Why locals love it: A tiny Sham Shui Po noodle shop hand pounding beef balls in front of Apliu Market; locals queue, tourists almost never find it.
Tip: Order beef balls plus brisket in the same Chiu Chow noodle bowl; the broth ties both meats together.
Address: 115 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Why locals love it: A Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle shop in Yuen Long that still presses dough with a bamboo pole; few visitors take the West Rail to reach it.
Tip: The bamboo pressed wonton noodle is the dish to come for; the trip is the point.
Why locals love it: A one Michelin star Cantonese room with under 30 seats in residential Happy Valley; the chef braises pomelo skin for days.
Tip: Pre order the braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe when you book.
Sun Hing in Kennedy Town opens at 03:00 and serves dim sum to night shift workers and early risers, off any guidebook trail with its tiled cha chaan teng room.
Why locals love it: Open from 03:00, hidden in a Kennedy Town corner away from tourist trails, with dim sum made by grandmas served before sunrise.
Tip: Get there before 11:30 to skip the lunch crowd; liu sha bao runs out by mid morning.
Sing Heung Yuen on Mee Lun Street is one of the last open air dai pai dong in Central, in a part of the city that has lost most of its post war street kitchens to redevelopment.
Why locals love it: One of the last dai pai dong street kitchens in Central, tucked on Mee Lun Street with no signage you'd notice from the main road.
Tip: Walk in from Cochrane Street; the dai pai dong is two minutes uphill on a service alley.
Mido Cafe on Temple Street is a 1950 cha chaan teng with original wood booths and a tiled mezzanine, surviving as a daily cha chaan teng among tourist stalls.
Why locals love it: Original 1950 wood booths and tile work on the corner of Temple Street, a film set you can sit in for the price of milk tea.
Tip: Climb to the upstairs window seat for the Temple Street view; weekday afternoons are calm.
Lock Cha at Tai Kwun on Hollywood Road serves all vegetarian dim sum and 100 Chinese teas inside the restored Central Police Station compound, calm even on busy Soho weekends.
Why locals love it: Inside the former Central Police Station, a quiet vegetarian dim sum room with 100 Chinese teas, lost to anyone passing on Hollywood Road.
Tip: Book a tea master pairing in the back room; otherwise the front is open seating.
