Cover Get a plate of this saucy cheung fun at Hop Yik Tai 合益泰小食(Photo: @danesta/ Instagram)

Drizzled with sweet soy sauce and hoi sin sauce, or packed with different kinds of fillings, cheung fun is one of Hong Kong's most prized breakfast dim sum and streetside snack items

Welcome back to our traditional Hong Kong breakfast series where we introduce the city’s beloved traditional breakfast items. After featuring Hong Kong’s best egg sandwiches and instant noodles, we’re moving onto cheung fun—the popular steamed rice noodle roll that can be found in casual eateries, streetside snack stalls as well as yum cha restaurants.

Originating from Guangdong and Hong Kong, cheung fun is made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca, or glutinous rice flour and water to create the rolled rice noodle sheets. The mixture is poured into a flat pan, and optional fillings such as beef and char siu can be added in and put in the steamer. When the sheet is finally cooked through, the entire noodle sheet will be folded around three times, turning a simple rolled rice noodle sheet into the cheung fun we all know and love. 

Cheung fun usually comes in all sorts of different shapes and variations. In Hong Kong, two kinds of cheung fun are most commonly seen: the plain, tightly rolled variety dressed in hoisin sauce, sesame sauce and roasted sesame seeds that you can find at snack stalls; as well as the more traditional type packed with different kinds of meat fillings that are usually found at yum cha restaurants. 

Seasoned cheung fun masters are able to craft a rice noodle roll that balances the sheet, filling and sauce perfectly—all three elements should work together in harmony without one being too overpowering. The craftsmanship of a cheung fun is often judged according to how smooth, thin and soft the white sheet noodle layer is, especially since cheung fun by itself does not carry that much flavour. When the rice noodle is too thick, the flavours of the fillings may not be able to shine through as well—whereas if it’s too thin, the cheung fun may risk falling apart mid-bite especially if there’s too much filling. 

From Michelin-recommended cheung fun street stalls, to lush yum cha spots for the most luxurious dim sum breakfasts, we list out the best places to find cheung fun in the city. 

See also: Hong Kong-Style Breakfast: Where To Find The Best Egg Sandwiches in Hong Kong

Street Snack-Style

Hop Yik Tai

Hop Yik Tai is a snack stall and restaurant in Sham Shui Po has been recommended in the Michelin guide since 2016. Known for their smooth, plain cheung fun, a small bowl of their no-frills signature rice noodles will only set you back HK$8. Sauces and sesame seeds generously cover each portion, ensuring that you’ll only have a flavour-packed bite each time. 

While most people come here for the sole purpose of trying their cheung fun, the restaurant also serves other snacks and drinks such as soy milk, siu mai, lotus leaf rice, congee, and fried noodles. 

Hop Yik Tai, G/F, 121 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, +852 2720 0239

Keung Kee 

Opened for over sixty years, Michelin-recommended Keung Kee has two must-order dishes on their menu: their glutinous rice with Chinese sausage and of course, the dried shrimp cheung fun. 

The cheung fun is pan-fried to a light golden brown colour, bringing out the fragrant aroma of the dried shrimp and green onion. Eat it on its own, or add your desired sauces if it’s too dry for your liking. Don’t leave without trying their glutinous rice with Chinese sausage either.

Keung Kee, G/F, Chuang's Enterprises Building, 382 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 2572 5207

Wah Fai 華輝小食

If you’re a fan of sesame shredded chicken, this snack store in Tai Wai is famous for their version with cheung fun. Flagrantly seasoned with sesame oil, sesame sauce, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, as well as optional chilli oil, this box of sesame chicken cheung fun has all you need for a fulfilling meal. 

Wah Fai 華輝小食, G/F, 4D Chik Sau Lane, Chik Fuk Street, Tai Wai, Hong Kong 

See also: Why Hong Kong’s Cha Chaan Tengs And Dai Pai Dongs Are Nana Chan's Favourite Food Experiences

Mei Mei Kai 美味佳

Located in Hung Hom, Mei Mei Kai 美味佳 is a popular skewer restaurant frequented by Polytechnic University students. Pile on your order of skewers such as the red Chinese sausage, roasted eggplant, chicken cartilage, siu mai and smoked duck breast, as well as a plate of their signature egg pan-fried cheung fun with heaping amounts of sauce. The slightly crispy egg adds an extra layer of flavour and texture to the rice noodle, elevating the simple snack to another level. 

Mei Mei Kai 美味佳, G/F, 2 Bulkeley Street, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, +852 9235 7213

Yum Cha

Rùn Restaurant

One-Michelin-starred Rùn Restaurant at St. Regis is known for its elegant dining space, modern Cantonese cuisine, and beautifully crafted dishes. Their cheung fun offerings are here to impress—aside from the classic char siu cheung fun, they’ve recently introduced a new deep-fried abalone cheong fun with abalone sauce. The abalone’s deep-fried outer layer provides a contrast of texture to the meaty abalone as well as to the skin of the cheung fun. The batter is also thin enough without overpowering the entire dish, allowing you to savour each element of the abalone cheung fun. 

Rùn Restaurant, 2/F, The St. Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 2138 6808; marriott.com

Dim Sum Library 

If dim sum with Chinese tea-infused tipples are what you’re after, make your way to Dim Sum Library. Specialising in cheung fun staples made with their own modern spin, the simple char siu cheung fun is replaced with roasted Iberico pork, while the char leung—a type of cheung fun with a stick of deep-fried dough as cheung fun filling—uses a crispy bean curd roll as the “dough” instead, with added prawn and squid mousse inside for more flavour. If you’re visiting the restaurant with plant-based eaters, Dim Sum Library also offers a veggie-marinated bean curd and mushroom cheung fun. 

Dim Sum Library Pacific Place, Shop 124, 1/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, +852 3643 0088; Dim Sum Library Elements, Shop 1028B, 1/F, Water Zone, ELEMENTS, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; dimsumlibrary.com.hk

Man Wah

Man Wah’s new menu by chef Wong Wing-Keung features refined, creative Cantonese dishes that highlight classic flavours while infusing experimental elements into the dishes. After you’re done admiring the sparkling views of Victoria Harbour from the restaurant’s 25th floor, turn your attention to Man Wah’s equally stunning dim sum. 

For cheung fun, try their pan-fried rice roll in X.O. sauce with conpoy and dried shrimp. With a bit of spice from the X.O. sauce and a fragrant seafood flavour from the conpoy and dried shrimp, you won’t need extra soy sauce for this dish. 

Man Wah, 25/F, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2825 4003; mandarinoriental.com

Chan Hon Kee

Tucked away in Tai Po, Chan Hon Kee specialises in Hong Kong style noodles, rice, congee and of course, cheung fun. Known for their silky smooth cheung fun, this local joint has fine-tuned their cheung fun recipe and now offers nine different cheung fun flavours each day. Try the pork liver cheung fun if you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, or opt for the fresh prawn cheung fun—with generous amounts of prawns sandwiched in between thin layers of rice noodle skin, you’ll be savouring this plate till the last bite. 

Chan Hon Kee, G/F, No. 91B Wan Tau Street, Tai Po, Hong Kong, +852 2658 2277

Sixa

Tung Chung’s Sixa is a modern yum cha restaurant that serves Cantonese dishes and classic Hong Kong cuisine in a fun, modern approach. Try their vibrant pink coloured steamed rice rolls with shrimp and scallop for the most Instagram-friendly plate of cheung fun you’ll ever see. 

Sixa, Shop 601, 6/F, Citygate Outlets, 20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung, +852 2382 8633; sixa-hk.com

See also: Hong Kong-Style Breakfast: Where To Find The Best Instant Noodles In Hong Kong

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