Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 10:38 am
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When it comes to food in Hong Kong, one of the first things that will pop up in your head is Chinese dim sum.
If you’ve been a follower of my blog, by now, you should know how I feel about Chinese dim sum restaurants. I love Cantonese cuisine and can eat it every day.
Eating GOOD dim sum is one of the many perks of living in Hong Kong. Many cities have Chinese dim sum restaurants but they’re usually mediocre.
It’s been extremely satisfying going to different yum cha restaurants and trying fancy dim sum.
I know, I know. It makes me sound like a food snob, right?
I admit that I am a bit of a picky eater.
Luxury Chinese Dim Sum Restaurants in Hong Kong
Although it was not planned, as I was writing this post, I realized that all restaurants here are all on the Michelin guide.
For some reason, it seems like Torontonians don’t seem to care about Michelin restaurants as much. Maybe because they don’t have any in the city so it’s just not as talked about.
Hong Kong has quite a few Michelin restaurants to choose from, which might be why people care about it more.
Since all of these restaurants are on the Michelin guide list, it does mean high-quality food.
If you’re into Cantonese fine dining like I am, these are the restaurants you must visit in the city.
1) Above and Beyond
Above and Beyond has all the fine dining restaurant elements in my opinion. It’s a restaurant where it’s…
- high up (28th floor)
- in a hotel (in this case, it’s Hotel ICON)
- hard to book a table
- great food
- excellent service
- pretty view
Above and Beyond hits all of those points.
The only negative thing I have to say about this place is that it’s very hard to book.
Along with Yat Tung Heen, these are the two restaurants on the list that are probably the hardest to get a table at.
You need to book weeks in advance and usually unless it’s a special event, people don’t tend to do that as much.
It’s too bad that you need to plan so much time in advance because or else, I would eat here more often.
But in my opinion, it’s worth the wait.
My favourite dish is the crispy shrimp roll on the weekend Chinese dim sum lunch menu. It was so good that my mom and I had to order another one.
The shrimp roll was fresh, warm, and crispy. You can hear the satisfying crunch when you take a bite. Too often, when you eat cheung fun like this, the shrimp can get a bit soggy but not at Above and Beyond.
Other dishes on the menu include steamed king crab dumplings, and seafood puff with sesame and fruit.
These are only some of the menu items I thought were interesting in case you want to try innovative dishes but fear not, Above and Beyond also has traditional Chinese dim sum dishes like steamed barbecue pork buns, fresh milk egg tarts, and fried turnip cake.
2) Yat Tung Heen
When you step inside Yat Tung Heen, the restaurant has a bit of an old-school vibe but that’s a part of its charm.
The restaurant opens pretty early (10 am) and you would think that it’s less busy at that time but nope! That’s why you need to reserve a table weeks in advance.
Yat Tung Heen does give you a time limit. You have about 1.5 hours to finish eating your meal and they gently remind you that your time is up. The shorter dining time does give you some pressure so unless you’re a fast eater, it can certainly affect the restaurant experience.
There’s plenty of food to choose from and if you like Cantonese food, there certainly will be some Chinese dim sum dishes from the menu that are right up your alley.
My favourite here is the BBQ pork bun. The bun is slightly crispy and chewy but when you take a bite, you feel the sauce oozing from the bread. The char siu is also juicy and tender. One dish has 3 buns and I can definitely eat 3 of these myself.
Some of their signature dishes include deep-fried puff with red paste, Shanghai dumplings, and stewed lettuce with preserved Tai O shrimp paste in a clay pot.
Although Yat Tung Heen is in the Eaton Hotel, you enter through a side door where you take the elevator down to the basement. It can be a bit confusing for first-timers.
It’s also at an extremely convenient location where you can shop around before or after your meal.
3) Shang Palace
Shang Palace is located inside the Kowloon Shangri-La hotel, along with the restaurant Angelini (a restaurant I ate at on my 26th birthday).
Out of all these places, Shang Palace is the one I want to go back to most. I ate here in a more professional setting (it was a bit of a work dinner type of thing).
In an official setting, I didn’t think it was right for me to get up and start taking pictures like I usually do.
I went to all of the other restaurants either with friends or family. It was during my personal time so I had no problem snapping away. However, with my colleagues, there is a bit more of a boundary.
It’s a pity because the fried rice and the pan-fried soy sauce codfish fillet were delicious and I have no pictures to prove it! I had to stop myself from getting more because I didn’t want to seem like a greedy girl.
Honestly, I think this has the best fried rice place on this list. It’s not their signature fried rice for no reason. Check out Shang Palace’s menu for more.
You might be able to get away with not booking a table on a weeknight. Although I did book a table just in case, there were many available tables available the night we were there.
4) Summer Palace
With a mainly red and gold interior themed restaurant, Summer Palace has a traditional grand vibe.
In terms of food, Summer Palace (which is inside the Shangri-La hotel) has the most innovative Chinese dim sum dishes on this list. There are dishes such as deep-fried shrimp toast with truffle pesto and seafood fried rice with XO sauce in a hot pot (both must-try).
There are a few truffle dishes here so if you’re a fan of truffles like me, you might want to eat here.
There’s no outside view so if that’s something you look for in a restaurant, Summer Palace might not be your cup of tea.
Bonus: there’s a dessert shop called Island Gourmet next to the restaurant. I personally prefer Western desserts over Chinese desserts so after eating Chinese food and getting Western dessert is perfect.
Their macarons are pretty good but they also sell pastries, cakes, and chocolate. Eat to your heart’s content, my fellow sweet lovers. I know I did.
5) One Harbour Road
Most restaurants on this list are on the Kowloon side. One Harbour Road (and Summer Palace) are on the Hong Kong side.
Similar to Above and Beyond, you can see the pretty city skyline. One Harbour Road is located inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wanchai. It’s extremely spacious and has two floors. I like the open space, which can be a rarity in Hong Kong.
I’m not kidding when I say this but the xo sauce cheung fun here is the best I’ve had in a really long time. A lot of restaurants might have the look down pat (looking dark and soft) but when you eat it, the taste is bland.
One Habour Road’s xo sauce cheung fun looks appetizing and tastes equally as good.
I would order more from the Chinese dim sum menu because they’re much better. My dad and I tried a few seasonal dishes from the a la carte menu but we didn’t like them.
We also had to remind our waitress about our order because they took too long so we weren’t that happy about that.
Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant Bucket List: Fu Ho Mira Hotel
Fu Ho Restaurant inside the Mira hotel is the next Chinese dim sum restaurant on my bucket list.
The abalone picture on the Fuho online menu looks like it’s to die for but there are other items I would like to try as well such as their diced chicken with salty fish rice, fried chicken wings stuffed with glutinous rice, and steamed meat and crab roe dumpling.
This restaurant is in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). If you’re familiar with Hong Kong, this district shouldn’t be foreign because it’s an area that a lot of people go to during the weekend.
TST is a famous area known for its shopping and food attractions.
In fact, three restaurants on this list are in this area. The area ranges from lower-end restaurants to higher-end restaurants. You can go for a fancy meal for lunch and then eat something more casual like Korean fried chicken at Outdark for dinner.
During meals, you can even go shopping. TST is where I do most of my clothes shopping nowadays. It has a lot of Korean-inspired and affordable clothing options, which is my style.
The only downside is that Fuho has no online reservations. Is it just me or do you prefer to book online too?
I could always call though. If I like a restaurant enough like how I feel about Agehan, calling a restaurant directly is not a problem.
Final Thoughts – Luxury Chinese Dim Sum Restaurants
These luxury dim sum restaurants are on the pricier side but it can feel like a really nice treat when you do eat here. They are also at pretty convenient locations, which is nice.
You can also have higher expectations of these restaurants since they are on the Michelin Guide.
The only thing is that I would highly recommend you book a table. With some restaurants, you can take a chance and walk in but the chances are low. It’s better to reserve in advance.
For the most part, I’ve written a detailed review for each restaurant so if you want more details, I have added links so you can find out more information.
I was originally going to write a restaurant review for Above and Beyond. But I’ve already written three restaurant reviews about Cantonese fine dining restaurants.
I thought it would be better to mix it up. That’s why my last food post was about Outdark instead. Or else people might think Hong Kong only has good dim sum restaurants. It’s true but there are so many other scrumptious things to eat here.
Now to You – Luxury Chinese Dim Sum Restaurants
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Xoxo,
Nicole