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Hong Kong locals love trying new eats, so it’s no surprise to see a mix of Chinese and Western dishes sharing the same table. Our famous cha chaan teng culture is a perfect example, blending the best of both worlds to offer quick, tasty meals. In addition, with international brands always finding their way to the city, Hong Kong is truly a world-class food hub with endless choices — all served with a side of that signature fast-paced efficiency.
But variety and speed don’t mean skimping on quality. We’ve rounded up nine fantastic casual dining spots, all recognised by the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) Scheme for their consistent food quality and stellar service. From down-to-earth cha chaan teng classics to burgers, fried chicken and international buffets, there’s something for everyone. Let’s dig in!
Shake Shack
Founded in New York in 2004, Shake Shack is a globally recognised burger brand. Now in its seventh year in Hong Kong, it continues to deliver top-notch dining with its signature burgers, hot dogs, crinkle-cut fries and house-made American-style drinks, all of which are crowd favourites.
To keep things exciting, the restaurant chain regularly collaborates with popular brands to launch new menu items, such as the Hong Kong-style milk tea shake and Veggie Shack, alongside global debuts like the Fish Shack, Paradise Crunch salad and a series of new coffee and chocolate drinks, making every visit a fresh experience.
Shake Shack is all about quality ingredients. Its signature ShackBurger, for instance, uses 100 per cent natural Angus beef free of hormones and antibiotics. Cooked at precise temperatures, the juicy patty is paired simply with cheese, lettuce, tomato and their secret ShackSauce for unbeatable flavours. Diners can also request longer cooking times for the patty, and the friendly staff will happily accommodate.
McDonald’s Hong Kong
Since its debut in 1975, McDonald’s Hong Kong has grown with the city for 50 years. Dedicated to putting customers first while staying innovative, McDonald’s ensures that every item adheres to its strict Golden Standards, whether it’s quality, appearance, taste, texture, or food safety.
Beyond classics like the Big Mac, fries, McNuggets and Filet-O-Fish, the menu is always evolving to suit local tastes, offering items like the twisty pasta for breakfast and The Signature Collection for beef lovers. Meanwhile, McCafé also offers high-quality coffee and quick bites.
To mark their 50th anniversary, McDonald’s revamped their Admiralty flagship into Admiralty McDonald's 2.0 with sleek new decor, tech-savvy services and popular dishes from McDonald’s around the world. Their forward thinking carries over to the app, which added games and birthday party bookings, along with a loyalty points system where customers can earn rewards with every purchase.
Congress Plus
Buffets are always a go-to for families and foodies seeking variety. To stand out, diverse menus, comfortable settings and top services are key. Nestled in Wan Chai’s Convention Centre, Congress Plus delivers all that and more, offering global cuisines at their dinner buffet, holiday lunch buffet and semi-buffet lunch while overlooking stunning Victoria Harbour views.
Congress Plus’s dinner buffet will let you get your money’s worth with a selection of chilled seafood, freshly shucked oysters, teppanyaki prawns and a spread of fancy desserts. Its team of award-winning chefs, with years of experience, prioritises fresh, high-quality and safe ingredients. Every dish is made fresh daily, whereas the menu gets regular updates to keep the dining experience top-tier.
From Monday to Friday (except public holidays), their semi-buffet lunch offers a choice of mains or a salad bar with unlimited soup, desserts and drinks, perfect for conference-goers or nearby office workers. As for the lunch buffet on weekends and holidays, the beef wellington and roasted Asian-style pork belly porchetta with mantou buns are the fan favourites.
Starbucks
For city dwellers who can’t function without their caffeine fix, a solid cup of coffee from Starbucks is an instant mood-lifter. Their Third Place concept offers a comfy space for everyone, whether you’re flying solo or chilling with friends, while some locations adopt an eco-friendly ‘green store’ design to keep up with today’s trends.
The brand’s iconic green mermaid logo is a promise of smooth, top-quality coffee. From Americanos to Frappuccinos®, teas, cakes, salads and sandwiches, everything’s made with standardised recipes, implementing strict steps and ratios, as well as specific brewing tools, to minimise error and keep flavours consistent across stores.
To make things quick and efficient, the Starbucks® Rewards app lets you order with a QR code or pre-order for quick pickup, saving you precious time in your busy day.
Maxim's Hong Kong Day
With its classic Hong Kong flair — think tiled walls and booth seating — Maxim's Hong Kong Day lives up to its motto of ‘delicious flavours from morning to night’. The restaurant serves up breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in both Hong Kong and Western styles. Some locations even have express takeaway counters and a bakery section to cater to diverse needs.
Perfectly matching this fast-paced city, a bilingual mobile app is available for dine-in and takeaway orders at all branches, with pickup ready in as little as 15 minutes. On the food front, their central kitchen preps the ingredients with head chefs setting standardised recipes, while in-store cooks taste-test every dish before it’s served to ensure consistent flavours across all locations.
Maxim's Hong Kong Day also spares no expense, using upgraded ingredients compared to typical cha chaan tengs. Its signature satay beef noodles, for example, is made with Japanese Nissin noodles and topped with an onsen egg. Other hits like their curry dishes and fried flat rice noodles with beef — cooked to an even colour with that irresistible wok hei — are prime examples of authentic, top-tier local fare.
Tai Hing
Hong Kong-style roast meat joint Tai Hing specialises in quick, flavourful dishes. Some of their go-to signatures include their iced milk tea, roast goose, ‘5-star roast pork’, sweet-and-sour pork, the ‘Four Happiness’ roast platter, instant noodles with luncheon meat and scrambled egg, fried flat rice noodles with beef, and spicy fried rice vermicelli.
Many of Tai Hing’s signature roasts are freshly prepared in-house every day for maximum flavours. They also use automated cooking equipment to churn out over 300 types of Chinese stir-fries, rice and noodle dishes.
Thoughtful design touches can be seen throughout its branches, such as comfy seating booths, soft lighting that’s easy on the eyes, wide and safe delivery paths, alongside separate zones for takeaway, waiting and dine-in. QR code ordering and self-checkout systems are also used to make the whole dining experience smooth, fast and hassle-free.
KFC
To keep up with Hong Kong’s diverse tastes, KFC serves up crowd-pleasers like their classic Original Recipe Chicken, hot and spicy chicken, burgers, mushroom rice and egg tarts. They’ve also rolled out a breakfast menu tailored for locals, featuring items like chicken paninis with milk tea or hearty congee with youtiao.
The iconic Original Recipe Chicken still uses Colonel Sanders’ legendary 11-spice blend from over half a century ago, marinated and cooked in-store. To nail that perfect crispy exterior and juicy, tender meat, KFC uses automated equipment to precisely control frying time and oil temperature.
Even as a global fast-food giant, KFC stays true to quality. They source fresh meat and veggies daily from certified suppliers and follow strict HACCP food safety standards, ensuring every dish is cooked within set times to guarantee freshness and food safety.
Wing Wah Allday
Founded in 1945, Wing Wah Allday, once known as Wing Wah Noodle Shop, is a cha chaan teng that dishes out tasty meals all day long. Whether it’s Western-style noodles or luncheon meat, ham and fried eggs with thick toast for breakfast; lunch options like pork chop or chicken rice with scallion oil; indulgent bites such as French toast or satay beef instant noodles in the afternoon; or their classic steaks on sizzling plates for dinner, there’s something delicious any time of the day. Their signature shrimp wonton noodles, made with a secret broth and plump, juicy shrimp meat, are also an absolute must-try.
To keep things running smoothly, Wing Wah Allday has implemented tech elements like its KABU PASS membership app, QR code ordering and a robot that clears tables. This means diners can queue up remotely and quickly place orders, while tables are cleaned and reset at a faster pace!
Congee King
Many Hong Kong people are known to have an ‘Asian stomach’, where we crave a bowl of smooth, comforting congee every now and then to warm both the heart and soul. Congee King, a Michelin Bib Gourmand-recommended chain, is a local favourite for congee and noodles, delivering top-quality food at branches across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
At the heart of the restaurant is the congee base itself, simmered for four hours with a mix of fresh fish to create a rich umami with every spoonful. My tries include their thick-cut pork liver and Australian scallop congee, sticky rice dumpling with salted egg yolk and pork (available in limited batches daily) and fresh shrimp wonton noodles served with piping-hot broth poured tableside from a special copper pot to keep the noodles perfectly springy.
Congee King places importance on the use of fresh ingredients and runs their own logistics and food processing facilities to tightly control everything from sourcing to delivery. Their grass carp is freshly filleted each day in-store, while dishes like the bamboo shoot and coconut chicken hot pot or steamed fish with chicken fat and huadiao wine are huge hits with diners.
Information in this article is subject to change without advance notice. Please contact the relevant product or service providers for enquiries.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board disclaims any liability as to the quality or fitness for purpose of third party products and services; and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, adequacy or reliability of any information contained herein.
