bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Pete Spurrier

1. GOLDEN THAI DELICIOUS
2/F, Tai Po Market Complex, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street
Tai Po Market (the clue is in the name) has been a farmers’ trading post for generations, and the town still has a busy market building near the main square. Fish and meat are sold on the ground floor, and fruit and vegetables one level up – but if you take the escalator up to the second floor, you’ll find that the large space is home to more than a dozen cheap and cheerful restaurants, all with access to the freshest produce.

Golden Thai Delicious is on your left as you enter. Spicy tom yum goong arrives at the table in a bubbling steamboat, brimming with prawns, mushrooms and lemongrass, and other winning dishes include pad thai and chilli squid. This is a noisy, communal eating experience, and if you raise your glasses of Tsingtao or Chang to diners at the next table, they’ll probably join you in a shouted toast.
 
2. YAT LOK BARBECUE RESTAURANT
G/F, 5 Tai Ming Lane, 2656 4732

Located on the pedestrianised square near the market, Yat Lok can make some claims to being a destination restaurant - even US television chef Anthony Bourdain made the journey and declared himself impressed. It’s famous for its roast goose, served sliced on a bed of rice or with soup noodles, and also serves roast duck, char siu (barbecued pork) and all the usual Cantonese standards. English seems to be spoken only by the owner - and the specials pasted on posters on the walls are all in Chinese - but if the owner is away, the staff will guess you’re here for the goose. And you’ll be enjoying it for far less than they charge at Yung Kee in Central.
 
3. DOO LEE MAN VEGETARIAN
G/F, 43 Po Heung Street, 2650 8225

Just around the corner, Doo Lee Man has a very different menu: Buddhist-influenced Chinese vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant is small and often crowded, so you may be ushered to share a table. Besides the meat-free dishes you might expect - cauliflower and potatoes in curry sauce, stewed aubergines and lo hon chai (vegetables, mushrooms and tofu) - more unusual items involve lotus root, either cooked or ground into paste and made into pancakes. You will also see dishes that appear to be steamed fish, roast duck, beef with noodles and so on, but these are all cleverly made from vegetarian ingredients. Set meals come with rice, soup and a drink. If you’ve never tried Chinese vegetarian cuisine, you may be pleasantly surprised at the prices.
 
4. BACKYARD BISTRO
G/F, 12-18 Wan Tau Street, 2662 2552

This newish addition to Tai Po’s dining scene aims to serve European food in authentic style, as opposed to the local approximations of Western fare found in the town’s scores of cha chaan teng. It largely succeeds. Backyard has a simple black-and-white interior with limited tables, though it does have a VIP room (in effect just a smaller room in the building next door) to handle overflow. We tried the bouillabaisse, halibut in Champagne cream sauce and spaghetti aglio olio, all of which were done well. If you get there early enough, it’s happy hour on Hoegaarden and house wine. This side street is sprouting a number of interesting small restaurants, and though we haven’t yet heard anyone say “Toho” - remember, you read it here first.
 
5. SHALIMAR INDIAN RESTAURANT
G/F, 127 Kwong Fuk Road, 2653 7790

The family-run Shalimar has been a fixture on the old town’s main street for decades. In years gone by, British soldiers would stop in for a taste of home before sinking a few San Migs at the Bobby London Inn - also still operating - a few doors down. The food is not too spicy here, perhaps catering to the palates of locals who are now the main customers, so ask the staff to increase the heat if you’re more accustomed to Kowloon curries. Tandoor (clay oven) dishes are among the specialities: seekh kebab is minced mutton cooked on skewers and served with gravy; and fish tikka comes on a sizzling hot plate with lemon wedges for you to squeeze over the marinated fish pieces. The kadai paneer (cottage cheese and bell peppers in a tomato-based sauce) is also very tasty. Wash dinner down with a mango lassi or Kingfisher beer.
 
6. KWAN KEE
26 Dai Ming Lane, 2638 3071

It’s known as the “Kau Kee” (referring to the beef brisket noodles place in Gough Street) of Tai Po, but Kwan Kee can more than hold its own against the Kau Kees of this world, as its long lunch queues can attest to. The brisket here is very tender and the soup is wonderfully flavourful. Up until recently, the restaurant offered the wonderfully sinful “deepfired pork lard noodles”. This, unfortunately, has been discontinued. As with many dai pai dongs, service can be a bit curt at times but the food is worth it. Although official opening hours are from 1pm till 11pm, in reality they close when the meat runs out, which can often be as early as 6pm. Be warned. Winnie Chung
 
SUN GARDEN CAFE
Kadoorie Farm, Lam Kam Road, Lam Tsuen, 2488 9945
Travelling in the opposite direction, uphill through the Lam Tsuen Valley - source of many of the organic vegetables sold in Tai Po Market - you can visit Kadoorie Farm, and here the Sun Garden Cafe has outdoor tables amid lush green jungle. It’s run as a social enterprise, and healthier ingredients, such organic mushrooms, feature on the menu. One inventive dish uses cubes of garden-grown beetroot as a replacement for meat in a vegetarian fried rice. The cafe also serves toasties, omelettes, organic herbal teas and decent coffee, but in a gesture to environmental responsibility, no takeaway cups or utensils are provided. Your food and drinks do come with a warning, though: watch out for the wild and acquisitive monkeys who inhabit the area. Kadoorie Farm closes at 5pm, and Sun Garden Cafe follows its lead. 

 


Tai Po market and neighbouring area offer tasty cuisines at reasonable prices

Magazines

Good Eating

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Five stops north of Kowloon Tong on the East Rail, Tai Po is an old-fashioned market town with an abundance of street life, writes Pete Spurrier


Five stops north of Kowloon Tong on the East Rail, Tai Po is an old-fashioned market town with an abundance of street life.


Tai Po market and neighbouring area offer tasty cuisines at reasonable prices

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Five stops north of Kowloon Tong on the East Rail, Tai Po is an old-fashioned market town with an abundance of street life, writes Pete Spurrier

Five stops north of Kowloon Tong on the East Rail, Tai Po is an old-fashioned market town with an abundance of street life, writes Pete Spurrier