Favourite Hong Kong restaurants of children's-party host Trudy Chan Johnson
Like many former Vancouverites now in Hong Kong, I like relaxed casual dining places but also enjoy the occasional fine meals here and there. Now that I have a family — I'm the mother of two little ones — I definitely appreciate child-friendly places with good food.
Living in Happy Valley is a great place to mix food and kids. Brunch at places such as (60 Ventris Road, tel: 3107 0008) and (13 Yuk Sau Street, tel: 2891 3454) is always a good option because they are open by 8am. We also like (10 Min Fat Street, tel: 2891 6629) — their rice cake in soup is popular with our daughter, while (1-3 Cheong Ming Street, tel: 2803 5558) has nice lunch sets such as the chopped tuna tartare bowl. For something sweet, we like (61 Sing Woo Road, tel: 2891 5569), which is good for local desserts and (2 Min Fat Street, tel: 2893-6722) has fresh out-of-the-oven egg tarts and breads. On a nice day, we enjoy picking up some food and then going to the Happy Valley Racecourse grounds with the kids.
Recently, we went to The Pulse in Repulse Bay and (Shop 103-104, 28 Beach Road, tel: 2866 8668) was great to just buy food and eat on the beach. But if you can't make it out there, (several outlets including 23 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai, tel: 3528 0541) is always an easy choice with many locations and a good sticker book for the children.
I love noodles for lunch. (1/F Kai Tak Commercial Building, 66-72 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2536 0221) is a great option that seems healthier since they use no MSG and offer many veggie options with good-sized portions.
If I'm short on time, I'll sometimes just end up at (Shop 117, The Westwood, 8 Belcher's Street, tel: 2542 7777) since FunZone Kennedy Town is right there.
For places to take out-of-town friends, I like to go to Lamma Island followed by a meal at (23-24 First Street, Sok Kwu Wan, tel. 2982 8100) for some classic Hong Kong-style seafood. That is a must. It's nice to take a boat trip out there and back, too.