The Cha Chaan Teng Culture of Hong Kong

If you want to understand Hong Kong, you must also try to understand the Cha Chaan Teng (茶餐廳, which literally means “tea restaurant”, just like a cafe) culture. Every Hongkonger must know his or her go-to Cha Chaan Teng, although every cafe may have quite the similar menu of food.

You won’t expect anything special or surprising at those local cafes. All you want here is just some so-called “comfort food”, for example, a bowl of satay beef noodle with fried egg and toast. I remember during my pre-Covid days I used to travel a lot; everytime when I got back to Hong Kong, I’d like to just go to a local cafe to grab a “standard meal” (常餐), typically beef noodle or fish ball soup.

What does “Home Kong” mean? It sometimes just means comfort food, and that can already make many Hongkongers very happy. Who said Hongkongers are demanding people? No, we are not. Of course, you won’t expect all Hongkongers to go to the same and only one cafe. Choice is important.

See? Cha Chaan Teng culture can teach you a lot about Hong Kong.