Food in Sham Shui Po

Walking through Sham Shui Po is a foodies mecca – there are so many different things to try here, it’s incredible. Even without eating a breakfast in the morning I did not manage to try all those tasty things around me!

There were lots of shops selling bbq meat – of course, char siu is a very classic dish for Hong Kong and you can buy it at many street corners, but the range that I saw at this shop (which is on Kweilin Street) was larger than usual. Not just pork and duck, but goose and also lots of other cuts that I didn’t try any but there were quite a few people queuing up to purchase at this shop.

Next to it was a lady selling lots of different snacks – vegetables, meat, fish and tofu on sticks that are quickly boiled and then served in a cup with different sauces on top. Yummy!

Of course, you could also purchase food that you take home to prepare – like these noodles. They might look old in those jars and drawers, but actually they are fresh (the shop and its furniture is just old).

In the back of the store (on 254 Li Kung Street) was this man, making fresh noodles from scratch. He was happy to show off his skills in folding noodle nests, using freshly made egg noodles. I was tempted to purchase some – only problem was that I still wanted to walk around and shoot pictures, so I had to decline his offer.

Finally, we stopped to have a tea break at the Kowloon Restaurant (282 Yu Chau Street) – and I had been told of a place that sells one of the biggest pineapple buns that you can get in Hong Kong. They are freshly baked throughout the day and stored in heated vitrines in front of the shop.

As you might know already, there is no pineapple in a pineapple bun. In fact, there is nothing inside the bun. All it is, is a soft, yeasty bun that has a sugar coating on top that has been baked – the sugar coating breaks from the heat and that achieves a pattern like a pineapple on top. Hence the name! It’s just a warm, sugary bun. It looks huge but is filled with air, so once you start eating it you realise quickly that you can finish it easily – it’s very tasty and I recommend that if you are in the Sham Shui Po area you give this a try! The café also sells other buns, so if a bo lo baau is not your thing, you could try a char siu bao (filled with roast pork) or a hot dog bun.