Your 24-hour Hong Kong food tour

Start your day on the right foot by visiting a cha chaan teng. Australia Dairy Company is one of the most famous establishments of its kind in the city and there’s often a long queue outside. Get the breakfast set for a satisfying combination of eggs, toast or macaroni with ham in chicken soup and either coffee or Hong Kong-style milk tea.

47 Parkes St. Jordan.

After your relatively cheap breakfast, you can afford to splash a little cash come lunch. Mott 32 is one of the finest Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong – so good it’s expanding to Las Vegas and Bangkok. The char siu is legendary here, both for its taste and for being the most expensive in the city. If you fancy dim sum, the options here are stellar. Try the xiao long bao made with Iberico pork or the siu mai packed with black truffle.

Basement, Standard Chartered Bldg, 4-4a Des Voeux Rd. Central.

Plenty of hotels in Hong Kong offer pleasant afternoon tea sets, but they’re not where the real action’s at. Head to Kam Wah in heaving Mong Kok for an authentic local tea snack. The pineapple buns – named after the pattern on top rather than any filling – are the best in the city. Stuffed with a slab of butter, these are a sumptuous savoury treat. The chicken pies – if you need something a little extra – are also consistently great.

47 Bute St. Mong Kok.

Give your stomach a rest for a while. Hidden down an alley just uphill from design centre PMQ, The Old Man is an Ernest Hemingway-themed bar that opened last year to rave reviews. The bar crushed the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards and found itself ranked number five this year. Headed by a clutch of local talent, The Old Man is stylish and its top-notch cocktails are served with impeccable attention to detail.

37 Aberdeen St. Central.

The lines outside this small shop don’t lie. A local institution that continues to survive among the many hipster cafés and restaurants littering Sheung Wan, Kau Kee serves a mean bowl of braised beef flank noodle soup at an insanely low price. That’s all you need to order. Get it with beef broth or in a curry stock, depending on your preference. In typical Hong Kong fashion, don’t expect much in the way of polite service, but know that the food is worth it.

21 Gough St. Sheung Wan.

Dai pai dong’s are another – though increasingly rare – staple of Hong Kong culinary culture. Experience this outdoor dining scene at Yuen Kee. The main attraction here is the fresh seafood, with signature dishes including black bean sauce razor clams, typhoon shelter crab, and rose and ginger lobster. Aside from seafood, this dai pai dong also offers up a great range of Cantonese classics.

15 Yiu Tong St. Sham Shui Po.