In Hong Kong, you can gauge the health of the economy by gazing into a bowl of wonton noodles . How many dumplings are there in a serving? How thick is the wrapper and how meaty is the filling? What is the portion size? And how much is a bowl? All have a bearing on the budget of the kitchen that serves it. So you can imagine how the popular Cantonese dish has shrunk in size during the coronavirus pandemic, from the wontons (shrimp dumplings) to the bowl that is holding them. Can you still find a bowl of decent wonton noodles that offer value? We visited five restaurants to find out. Mak’s Noodle Founded by Mak Woon-chi in Guangzhou, southern China, before the second world war, the restaurant sets the gold standard for wonton noodles, but one serving is probably not going to satisfy your craving. The bowl is almost as small as your rice bowl at home. And you can probably finish all the noodles in five bites. But the quality of the noodles and broth is excellent. Thin and refined, the noodles are neither too soft nor too firm, as they are not entirely immersed in the rich broth, which has a strong aroma of dried seafood. When you pick up a bite with your chopsticks, the broth adheres to the noodles. Each bowl has four shallot-sized wontons. Contained within the skins is an entire prawn seasoned with pepper, which tastes springy and has plenty of umami. Price per bowl : HK$45. Address : several locations, including 77 Wellington Street, Central. Tel: 2854 3810 Tsim Chai Kee Tsim Chai Kee in Central is across the street from Mak’s Noodle. With a more down-to-earth business strategy, a bowl here is a better choice to satisfy the appetite. The bowl is twice the size of that at Mak’s, and the quantity of noodles served is also double. The noodles are coarser in texture, while the broth has a hint of sweetness, as the traditional recipe has been supplemented with monk fruit. Each bowl contains three big wontons, which are the size of ping-pong balls – almost three times the size of Mak’s. Each wonton is generously filled with shrimps and minced pork. It could be a case of quantity over quality, though – the filling has less umami. Price per bowl : HK$34, the cheapest one on this list. Address : multiple locations, including 98 Wellington Street, Central. Tel: 2850 6471 Ho Hung Kee Ho Hung Kee is a restaurant with one Michelin star. Its wonton noodles share similarities with those at Mak’s Noodle, as the restaurant’s founder Ho Wing-fong was Mak Woon-chi’s only disciple. Judged by its appearance, a bowl here looks almost identical to that at Mak’s Noodle, so the portion is quite small. The noodles and the broth also taste quite similar – the salty and umami flavour lingers in your mouth after each bite. Each bowl contains four small wontons – the same size as Mak’s Noodle. The most obvious difference is the fillings. Ho Hung Kee’s wontons are filled with both minced pork and river prawns. The prawns taste a little bit fishy, which overwhelms the umami of the other ingredients. A small bowl containing four wontons costs HK$42; although this is a little cheaper than Mak’s Noodle, each customer pays an additional HK$6 cover charge and a 10 per cent service charge. So if you just want to eat the wonton noodles, Mak’s Noodle would be a cheaper alternative. Price per bowl: HK$42 Address : locations including Shop 1204-1205, 12/F Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2577 6060 Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop As Tasty was founded by Ho Wing-fong’s son, Stephen, I had expected the wonton noodles here would be the same as Ho Hung Kee’s, but in fact there are many differences. The one thing they share in common might be their small portion size. The size of the bowl is almost the same as at Mak’s and Ho Hung Kee. The egg noodles are more springy and have a stronger alkaline taste compared with the other restaurants. The broth tastes a little bit bland. Each bowl contains four small wontons. Filled with chunks of shrimp and bits of minced pork, the wontons here have no fishy taste. Tasty Congee’s wonton noodles are the most expensive I taste, at HK$48 a bowl, plus an HK$8 per customer cover charge and 10 per cent service charge. Price per bowl : HK$48 Address : several locations, including Shop 3016-3018, 3/F, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central. Tel: 2295 0101 Chee Kei This chain of noodle shops was one of the victims of the economic fallout from 2019’s wave of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. It has closed four branches in the city, including all of its shops on Hong Kong Island. The size of the bowl is between that of Mak’s Noodle and Tsim Chai Kee. The texture of the noodles is springy but they are a little bit overcooked. Compared with the other restaurants we tried, the broth is quite bland. Each bowl has four wontons, which are slightly bigger than those served at Mak’s Noodle. Each wonton is filled with an entire prawn, minced pork, and springy shrimp roe. The addition of the shrimp roe enhances the umami a lot. Price per bowl : HK$42 Address : G/F, 37 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2368 2528