamboo basket that was holding our casserole pot. They charged us for the entire meal, including that casserole dish!
CNNGo:
Where do you like to eat most in the world, apart from Hong Kong?
Fung:
It really depends on the time of year. I love
Japanese, and let me tell you, I stuff myself the most when I’m in
Tokyo -- meals before and after lunch and dinner.
CNNGo:
If I were to open a restaurant in Hong Kong, what do you recommend it be?
Fung:
I would recommend you open a restaurant that only serves seasonal ingredients -- there’s a gap in the market for that. It can be
hairy crabs in the winter, white asparagus in early summer. Don’t stick to just one cuisine. Hong Kongers love seasonal delicacy, no matter what tradition they come from.
Getting there
Review a restaurant on WOM's website www.womguide.com.
Tai Ping Koon is no. 8 in our 50 reasons why Hong Kong is no.1: 60 Stanley Street, Central, tel +852 2899 2780. For other branches see their website.
Tsui Wah Restaurant, many locations around Hong Kong, see their website for full listings.
See our post about Hong Kong's best dai pai dong, and for other authentic Hong Kong dining experiences, check out Lung Moon Restaurant, Lung Wah's roast pigeons, and the results from our Hong Kong dim sum quest.
