This is due in part to the cosmopolitan nature of the population, but perhaps more importantly, to the incredible seriousness attached to dining by the local Chinese. The city offers the full gamut of Chinese cuisine, from Beijing via Shanghai to Sichuan. The choice is endless, and all budgets are catered for. Travellers arriving after a long stint in mainland China are in for the gastronomic blow-out of their lives. The authentic Chinese restaurants are large, noisy places with very bright lights.
Service is brisk but generally courteous, and menus are mostly in English as well as Chinese.
The busiest and brightest restaurants are often those serving dim sum, snack-sized portions of savoury dumplings and other morsels eaten for breakfast and lunch. Opening hours are long, so there's no problem about eating late, and don't worry about tipping, either. Expensive places will add their own service charge, usually ten percent, while in cheaper places it's customary just to leave the small change. All rights reserved.