Hong Kong wet markets are the less pretentious version of North American farmer's markets. Don't…read moreget me wrong, I love both. Farmer's markets to me are a great place to get local produce but then you also get stuff like hipster coffee, cucumber/avocado/kale water, and funky cheeses. But these wet markets are something else. Less refined, but feeling like the real deal. Here you walk around hanging cuts of meat and tanks of seafood. Take in that raw stench and realize that cow stomach hanging from a hook could be in your next bowl of noodles. Tai Po Hui is indoors with air conditioning, already one step above traditionally outdoor street stalls, but you still get that authentic feeling. Vendors are talk-shouting across the stands to each other. People are picking out the best cut of steak, the fattest fish, the plumpest chicken feet. This is where the neighborhood comes to shop, haggle, and grab cheap eats. I'm sure there are many other wet markets around Hong Kong, but this one is very large and very clean. The freshness of the food is remarkable. The shrimp are bouncing around on top of each other, the fish are still swimming energetically. And as someone who did not grow up in Hong Kong, I saw species I've never seen before, like beautiful Lilac-coloured clams and rose apples. I never went to the cooked food centre, but I'm sure it's as impressive and diverse as the ground level market. This feels like a common market for the common folk, but it can also be an exotic food journey for tourists. I cannot recommend going to a wet market enough and Tai Po Hui Market is a great choice. It's truly a unique experience to get a taste of local culture, figuratively and literally. This, of course, is juxtaposed by the fact that the parking lot is an absolute mess of Mercedes, BMWs, and all manners of rich cars from the nearby millionaires who like to live in Tai Po. Just uh...take the subway. :) (53/100) - 2017

Splish-splash, first floor gives you a fish bath. Tomato or tahmahtoh, the second floor serves up…read moreroots, fruits, veggies and potatoes. No time to cook? Just want to chow down now? Head to the third floor for some cooked noodles, stir fried meats, and spongy hot fish balls. Huge selection of foods for whatever your taste- except cooked western foods- don't look for those here unless you're making them yourself from the ingredients available.

New Asia college is... well, who am i kidding, I never refer…read morethe part of CU to "new asia", it is always NA to me. Yes, this sounds more familiar. NA is as the top of the mountain and is quite a long way from the train station. While a bus ride takes only about 10-15 minutes, it takes a much longer time to walk all the way up and of course all the sweat and breathlessness you get from this intense exercise. But worry not, NA can welcomes you with open arms. I tend to believe that every freshman to CU will be introduced to this almost legend of NA can, $3 red been cooler (although the price went up to $4 now, but still...$4 seriously!?); truth be told it is just sweetened red beans paste diluted with cold evaporated milk mixture topped with ice, but the unbelievably low price actually is a gesture of generosity to the students in CU. Indeed, the prices in NA can is among the cheapest. I especially like the siu mei there especially the barbecued pork and chicken thighs which are glazed with honey and roasted to crispy perfection. During exam periods, the canteen will provide complimentary soup for student during dinner hours, although it is canteen style mass cooking with MSG, again, the purpose of them doing so already out weights the actual taste of food. That is why I miss this place so much, not really about the decor, nor is it about the food; rather, it is the human touch and friendliness that gives warmth to this place.

Convenient, efficient and lots of seating! Food is OK but there are many options. You can pay with…read moreOctopus or cash, and it's cheap. It's typical cafeteria food--sometimes a hit and other times a miss. Most of the time--its aiight. For example, I've had some noodles that are not bad like the ramen and the spicy and sour noodle soups. But, the rice is usually kind of old and dry, and other noodles I've tried have been overcooked. The meats are fine but I usually don't eat the small portions of the vegetables (if you see it, you'll get why haha). I've had the hot milk tea and coffee--HK style--and it's pretty good. The bubble milk tea on 1/F is yum. I like the brown sugar milk tea most. It's a syrup brown sugar which I had for the first time here at this canteen and it is delish! The bubbles are the right amount of gooey and chewy. Also, price is great.

One of the earliest opening; and latest closing canteens at CUHK! I love their variety - you can…read morefind pho, chinese set meals, fried rice, bbq pork, hot pot and chicken rice. Their food is alright (not the best), I only go here for convenience and price. It's close to MTR and Yasumoto - which is great for pre-class snack or after class meal.

The red bean ice is $6 btw... it's nice but not like super good! And the fish corn rice is awful...read more

My 3rd favourite canteen in the campus. Great if you're a social science/music student. As an Arts…read morestudent, the journey was toooooooo long. Love the panini sandwiches, and all the snacks are so cheap and affordable. Crunchy fries is Da BOMB! so soft and deliciously potatoey in the center

After writing about Coffee Con, I felt an urge to write about this less favored one among the 2…read moresister restaurants in Franklin. Actually, to most CU-ers, this is the Franklin proper while coffee con is a different entity; I think it is kind of underrated for a student canteen as most will choose coffee con over Franklin. Frankly speaking, i don't see anything bad from this place. Taking up a larger space, Franklin has more seats and it also has a killer view over the pool. The greenery surrounding the canteen and all over the hillside makes it a relaxing place for people to eat in. Going on to the food, a larger space mean a larger kitchen for them to cook up a greater variety of foods. Other than the usual siumei rice and rice with two side dishes combo (兩送飯); they also offer rice sticks, baked pasta or rice as well as roast chicken dinner and steak all with prices below $40; quite economical for a full blown dinner. It always shock me when people often say the Franklin serves bad dishes; for me, it is actually good when compared with some other canteens in CU which i shall remain nameless. May be due to the fact that I normally go for safer options such as siumei, actually the BBQ pork is rather good there. Thus i feel as if some positive comments are in order to rectify the negative impressions that built over the years. Nonetheless, it was 3 years ago since I graduated from CU and actually the caterer of Franklin has changed; it is possible that student nowadays would find it equally as good as coffee con. I truly hope that one day people will no longer despise Franklin and regain confidence in this underrated canteen.

Most people don't take much notice of the IKEA bistro at IKEA because there's a full cafe there…read more But the bistro is actually slightly cheaper, and sells some snacks that you can't get at the cafe like popcorn, ice cream cones and hotdogs. IKEA is a maze, but the bistro is actually not hard to get to. Simply take the lift from the ground floor of Homesquare at the side of Franc Franc - the lift only goes up to the sixth floor. Get out there and you'll be at the exit of IKEA, right where the bistro is. You'll recognize it by the line of people queuing up! The bistro is, well, just kind of a food stand, so the variety of food is definitely less than at the cafe. IKEA favorites like the smoked salmon and the potato vegetable cake aren't available here, but there are a range of snacks instead. You can get cinnamon buns, cream puffs and others that you can't get at the cafe. No worries - the signature meatballs are here too, at five meatballs for $9! That's cheaper than at the cafe, where five costs $10 and ten costs $19. Coffee and soft drinks are cheaper here and also come with free refills too! My mother and I were leaving IKEA today and were attracted by one of their monthly specials - shrimp toasts. At 3 for $10, they were pretty cheap so we joined the line and got them. Unfortunately, they were disappointing - barely warm, and the shrimp wasn't even fully cooked. We didn't finish it and just tossed it because we didn't want to risk eating uncooked shrimp. Overall, some snacks at the bistro and a couple rounds of refillable drinks is a great treat after some hardcore IKEA shopping. Just don't get the shrimp toasts and all will be well!

I dunno ever since when people will associate IKEA with meatballs besides furniture; it is…read morenonetheless true that the furniture of IKEA is only the second best thing in this Swedish furniture chain. From my very biased point of view, as I don't really buy things to furnish my room nor my house, the food is the best part of the shop; I will skip all the other sections and go straight to the restaurant without batting an eye on the furniture. To be frank, in a scale of 10 the food of IKEA (item dependent) normally would not exceed a 7, that is to say the food there is not exceptionally good; however, you must also take in the price factor into consideration in order to make a fair comparison. Say for example the meatballs that people are all crazy about; it is true that the gravy is kinda good and flavorful, the meatballs are not dry at all but they are certainly not the "finger licking good" type of grub (well...nor is the chain that uses this slogan...i'm just saying). Now how bout I tell you they cost less than $20 for 10 pcs of them? Given the fact that they are made by real, good quality meat makes it almost unbelievably economical. Imagine a world that $30 is no longer sufficient for a lunchbox while the quality is of question, the food court in IKEA is a dream come true not only for cheapskates but also those who are tired of traditional lunchboxes. Other than the meatballs, there are a lot more for IKEA to offer; in this IKEA restaurant, which is also in the largest IKEA store in Hong Kong, you can have a proper, full blown dinner no matter solitarily or with a group of friends. For starter, they have smoked salmon or shrimp cocktail; for soup we have lobster bisque or other soups of the day. Main course varies from fish to roast beef and there are plenty to choose from for dessert as well. Basically it is quite a hardy 4 course meal but the price is FARRRRRR lower than those in a restaurants, including the ones in Hong Kong style western diners. So how would you not love this place with good food and good price; if I live close enough to Shatin, i wouldn't mind eat here like 5 days a week at all~