If you’re looking for a more rustic Cantonese dining experience, visit a walled village in the New Territories. Locals feast on poon choi, a time-honored village dish with layers of ingredients served in a metal basin. Customarily eaten on festival days, poon choi symbolizes prosperity and abundance.
Ping Shan Traditional Poon Choi
Run by members of the Tang clan, Ping Shan is regarded as the city’s oldest and most traditional poon choi restaurant. It serves the basin dish with only the freshest shrimp, chicken, Chinese mushrooms and more. It also faces several historical monuments, like Hung Shing Temple and Kun Ting Study Hall, and is located at the starting point of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail, a five-minute walk from Tin Shui Wai MTR station.
G/F, 36 Tong Fong Village, Ping Ha Road, Yuen Long, 2617-8000.
Tai Foon Hei Poon Choi
Tai Foon Hei is another alternative for tasting one of the best traditional basin meals in Hong Kong. Try their signature abalone basin with savory oyster sauce. All poon choi here are made from ancestral recipes, and vegetarian versions are available for Buddhists and picky Westerners. Order by phone one day in advance.
G/F, 74-76 Kau Yuk Rd., Yuen Long, 2478-9395.
Tsui Hang Village
For deluxe poon choi in the city, Tsui Hang Village Restaurant’s coming out with some “Heritage Bowls.” Try the sumptuous casserole ($780 for six) with a whole fish stuffed with prawns, dried mussels and glutinous rice, stuffed bitter melon and deep-fried beancurd. For flavorful casserole from the Jiangsu province, try the whole duck ($880 for six) de-boned and stuffed with abalone, sea cucumber, oysters, lily bulbs, lotus seeds, mushrooms, fried beancurd skin flakes and preserved ham, all simmered in the duck’s own juices.
Tsui Hang Village Restaurant, 2/F, New World Tower, 16-18 Queen’s Rd. Central, 2524-2012.