香港莎玛港岛北酒店

Co-founder and chef of this upmarket spot, the late Yeung Koon-yat – aka the "abalone king" – created the iconic Ah Yat braised abalone decades ago. To this day, it remains the speciality that attracts food-loving crowds from near and far. As well as the tender and flavourful abalone, classics such as pan-seared leopard coral grouper fillet and baked stuffed crab shell are nicely made. The extensive wine list showcases boutique wineries.

In business for over 20 years, this shop is famous for its snake soup. While most people consume snake soup only in winter, the owner formulates a different herbal base for every season to make it a healthy tonic all year round. Set menus comprising of snake soup and home-style dishes offer exceptional value and cater for all tastes. Go for glutinous rice or lamb stew in winter. Double-boiled soups are popular but require pre-ordering.

This long-standing champion of Shun Tak cuisine sports traditional fixtures and fittings. Locals and tourists come for dim sum in the morning, while painstakingly prepared Cantonese favourites and Shun Tak specialities are served at lunch and dinner. Besides signatures like crispy fried chicken and Daliang-style scrambled egg white with milk, don’t miss their sugar egg puff doughnuts available at weekend lunchtime only. Hearty portions to share.

This shop may not be particularly spacious, but that doesn't stop customers coming here for authentic Chiu Chow cooking at wallet-friendly prices. The sliced goose steeped in the aged, spiced marinade boasts a fine texture and deep flavours – refer to the mural for the 10+ spices used. The variety of chilled steamed fish to be had is quite a spectacle, all oily and delicious. Some dishes need to be pre-ordered. Expect to share a table with others.

Famous for snacks and noodles made with fish, this stall sells playful items like deep-fried minced fish in the guise of French fries, or fish skin nachos. Fishotto, where minced fish is shaped like rice grains, is also good.

中餐

No discussion about Hong Kong’s historic noodle shops would be complete without mentioning Ho Hung Kee, which originally opened in Wan Chai in the 1940s and is famed for its springy wonton noodles and fresh, sweet soup. More elements have been added here at its new address – dim sum and some Cantonese dishes are now served too. For the interior, they’ve adopted a more contemporary, Western style aesthetic.