Top 10 Cheap Snacks for Students in Hong Kong

Following this week’s launch of the QS University Rankings: Asia 2016, we’re celebrating great student food in the region – kicking off with 10 cheap snacks to enjoy in Hong Kong.

The dai pai dongs (food stalls) which line Hong Kong’s streets are as essential to the city’s cultural DNA as local bistros are to Parisian foodies. To survive as a student in Hong Kong, you will need to budget, but happily, the city boasts a wonderful (and affordable) street food culture. Great areas to hunt for delicious student food include Graham Street, Fa Yuen Street, Li Kung Street and Temple Street.

1. Cheung fun

These delicious steamed rice noodle rolls are a popular Cantonese snack. Available with a host of different fillings such as roast pork or dried shrimp and scallions, they are savory and served with soy sauce. 

2. The pan-fried buns at Tsuen Wan Market

 These simple affordable pan-fried buns are made with flour and water and filled with minced beef, cabbage, onion and ginger, seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. The best pan-fried buns can be found in Tsuen Wan Market, a popular wet market brimming with fresh fruit, vegetable and food stalls.  

3. Tong sui

Literally translated as ‘sugar water’, tong sui is a traditional sweet soup, served hot or cold, and typically made with black sesame, red beans, coconut milk and/or green beans. Dessert stalls in Hong Kong often offer different varieties of tong sui, with options ranging from peanut paste-based recipes to red bean soup. Many Hong Kongers like to add tong yuan, glutinous rice balls which can be sweet or savory.

4. Dragon fruit, Lychee and other native fruit that hit the spot

 For healthier cheap snack options, Hong Kong’s lush fresh produce markets, such as the Ladies Market or the night markets on Temple Street, offer sweet and inexpensive fruit native to Hong Kong, including pomegranate, passion fruit and star fruit.  

5. Gai daan tsai (egg waffle)

Native to Hong Kong, egg waffle is a fluffy protein-packed cake with a honeycomb-like structure available in a vast array of flavors, including chocolate, strawberry and black sesame. This Hong Kong favorite has distinctive crispy edges and curiously satisfying ‘bubbles’, which can be broken off to snack on. Sidewalk vendors prepare the iconic dish by pouring batter typically made with flour, milk and eggs into a waffle puff pan.  

6. Pineapple bun

Don’t let the name of our sixth cheap snack mislead you. Hugely popular in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, pineapple buns don’t actually contain any pineapple. These sweet buns are made with sugar, eggs, flour and lard, and the name refers to their golden-brown checkered tops.

7. Egg tart

While not native to Hong Kong, egg tarts are so hugely popular in Hong Kong that they definitely belong to this list. Mostly egg custard in puff pastry with melted butter, the dessert was introduced to the city as a dim sum in the 1940s and quickly took over other Asian cities.

8. Stinky tofu

 Unlike pineapple buns, this dish’s name is definitely not misleading. Sold at night markets and roadside stands, stinky tofu owes its unpleasant smell to the fermentation brine utilized in the recipe! Cooked in a myriad of different ways, stinky tofu is often deep-fried and served with Hoisin and chili sauce. 

9. Curry fish balls

Curry fish balls are a common sight in the streets of Hong Kong. Another tasty cheap snack, curry fish balls are fried, simmered in curry and evaporated milk, and served on a stick.

10.  Siu mai      

A dim sum filled with shrimp or pork, served on a stick and slathered in chili oil or curry sauce, siu mai are a classic of Chinese cuisine – a great finale to our tour of cheap snacks in Hong Kong!