Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns in Hong Kong

Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns in Hong Kong is a Michelin-recognized restaurant that specializes in Shanghai-style fried dumplings. The small shop is located just down the street from Kowloon Park.

Cheung Hing Kee, featured in the 2016 Michelin Guide, has gained notoriety for its sheng jian bao, a pan-fried soup dumpling fried in oil until crispy on the bottom and soft on the top. Michelin awarded them a Bib Gourmand for their quality and value in the street food category.

Being featured in the guide also caused some headaches for the owners, whose family is from Shanghai. The original Cheung Hing Kee location in Tsuen Wan closed after the landlord raised rent by 30%.

While the original location closed, today, there are three locations in Hong Kong, including one in Tsim Sha Tsui and two more in Central.

I stopped by their Tsim Sha Tsui location on my recent visit to Hong Kong. As you can see in the photo above, the building surrounding Cheung Hing Kee was under construction, but business was open as usual. The construction will be finished on your visit.

Interior of Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns

Michelin recommendation? Yes. Tables? No.

If you are expecting a sit-down place, you’ll be disappointed. There was no inside seating area or tables where I could sit down and enjoy my meal.

If you want to stay and eat, you will have to stand and eat along the tiny sidewalk counter. Otherwise, you will have to take your food to go.

Since Kowloon Park is only a short walk away, another great option is to take your food and find a bench or a shady spot at the park. I noticed a lot of people do just this.

Workers continuously stuffing and folding dumplings, Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns, Hong Kong — Workers continuously stuffing and folding dumplings

On my visit, I chose to stand and eat. While eating, I enjoyed peeking through the kitchen window as the chefs, all women dressed in black, were busy preparing buns.

I enjoyed watching the chefs roll, stuff, fold, and cook all the buns. While it may have seemed like a simple job, preparing these buns required a lot of skill.

Depending on the time of your visit, you might have to wait in line to order. The line can get quite long. On my visit, it was during the off-peak hours, and luckily, there was no line.

When ready, you will order with the cashier at the counter on the side. While they took cash on my visit, I have read that they only accept credit cards now. But I can’t confirm this.

Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns Menu

The menu at Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns was simple. You had three sections for food: Classic, Two Different Types of Pan-Fried Buns, and Featured Soup with Noodle.

Under Classic, you will find pork, shrimp, and black truffle buns. Under Two Different Types of Pan-Fried Buns, you can order combinations such as pork and shrimp buns. There was also an option for pork and vegetable wontons.

The final section, Featured Soup with Noodle, had options including Shanghai noodles with soup and curry beef soup with glass noodles.

Other than food, a few beverage options included water, tea, soy milk, soda, and juice.

Signature Buns and Shrimp Buns

Signature Pork Buns and Shrimp Buns, Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns, Hong Kong — Signature Buns and Shrimp Buns

After walking through Kowloon Park for a few hours, I had quite an appetite. Being so hungry, I ended up ordering two orders of the Signature Buns and Shrimp Buns (35 HKD or about $4.47).

The signature buns were stuffed with pork, while the shrimp buns had shrimp and pork inside. Other than the fillings, these steamed buns were identical in appearance and size.

My first order was ready immediately, while the second took about 10 minutes to prepare. Not surprisingly, the bottom crust of the second order was crispier, with these buns made fresh to order.

A ball of pork was inside each Signature Pan-Fried Bun. The pork ball, steamed to juicy perfection, was rich with a salty, sweet flavor, likely from star anise or Chinese Five Spice. Inside, the broth took on the same flavors as the pork.

The Shrimp Pan-Fried Buns were the same other than adding a small but juicy piece of shrimp to each bun. While the pork buns were excellent, I love shrimp.

The shrimp was fresh, adding sweetness and a distinct crisp ocean flavor. As before, the broth tasted like the flavors of the pork and shrimp.

Close up of the crispy bottom of a bun, Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns, Hong Kong — Close up of the crispy bottom of a bun

The bottom of each bun was golden brown and crispy after being pan-fried in a shallow pan with hot oil. Each bun, lightly charred, gave off a delicious smoky flavor.

On the other hand, the top of each bun was soft, complementing the texture of the crispy bottom. Compared to traditional steamed soup dumplings, xiao long bao, that you would find at Din Tai Fung, these buns were larger and had a chewier and thicker skin.

As with soup dumplings, you must be extremely careful when eating these buns. Each bun had steaming hot soup broth inside. If you’re not careful, you will burn your tongue. It’s best to let the buns cool down for a few minutes.

I like to poke a hole into each bun to let the steam escape. Once cool, I use this hole to suck out some of the broth from inside each bun.

For even more flavor, next to the cashier were bottles of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce. I went straight for the chili sauce.

The thick, bright red sauce left a slow burn in my mouth but was beyond salty. I added vinegar and soy sauce to the mix to reduce the sauce’s saltiness.

When I dipped each bun in the combination of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce, it was a match made in food heaven.

Service at Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns

Like many restaurants in Hong Kong, the service was lacking. But this is common, and I did not take it personally. I knew the workers wanted me to order, pay, and move on. And so did I.

The workers, busy rolling and stuffing buns behind the counter, looked like they hated their jobs. Maybe they didn’t, but I didn’t see one smile. But I understand how this is a tough, time-consuming job.

Luckily, my interaction with workers was limited to paying and picking up food. Otherwise, I had no issues with the service.

Conclusion

When I read that Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns had a Michelin recommendation, I added the shop to my list of foods to try in Hong Kong.

For the price, the pan-fried buns did not disappoint. The combination of crispy bottom, soft top, delicious filling, and soup broth was great.

While the service could have been better, and there was no seating, I enjoyed my visit to Cheung Hing Kee Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns for their pan-fried buns, and I will return on my next visit to Hong Kong.