Dish finder in Hong Kong

Translucent wheat-starch skins around whole prawns, the test of any dim sum kitchen. Order a basket with tea at a yum cha restaurant, ideally before noon.

Open-topped pork and prawn dumplings, at every dim sum table. The fish-paste version on skewers is a street snack sold from carts and stalls.

Silky steamed rice sheets rolled around prawns, beef or char siu, doused in sweet soy. The plain version is a breakfast from street stalls.

Barbecued pork with a sticky, charred honey glaze, sliced over rice at a roast-meat shop. Ask for half fat, half lean (半肥瘦) for the best of it.

Lacquered, crisp-skinned goose with plum sauce, hung in the window of roast-meat shops. Order a quarter, or a plate over rice for lunch.

Springy egg noodles and prawn wontons in a small bowl of clear broth. Small portions by design; eat two.

Slow-braised brisket and tendon over noodles in a spiced broth. The curry version is just as common.

Fish balls on a skewer in a mild, sweet curry sauce, from street stalls in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. Hand over the Octopus and eat on the move.

A bubble-shaped waffle, crisp outside and soft in each bubble, eaten warm from a paper bag.

A sweet bun with a crackly sugar crust (no pineapple), split and filled with a thick slab of cold butter. Pair it with a milk tea at a cha chaan teng.

A smooth, wobbly egg custard in shortcrust or flaky pastry, sold warm from bakery trays all afternoon.

Two slices sandwiched with peanut butter, deep-fried and served with butter and golden syrup. Cha chaan teng comfort food.

Rice cooked in a clay pot over flame with Chinese sausage or chicken, until a crisp crust forms at the bottom. A winter dish; expect to wait for it.

Crab fried with a mountain of crisp garlic, chilli and black beans, from the boat-dwelling cooks of the old typhoon shelters. Market price, so ask first.

Whole fish steamed and finished with spring onion, ginger and hot oil over soy. At Sai Kung or Lamma you choose the fish from the tank.

Smooth rice porridge with preserved egg and shredded pork, with a youtiao to dip. Congee shops open early and stay open late.

Braised vegetables, mushrooms, tofu skin and glass noodles. Vegetarian restaurants and monastery kitchens such as Po Lin's serve it meat-free.