Luxury things to do in Hong Kong
Tasting menus at Ta Vie and L'Envol, lunch at Forum Restaurant, milk tea at Lan Fong Yuen
The full range of what Hong Kong does at its most serious: a cha chaan teng breakfast that has not changed in decades, lunch at one of the city's most celebrated Cantonese kitchens, and two tasting-menu dinners that represent the sharpest cooking in Asia right now. For anyone who measures a trip by what was on the plate.
Day 1: Central: milk tea to Ta Vie
The day runs from a legendary cha chaan teng and the Mid-Levels escalator up through Amber at lunch, LANDMARK for the afternoon, and Ta Vie in the evening for one of the most precise tasting menus in the city.
- 9:30 AM
Lan Fong Yuen
Hong Kong's most iconic cha chaan teng, start with their legendary silk stocking milk tea and pineapple bun, a true local institution.
Map - 10:30 AM
Central-Mid-Levels Escalator System 中環至半山自動扶手電梯系統 Central-Mid-Levels Escalator System
Ride the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system, a genuinely unmissable Central landmark that takes you through Mid-Levels street life.
Map - 12:30 PM
Amber
Richard Ekkebus cooks French without dairy at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental; lunch is the easier booking.
Map - 3:00 PM
LANDMARK 置地廣場 LANDMARK
LANDMARK mall directly connected to The Mandarin, the city's grandest luxury flagship hub with every top-tier brand under one roof.
Map - 7:30 PM
Ta Vie
Hideaki Sato's tasting menu marries French technique and Japanese produce in a quiet room at The Pottinger.
Map - 9:30 PM
Bar Leone
Walk up from Ta Vie to Bridges Street for a Negroni at Lorenzo Antinori's Roman-style neighbourhood bar.
Map
Day 2: Mong Kok and Prince Edward
Scrambled eggs at Australia Dairy Company, goldfish bags and a restored shophouse in between, then acclaimed Cantonese at Ming Court for lunch and live seafood at Hing Kee to close the night.
- 9:30 AM
Australia Dairy Company
Critic-approved Hong Kong institution, queue for the legendary scrambled eggs and milk tea, a true local ritual.
Map - 10:30 AM
Goldfish Street 金魚街 Goldfish Street
Goldfish Street is one of HK's most surreal urban landmarks, hundreds of water-filled bags hanging street-side.
Map - 12:30 PM
Ming Court (Mong Kok)
Acclaimed Cantonese in Mong Kok, the grandest, most celebrated lunch in the neighbourhood.
Map - 2:30 PM
Lui Seng Chun 雷生春 Lui Seng Chun
Lui Seng Chun is a beautifully restored 1931 Tong Lau shophouse, a rare architectural and heritage gem right in the area.
Map - 7:30 PM
Hing Kee
Order the typhoon shelter crab, wok-fried under a heap of garlic, black beans and chilli, and eat with your hands.
Map
Day 3: Causeway Bay and Wan Chai at their best
Start with buttered toast in Happy Valley and the Noonday Gun by the water, sit down to Forum Restaurant's legendary Cantonese lunch, browse Fashion Walk, then end at L'Envol's grand French room in the St. Regis.
- 9:30 AM
Cheung Hing Coffee Shop
Classic Hong Kong-style café in Happy Valley, strong milk tea and buttered toast to kick off the day properly.
Map - 11:45 AM
Noonday Gun 怡和午砲 Noonday Gun
Be there for 12:00 sharp, when the gun is fired by the harbour as it has been since the 1860s.
Map - 12:30 PM
Forum Restaurant
Yeung Koon Yat's room; order the braised Ah Yat abalone, the dish that made his name, with the fried rice.
Map - 2:30 PM
Fashion Walk
Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay's open-air luxury and designer strip, ideal for a post-lunch flagship browse.
Map - 7:30 PM
L'Envol
Olivier Elzer's seasonal French tasting menu in the high-ceilinged dining room of the St. Regis, Wan Chai.
Map
Where to stay
Regent Hong Kong
The Regent sits right on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and is the obvious flagship-tier base for a trip built around fine-dining dinners and luxury retail.
The St. Regis Hong Kong
The St. Regis is the natural match for Day 3, placing you steps from L'Envol and the Wan Chai and Causeway Bay dining circuit.
Make Hong Kong your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- M+: a few days ahead
- Hong Kong Palace Museum: a few days ahead
- Victoria Peak: a few days ahead
- Ngong Ping 360: a few days ahead
- The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Hong Kong Golf Club: months ahead
Skip these
- A Symphony of Lights, be on the promenade for the skyline not the widely panned show itself.
- Ladies Market and Temple Street as shopping, tourist tat at haggling prices, Temple Street is for food.
- Sky Terrace 428, a paid deck for a view Lugard Road gives free without the mall funnel.
- Copy watch, tailor and electronics touts on Nathan Road, follow nobody and buy only at authorised chains.
The full Hong Kong travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around