A Local’s Guide to Sheung Wan: Antiques, Temples and Coffee
Sheung Wan is where old Hong Kong and new Hong Kong sit on top of one another. On Des Voeux Road West the pavements are stacked with dried scallops and abalone in open sacks, the trade that built this waterfront district. Two streets uphill, in the pocket known as PoHo, are independent galleries, natural wine bars and some of the best coffee in the city.
That collision is the reason to spend a day here. This local’s guide covers where to eat, where to drink coffee, what to see and where to have a proper drink, with the nearest MTR exit for each. It is compact enough to walk end to end, though the uphill stretches are genuinely steep. For more of the city, see our guide to things to do in Hong Kong.
Where to eat
Kau Kee
A beef brisket institution of more than ninety years, serving the brisket in a clear broth or a rich curry sauce over noodles, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name and a permanent queue outside. It is addressed as Central, being right on the Gough Street boundary, but every local counts it as part of this walk. Join the line and share a table.
Address: 21 Gough Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: 12.30pm to 10.30pm, Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday | Typical spend: budget
Good to know: Curry brisket if you like it rich, clear broth if you want to taste the meat. Cash is easiest.
Lin Heung Tea House
The great old trolley-service teahouse, founded in 1927, moved from Wellington Street to Sheung Wan in 2026, bringing its carts, teaware and cheerful chaos with it. Dim sum still comes past your table on trolleys and you still have to flag them down. Nothing else in the city feels quite like it.
Address: G/F to 2/F, Tung Ning Building, 249 to 253 Des Voeux Road Central | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit B | Hours: daily, from 6am, with a break between services | Typical spend: budget to mid
Good to know: Arrive before 9am for the fullest trolleys, and be ready to share a table with strangers.
Yardbird
Matt Abergel’s Michelin-starred yakitori izakaya grills every part of the chicken over binchotan charcoal and pours an excellent list of sake and highballs. It is loud, confident and consistently full. Dinner only, and closed at the start of the week.
Address: 154 to 158 Wing Lok Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A1 or A2 | Hours: 6pm to midnight, Tuesday to Saturday | Typical spend: mid to high
Good to know: Let the counter guide the order, and do not skip the sweetcorn tempura.
Chachawan
Hong Kong’s original Isaan restaurant, serving the fiery north-eastern Thai cooking of som tam, larb and charcoal-grilled meats in a bright, informal room on Hollywood Road. The heat is real and the cocktails are good. A lively, unpretentious dinner.
Address: G/F, 206 Hollywood Road | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, lunch and dinner | Typical spend: mid
Good to know: Order the som tam and be honest with yourself about chilli tolerance.
Sang Kee Congee Shop
An old-school congee counter running since the 1970s, best known for its fish congee, the sort of gentle, restorative breakfast Hong Kong does better than anywhere. It opens at dawn and closes early, and it is cash only. A genuine local institution.
Address: G/F, 7 to 9 Burd Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: 6.30am to 8.30pm, Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday | Typical spend: budget, cash
Good to know: Fish congee with a plate of fried dough sticks is the classic order.
Dim Sum Square
A modern, locals-heavy dim sum spot with an English menu and no ceremony, handy when you want the dumplings without the queue at the famous places. Come before half past twelve on a weekday or expect to wait.
Address: LG/F, Tern Centre Tower 2, 78 Jervois Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, 10am to 10pm | Typical spend: mid
Good to know: A reliable fallback when Lin Heung’s trolleys are too chaotic for the mood you are in.
Coffee and cafes
Halfway Coffee
A tiny, plant-filled cafe on the antiques strip that serves its coffee in vintage Chinese porcelain, which sounds like a gimmick and turns out to be a genuine pleasure. The brunch plates are good and the setting, halfway up Cat Street, is the best in the district.
Address: G/F, Wah Koon Building, 26 Upper Lascar Row | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, 8am to 6pm | Typical spend: budget
Good to know: Combine it with a browse of the antique stalls immediately outside.
Cupping Room Coffee Roasters
One of Hong Kong’s best-known specialty roasters, with its original roastery tucked into the PoHo hillside. This is the place to ask what single origin is on and actually get a considered answer. Quiet, careful coffee.
Address: Shop 8, G/F, 62 to 72 Po Hing Fong | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, daytime | Typical spend: mid
Good to know: The PoHo branch is the roastery; other Cupping Rooms around town are separate shops.
Common Ground
A relaxed, pet-friendly neighbourhood cafe on the steps of Shing Wong Street, with outdoor seating and an all-day breakfast menu. It is where the PoHo crowd sit and read, and an easy place to lose an hour.
Address: G/F, 19 Shing Wong Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, 9am to 6pm | Typical spend: budget to mid
Good to know: The outdoor steps are the seats worth having, and they go early at weekends.
What to see and do
Man Mo Temple
Hong Kong’s most atmospheric temple, built in the 1840s and dedicated to the gods of literature and war, its ceiling hung with vast smouldering incense coils. It takes ten minutes to visit, costs nothing and is one of the most memorable interiors in the city. Photography is allowed but be respectful of worshippers.
Address: 124 to 126 Hollywood Road | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily, roughly 8am to 6pm | Typical spend: free
Good to know: Go on a weekday morning, when the light through the incense smoke is at its best.
Cat Street and the Hollywood Road antique shops
Upper Lascar Row, universally called Cat Street, is a pedestrian lane of stalls selling jade, coins, Mao-era memorabilia, old cameras and a great deal of cheerful reproduction. Hollywood Road above it has the serious dealers in Chinese antiques. Browse both, haggle on the street and expect the formal shops to hold their prices.
Address: Upper Lascar Row and Hollywood Road | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: stalls roughly 10am to 6pm, quieter on Sundays | Typical spend: free to browse
Good to know: Assume anything on the street stalls is a reproduction unless you really know your subject.
Tai Ping Shan Street and PoHo
The steep lanes above Hollywood Road hold Sheung Wan’s creative quarter: small galleries, independent design shops, a nineteenth-century temple and a scattering of good cafes. It is a five-minute climb and a completely different mood from the traders below. Best explored without a plan.
Address: Tai Ping Shan Street, Po Hing Fong and Upper Station Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2, then uphill | Hours: shops roughly 11am to 7pm; streets always open | Typical spend: free
Good to know: The climb up Tank Lane or Hillier Street is steep, so take the escalator route if the heat is up.
Dried Seafood Street and the herbal medicine trade
Des Voeux Road West is lined with shops selling dried scallops, abalone, fish maw and shrimp in open sacks, while Ko Shing Street nearby deals in ginseng, herbs and cordyceps. This is a working wholesale district rather than an attraction, which is exactly what makes it worth walking. The smell is extraordinary.
Address: Des Voeux Road West and Ko Shing Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: shops roughly 9am to 6.30pm, many closed Sunday | Typical spend: free to browse
Good to know: Go on a weekday morning when the trade is in full swing; Sundays are shuttered and dull.
Where to drink
Blue Supreme
A beer-focused bistro near Cat Street that takes farmhouse, lambic and live beer seriously, with a short American-leaning food menu to go with it. Knowledgeable staff and a list you can happily be guided through.
Address: G/F, 21 Tung Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, midday until late | Typical spend: mid to high
Good to know: Ask what is on tap rather than reading the list; the rotation is the point.
Craftissimo
A compact craft beer bottle shop and bar just off Tai Ping Shan Street, where the done thing is to buy a bottle and drink it on the step outside watching PoHo go by. Cheap, friendly and very much of the neighbourhood.
Address: Shop D, G/F, 22 to 24 Tai Ping Shan Street | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: daily from early afternoon until late | Typical spend: mid
Good to know: An early-evening stop before dinner, rather than a destination for a big night.
Good to know
A few tips for a day in Sheung Wan:
- Wear proper shoes: the district climbs sharply from the waterfront to PoHo, and the lanes are steep.
- Weekday mornings for the trades: the dried seafood and herbal medicine shops close early and many shut on Sundays.
- Cash for the old guard: the congee shops, noodle counters and street stalls are cash-first.
- Haggle on Cat Street, not in the antique shops: the street stalls expect it, the formal dealers do not.
- It is walkable from Central: ten minutes along Hollywood Road links the two districts.
- Note the borders: a few famous names on this walk carry Central addresses, Kau Kee among them.
Sheung Wan packs temples, trade, antiques and some of the city’s best coffee into a few steep streets. For more, see our guides to things to do in Hong Kong and the best restaurants in Hong Kong.
The district is also full of independent coffee shops, and there are plenty of spas and salons nearby for afterwards. If you run a business in Sheung Wan, list it on advertise.hk. Opening hours change often, so check before a special trip.
