Kowloon Evening Street Food Tour

Discover the diverse evening food scene with an expert guide

$238 and up

Private

N/A

Small group

Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: Cuisine
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Hong Kong

Photos & Highlights

Taste foods across the flavor spectrum, from salty, sweet, sour and spicy in Cantonese speaking eateries and Hong Kong street vendors
Led by a local expert
Yau Ma Tei and Temple Street Night Market

Tour Description

Hong Kong is a haven for the adventurous eater. Kowloon’s bustling markets, with their outdoor dining stalls and energetic street food scene, are the perfect stomping ground for authentic food. On our Hong Kong Street Food Tour, we’ll dive into the diverse Kowloon food scene, including Cantonese cuisine in its full magnificence, through seeking out authentic markets, eateries, and food stalls with a local expert. We’ll rub elbows with locals, sniff distinct smells, and taste delectable and unusual treats. Always wanted to try snake soup, curry fish balls, or stinky tofu? Now is your chance. We’ll also take time to discuss other issues pertinent to the area such as population pressures, heritage concerns, massage parlors, and karaoke.

Hong Kong Street Food Tour

Kowloon is sometimes described as ‘the dark side’ of Hong Kong, but it arguably offers an alternative and more authentic experience to the island or ‘the bright side’. Home to a diverse spread of Asian populations, whose members share an affinity for socializing out in the open, its street scene is given added color by the sight of neighbors gathering to play cards or doing traditional exercises in outdoor parks, the sound of an array of languages floating about in the air, and the aroma of various foods on offer wafting from street stalls and other eateries.

Sampling Foreign Fruits

We’ll start this walk in Yau Ma Tei, a neighborhood in Kowloon that was once right on the sea. Previously agricultural space (hence its Cantonese name, which translates to “oil sesame field”), it’s been home since 1913 to a local wholesale fruit market that provides produce from all over the world to the 8 million Hong Kongers who need feeding on a daily basis. We’ll feast our eyes and our mouths on the array of foodstuffs, from figs to durian to pomelo. Our guide will point out unknown products along with introducing the ingredients that we might taste later on our Kowloon discovery. As we leave the market behind, we’ll move away from discussion of food to talk about the area and its heritage. Home to the listed heritage-listed “Red Brick House”—the sole remaining section of the oldest pumping station in Hong Kong—we’ll talk about the development of the neighborhood. We may also pop into the Yau Ma Tei theatre for a brief enquiry into the world of entertainment and its presence in Hong Kong today.

Eating in Yau Ma Tei and Beyond

We’ll witness this fusion of cultures in the cuisine on as we dive off into the heart of this cultural center. The area is home to a wealth of food stalls, inexpensive local eateries, and temporary cooked food markets. We’ll nestle in with locals as we choose what to order from the menu as a group. Will it be clay-pot rice washed down with sugar cane juice? Perhaps some renowned beef ball noodles from a store that has been around for generations? This may be our time to try a custom Cantonese delicacy and health supplement: snake soup.

Whatever we decide on eating, our guide will be able to comment on the culinary aspects and cultural meaning of each dish in Hong Kong. We’ll share our thoughts on the tastes, smells and textures before we move onto the next stop. Over the course of our tour through the area, we will physically move to a nearby neighborhood as well as virtually travel by way of foods sampled to other parts of Asia. In this part of Kowloon, we can find purveyors of Macanese milk puddings, Hainanese chicken rice, Thai spicy chicken foot salads, and so much more. Also very much of the culinary scene are various “stick food”: who wants to sample the sticks of curry fish balls, squid tentacles, and pig intestines that are favorites for many locals?

Taking in the Street Markets

Kowloon is home to many popular street markets, of which Temple Street Night Market is the most well known. If we head this way, we may witness fortune tellers and palm readers casting their eyes to the future for the earnest passerby as we discuss this night time culture that gives the area its distinct character. We may head through its iconic orange gate to check out the host of products on sale, from the latest electrical equipment to all manner of trinkets that would make for excellent souvenirs. Alternatively, we may head further north and deeper into Kowloon to see what’s on offer at Ladies Market. Mongkok’s flagship market, its vendors now hawk a variety of wares geared for men as well as women. Even better for the culinary inclined is what’s on offer from the wide range of eateries on the sides of this lively street.

We’ll finish up after the shopping district with some more tastings at popular area stalls. If the inclination remains, we can opt to try more solid savory snacks, such as the well-named stinky tofu. Liquid options include the popular Taiwanese import known as bubble tea or more traditional Hong Kong-style “silk stocking” tea. Or, perhaps we'll finish with a sweet dessert in the form of a traditional milk pudding, a mango treat, or some fresh lychees.

Takeways

By the end of our time together, we will have left with a full stomach and an enhanced knowledge of the street food scene in Hong Kong and Kowloon more specifically.

FAQ

Is this walk able to accommodate those with allergies or dietary restrictions?

We do our best to accommodate everyone however the best thing to do is let us know when you book if anyone in your party has allergies or dietary restrictions. We can warn your guide, so that they are aware of your situation and can make suitable arrangements.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Adrian

Adrian was born and bred in Hong Kong. After receiving his MSc in Environmental Technologies from Imperial College London in 2009, he has worked in various capacities from consultancy to government department in Hong Kong, focusing on environmental sustainability and ecological conservation. Adrian enjoys retracing the overlooked history and gems in the intriguing city of Hong Kong. He has been actively involved in historical and cultural heritage conservation projects locally through providing tours for both locals and visitors and has sought out many of the city's hidden corners. As a photographer in his free time, the street-markets and authentic neighborhoods offer records of the traditional character of the city in the midst of rapid urbanization. For the more active explorer, Adrian is familiar with the numerous hiking and heritage trails that the urban jungle of Hong Kong has to offer.

Ian

Ian Fong is a scholar dedicated to writing in a way to break the boundaries between the ivory tower and the general public, between art and scholarship, between high and low. Ian received his Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Hong Kong in 2007 and worked as a lecturer for various institutes in Hong Kong. He is now working on a research project on walking in city, focusing on the visual and literary representations of Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijing. As a native Hongkonger, his existing research project addresses his academic interest in they hybrid nature of Hong Kong along with his love of the city.

Adelina

Originally from Macau, Adelina has lived and studied architecture in different parts of the world before settling in Hong Kong to pursue a career in architectural conservation in practice and research. She received her BA in Architecture from the University of Berkeley and has recently completely her MA at the University of Hong Kong. This architectural perspective allows her to add an additional layer to the Hong Kong that she describes during her walking tours. She takes pride and pleasure in discovering off beat areas and perceiving the city through both her lens and that of her clients. She is also a self-proclaimed milk tea and egg tarts connoisseur who is fascinated by the mystical charm of everyday Hong Kong.

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9 Reviews – (4.56)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Great guide, enjoyed his great knowledge of the city and cuisine and ability to adapt the tour to include everyones’s taste

Conar

Jan. 26, 2020

Loved the food and Halley's knowledge of Hong Kong and it's culture

Henry

Sep. 13, 2019

Very informative and gave a great variety of options and very friendly to our teen son which he loved :)

Maria

Apr. 21, 2019