 | I usually don’t talk about money much, because at this point in life I think that if you can’t afford to travel, you shouldn’t travel. |
When I was twenty, I could sleep on the floor and buy an apple from a street vendor and just keep living. I didn’t need much money, and I could always earn some while traveling just by teaching a few English classes or piano lessons. Parents helped out. Friends pitched in to get group deals. Somebody’s cousin let you sleep on her couch. Money just wasn’t a big deal.
Now that I’ve reached a more comfortable stage in life, I need money if I’m going to travel. I need a good bed and healthy regular meals, and that costs money. Crisp white sheets and an over-easy egg done just right don’t come cheap. That being said, I’m not much of a shopper so most of my travel money goes to food and lodging. That’s why I’ve been delighted with the food in Asia--you can get really delicious food, well-cooked and tasty, for very little money.
In today’s post, I’ll show you the cheap but delectable food I’ve found in Hong Kong. All prices are US dollars.
Now that I’ve reached a more comfortable stage in life, I need money if I’m going to travel. I need a good bed and healthy regular meals, and that costs money. Crisp white sheets and an over-easy egg done just right don’t come cheap. That being said, I’m not much of a shopper so most of my travel money goes to food and lodging. That’s why I’ve been delighted with the food in Asia--you can get really delicious food, well-cooked and tasty, for very little money.
In today’s post, I’ll show you the cheap but delectable food I’ve found in Hong Kong. All prices are US dollars.
 | First, Sam’s undeniable favorite--Mat Man Geh. It’s a won ton soup place that is a Hong Kong legend. They have a tiny, crowded dining room, you enter between the cash register and the kitchen (which is about 25 square feet), and the won tons come from the stairwell next door. Don’t ask why. I suppose they make them up there somewhere. Here we are, seated at the table behind the support beam. From bottom to top, our food is noodles with bbq pork, beef and tendons, tiny dish of sauce for the vegetables that hadn’t arrived yet, soup, and the famous won ton noodle soup. (Sam’s soup hadn’t arrived yet.) This whole meal costs about $15, including what isn’t there yet. |
 | Next, my favorite comfort food--Toast Box! This is a Singapore chain, and I love them so much. You can get the toast with butter, peanut butter, condensed milk, or kaya (Singapore coconut jam). Eggs. Coffee that they filter through a sock, I don’t know why, but it really works. Condensed milk in the coffee. It’s heaven. About $4 per person. |
 | Here’s Sam with his beloved egg waffles. You can buy them all over Hong Kong, but this stall on Nathan Road is the best. Slightly sweet, crispy, hot. About $1. |
 | We call this place the restaurant-under-the-freeway, but there’s no place to sit so we should call it the place-that-sells-food-under-the-freeway. The real name is Fortuitous Fish Ball. No kidding! Hong Kongers call it Gut Gut, which is Cantonese for Fortuitous. No need to call it Gut Gut Fish Ball, I guess. |
 Here is their selection of raw food, which they boil up quick for you. |  Yes, that’s a freeway overhead. It’s not too loud. Just a little. You don’t go for the ambiance. |
 Pig skin, rice noodles with peanutty sauce (that sauce is The Bomb, the noodles are just a vehicle to get the sauce in your mouth) |  Fish balls. Don’t laugh. We’re all grownups here. |
 | Fake shark fin soup. You can still buy real shark fin soup in Hong Kong, but it’s very expensive. I had it once, many years ago before I was aware of how the sharks are stripped of their fins and tossed back in the ocean to suffocate because they can’t move without their fins. Now, it is still on the menu in many fancy places, but there is growing pressure to halt its production. This fake stuff is pretty close. (The real shark fin soup didn’t taste that great, frankly. Not great enough to suffocate another living being.) These three Fortuitous Fish Ball dishes cost about $8, altogether. |
Hui Lau Shan is a dessert restaurant that specializes in mango and durian dishes. I wouldn’t touch durian with a 10-foot pole, but the mango dishes are very nice. They also have a few red bean dishes, which are my favorite. (Chinese red beans are not like American red beans--they’re sweet.) These dishes cost about $3 each.
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Finally, you can buy yams, roasted chestnuts, tiny quail eggs, and other tiny roasted delights from food carts with charcoal ovens. This yam cost about $3. Yes, it would be cheaper to buy a raw yam and cook it at home, but eating a hot yam out of a paper bag in public is a rare comfort. I’ll pay. That’s me with my yam at the top of the page.
If you want expensive food in Hong Kong, there’s plenty of that, too. However, the cheap food is really delicious, and who doesn’t love a bargain? Eat happy, my friends.
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If you want expensive food in Hong Kong, there’s plenty of that, too. However, the cheap food is really delicious, and who doesn’t love a bargain? Eat happy, my friends.
PREVIOUS: A Vegetable
NEXT: Introvert's Guide to Meeting People on the Road