Living in Causeway Bay - Eating Out or Cooking

[BillyC256]

Hello!

I have recently moved to Hong Kong from the UK with work and will be here for one year, living in Causeway Bay, I'm a 24 year old guy and pretty keen to find a bit of a social life here quite fast!

Does anyone tend to eat out most nights as opposed to cooking? I have found a couple of places to eat but the menus are pretty similar, always beef or pork.. with rice or noodles.

What do you do for food? I have a kitchen in my apartment with a hob and microwave/grill, but no oven - and obviously it is pretty compact.

Also, are there many good bars in Causeway Bay? I don't mind travelling to Wan Chai / Central on weekends, but after work it would be good to have somewhere local.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Billy.

[vmlinuz]

Yes, people eat out a lot - homes are small and kitchens are basic...

You really should expend your horizons a bit if you think there are only a couple of places, with basic menus, to eat in CWB - and if you think Wanchai/Central is too far to go out on a school night!

[Available Ally]

Hi billy if ur looking for eat out and bar near cwb of coz have. But it depends on ur taste . Which food u prefered and bar to visit u like bar with karaoke ?
Im ally

[MandM!]

Eating out is great. Find cheap local options. Plenty of them. If you like Asian food. Rice and noodles are the most popular. Also a lot of thai Korean and all types.

Buying food from the market can be expensive unless you are cooking and eating noodles only.

[foreverhobbes]

There are plenty of great restaurants in CWB. In fact, a lot of people go there just to eat! A few places that I like to go are Muji (Japanese deli, I guess; great when you want something a bit more healthy), Toast Box (Singaporean), Northern Dumpling Yuan, and Aladin's Mess (Indian; better for lunch).

There's a ton of different restaurants, though, so try looking around. Go on Openrice and search Causeway Bay restaurants. Not so sure on the bars, although I know there are some. I'd also recommend checking Openrice for that.

As far as cooking, I spent a long time with just a hotplate and a microwave. I actually got so used to cooking that way that I don't even use my oven that much anymore.

It is definitely WAY cheaper and healthier to cook for yourself, depending on what you are cooking (Western ingredients tend to be expensive). I did a lot of stir-fries. Get a rice cooker so you can cook rice while you cut up some veggies and meat and cook that in a pan. You can vary the meat, veggies, sauces and spices so the taste is different. Cous cous is also a good option because it can be prepared so quickly. Sometimes if I don't feel like too much i just cook some bok choy and cook a few eggs to put on top.

If possible, I'd recommend going to wet markets first to buy your veggies. It's much cheaper there. And if you're just cooking for one person, you probably want to buy just a few things, as opposed to a package. Not all vendors will just sell you one bell pepper or a handful of bok choy, but keep looking until you find one who will. Then go to the supermarket after that to pick up anything missing at the wet market (like if they are sold out or not good-looking).

I'd also avoid the international supermarkets except for specific things since they tend to be much higher priced. And when I go I'm also tempted to buy so much more expensive stuff because I'll see things from home that I like.

Anyway, good luck!

[Nep]

One bar I really recommend in hk is Ruggers.

good beer and friendly staff.

[Elegiaque]

You may be having a hard time finding a variety of restaurants because many are located inside malls or towers, not at street level. CWB is perhaps one of the best places to be in HK for variety! So like others say, look online for what kind of food you want and you'll discover more.

I agree with foreverhobbes about shopping at the wet markets. Nearest to you are maybe the Wan Chai Wet Market and Tang Lung Chau market. Again, these are multi-story places, so you may have to go up a few floors!

To be fair, as a foreigner here, I do think most options will be generally what you describe and I personally don't think the local places are very good.

[Trebor]

Times Square and Hysan Place have a ton of restaurant's in them.

There is also Tang Lung Street behind Times Square if you like Ramen and other Japanese food.

I lived in CWB my first two years here. There isn't loads of options when it comes to bars other than those on Yiu Wa Street (Rugges is here too) but they are very expensive for what they are if you ask me. There is also Frites on Haven Street and Inside Out which is within the South China Athletic Association Complex. Check out Skye on the roof of the Park Lane Hotel for those special occasions.

[UK/HKboy]

If you want bars in CWB, look up. There aren't too many at street level. There's quite a few nice bars up the buildings around Sogo. They tend to be fairly quiet during weekday nights.

[tf19]

If you want bars in CWB, look up. There aren't too many at street level. There's quite a few nice bars up the buildings around Sogo. They tend to be fairly quiet during weekday nights.

can you name a few? Other than L'etage and the hotel based bars (Skye, Totts, etc) I can't think of too many great bars in CWB.