If you take the Hong Kong MTR (subway) to Mong Kok station and head on foot from there to Nelson Street, you’ll be right in the thick of market stalls and food shops that offer a fascinating insight into daily Cantonese life.
You’ll see vignettes that have changed little in many years – live turtles and frogs, people making wontons, tofu being made the way it has always been done, fish sellers using weights on old-fashioned scales.
Nelson Street is lined with shops selling meat, poultry, live seafood, noodles, tofu, roast meat and bakery products. In front of them are covered stands selling fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, honey, ginger, mushrooms, dried goods and more.
We visited the market on an excellent tour with Hong Kong Eating Adventures, led by a very knowledgeable guide, William. We didn’t taste any oysters, but we did see some shrivelled sun-dried oysters, presumably destined for some very delicious soups.
Traditional sun-drying is said to intensify the oysters’ natural flavour and create a velvety texture. It is particularly popular during Chinese New Year, apparently, because its Cantonese name sounds like a word meaning good deeds, good fortune, and prosperity.
Mong Kok Market is in Nelson Street, west of Langham Place, Mong Kok, Hong Kong. It operates daily from around 7am to 6pm, except the first few days of Chinese New Year.
You can read more about Hong Kong Markets in our Food Wine Travel post here.