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SCMP Culture Series

Chinese food culture

Take a bite out of history with our exclusive series on the delicious ingredients, dishes and techniques behind the unique tastes of Hong Kong.

Updated: 17 Oct, 2024
Diners pack a Mong Kok restaurant for lunch over the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: Eugene Lee
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[1]

Hong Kong beef satay noodles’ origins, and how to make them at home

Beef satay noodles, a comfort food made popular by Hong Kong tea stalls, has influences from Southeast Asia to Guangdong, China. A YouTuber tells us how to cook them.

14 Sep, 2024
Satay beef noodles served at a cafe in Pok Fu Lam. A popular breakfast dish in Hong Kong that combines Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisines, it was introduced to the city in the 1950s by migrants from Chaozhou, southern China. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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[2]

Bakers keep traditional mooncake making alive in Hong Kong

A treat families once took a year to pay for, mooncakes of every flavour are ubiquitous now. Some are still made fresh the old-fashioned way.

17 Sep, 2024
Vivian Leung prepares to bake mooncakes made the traditional way using ingredients sourced in Hong Kong for charity Locofarms. Photo: Locofarms
[3]

5 popular spices used in Chinese cooking and why people love them

Sand ginger, Chinese cassia, star anise, turmeric and five-spice powder have been used for their taste and health benefits for centuries.

24 Sep, 2024
Star anise, or illicium verum, is a popular spice in Chinese home cooking for both its taste and health benefits. Photo: Shutterstock
[4]

No walnuts in Chinese walnut cookies? A Hong Kong baker explains

Walnut cookies are still made the old-fashioned way – and without any nuts – by Hong Kong baker Man Fuk-on, 73. He talks about the importance of preserving tradition.

26 Sep, 2024
Traditional Chinese walnut cookies made by Hong Kong master baker Man Fuk-on, at the Hong Kong Culture Festival, in August, 2024. Photo: Hong Kong Culture Festival
[5]

How to make Hong Kong’s vanishing dragon’s beard candy and ding ding tong

One of Hong Kong’s last remaining makers of the once-widespread dragon’s beard candy talks us through the labour-intensive way it is made.

03 Oct, 2024
Tam Tat-ming makes dragon’s beard candy at his stall in Kingswood Richly Plaza, in Tin Shui Wai. Photo: Jonathan Wong
[6]

What’s so special about Hong Kong-style milk tea? Where to begin?

Hong Kong-style milk tea has a rich history dating back to the British colonial era. We look at what makes it so special and a cultural icon.

06 Oct, 2024
Hot milk tea served at Cheung Hing Coffee Shop in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Photo: Instagram/@maru_seki
[7]

Where to eat the best wonton noodles in Hong Kong, and their history

Wonton noodles, one of Hong Kong’s most well-known dishes, have a long history in the city. We find the restaurants that serve the best.

08 Oct, 2024
Wonton noodles, one of Hong Kong’s most well-known dishes, have a long history in the city. We find some of the top restaurants serving them, including Shek Kee Wonton Noodles (above) in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong
[8]

How Hong Kong’s festive poon choi basin feast brings communities together

Poon choi is a large bowl filled with layers of delicious ingredients, often including prawns, scallops and abalone, even vegan substitutes.

17 Oct, 2024
A Lunar New Year poon choi feast at Ng Ka Village in the New Territories, Hong Kong, in 2017. Photo: SCMP