It will not take you long to realize that Hong Kong people love to eat. Cooked food is available in all forms from fine dining and casual snack shops to takeaway and home/office delivery of nearly any cuisine. For those who enjoy cooking for themselves, there is also a wide variety of places to shop. Ingredients are shipped in from all over the world and the choice is limitless albeit not inexpensive for imported ingredients.
Although you would truly be hard pressed not to find your favorite product or an acceptable substitute, supplies depend on order flow and shipping schedules, and the general rule of thumb is to buy when you see what you want. In other words, do not assume that the item will still be waiting for you on the shelf on your next visit.
Hong Kong people traditionally tend to shop daily in the wet market, which is a wonderful source for the freshest fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood, especially if you prefer a more colorful and often less expensive shopping experience. Located in nearly every district, these tend to remain open in the early evening to accommodate office-workers shopping on their way home. You can haggle for a lower price, but unless you speak the lingua franca (and speak it well) be prepared to have to drive a hard bargain! Language hurdles aside, there is no more important relationship than the one with your fruit and vegetable seller to assure you are buying the freshest produce he or she has. The market running along Graham Street in Central has a few vegetable stalls that cater principally to a Western diet.| GRAHAM STREET MARKET | from Queen’s Road Central uphill to Staunton Street, Central |
| BOWRINGTON ROAD MARKET | under Canal Road flyover, Wan Chai |
Note: The wet markets are well regulated by the Government and maintain a high level of hygiene. Nevertheless, check to see if a stall maintains meets your level of acceptable cleanliness before buying anything.
The two major supermarket chains are Park ‘N’ Shop and Wellcome, both of which operate in all districts -- although the names above the door may differ (see following list)—with their shelves stocked according to the neighborhood’s demand for western and local ingredients. All deliver, often free-of-charge if you buy a certain amount, and are open seven days a week from early morning to early (business districts) / late evening (residential districts) with the urban centers open 24 hours.
There are also several smaller grocery chains that may not offer the variety but in many cases prices can be more attractive on selected items.
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PARK ‘N’ SHOP - ParknShop / International / Taste / Fusion - ParknShop Superstores - GREAT |
|
|
WELLCOME - Wellcome - Market Place by Jasons - Olivers - ThreeSixty |
http://www.marketplacebyjasons.com |
| CRC VANGUARD | http://www.crvanguard.com.hk |
| DCH FOODMART | http://www.eshop.dchfoodmartdeluxe.com |
Specialty retail shops cater to nearly every desire or diet-restriction albeit at a premium. Below are a few to get you going:
| CITY’SUPER food & wine, household products | http://www.citysuper.com.hk |
| SOGO food hall - japanese & imported foods | |
| GATEWAY american products |
188 Des Voeux Rd, Sheung Wan Tel: 2545 0338 |
| IL BEL PAESE italian delicatessen | http://www.ilbelpaese.com.hk |
| EURO TREAT european food products | http://www.eurotreat.com.hk |
| VIVA ITALIA italian delicatessen |
1116 & 1117, 11/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau Tel: 2859 9931 |
| MONSIEUR CHATTÉ french delicatessen | http://www.monsieurchatte.com |
| GREEN CONCEPT HEALTH SHOP organic products | http://www.naturalhealing.com.hk |
| HEALTHY DELIGHT organic products | http://www.healthydelight.net |
| WATSON’S WINE wines | http://www.watsonswine.com |
| PONTI WINE CELLAR wines | http://www.pontiwinecellars.com.hk |
Nearly all retailers will delivery purchases (charges may apply) to one’s home. The following suppliers do not have shops (or if they do, it is a small one) but take orders via websites or the phone/fax and deliver to your doorstep. They usually have a specific expertise (frozen or fresh meat and poultry, seafood, organic vegetables) but often extend their lines to include related foodstuffs.
| BAYERN GOURMET meat & seafood | http://www.bgf.com.hk |
| MEATMARKET meat & seafood | http://www.meatmarket.com.hk |
| TENDERLOIN meat & seafood | http://www.tenderloin.com.hk |
| THE PORTERHOUSE meat & seafood | http://www.porterhouse.com.hk |
| SOUTH STREAM SEAFOODS meat & seafood | http://www.south-stream-seafoods.com |
| HOMEGROWN FOODS local fruit & vegetables | http://www.homegrownfoods.com.hk |
| GREEN DOT DOT organic food products | http://www.greendotdot.com |
| HONEY PET pet supplies | http://www.honeypetshop.com |
| APE PET EXPRESS pet supplies | http://www.apepet.com |
| WISE PET pet supplies | http://www.wisepet.com |
For those with restricted diets, the aforementioned shops should be able to cater to most needs. In addition have also listed the following website addresses to provide guidance:
| KOSHERMART - Jewish Community Center kosher foods | http://www.kosherdelight.com/HongKongKosherFood.htm |
| OHEL LEAH SYNOGOGUE kosher foods | http://www.ohelleah.org/visitor_retail.html |
| HAPPY COW vegetarian | http://www.happycow.net |
| ISLAM ORGANIZATION halal foods | http://www.islam.org.hk |
| LITTLE GIANT allergies | http://www.littlegiant.com.hk/en_index.php |
Shopping in General
There is a plethora of shopping centers and street markets selling products from around the world. Since nearly everything is imported, we advise buying something when you see it as it may not be on the shelf when you next need it.
It would take volumes to list every center and every shop, so we shall limit ourselves to mentioning a few centers and street markets.
| IKEA household | http://www.ikea.com/hk/en |
| WING ON DEPARTMENT STORE everything | http://www.wingonet.com |
| YUE HWA DEPARTMENT STORE goods of Chinese origin | |
| SOGO DEPARTMENT STORE everything | http://www.sogo.com.hk |
| LANE CRAWFORD DEPT STORE luxury brands | http://www.lanecrawford.com |
| The Landmark, Central Luxury brand shopping center | http://www.landmark.hk/en/default |
| IFC Shopping center in Central | http://www.ifc.com.hk |
| PACIFIC PLACE Shopping center in Admiralty | http://www.pacificplace.com.hk |
| TIMES SQUARE Shopping center in Causeway Bay | http://www.timessquare.com.hk |
| CITYPLAZA Shopping center in Tai Koo Shing | http://www.cityplaza.com |
| HARBOUR CITY Shopping center in Tsim Sha Tsui | http://www.harbourcity.com.hk |
| FESTIVAL WALK Shopping center in Kowloon Tong | http://www.festivalwalk.com.hk |
| PEDDAR BUILDING Boutiques & Outlets in Central | 12 Peddar Street |
| HORIZONS PLAZA furniture & outlet shops in Ap Lei Chau | Lee Nam Road |
| STANLEY MARKET Street market in Stanley | http://www.hk-stanley-market.com |
| LADIES MARKET Street market in Mong Kok | Tung Choi Street |
| SPRING GARDEN LANE Street market in Wan Chai | Between Queen’s Road E & Johnston Road |
| LI YUEN EAST & WEST Street markets in Central | Between Queen’s Road & Des Voeux Road |
As with food products, a wide variety of cookware and kitchenware, from the inexpensive to the sublime, is available. Apart from the kitchenware section in each department store (i.e. Wing On has an excellent selection), there are a number of small specialty boutiques often found on smaller side streets (where the rent is slightly more affordable).
| GOODS OF DESIRE (GOD) specialty department store | http://god.com.hk |
| PANHANDLER specializes in high-end cookware | http://www.thepanhandler.biz |
| PANTRY MAGIC specializes in cookware | http://www.pantry-magic.com |
| SHANGHAI STREET shops catering to restaurant trade | Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon |
| COMPLETE DEELITE cake & baking tools | http://completedeelite.com |
Chemists can be found on virtually every street corner in Hong Kong. Many personal care items are also found on grocery store shelves, and standalone specialty boutiques abound in any of Hong Kong’s major shopping centers. In Hong Kong, Doctors are allowed to dispense medicine so visits to the clinic will often negate an extra trip to the chemists. Otherwise, counterfeit drugs regrettably do find their way into the supply chain, and we recommend that you use the two largest chains or the reliable pharmacy listed below.
| MANNINGS | Located throughout Hong Kong |
| WATSONS | Located throughout Hong Kong |
| FANDA | Worldwide House, Central Tel: 25379834 |
Electronics and appliances from all over the world are available here. Nearly every shopping centre has at least one electronic shop. Fortress and Broadway are the largest electrical retailers and have branches throughout Hong Kong.
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FORTRESS
|
http://www.fortress.com.hk |
| BROADWAY | http://www.broadway.com.hk |
| CHUNG YUEN | http://www.cyeshop.com/cy/index/main.asp |
There are a large number of local newspapers published in Chinese and two in English, of which the South China Morning post has the largest circulation.
| SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST in English | http://www.scmp.com |
| THE STANDARD in English | http://www.thestandard.com.hk |
| HK ECONOMIC JOURNAL in Chinese | http://www.hkej.com |
| MING PAO DAILY in Chinese | http://www.mingpao.com |
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SING PAO DAILY in Chinese
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http://www.singpao.com |
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SING TAO in Chinese
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http://www.singtao.com |
| APPLE DAILY in Chinese | http://hk.nextmedia.com |
Hong Kong has several bookshops to satisfy your reading needs in Chinese and English. For the latter, the cost is higher, especially for magazines that are shipped in by air. Many retailers now offer a loyalty program to frequent customers, so ask before making your first purchase.
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HK BOOKCENTRE/KELLY&WALSH/SWINDON in English
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http://www.swindonbooks.com |
| BOOKAZINE in English & stationary | http://www.bookazine.com.hk |
|
COMMERCIAL PRESS mainly in Chinese BLOOMSBURY BOOKS focus on business & law |
|
| FLOW BOOKS used books | http://www.flowbooks.net/ |
| JOINT PUBLISHING in Chinese | http://www.jointpublishing.com |
| POPULAR in Chinese | http://www.popular.com.hk/jsp/index.jsp |
| PADDYFIELD in English with emphasis on children | http://www.paddyfield.com |
| PAGE ONE in English & Chinese | http://www.pageonegroup.com |
| ESLITE in English & Chinese | http://www.eslitecorp.com/Site/Site_List.aspx?a=hk&l=b&sc=HK |
Computer equipment and supplies are readily available in Hong Kong. There are a few computer centers that can satisfy most of your needs. For more information, click here to read our guide on technology hotspots in Hong Kong.
| STAR HOUSE | 3 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui |
| WAN CHAI COMPUTER CENTRE | 298 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai |
| WINDSOR HOUSE | 311 Gloucester Rd, Causeway Bay |
| GOLDEN COMPUTER ARCADE | 146-152 Fuk Wa Street, Sham Shui Po |
Shopping for children in Hong Kong is easy as both China-produced and imported goods are widely available. As with adults, however, sizes tend to run smaller. It would require volumes to list every shop, so we have limited the following list to a few major retailers and harder-to-find treasures. Apart from the major shops listed in previous sections, Prince’s Building in Central, Harbour City in TsimShaTsui, and Lee Gardens in Causeway Bay are just three shopping centers that dedicate whole floors to children’s needs. Stanley Market is an open air market with a ready supply of inexpensive clothing and toys. The Ladies Market is a street market in MongKok that offers real bargains but hit-or-miss merchandise. Pottinger Street in Central has a number of outdoor stalls specializing in costumes and accessories.
| LINEA NEGRA maternity | http://www.lineanegra.com.hk |
| NINE MONTHS maternity | https://www.facebook.com/NineMonthsHK/ |
| BABY CENTRAL maternity & baby | http://babycentral.com.hk |
| BUMPS TO BABES everything | http://www.bumpstobabes.com |
| MOTHERCARE everything | http://www.mothercare.com.hk |
| ZARA clothes | http://www.zara.com |
| STRIDE RITE footwear | http://www.striderite.com.hk |
| SOLAR SUIT uv protection swimsuits | http://www.solarsuit.com.hk |
| BABY BOOM educational toys | http://www.babyboom.com.hk |
| TOYS CLUB toys, books and crafts | http://stores.itoysclub.com/StoreFront.bok |
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TOYS R US toys
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http://www.toysrus.com.hk |
| WISE KIDS toys and crafts | http://wisekidstoys.com |
| POLLUX BOOKS books | http://www.polluxbooks.com/ |
| ONE STOP PARTY SHOP party supplies |
2/F Prince’s Building, Central Tel: 2523 3814 |
| ARABELLA’S PARTY party planner | http://www.arabellasparty.com |
| COMPLETE DEELITE cake & supplies | http://completedeelite.com |
| PRINCE’S BUILDING shopping center | http://www.centralhk.com |
| HARBOUR CITY shopping center | http://www.harbourcity.com.hk |
| FESTIVAL WALK shopping center | http://www.festivalwalk.com.hk |
Image Credits: Flickr Creative Commons
