Things to do in Hong Kong, splurging
Milk tea and roast goose, Tai Kwun and Sham Shui Po, dinners at Yardbird and Ming Court.
This is Hong Kong at full volume: fine-dining lunches, a cocktail at the world's best bar, and mornings that start with milk tea and end with omakase skewers. It suits someone who wants the canonical version of the city rather than the budget edit, and who is willing to book ahead and spend properly to get it.
Day 1: Central: the definitive day
Start at Lan Fong Yuen's counter, wander Tai Kwun's heritage courtyards, eat roast goose at Yat Lok, shop LANDMARK's flagship floors, then finish with Yardbird's skewers in Sheung Wan and a nightcap at Bar Leone.
- 9:30 AM
Lan Fong Yuen
Iconic cha chaan teng in Central, order the milk tea and toast, a true Hong Kong morning ritual.
Map - 10:30 AM
Former Central Police Station Compound (Tai Kwun)
16 heritage buildings of the former police compound turned arts centre, great galleries and architecture to wander before the lunch crowd arrives.
Map - 12:30 PM
Yat Lok Restaurant
Order roast goose by the quarter with lai fun in clear broth, and a side of char siu if you are two.
Map - 2:15 PM
LANDMARK 置地廣場 LANDMARK
LANDMARK mall is the address for luxury design boutiques and flagship stores, perfect for the post-lunch browse.
Map - 7:30 PM
Yardbird
Whole-bird yakitori at a loud Sheung Wan counter; get the meatball, chicken skin and the KFC cauliflower.
Map - 9:30 PM
Bar Leone
Lorenzo Antinori's Roman neighbourhood bar on Bridges Street; order a Negroni and let the bartender pick the next.
Map
Day 2: Causeway Bay and Wan Chai
Bakehouse's flaky egg tarts for breakfast, a quick salute to the Noonday Gun, acclaimed Cantonese at Farm House, boutique browsing on Fashion Walk, then an evening of refined Zhejiang cooking at Zhejiang Heen followed by strong pours at Alto.
- 9:30 AM
Bakehouse (Wan Chai)
The queue is worth it: sourdough egg tarts with caramelised flaky pastry, Hong Kong's best morning ritual.
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
Farm House Restaurant
Acclaimed Cantonese in a classic setting, the kind of lunch that defines Hong Kong.
Map - 2:30 PM
Fashion Walk
Fashion Walk is Causeway Bay's design and boutique strip, the right place to browse international and local labels.
Map - 7:30 PM
Zhejiang Heen
Pre-order the snatched tiger tails, seared swamp eel with fine knife work, then lean into the Shanghainese side.
Map - 9:30 PM
Alto
Thirty-one floors up in V Point; take your drink out to the rooftop terrace over Causeway Bay.
Map
Day 3: Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok
Cross to Kowloon for the Australia Dairy Company's legendary scrambled eggs, a deep dig through SSP's fabric and electronics markets, bamboo-pressed noodles at Lau Sum Kee, a calm hour inside the restored tong lau at Lui Seng Chun, and a serious Cantonese finale at Ming Court.
- 9:30 AM
Australia Dairy Company
Order the set: scrambled eggs on toast, macaroni with ham and iced milk tea. Fast, brusque, closed Thursdays.
Map - 10:30 AM
Sham Shui Po Market
Dig through the fabric alleys, electronics stalls and hawker lanes of SSP's famous market district, the working-class heart of Kowloon.
Map - 12:30 PM
Lau Sum Kee (Fuk Wing Street)
Great-value noodles on Fuk Wing Street, hand-pressed bamboo noodles locals line up.
Map - 2:15 PM
Lui Seng Chun 雷生春 Lui Seng Chun
A 1931 tong lau with deep verandahs, now a Chinese medicine clinic; see the ground floor and the herbal tea counter.
Map - 7:30 PM
Ming Court (Mong Kok)
Cantonese on the sixth floor of the Cordis; order the honeyed pork loin and the baked stuffed crab shell.
Map
Where to stay
The Peninsula Hong Kong
The Peninsula is the reference-point luxury hotel in Hong Kong, a short walk from Day 3's Kowloon programme and easy MTR access to Central and Causeway Bay.
Rosewood Hong Kong
Rosewood Hong Kong has some of the best harbour-view rooms in the city and sits close to the Kowloon waterfront, matching the spend level of every meal on this plan.
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