Shopping For Daily Necessities in Hong Kong

Jul 29 2015

It will not take you long to realize that Hong Kong people love to eat. Cooked food is available in all forms from fine dining and casual snack shops to takeaway and home/office delivery of nearly any cuisine. For those who enjoy cooking for themselves, there is also a wide variety of places to shop. Ingredients are shipped in from all over the world and the choice is limitless albeit not inexpensive for imported ingredients.

Although you would truly be hard pressed not to find your favorite product or an acceptable substitute, supplies depend on order flow and shipping schedules, and the general rule of thumb is to buy when you see what you want. In other words, do not assume that the item will still be waiting for you on the shelf on your next visit.

Hong Kong people traditionally tend to shop daily in the wet market, which is a wonderful source for the freshest fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood, especially if you prefer a more colorful and often less expensive shopping experience. Located in nearly every district, these tend to remain open in the early evening to accommodate office-workers shopping on their way home. You can haggle for a lower price, but unless you speak the lingua franca (and speak it well) be prepared to have to drive a hard bargain! Language hurdles aside, there is no more important relationship than the one with your fruit and vegetable seller to assure you are buying the freshest produce he or she has. The market running along Graham Street in Central has a few vegetable stalls that cater principally to a Western diet.

GRAHAM STREET MARKET	from Queen’s Road Central uphill to Staunton Street, Central
BOWRINGTON ROAD MARKET	under Canal Road flyover, Wan Chai

Note: The wet markets are well regulated by the Government and maintain a high level of hygiene. Nevertheless, check to see if a stall maintains meets your level of acceptable cleanliness before buying anything.

The two major supermarket chains are Park ‘N’ Shop and Wellcome, both of which operate in all districts -- although the names above the door may differ (see following list)—with their shelves stocked according to the neighborhood’s demand for western and local ingredients. All deliver, often free-of-charge if you buy a certain amount, and are open seven days a week from early morning to early (business districts) / late evening (residential districts) with the urban centers open 24 hours.

There are also several smaller grocery chains that may not offer the variety but in many cases prices can be more attractive on selected items.

PARK ‘N’ SHOP - ParknShop / International / Taste / Fusion - ParknShop Superstores - GREAT	http://www.parknshop.com http://www.greatfoodhall.com
WELLCOME - Wellcome - Market Place by Jasons - Olivers - ThreeSixty	http://www.wellcome.com.hk http://www.marketplacebyjasons.com http://www.oliversthedeli.com.hk http://www.threesixtyhk.com
CRC VANGUARD	http://www.crvanguard.com.hk
DCH FOODMART	http://www.eshop.dchfoodmartdeluxe.com

Specialty retail shops cater to nearly every desire or diet-restriction albeit at a premium. Below are a few to get you going:

CITY’SUPER food & wine, household products	http://www.citysuper.com.hk
SOGO food hall - japanese & imported foods	http://www.sogo.com.hk
GATEWAY american products	188 Des Voeux Rd, Sheung Wan Tel: 2545 0338
IL BEL PAESE italian delicatessen	http://www.ilbelpaese.com.hk
EURO TREAT european food products	http://www.eurotreat.com.hk
VIVA ITALIA italian delicatessen	1116 & 1117, 11/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau Tel: 2859 9931
MONSIEUR CHATTÉ french delicatessen	http://www.monsieurchatte.com
GREEN CONCEPT HEALTH SHOP organic products	http://www.naturalhealing.com.hk
HEALTHY DELIGHT organic products	http://www.healthydelight.net
WATSON’S WINE wines	http://www.watsonswine.com
PONTI WINE CELLAR wines	http://www.pontiwinecellars.com.hk

Nearly all retailers will delivery purchases (charges may apply) to one’s home. The following suppliers do not have shops (or if they do, it is a small one) but take orders via websites or the phone/fax and deliver to your doorstep. They usually have a specific expertise (frozen or fresh meat and poultry, seafood, organic vegetables) but often extend their lines to include related foodstuffs.

BAYERN GOURMET meat & seafood	http://www.bgf.com.hk
MEATMARKET meat & seafood	http://www.meatmarket.com.hk
TENDERLOIN meat & seafood	http://www.tenderloin.com.hk
THE PORTERHOUSE meat & seafood	http://www.porterhouse.com.hk
SOUTH STREAM SEAFOODS meat & seafood	http://www.south-stream-seafoods.com
HOMEGROWN FOODS local fruit & vegetables	http://www.homegrownfoods.com.hk
GREEN DOT DOT organic food products	http://www.greendotdot.com
HONEY PET pet supplies	http://www.honeypetshop.com
APE PET EXPRESS pet supplies	http://www.apepet.com
WISE PET pet supplies	http://www.wisepet.com

For those with restricted diets, the aforementioned shops should be able to cater to most needs. In addition have also listed the following website addresses to provide guidance:

KOSHERMART - Jewish Community Center kosher foods	http://www.kosherdelight.com/HongKongKosherFood.htm
OHEL LEAH SYNOGOGUE kosher foods	http://www.ohelleah.org/visitor_retail.html
HAPPY COW vegetarian	http://www.happycow.net
ISLAM ORGANIZATION halal foods	http://www.islam.org.hk
LITTLE GIANT allergies	http://www.littlegiant.com.hk/en_index.php

Shopping in General

There is a plethora of shopping centers and street markets selling products from around the world. Since nearly everything is imported, we advise buying something when you see it as it may not be on the shelf when you next need it.

It would take volumes to list every center and every shop, so we shall limit ourselves to mentioning a few centers and street markets.

IKEA household	http://www.ikea.com/hk/en
WING ON DEPARTMENT STORE everything	http://www.wingonet.com
YUE HWA DEPARTMENT STORE goods of Chinese origin	http://www.yuehwa.com
SOGO DEPARTMENT STORE everything	http://www.sogo.com.hk
LANE CRAWFORD DEPT STORE luxury brands	http://www.lanecrawford.com
The Landmark, Central Luxury brand shopping center	http://www.landmark.hk/en/default
IFC Shopping center in Central	http://www.ifc.com.hk
PACIFIC PLACE Shopping center in Admiralty	http://www.pacificplace.com.hk
TIMES SQUARE Shopping center in Causeway Bay	http://www.timessquare.com.hk
CITYPLAZA Shopping center in Tai Koo Shing	http://www.cityplaza.com
HARBOUR CITY Shopping center in Tsim Sha Tsui	http://www.harbourcity.com.hk
FESTIVAL WALK Shopping center in Kowloon Tong	http://www.festivalwalk.com.hk
PEDDAR BUILDING Boutiques & Outlets in Central	12 Peddar Street
HORIZONS PLAZA furniture & outlet shops in Ap Lei Chau	Lee Nam Road
STANLEY MARKET Street market in Stanley	http://www.hk-stanley-market.com
LADIES MARKET Street market in Mong Kok	Tung Choi Street
SPRING GARDEN LANE Street market in Wan Chai	Between Queen’s Road E & Johnston Road
LI YUEN EAST & WEST Street markets in Central	Between Queen’s Road & Des Voeux Road

As with food products, a wide variety of cookware and kitchenware, from the inexpensive to the sublime, is available. Apart from the kitchenware section in each department store (i.e. Wing On has an excellent selection), there are a number of small specialty boutiques often found on smaller side streets (where the rent is slightly more affordable).

GOODS OF DESIRE (GOD) specialty department store	http://god.com.hk
PANHANDLER specializes in high-end cookware	http://www.thepanhandler.biz
PANTRY MAGIC specializes in cookware	http://www.pantry-magic.com
SHANGHAI STREET shops catering to restaurant trade	Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
COMPLETE DEELITE cake & baking tools	http://completedeelite.com

Chemists can be found on virtually every street corner in Hong Kong. Many personal care items are also found on grocery store shelves, and standalone specialty boutiques abound in any of Hong Kong’s major shopping centers. In Hong Kong, Doctors are allowed to dispense medicine so visits to the clinic will often negate an extra trip to the chemists. Otherwise, counterfeit drugs regrettably do find their way into the supply chain, and we recommend that you use the two largest chains or the reliable pharmacy listed below.

MANNINGS	Located throughout Hong Kong
WATSONS	Located throughout Hong Kong
FANDA	Worldwide House, Central Tel: 25379834

Electronics and appliances from all over the world are available here. Nearly every shopping centre has at least one electronic shop. Fortress and Broadway are the largest electrical retailers and have branches throughout Hong Kong.

FORTRESS	http://www.fortress.com.hk
BROADWAY	http://www.broadway.com.hk
CHUNG YUEN	http://www.cyeshop.com/cy/index/main.asp

There are a large number of local newspapers published in Chinese and two in English, of which the South China Morning post has the largest circulation.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST in English	http://www.scmp.com
THE STANDARD in English	http://www.thestandard.com.hk
HK ECONOMIC JOURNAL in Chinese	http://www.hkej.com
MING PAO DAILY in Chinese	http://www.mingpao.com
SING PAO DAILY in Chinese	http://www.singpao.com
SING TAO in Chinese	http://www.singtao.com
APPLE DAILY in Chinese	http://hk.nextmedia.com

Hong Kong has several bookshops to satisfy your reading needs in Chinese and English. For the latter, the cost is higher, especially for magazines that are shipped in by air. Many retailers now offer a loyalty program to frequent customers, so ask before making your first purchase.

HK BOOKCENTRE/KELLY&WALSH/SWINDON in English	http://www.swindonbooks.com
BOOKAZINE in English & stationary	http://www.bookazine.com.hk
COMMERCIAL PRESS mainly in Chinese BLOOMSBURY BOOKS focus on business & law	http://www.commercialpress.com.hk http://www.bloomsbury.com.hk
FLOW BOOKS used books	http://www.flowbooks.net/
JOINT PUBLISHING in Chinese	http://www.jointpublishing.com
POPULAR in Chinese	http://www.popular.com.hk/jsp/index.jsp
PADDYFIELD in English with emphasis on children	http://www.paddyfield.com
PAGE ONE in English & Chinese	http://www.pageonegroup.com
ESLITE in English & Chinese	http://www.eslitecorp.com/Site/Site_List.aspx?a=hk&l=b&sc=HK

Computer equipment and supplies are readily available in Hong Kong. There are a few computer centers that can satisfy most of your needs. For more information, click here to read our guide on technology hotspots in Hong Kong.

STAR HOUSE	3 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
WAN CHAI COMPUTER CENTRE	298 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
WINDSOR HOUSE	311 Gloucester Rd, Causeway Bay
GOLDEN COMPUTER ARCADE	146-152 Fuk Wa Street, Sham Shui Po

Shopping for children in Hong Kong is easy as both China-produced and imported goods are widely available. As with adults, however, sizes tend to run smaller. It would require volumes to list every shop, so we have limited the following list to a few major retailers and harder-to-find treasures. Apart from the major shops listed in previous sections, Prince’s Building in Central, Harbour City in TsimShaTsui, and Lee Gardens in Causeway Bay are just three shopping centers that dedicate whole floors to children’s needs. Stanley Market is an open air market with a ready supply of inexpensive clothing and toys. The Ladies Market is a street market in MongKok that offers real bargains but hit-or-miss merchandise. Pottinger Street in Central has a number of outdoor stalls specializing in costumes and accessories.

LINEA NEGRA maternity	http://www.lineanegra.com.hk
NINE MONTHS maternity	https://www.facebook.com/NineMonthsHK/
BABY CENTRAL maternity & baby	http://babycentral.com.hk
BUMPS TO BABES everything	http://www.bumpstobabes.com
MOTHERCARE everything	http://www.mothercare.com.hk
ZARA clothes	http://www.zara.com
STRIDE RITE footwear	http://www.striderite.com.hk
SOLAR SUIT uv protection swimsuits	http://www.solarsuit.com.hk
BABY BOOM educational toys	http://www.babyboom.com.hk
TOYS CLUB toys, books and crafts	http://stores.itoysclub.com/StoreFront.bok
TOYS R US toys	http://www.toysrus.com.hk
WISE KIDS toys and crafts	http://wisekidstoys.com
POLLUX BOOKS books	http://www.polluxbooks.com/
ONE STOP PARTY SHOP party supplies	2/F Prince’s Building, Central Tel: 2523 3814
ARABELLA’S PARTY party planner	http://www.arabellasparty.com
COMPLETE DEELITE cake & supplies	http://completedeelite.com
PRINCE’S BUILDING shopping center	http://www.centralhk.com
HARBOUR CITY shopping center	http://www.harbourcity.com.hk
FESTIVAL WALK shopping center	http://www.festivalwalk.com.hk

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