Trip to Macau - Hong Kong: Top Sights, Local Life, Made Easy - page 334

Best
Budget Eats & Street Food
It is not difficult to eat well and cheaply in Hong Kong, compared to Tokyo or
London. If you're looking to spend under $200 per person on a meal, there are
good Chinese and South Asian options aplenty. For anything under $100, your
dining room would be a noodle and congee shop, cha chaan tang, dai pai dong
or fast-food chain.
Cha Chaan Tang
The quintessential Hong Kong eatery, the 'tea cafe' appeared in the 1940s to provide cheap
Western-style snacks to people who couldn't afford Earl Grey and cucumber sandwiches.
Most, like Mido Cafe ( Click here ) , serve sandwiches, noodles, and tea or coffee with
milk; some also serve rice dishes, curries and seafood, and Western-inspired pastries such
as egg custard tarts.
Dai Pai Dong
After WWII, the government issued licences to the families of deceased civil servants so
that they could operate food stalls for a living. The licence was physically big, so locals re-
ferred to these eateries as 'big licence stall' (dai pai dong) . Traditionally, they are open-air
hawker-style places, but many have been relocated to 'cooked-food centres' in buildings
for easier management. Operators may serve anything from congee and sandwiches to hot-
pots and seafood.
Top Tips
› To save money, go to a cha chaan tang for the breakfast set or tea set. Portions are slightly smaller than a la carte.
All sets come with a drink.