Old tenement Hong Kong with bakery counters, family run cha chaan teng, late night seafood and the Bowrington Road wet market.
Pirata in Wan Chai is the Pirata Group's flagship Italian room on the 30th floor of 239 Hennessy Road, with handmade pastas, sea urchin tagliolini and harbour views from a wraparound window line.
Signature: House made tagliolini with sea urchin, Bone in veal Milanese, Tiramisu
Order: Tagliolini with sea urchin and Champagne foam.
Tip: Ask for a window two top at 19:30; the lights of Wan Chai come up exactly as the antipasti arrive.
Fook Lam Moon in Wan Chai is the city's classic Cantonese banqueting house with one Michelin star, suckling pig and braised abalone served in the same dining room since 1972.
Signature: Crispy roasted suckling pig, Braised abalone with goose web, Steamed deep sea garoupa
Order: Whole crispy roasted suckling pig (pre order).
Tip: Order ahead for the whole suckling pig; the kitchen needs 24 hours to lacquer the skin.
Kam's Roast Goose on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai is the Michelin starred Cantonese roast shop founded by a fourth generation roast master, with crackling goose, char siu and soy chicken plated over rice.
Signature: Roast goose, Char siu with honey, Soy chicken
Order: Quarter roast goose lower thigh over rice.
Tip: Walk in alone before noon and ask for the lower thigh; the queue for two starts before 12:30.
Bo Innovation in Wan Chai is Alvin Leung's two Michelin star X treme Chinese tasting room, plating Cantonese cuisine reworked with modernist technique inside J Residence on Johnston Road.
Signature: Molecular xiao long bao, Pork belly with pickled mustard greens, Foie gras with cherry
Order: Signature molecular xiao long bao tasting course.
Tip: Book the chef's counter; the molecular dishes are constructed to camera under your nose, not behind the line.
Kam's Roast Goose in Wan Chai is the third generation of the Kam family roast meat tradition, with a Michelin star, juicy crisp skinned goose and decadent blanched noodles in goose fat.
Signature: Roast goose, Roast suckling pig, Goose blood pudding
Order: Roast goose plate with goose blood pudding.
Tip: Take a number at the door and expect 30 to 60 minutes; the goose blood pudding is a sleeper pick that locals order.
Capital Cafe in Wan Chai is a modern cha chaan teng from 2010 with Canto pop memorabilia on the walls and a famous scrambled egg with black truffle on buttered toast.
Signature: Scrambled egg with black truffle on toast, Hong Kong style milk tea, Pork chop bun
Order: Scrambled egg with black truffle on toast.
Tip: Order the truffle scramble plus a milk tea; that combination is the room's signature.
Capital Cafe on Heard Street in Wan Chai opened in 2010 and runs a Cantopop themed cha chaan teng known for scrambled eggs that rival the Australia Dairy Co. counter.
Signature drink: Iced lemon tea and scrambled eggs
Tip: The truffle scrambled eggs are a fan favourite; the standard scrambled is the better pick.
Bakehouse Wan Chai is chef Gregoire Michaud's 2018 flagship, baking sourdough egg tarts and croissants that turned a wholesale bakery into a Hong Kong queue line institution.
Tip: Tai Wong Street East is the only dine in location; arrive before 09:00 or after 14:30 to skip the queue.
Worth the queue: Sourdough egg tart
Kee Wah Bakery on Queen's Road East has been baking Hong Kong's wife cakes, egg rolls and pineapple buns since 1938, run by the third generation of the Wong family across more than 60 city outlets.
Tip: The egg rolls travel well; pick up a tin as a Hong Kong souvenir from any branch.
Worth the queue: Egg roll cookies (gai dan jyun)
Levain Bakery on Queen's Road East in Wan Chai is Hong Kong's first artisan sourdough bakery, with KC Li's all levain country loaves and laminated viennoiserie on a small counter.
Tip: Drop in by 10:30 for the croissants; the country loaves go in the second oven and come out at 11:00.
Worth the queue: Country levain loaf and almond croissant
The Baker & The Bottleman on Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai is Simon Rogan and sommelier Pierre Brunelli's bakery by day and natural wine bar by night, with gourmet British bakes and an organic glass programme.
Signature pour: Rotating wine by the glass with Pierre Brunelli's pick
Wine focus: Organic and biodynamic wines from sustainable growers
Food: British bakes, sourdough flatbreads, charcuterie
Tip: Order the daily flatbread with whichever orange wine Brunelli is pouring; the by glass programme rotates weekly.
Mizunara: The Shop on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai is Hong Kong's reference Japanese whisky bar, with a 500 plus bottle wall of single malts and tasting flights of rare Karuizawa and Hanyu.
Signature drink: Japanese single malt whisky flights
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Reservations help on weekends; ask for the rare cask flight from the head bartender.
Joy Hing Roasted Meat on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai is a Bib Gourmand Cantonese siu mei shop, roasting char siu and duck in pre war ovens since the turn of the 20th century.
Try: Char siu and roast duck over rice
Order: Char siu over rice with extra fatty cut.
Tip: Order char siu mixed with siu yuk; the fat to lean ratio is the room's signature glaze.
Bowrington Road Market in Wan Chai is the Hong Kong Island wet market for serious Cantonese home cooks, with seafood downstairs and the famous cooked food centre upstairs.
Tip: Go to the 2nd floor cooked food centre for lunch; the Wo Que Lai dai pai dong is the room's anchor.
Wan Chai Market is the largest indoor wet market on Hong Kong Island, with 280 stalls trading seafood, butchered meat and fresh produce across a modernised six floor building.
Tip: The cooked food centre upstairs runs at lunchtime; the wet market itself is most active before 09:00.
Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai is the city's last toy street and a Cantonese snack lane, with dried seafood, herbal teas, walnut cookies and Hong Kong souvenirs across two pedestrianised blocks.
Tip: Combine Tai Yuen Street with Bowrington Road one block away; both run a Cantonese wet market hour together.
Bakehouse Wan Chai serves a pastry led brunch from 08:00 daily with sourdough egg tarts, croissants and small breakfast plates, a Hong Kong queue line you should time correctly.
Order: Sourdough egg tart with a flat white.
Tip: Arrive at 08:00 sharp or after 14:30; the dine in counter has limited seating.
Kam's Roast Goose on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai is a one Michelin star Cantonese roast shop, with quarter goose plates over rice that make a lunch destination just before the queue builds at noon.
Order: Quarter roast goose lower thigh over rice.
Tip: Walk in before noon and ask for the lower thigh; the queue for two starts at 12:30.
The Baker & The Bottleman on Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai is Simon Rogan's bakery by day and wine bar by night, with a daytime brunch of sourdough flatbreads and biodynamic wine pairings.
Order: Sourdough flatbread with cured ham and natural wine.
Tip: Visit between 11:00 and 13:00 for the pastries plus a glass of orange wine; the by glass list rotates weekly.
Capital Cafe in Wan Chai is the modern cha chaan teng with Canto pop memorabilia on the walls, trading scrambled egg with black truffle on toast and milk tea until 23:00 nightly.
Try: Scrambled egg with black truffle on toast
Order: Scrambled egg with black truffle on toast.
Tip: Truffle scramble plus a milk tea is the Wan Chai late night order; weekend evenings get noisy.
The Wanch on Jaffe Road in Wan Chai is one of Hong Kong's longest running live music pubs since 1987, with rock, blues and reggae bands seven nights a week on a battered corner stage.
Order: Pint and a corner table near the stage.
Tip: Bands rotate at 21:00 and 22:30; check the calendar for the weekly Wednesday open jam.
Wooloomooloo Prime on the 31st floor of The Hennessy in Wan Chai is a rooftop steakhouse bar with 360 degree views of Victoria Harbour, Happy Valley and the Hong Kong Island skyline.
Order: Old Fashioned with harbour view.
Tip: Book the rooftop bar terrace ahead at sunset; the steakhouse downstairs is the dinner pull.