Hong Kong has so much to offer, it’s hard to know where to start.

From the urban mecca of its bustling city nightlife to the surprisingly strong outdoorsy scene (hiking, kayaking and surfing is a mere bus ride away from the CBD), it’s one of Asia’s most accessible and entertaining cities.

Thankfully for your stomach, it also boasts some of the best gastroNOMy (see what we did there?) on the planet right now.

Unbuckle your belt, hover your finger over that flight booking website, and join us as we run through the city’s best foody spots to explore.

Little Bao

It’s been weeks since we gorged ourselves at Little Bao, and we still can’t stop thinking about it.

This modern Chinese dinner is influenced by the international tastes of its hometown Hong Kong, and is built for sharing, with a plethora of small, sumptuously tasty treats to inhale.

The standard Baos offer intriguing twists on the norm – faceplant the Pork Belly with leek and shiso red onion salad, sesame dressing and hoising ketchup, or Fish Tempura with tamarind palm sugar glaze, pickled lemongrass fennel salad.

And compliment those with some sharing patters, including Truffle Fries drowning in shiitake tempeh, truffle mayo and pickled daikon, Roasted Pork Cheek with cumin-spice, fennel and burnt apple puree, or Brussel Spouts with fish sauce caramel, chilli, peanut, and lime and fried shallots.

And don’t get us started on the dessert, a fascinatingly odd, tasty combination of green tea ice cream sandwiched between hot, crispy bao buns.

'Find out more about Little Bao.'

John Anthony

Classy and tasty in equal measure, John Anthony’s innovative restaurant is hidden within Causeway Bay’s glossy, trendy Garden Three, and offers an internationally-flavoured approach to Cantonese cuisine.

Eco-conscious, ethical sustainability powers the menu, which combines unexpected dim sum (tiger prawn har gao with Chinese chives, or BBQ Pineapple and pork puffed buns, anyone?), with heftier dishes (shredded Australian lamb shank salad with purple onion, carrot kimchi and dill = YUM), and cocktails that’ll blow you offer your feet (we recommend The Seafarer, which combines beefeater gin, seaweed distillate, mancino secco, naked Campari, beeswax, amer nouvelle and aerated white chocolate to tipsy-inducing effect).

Delicious.

'Find out more about John Anthony.'

Tim Ho Wan

The phrase ‘Michelin-starred restaurant’ is enough to scare your wallet right out of your pocket.

But what if you could experience local, award-winning food at the cost of a McDonald’s?

Say hello to Tim Ho Wan, an increasingly global brand that prompts queues of diners around the block (and block and block).

Its flagship restaurant can be found in Sham Shui Po, and is a mind-boggling bargain, and offers some of the best dim sum in the world, let alone Hong Kong.

The food is refreshingly straight-forward, and flavoursome as it comes – you have to indulge in the baked BBQ pork buns, beancurd skin with pork and prawn, and then end with sesame balls with molten salted egg, or steamed sponge cake.

You know it’s a good sign if the restaurant you visit on holiday is stuffed full of locals – to do so at a place that’s friendly, accessible and offering affordable Michelin-starred food to boot, is a miracle.

'Find out more about Tim Ho Wan.'

Everything else in Sham Shui Po

Stumbling around Sham Shui Po with a full stomach after Tim Ho Wan’s is a veritable torture, stuffed as it is with similarly award-winning, adorably tiny and insanely tasty other foody establishments.

A special shout-out to Café Sausalito for its electrifying coffees (transplanted from San Francisco), Kung Wo Dou Bun Chong (which offers Michelin-quality soybean desserts), and Mammy Pancake (a bubble waffle chain that has too many combinations of waffle and ice cream to list here).

Visit Hong Kong with an empty stomach, and you’ll leave a darn sight happier and heavier.