When I was in Hong Kong a few years ago, I actually had a bit of a hard time finding vegetarian food on my own. Maybe because I didn’t know where to look or have the right resources? Either way, this post has some awesome helpful hints from the InterContinental Hotel Group on where to find great vegetarian options in Hong Kong. Wish I had this information when I was there! Read on….

Hong Kong is a city loaded with surprises for travelers, and one of those surprises is the amount of unique and flavorful dishes served at healthy vegetarian restaurants spread throughout this vibrant Chinese city.

The vegetarian lifestyle is becoming more popular amongst locals, and thanks to them, when your travels take you to Hong Kong, you’re no longer limited with your vegetarian-friendly dining options. So for all of you vegetarian dieters, you need to try these six craveable vegetarian dishes at these local-favorite vegetarian restaurants during your stay in Hong Kong.

Curry Pumpkin Stew With Okra Served With Baguettes – Pure Veggie House

Blending Chinese and fresh organic vegetables, Pure Veggie House is a strictly vegetarian restaurant cooking up unconventional vegetarian cuisine. Well known for its “18 Luohans” menu that includes 18 signature dishes centered on the Buddhism concept and its dim sum lunch, a must-try chef’s specialty is the curry pumpkin stew with okra that’s served with baguettes. This could be the best stew your lips have ever tasted, and its presentation — served inside a pumpkin bowl — puts this stew over the top.

 

Palak Paneer With Mushrooms – Grassroots Pantry

When you arrive to Grassroots Pantry, you’ll immediately sense a quaint, cottage-like setting that’s completely inviting. The setting only enhances the taste of the menu, which is ever-changing because it reflects in-season organic produce. Eastern and Western dishes are offered, but the one to order is the Palak Paneer with mushrooms. Created with organic spinach, garam masala and homemade whole-wheat chapati, you may want to order one to take back to your hotel room it’s so good.

Paneer Tikka Masala – Khana Khazana

Just because you’re in Hong Kong doesn’t mean you can’t find good Indian vegetarian food, and Khana Khazana is where you’ll find just that. This restaurant and bar provides patrons with a very upscale experience and authentic vegetarian dishes. Khana Khazana uses a special and unique blend of spices with its cuisine, which you immediately smell and taste with its paneer tikka masala. Marinated cottage cheese dipped in spiced curry, paneer tikka is this restaurant’s staple during its weekday lunch buffet but can also be ordered separately. It’s an easy Indian dish but is one of the most delightful and delicious out there.
 

Shanghainese Cold Noodles- Kung Tak Lam

Kung Tak Lam is revered as a simple Shanghainese restaurant, but its menu is the farthest thing from simple as it offers more than 200 delectable dishes. With all there is to choose from, your decision could be a hard one. Luckily it doesn’t have to be because what you want is the Shanghainese cold noodles. Cold noodles might not seem like your first choice for a lunch or dinner option, but you’ll learn why it’s such a great-tasting choice with each and every bite you take. The view of the harbor is another reason why locals and tourists frequent Kung Tak Lam.

Sesame and Lemongrass Ice Cream Burger – The Lobby Lounge at InterContinental Hotel Hong Kong

It’s not just the restaurants; even the Hong Kong hotels are getting in on the craveable vegetarian action. The Lobby Lounge at the InterContinental Hong Kong boasts a selection of ice cream burgers. Yes, you read that correctly. Ice cream burgers! Twists on dessert that you won’t soon forget, these delicately flavored, artistically created “burgers” are a trip for the taste buds. Served alongside cinnamon “fries,” these just may be your new guilty pleasure. The views from the Lobby Lounge are about as outrageous as the desserts. Visitors can partake in their ice cream burgers while taking in the nightly “Symphony of Lights” laser show on Victoria Harbour.

Eggless Tiramisu – Heavenly Bites

Heavenly Bites has a little something for everyone in your party. It’s a small restaurant, only seating about 18 guests, but the environment is totally welcoming and you get your choice of vegetarian dishes ranging from Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Italian and Mexican options. Even with all these options, the menu item locals always recommend is the eggless tiramisu. So trust the locals and find out for yourself why it’s such a highly recommended dessert choice. And word to the wise — as a smaller place with a loyal following, call in advance to ensure you get in to taste that scrumptious eggless tiramisu.

Whether work or fun lands you in Hong Kong, don’t go one day during your stay without trying one of these craveable vegetarian dishes from these well-liked vegetarian-friendly eateries.

 

Please Note: This article was written by Rob Spangenberg on behalf of InterContinental Hotel Group and part of a paid promotional partnership for IHG.

Totally overwhelmed.

That’s how I felt on my first few days in Hong Kong. I was naive to think that being in Hong Kong would be similar to being in New York City. WRONG!

Hong Kong is made up of many islands, with the most famous ones being Hong Kong Island (pictured above), Kowloon and Lantau Island (where the airport is). I like to describe Hong Kong Island as a mesh of Times Square (NYC), Las Vegas and Bombay: crazy, colorful flashing lights, swarms of people everywhere at any given time, hundred story skyscrapers practically on top of each other, steep hilly terrain, all situated overlooking the water.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t super fond of Hong Kong the first few days of my trip. It was just too much. Trying to get anywhere or do anything always seemed like such a big ordeal and took forever.  Luckily two things changed my mind about the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong: 1) a trip to Lantau Island to Ngong Ping and 2) an escape to Stanley on the opposite side of Hong Kong Island (it felt like being on the relaxed coast of San Diego and a world away from the other side of the island with all the skyscrapers and flashing lights: future post on this to come).

On day 3 of my trip, I took the train from Hong Kong Island to Lantau Island with one goal in mind; to stand before the majestic and very large statue called “Big Buddha” (the official name is Tian Tan Buddha). I have seen this iconic statue on travel shows, travel blog sites and pictures of friends and I couldn’t wait to finally experience the wonder of taking those steps up to Big Buddha and have my own picture with him.

So you know, making your way to see the Big Buddha is a time-consuming feat (as most amazing wonders around the world are). Once you arrive at Lantau Island by train (which again, is easy to do after you figure out the train system, but just allow yourself some time), you can easily walk to the cable car station, wait in some long lines and then take the cable car up to the area called ‘The Village Of Ngong Ping’. From there it is a walk through the traditional Chinese village and shopping area while you make your way to the bottom of the steps of the Big Buddha (it’s sort of like Disneyland where everything looks close on the map but takes you half an hour to walk there). When you are finally standing at the base and looking up at Big Buddha, it seems like a world away to reach the top. But, taking the steps up wasn’t actually that bad. Maybe it was because I was stopping so frequently to take a million pictures (yes, I’m one of “those” types of travelers…always wanting the perfect picture). When you take my somewhat lengthy approach to the steps, anyone can do it!

After my enjoyable early afternoon with Big Buddha, I decided to walk around and see what The Village of Ngong Ping had to offer. I stumbled upon a beautiful Buddhist Monastery (Po Lin Monastery) that is definitely worth checking out and a nice little serene escape. Around the corner from the monastery I found the most unexpected hidden treasure; an all-vegetarian cafe! I was SO not expecting that. (But, if you really think about it, it makes sense since many Buddhists practice some form of vegetarianism.)

I stood wide-eyed looking at all the possible food options as this was the first time during my stay in Hong Kong that I knew everything was in fact vegetarian (a lot of the traditional food I had come across so far on this trip didn’t have ingredients listed or I could not communicate with those at the food stalls, so I sadly was not very adventurous with my culinary choices. I was never really sure what was actually vegetarian). I ended up with the vegetable stir-fried noodles which were delicious and totally hit the spot. There were other fun looking items and dessert that I thought I would maybe come back for, but the noodles were filling on their own.

In the end, I had such a great day and got to cross off yet another dream from my list of iconic travel sites: Big Buddha on Lantau Island. I also discovered some great vegetarian eats when I wasn’t even looking for it. Ok, Hong Kong, I like you now. We are cool.