A Must-Try in a Lifetime: Centuries-Old Hong Kong Alleyway Snacks Reimagined in Taipei

Located at 425 Queen’s Road West in Sai Wan, Bo’s Roast Meat Noodles has been in business for over 40 years and has long been the go-to “neighborhood eatery” hidden within the alleys. Its fame has spread by word of mouth among locals in Sai Wan. According to Michelin, Bo’s offers a variety of roast meats, all prepared in-house and sold in limited quantities daily: only 8 roast geese, 40 roast ducks, and just one large piece of roasted pork belly per day, with all selling out quickly. Michelin especially advises that if you want to try the roast pork belly, you must arrive before 2:00 PM, and for roast goose, before 4:00 PM—otherwise, you might leave empty-handed.

With a history of 128 years since its founding, Snake King Fen is said to have been passed down through four generations. Located at 30 Caine Lane in Central, the restaurant is famous for its “Tai Shi” snake soup and is the oldest snake soup shop in Hong Kong. In its early days, Snake King Fen sold its wares from a wooden cart around the streets of Central. It moved to its current location in the 1960s. Though the small shop has a simple and unassuming decor, don’t let appearances fool you—its home-style delicacies are exceptional. Generations of owners at Snake King Fen have insisted on the quality and freshness of their ingredients, never compromising on standards even when prices rise. What makes Snake King Fen’s snake soup so famous is its rich ingredients and aromatic broth. One bowl contains meat from five types of snakes (including the red mountain snake, water snake, golden-footed snake, hundred-flower snake, and three-stripes rat snake), along with abalone, fish maw, ham, shredded chicken, wood ear fungus, shiitake mushrooms, and dried tangerine peel—nine ingredients in total.

The soup base is simmered for over two hours using fresh ingredients such as pork bones, chicken bones, and snake bones, along with Shaoxing wine—a labor-intensive delicacy that has remained a nourishing staple since the shop’s half-century in business. Aside from snake soup, Snake King Fen’s herbal soups are also immensely popular and are adjusted seasonally, including options such as cabbage and fresh kidney soup, snow fungus with coconut, and winter melon with dried scallops and sea snail. Each soup is simmered for at least three hours, resulting in a fragrant, not cloying, broth that is smooth, sweet, and another excellent choice for health and nourishment.

 

Originating in the Yuen Long District of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Good to the Last Noodle House was established in 1948. Initially operating as a street vendor specializing in Cantonese noodles, it moved to its current location on Fook Choi Street in 1961, where it has remained for over 50 years. The shop now also runs a food factory and five specialty noodle stores. “Good to the Last” has always insisted on making its noodles in-house, using dried fish broth, premium flour, top-grade shrimp roe, and fresh eggs. To ensure every noodle dish is smooth, flavorful, nutritious, and free from alkaline taste, every step of the production process is carefully monitored and supervised by master noodle makers to maintain high quality. The shop offers 11 varieties of noodles: shrimp roe noodles, wide shrimp roe noodles, deluxe shrimp roe noodles, scallop noodles, egg noodles, wide egg noodles, duck egg noodles, vegetarian noodles, carrot noodles, spinach wide noodles, and deluxe shrimp roe. Each type has its own unique flavor and texture. Thanks to its dedication, the shop has received a special recommendation from Michelin and is considered one of the leading names in Hong Kong’s iconic street snacks.