Suitable for brunch, lunch, dinner and even breakfast, dim sum brings the normal brunch experience to a whole other level and it’s a social affair that everyone enjoys. Hungry? We’ve rounded up our go-to dim sum restaurants (and what you need to order) in Hong Kong to keep you busy for the next few weekends – at the very least.
Lung King Heen 龙景轩
Forget for a moment that Lung King Heen is the first Chinese restaurant in the world to be awarded three Michelin stars and instead focus on the dishes themselves. The restaurant rotates six to eight dim sum menus every month with items such as rice flour rolls only appearing twice in a week so even the most loyal of guests can still try something different.
Located on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons Hong Kong, Lung King Heen boasts spectacular views of the harbour – a perfect complement to their signature crispy suckling pork belly, Shanghainese dumplings and steamed rice rolls with lobster and water chestnut in fermented bean sauce.
Order: Baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken (HK$62)
Add: Lung King Heen, Level 4, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Fook Lam Moon 福临门鱼翅海鲜酒家
Head to the legendary Fook Lam Moon flagship in Wanchai and expect to be confronted with a whole slew of blacked out cars and bodyguards lined up out front. Yep, this is where Hong Kong’s business moguls, celebs and government officials like to frequent for a traditional dim sum feast with their family and friends. This fine dining restaurant has been opened for over 65 years now and never fails to inpress with their barbecued suckling pig, baked stuff crab shell with onions and fresh crab meat and braised dry-aged Japanese abalone.
Order: XO sauce turnip cake (HK$140)
Add: Fook Lam Moon, 35-45 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
One Harbour Road 港湾一号
For the utmost privacy, we suggest heading to the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong’s One Harbour road. Set over two floors, the 1930s-style Chinese restaurant is homey and welcoming with a vast array of traditional homestyle cuisine. One Harbour Road serves a rotational dim sum menu with all dishes served in fine bone china steamer baskets as opposed to the normal baskets made from bamboo for that extra elegant touch.
Order: Abalone dumpling in broth with fish maw and sea cucumber (HK$148)
Add: One Harbour Road, 7-8/F, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Above & Beyond 天外天
Perched on the 28th floor of Hotel Icon, Above & Beyond offers a clean yet exquisitely-presented menu of seasonal Chinese food and dim sum with a luxe twist. Aside from the classics new offerings include crispy-fried goose live puffs and shrimp spring rolls with Italian black truffle paste.
Order: Pan-fried Wagyu beef buns with black pepper (HK$55)
Add: Above & Beyond, Level 28, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Man Mo Café
Looking for something a little different? Man Mo Café opened by Swiss-born chef Nicolas Elalouf, offers a fresh take on dim sum by incorporating distinctive European ingredients into each of his recipes. Highlights include nutella balls, truffle brie dumplings and a beefy ‘pork bun’ stuffed with lettuce and tomatoes.
Order: Foie gras xiao long bao (HK$88)
Add: Man Mo Café, 40 Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street), Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Mott 32
Mott 32 has come a long way since opening in April last year. The fine dining Cantonese restaurant boasts some of the city’s most stunning interiors designed by Joyce Wang and the Maximal Concepts team. The ingredients are the focus at Mott 32 where classic dishes such as char siu and beef short ribs are elevated by using quality prime Iberico pork and Australian Wagyu beef. Note: the Sichuan-style dishes here are just as good as the Cantonese fare – don’t miss out.
Order: The South Australian lobster har gow with yunnan ham (HK$110)
Add: Mott 32, B/F, Standard Chartered Building, 4 Des Voeux Road, Central
Celestial Court 天宝阁
Sheraton’s Celestial Court chinese restaurant is home to a selection of premium Chinese teas and award-winning dum in modern Oriental-style surroundings. Highlights include steamed shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns, steamed lobster dumpling with asparagus, abalone and conpoy dumpling in superior soup and crab meat dumplings with black truffles.
Order: Egg white dumplings with mushrooms and Yunnan ham (HK$268)
Add: Celestial Court, 2/F, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Yan Toh Heen 欣图轩
Two-Michelin starred Yan Toh Heen is sat overlooking the waterfront in the InterContinental hotel. The restaurant is best known for its Peking duck and fresh dim sum offerings such as the steamed scallop with black truffles and vegetables dumplings, crispy lobster dumpling served with Supreme Broth, baked roasted duck and taro buns and wok-seared pork and kimchi dumplings.
Order: Steamed garoupa and pork dumplings with gold leaf (HK$72)
Add: Yan Toh Heen, Lower Level, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Lin Heung Tea House 莲香楼
Traditional trolleys packed to the brim with all of Hong Kong’s old-school specialities such as liver siu mai, crispy water chestnuts, juicy chicken feet define the famous Lin Heung Tea House experience. Just as busy as it was in 1926, Lin Heung Tea House is also well known for its long queues and the wait for food but it’s definitely worth a try – especially if you have guests in town.
Order: The crispy shrimp spring rolls and braised stuff duck (advance booking required).
Add: Lin Heung Tea House, 160-164 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2544 4556
One Dim Sum 一点心
While Tim Ho Wan is a good option if you’re on the hunt for the best baked barbecue pork buns, we recommend One Dim Sum for the overall dim sum experience. The no-reservations no-frills all-day dim sum restaurant serves the meanest chicken sticky rice with salted duck egg yolk, minced beef balls, fried egg stick with honey and condensed milk and daily Chinese soup.
Order: The Malaysian sponge cake (HK$16) to finish your dim sum feast on a high.
Add: One Dim Sum, Shop 1 & 2, G/F, Kenwood Mansion, 15 Playing Field Road, Prince Edward, Hong Kong