Tung Po

A Hong Kong must experience– especially with a large group of friends. The hustle and bustle of this place is buzzing with energy and you really feel energized while dining here. Leave the fancy outfits and shoes at home, come for the experience and decent food at fair prices. Note that around 9pm is when the party really starts going. They blast music– anywhere from Taiwanese or Cantonese love ballads to Lady Gaga. Embrace the adventure.
The food is tasty and large in portions. Some of my favorites are:
House Special Chicken (need to preorder this as it takes a while to prepare)
Wasabi Cucumber Salad
Prawn Curry in a coconut shell with bread
Razor Clams with garlic and glass noodles
Eat​.Drink​.Be Merry. Watch the owner moonwalk.

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a mediocre experience. The restaurant appears to open only at night as they’re situated inside a market that sells groceries during the day. The décor of the restaurant is minimal and it is literally eating inside a market. Due to the unique nature of the restaurant, splitting a table with another party is definitely a possibility.
Started off with the sweet and sour pork that Unilocalers were raving about and it was merely okay. The meat had bones and was rather dry…
The seafood over steamed broccoli was very good. The prawns of decent size and well marinated. The broccoli was well stir-​fried too.
The house special beef short ribs were flavorful and tender, so much that the sauce was merely an option.
The combination fried rice looked decent but was a miss since the rice came out very hard…
The wind sand chicken that Unilocalers were raving out was decent, although the restaurant put a surcharge on the chicken as apparently costs went up that night…
Service was okay by the waitstaff.
Restaurant is cash only and it was odd that our bill came out to be a round number…

I had a great experience at this restaurant. We came on a busy night and had to wait around 15 minutes before being seated. The restaurant was very large and there were many people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves, so of course it was pretty loud but I didn’t mind at all. The seating was pretty cramped and they only had plastic stools for seats since the regular plastic chairs were all taken. The restaurant looked old and the washrooms were pretty gross, so be sure to use the washroom before coming to this restaurant lol.
But the main reason as to why this restaurant deserves 5 stars is the quality of their food. Tung Po offers a wide selection of tasty and unique dishes, including squid ink pasta, razor clams and your standard meat and vegetable dishes. We had a total of 8 people in our group and so we ordered 11 dishes to share. All the seafood dishes we ordered were very fresh and delicious. It was my first time trying squid ink pasta and I was surprised at how good it tasted and it wasn’t fishy at all. I really enjoyed every single dish that came out and so it is no wonder that this restaurant is very popular. I highly recommend this place to everyone visiting Hong Kong because you are guaranteed high quality food and a memorable experience!

DAI PAI DONG!
Bringing a Chinese friend is recommended. These places are the source of Hong Kong culture and cuisine where you eat with a lot of people, where it’s extremely loud and where beer is served in a small bowl. Yes if you come to feast at these places I highly recommend you to drink beer and get in the mood of tasting awesome food and leaving this place buzzed.
Not the cheapest place but totally worth the visit.

The food is extremely high quality and the atmosphere is classic. They don’t make ‘em this way any more, so enjoy it while it lasts. The food is good, the prices are right, and beer is flowing and there is a general sense of fellowship inspired by love of good food done right.
Never mind the rest!

We did some amazing things on our trip through Japan and Hong Kong. Saw ancient temple, met friendly people, ate amazing food. But I say this, and you must believe me when I say this…
Tung Po was easily the best thing we did.
Easily.
This place is insane. I’m going to repeat that: INSANE. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, in fact without my colleague who lived in the city, we never would have found it. And even on the inside, you kind of go, «What?» It looks like the inside of an office building, but not in a fun chic way, but in a white walls that extend forever and florence lighting and tons of round tables placed everywhere. And you kind of go, «What?»
And then it hits you. First the noise. It’s a WAVE of sound, giant speakers blasting music you’ve never heard and everyone singing along. Loud. So much noise.
Then, the food. You order things off a giant menu and just kind of shrug and see what happens. And they bring it down whenever they want. And it’s in these giant bowls that you share with everyone at the table. And you eat. And eat. And when it’s done, you order more. And it’s all so damn good.
Finally, you drink. We ordered beer. And they never stopped refilling it. Every time my glass was half empty, they refilled. I never get drunk off beer because I never drink that much beer. And I was so drunk off beer here.
And then there are little things, like the owner who will jump around and challenge you to dance contests. Or the staff who never stop moving. And all the noise.
For this experience, we paid about £50 each, for the amount of beer and the food we ate was a bargain.
Don’t miss it here. It is awesome.

like the name suggests this is indeed a gem in the east, east of the hotel that i stay whenever i’m in HK;)
it is an easy walk from north point mtr to java road municipal services building where this gem is located.
ride up the escalators to the second floor, above the wet market, and you will be greeted by an indoor air-​conditioned food haven.
do note that they do not occupy the entire floor of this building, so head to where the crowd is.
and if you do not by now have a reservation in hand, you might well have to wait or be turned away!
for small groups, you might have to share communal big tables and be set a time to vacate your space.
for big groups, definitely call ahead to avoid disappointment.
different beer ladies will make their approach, their attire will clue you in on which beer to order.
your big beer bottles will be kept chilled in ice bucket and you get to sip your beer from bowls like the good old days before beer glasses became the norm!
their staff loves to joke and poke fun, keep you entertained, educate you on how to eat certain dishes and even drink with you if your party gets rowdy!
and now the main actors, the gems for me are their seafood dishes.
definitely pricier than non-​seafood ones but well worth their weight in gold.
their fresh umami abalone, huge sweet cold mantis shrimps, spicy sauteed razor clams, live steam prawns eaten with a prawn heads thai curry served with freshly baked bread rolls and flower clams steamed in wine and lotus leaf will all appear on the highlights reel of any foodie documentary!
but the non-​seafood dishes were average at best.
the pig’s forearm looked promising but the skin just wasn’t crispy.
the large pig’s intestines also failed along the same lines.
the duck was gamey in taste.
the pork ribs with crispy garlic was carelessly overcooked.
only their signature garlic crispy chicken lived up to it’s reputation.
lesson learned?
stick with their seafood menu items and you too will be a fan!

Tung Po embodies the spirit of HK with top tier cuisine, it can be noisy, it can be dirty, the service can at times be spotty, but the food is the major draw. Most of the the dishes we ordered involved good quality seafood, the most memorable of which were the beautifully patterned clams steamed in leaves, and the squid ink pasta. You should try as many of the dishes as you can while you are here! Can’t wait to come back one day!

The wife and I spent four weeks traveling around Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan, with an itinerary almost solely focused on food. Tung Po offered us the single best dish of the trip (and one of the best of my entire life), and a top five meal overall. This place is an absolutely essential stop for food lovers in Hong Kong.
We ordered whole shrimp stir fried in tons of garlic, the squid ink pasta, and our #1 dish winner, the razor clams in black bean sauce. Chinese food will never taste the same again.

My first experience here with friends did not disappoint. Ironically, best friend from high school isn’t a seafood fan. (!!!) He did mention that this place was amazing and of course with Anthony Bourdain’s stamp of approval, how could I not go?
It’s an indoor dai pai dong — no need to dress up and quality food is serious business here. If you get grossed out walking on subway tile that smells a little bit like bleach, don’t come here. It can be overwhelming from the noise, music and people.
We loved everything he ordered, the standouts were the Hot Sand Chicken (fried garlic and chicken) and Squid Ink Pasta. Unfortunately no seafood for us (oh the horror!) but that will be for my next trip.
However the highlight was the owner/​waiter with the fauxhawk who was making the rounds at the tables. He got the party started when he cranked up 80s Cantopop and he and the customers were singing along — you can’t beat that kind of entertainment!

I originally wrote a two-​star review for this place. I came at like 6:00 pm with two other expats and we had a COMPLETELY different experience than everyone else was talking about in these reviews. I have to tell you, if you want the singing-​dancing party atmosphere everyone talks about, you MUST come with a big group, hopefully at least one Cantonese-​speaking person, and past 8 pm to experience the fun party atmosphere! I am so fortunate to have had a second shot at Tung Po, this time with a big group, about 8:30 pm, with an HK local, and LOVED it.
For my second visit, the food was fabulous, the beer was plentiful, and Robbie the owner lived up to every word said about him here — battle dancing with other patrons and chugging beer and making inappropriate hand gestures. Basically he’s the coolest and I wanna be his bff.
I completely recommend this place for showing visitors a real HK dining experience! Put your dancin’ shoes on; Robbie may want to battle.

went there on a Tuesday evening. the place was soon packed. mostly locals, colleagues and friends, big groups. some tourist groups as well.
we had 15 people and managed to squeeze into one large table.
we ordered and shared a tons of food. most are seafood, one roast duck and a soup and some veggie. see my photos.
everyone loved the dishes. superbly fresh and tasty.
including ton of beers, we spend us$ 35 per person.

Tung Po is about going for an experience, and you should walk in both open minded and with enough people to fill a table for ten! This restaurant has a large open floor plan that can accommodate groups from two to twenty, but you’ll want to be prepared to dance! The owner/​manager/​dancing queen loves to come up to tables, show off his skills of both picture-​taking, dancing and opening beer bottles with chop sticks alike. He makes this place come alive! Not to mention, they played all the classics of the 80s and 90s era so be ready to sing along as a group and hold in the nostalgia. But what I should also mention here is of course the food! The course came out steadily whether it was chicken, soup or squid ink spaghetti. Chinese traditional food was abundant and incredibly tasty. My personal favorite was definitely a tie between the fried noodles and octopus (I think?) and the ginger sweet potato soup. I doubt you could go wrong in a place like this though — especially if you go with some neighborhood regulars. It’s a fun place to go with friends to enjoy some great food in the North Point area.

I love dai pai dong (大排檔). So much energy and fun when done right and Tung Po is among one of them! (Best enjoyed with a large group.) You feel recharged after eating at one of these places!
One of the things that sets Tung Po apart is their special beer bowls, aka. the fighting bowls (戰鬥碗). Great marketing tactics if you ask me. I feel like rolling up my sleeves and ready to start a challenge when I see the bowl already: D
A good dai pai dong can’t just survive on gimmick and fun. Tung Po offers an extensive menu and everything I’ve tried have been tasty. Service is very «Hong Kong» as well. (i.e., very fast and efficient, impolite but friendly) Just make sure you call ahead for a reservation.

4.5÷5 Awesome experience/​ambiance/​Service
This place reminds me of an Asian food court. We arrived to the North Point train stop, and walked about 3 minutes to get here. Once you arrive to the building, Tung Po is on the second floor. We came here for dinner, and it appears the 1^st/​ground floor was a market.
We ordered a variety of food, from crab to squid ink noodles to seafood egg soup. Delicious overall – just order whatever your heart desires. The waitress, who took our order, was very sweet and considerate. She told us we were over ordering and recommended that we cut one of the dishes out. She was on point. I truly appreciate when people don’t take advantage of tourists. Would love to come back and try some other dishes.
Thanks Rob C. for the recommendation!

This is definitely a fun place if you want to bring visitors. It is an indoor dai pai dong (these type of food places used to be indoors, and now the government has required many of them to move indoors). You usually sit on a stool at a small square or big round table (definitely, helpful for chatting).
It is a very fun vibe with speakers playing old-​school Chinese music and top 40s hits, while the owner goes around popping the beer bottles open with chopsticks and drinking with you. Beer is served in bowls here, as it is with many very local joints.
The food is really good. The squid ink noodles are really popular, but when I tried it, I felt like all it did was get everybody’s teeth really black (which is quite funny), but didn’t have too much squid flavor.
–Squid ink noodles: So-​so
–Fried intestines (served with pieces of pineapple): Yummy and crispy, if you are fine with eating intestines
–Razor clams with vermicelli and garlic: Really good and they give you a lot of vermicelli and garlic, so no worries about not having enough toppings
–Duck fried rice in lotus leaf: Very flavorful with strong duck flavor and very fragrant from the lotus leaf
–Deep fried shrimp balls: Was surprised it was so good. Just didn’t expect it to be so «shrimpy» and crispy. A winner.
–Gizzards with veggies: Really more spicy than I expected, but it was actually really good and a bit addictive
–Fish and mushrooms with pasta — Really good! Especially the fish!
Overall, the food is good! They also give you free dessert afterwards, which is usually something like a red bean soup.
A place I will continue to bring visitors.
Call ahead for reservations between 2−5pm, otherwise the phone just keeps ringing. On busy days they only have two seatings at 6:30 and 8:30pm for dinnertime, which was our case for a Friday.
Keep in mind it does get quite noisy if you are trying to do an intimate, catch-​up with someone.

Both times that I’ve been to this indoor dai pai dong, I’ve always had a blast. There is club music blasting and the workers will joke around with you. The first time we went, the manager showed us his skill of opening a beer bottle with a chopstick. He also drank with us, haha. Although, nothing crazy, I think it’s cool that you drink beers out of bowls here.
Above all else, their food is really good. They have an incredibly large menu. This past time, we tried their duck flavored lotus leaf rice which was really flavorful. We ended up trying their soy sauce chicken because the other we wanted was already sold out. The chicken was super moist and tasty. The only thing that I didn’t really like was the sweet and sour pork. The sauce didn’t have enough flavor and the portion size was small.
If you’re looking for a fun place to eat with a large group of people, Tung Po is the place to go. It’s pretty much directly across from the North Point MTR. I would recommend making a reservation though. Reservation hours are 2pm-​5pm.

I feel like it is defo about the atmosphere here. Food was okay, but for most people i know, they came here for the beer bowls, which is a regular beer in a blue china bowl. «victory bowl”
However, this place is really authentic, and I think it is a pretty cool place for tourist. and there is always people waiting to be seated. the line gets pretty long, but you’ll surprise how fast you would be seated despite the long lines.
However you would find similar spot like Tungpo in other markets. So it is not necessary to travel all the way to North Point for thos place.
My favorite dish is the stir fry bitter melon:)

I’m not sure what I liked more about Tung Po; the food or the atmosphere.
On one hand you have a menu that is gigantic and is a mish-​mosh of Pan Asian cuisine. Think: razor clams with black bean sauce, rice and duck steamed in lotus leaves, squid in pasta. It’s all delicious, generously portioned and with a large group you can try a vast array of dishes. This is definitely large group territory, so don’t even bother unless you can rustle up at least five friends to join you.
The experience here is very unique and sure is fun. Order beers and they will be delivered to your table in a bucket of ice and served not in a glass, but a straight-​from-​the-​freezer cold ceramic bowl. Clink bowls with your dining mates and then down that beer! The staff here are hysterical and really make the night. You’ll be jostled in to ordering more food and beer and as the night wears on and the room gets progressively more relaxed and rowdy the music will be cranked and the owner will come to the table to drink some beer with you and perhaps show you a beer opening skill or two.
Tung Po could just be a restaurant serving up excellent food and they’d no doubt be busy, but throw in the quirky elements and it’s packed to the rafters with bookings an absolute must.

Every time we had visitor in town we would like to show them to Tung Po. Quality Da Pai Dong food, with so many Cantonese snacks, seafood, barbecue and hotpot options. Pouring the beer in china bowl with a ‘win’ character at the bottom of the bowl. Do not miss its well-​known owner who show up Moon Walk dancing.
Craving market food in the open-​air is quite common in Europe but Hong Kong sheltered all the markets into concret buildings. Nevertheless, the urban planning authority leaves some space for dinning business. That is the birth of market restaurant like Tung Po. They can avoid the noise complaint from the neighbours as Da Pai Dong suffers. They are able to source locally, just upstairs/​downstairs. You can smell the freshness of the on-​day catch prawn. Do mind the hygiene. From the wet floor to their speedy washing process.
Another highlight lies on the owner. His dance show and interaction with the floor inspired all. 4A agencies, hotel GMs used to host their banquet here. Authentic localness with pure entertaining vibe.
Dishes I like are similar to other Da Pai Dong (I do admit they charge a bit more than others due to its fame): Steamed Rice in duck source wrapped in lotus leaves, Mantis Shrimp ($$$), Prok Knuckle, Wind Sand Chicken.
Brilliant for big group to sit in traditional Chinese round table. BYOB if you don’t wanna have beer there.
Have some fun with Robby (owner) yo!