Hands down, last weekend's 1 ½ days spent in Hong Kong contained some of the best food I've eaten in my life. I was in plant heaven! I won't go into loads of detail, but everything I ate hit the spot and it was such a treat to have so many Western, vegan options. I'm already excited to go back!
(Oh, and sorry for all the horrible pictures. Hopefully you get the idea of how good all the food was!)
Friday Night:
We got into HK around 3 PM on Friday afternoon and after getting to our hotel and resting a bit, we headed out into the city to walk around and find some dinner. While walking we came across a small juice shop called Genie Juicery that was super expensive, but happened to have some ½ off juices that were about to expire. Don't mind if we do! We got the Peppermint Slice, a dairy-free peppermint drink and the Hulk, a purely green juice.
Oh man, that Peppermint Slice was absolutely incredible! I actually already ordered some peppermint essential oil so I can recreate that amazing beverage.
After hanging out a brewery for a bit while Brett enjoyed his draft beer and we had a healthy debate on veganism (haha!), we headed to Mana! Fast Slow Food for dinner. It's a mostly vegan restaurant that has a few different locations throughout the city, each of which specialize in different entrees. At this location we ordered an amazing veggie burger and a huge falafel wrap that was also incredible. We split both the entrees so that we could try both of them and I don't think I could have chosen a favorite. I'll definitely be going back to this restaurant in the future.
Saturday Breakfast:
I'm usually super picky about what store-bought granola bars I'll buy/eat, but when you live in China and have to make everything from scratch, you become a bit more lax about your nutrition when you're traveling to a city with lots of delicious vegan options. On Friday night we found a cute little health food store that sold all kinds of vegan products including cereals, breads, cheese, ice cream and lots of different brands of granola bars. I've heard about builder bars for a while now and when I saw them on the shelf I knew I wanted to give one a try. So I bought one to have for breakfast the next morning. It was so good and I ate it an a painstakingly slow pace while sipping on my favorite tea, Lipton! I ended up going back to the store the next day to buy another flavor. I gotta live it up while I can!
Saturday Lunch:
While out walking around Friday night, we came across a restaurant called Nood Food and decided to stop in to see what they sold. After a few minutes looking at their options, we were won over and decided that we would go there for lunch the next day. We ended up splitting a vegan sandwich that had avocado, tomato, kale and some other goodies on delicious multi grain bread. We also got their small box of salad, which allowed you to choose 4 of their pre-made salads. We ordered the kale salad with avocado dressing for me, the Caesar salad for Brett and the beet and white bean salads to share. This meal was incredible! Everything was so fresh, healthy and flavorful! I don't remember the last time I had kale. What a treat!
While waiting for our food, we also tried some bread and pumpkin seed pesto samples. YUM!
Saturday Dinner:
Since I choose the restaurant for dinner Friday night, it was Brett's turn to choose a place to eat. He choose Le Souk, a Moroccan restaurant, and we couldn't have been happier with his choice. First of all, the atmosphere was so colorful and lively. Upbeat Moroccan music was playing and it was beautifully decorated. I had already looked at the menu and was going to order the couscous and vegetable dish, but after talking with the waiter I found out they add butter to the couscous. So instead I ended up getting the Vegetable Tajine with figs that they made with olive oil instead of butter for me. I also got a side of their flat bread.
While we waited for our food I ate a few olives, even though they're still not my favorite. So salty, but I really want to like them, haha! The real star of the show was my main meal. Wow. It was such an flavorful meal. The vegetables in my Tajine, including carrots, potatoes, zucchini, etc. were cooked perfectly and the figs on top were so tender and sweet. The bread was also so soft and light. We were pretty full, but somehow I managed to finish almost everything.
Saturday Dessert:
On our way back to our hotel, we stopped again at the health food store to look at their dairy free ice cream options. I didn't even have dessert on my mind, until Brett mentioned wanting something. I am so glad I decided to have dessert, because the Happy Cow Pure Coconut Ice Cream I bought was maybe the best ice cream I've ever had. If you have access to this brand, you need to try it! It's so thick and creamy and is studded with real coconut pieces. It only contains natural ingredients too. I enjoyed the entire little container with two of my 5 Ingredient Adaptable Granola Bars which I turned into chocolate energy bites by adding some cacao powder and rolling them into balls. Ah, such a satisfying, amazing dessert to finish off a delicious day of food.
That's what I ate while in Hong Kong! It was a super quick, but overall restful and enjoyable time, full of delicious food.
Tell Me:
Have you ever been to Hong Kong?
What's your favorite Ice Cream flavor?
Do you eat granola/protein bars?
Thanks for the link up Jenn, Arman and Laura!
Victoria says
Love all these eats in Hong Kong, now I want to go there!!
Faith says
I'm pretty sure everyone would love visiting HK! At least if you like food!
Helen says
Wow Mana and Nood are two of my favourite places in HK! Next time try the almond milk latte at Nood. You'll love it. Alo Veggies SF (http://www.veggiesf.com/), a vegetarian restaurant. Their beet burger is delish! I haven't been to the Moroccan restaurant. I must go there this weekend 🙂
Faith says
Oh yay, we must have choose well then! And I can't believe I didn't even look at the drink section at nood. I would have loved an almond milk latte! Veggies SF was actually on our list, but we'll just have to go next time. That beet burger sounds amazing!
Casey the College Celiac says
I laughed when I saw your "Do you eat granola?" question. My family, friends and roommates know that I'm a total granola addict - like twice a week homemade huge batches addict. Good thing I make it mostly healthy! 😉
Faith says
Haha yes!! Such a good kind of addiction to have!
Kate @ Kate Lives Healthy says
What a great trip and getaway. That food all looks so good that looks so similar to the great vegan food in NYC! Now I want to go visit. I was surprised with the amount of english signage in your photos. Bet that made navigating the menus easier. Hope you can get back soon for another trip.
Faith says
It was so great Kate and definitely reminded me of NYC! And most things were in English, it was so crazy! I hope you can visit someday:)
Dani @ Dani California Cooks says
I wish I known about some of these spots when we were in HK! We went to a couple of places that were awesome, including these hole-in-the-wall thai places.
Faith says
Thai was on our list, but we ended up not being able to fit it in in such a short amount of time. Next time though!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
That all looks incredible! Especially the Saturday dinner - YUM! I have a friend that moved to Hong Kong to teach English. She'd moved from Atlanta to South Korea, stayed there for like 5 years, and moved there. She loves it! I'd love to get over there one day.
Faith says
Being a fellow foodie, you'd love HK. Amazing food everywhereeee! I hope you can visit your friend there one day!
Alyssa @ Renaissancerunnergirl says
I've just been to the airport for a stopover when we went to Singapore so have not really been, but want to go now - looks amazing!
Faith says
Ah you'd love it! I saw so many gluten-free signs and ice cream shops, so you would have been in heaven:)
oscar says
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO HONG KONG?
Only to the airport. Place is expensive. London had great vegan food and juices. I was in heaven, but expensive too.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Peanut butter oder cookie dough
DO YOU EAT GRANOLA/PROTEIN BARS?
Seldom. I find them to be fattening and too sweet.
Faith says
Heck yeah, HK was expensive! Good thing we were only there 1 1/2 days. Great choice on the ice cream though...and with not eating granola/protein bars. They really are usually not healthy...especially the builder bars I ate haha!
Leianna says
I think I could spend years in HK and still never fully experience everything. Mark & Spencer grocery stores were really cool. And we went to a secret Indian restaurant in Mong Kok that was amazing!!!!
Faith says
Ah, me too Leianna! We actually went into a Mark & Spencer store and if I didn't have a weight limit, I would have spend lots of money there! And a secret Indian restaurant?! Care to share the name? We'll be going back to HK often so I'm always looking for restaurant suggestions. Thanks for sharing!
Elsje Parsons Massyn says
We have been invited to visit Hong Kong in the future. So happy to know there are access to Vegan restaurants. Everything looks appetizing, thanks for sharing.
Faith says
We didn't even graze the tip of the ice burg of vegan options, so don't worry! You'll have tons to eat!