Must-try popular snacks in Mong Kok: curry garlic fish balls & spicy fish balls

Text & photos /Buji

When it comes to Hong Kong street food, the first thing that comes to mind for Buji is the fish balls from Jiayi Snacks — so delicious!! This snack stall in the bustling area of Mong Kok has a prime location at the intersection of Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Dundas Street, occupying a corner spot. Business is booming from morning till night, with crowds of customers always gathering around the stall — you simply can’t miss it when walking by. Although Buji thinks Jiayi’s fish balls are amazing, this shop doesn’t only sell fish balls — there’s also fried stinky tofu, braised beef offal, grilled squid tentacles, fried squid legs, faux large intestines, egg waffles, and more. There’s quite a variety, and of course, Buji tried some items other than fish balls too.

First up, let’s introduce what Buji thinks is the most delicious fish ball here. These fish balls come in two flavors: “garlic fish ball” and “super spicy fish ball.” They’re sold by the skewer (HK$9), small bowl (HK$18), or large bowl (HK$36). The small bowl contains roughly twice as many fish balls as one skewer. Buji rarely eats fish balls in Taiwan, but since he’s in Hong Kong, he figured he had to try this snack often seen in Hong Kong dramas.

Let’s start with the taste of the “garlic fish ball”! With one bite, it’s soft and tender yet still has a bit of chew — the fish ball itself is well-marinated, with hints of garlic, five-spice flavor, and a slightly salty curry taste. It goes down really smoothly. So tasty!! Because he found the “garlic flavor” so delicious, Buji went back to buy a skewer of the super spicy fish ball to see if it was just as good.

And it was indeed delicious too!! The super spicy fish ball has an even bolder flavor than the garlic one, with a strong aroma of both curry and chili. The slightly salty taste makes you want to keep popping them in your mouth. Also, its “super spicy” isn’t just mildly hot — even Buji, who loves spicy food, thinks it’s above medium-hot. For those who can’t handle too much spice, he recommends sticking with the garlic-flavored fish balls.

Next up is the small bowl of “five-spice beef offal” (HK$25, about NT$100), which was mostly eaten by Buji’s friend — he only had a bite or two. Five-spice beef offal is essentially what we know as beef tripe. Holding a bowl of it in your hand, it smells pretty fragrant, with aromas of Sichuan peppercorn and star anise, along with a hint of sweetness. The beef tripe Buji tried was quite flavorful, having absorbed the savory and salty taste of the braising sauce — not bad at all.

Grilled squid legs were also a popular order, so Buji gave them a try. One skewer costs HK$15 (about NT$60), which isn’t exactly cheap. The sauce on the outside was decent, but the squid was grilled a bit too long, making it a little tough to bite into. People with weaker teeth might struggle with it. Buji thought it was okay, but not particularly delicious — personally, he feels Taiwan’s grilled squid is way better.

Lastly, Buji had the crispy fried large intestines (HK$13). This was also ordered by his friend. According to him, the surface of the large intestines was quite crispy, without any fishy smell. The fried and sauce-coated intestines had a richer flavor, which was pretty good. The downside was that they were a bit tough and hard to chew as well. Next time he visits Hong Kong, he’d like to try the stinky tofu and fried squid (apparently they’re not bad) from Jiayi Snacks again, and of course, have another skewer of those garlic curry fish balls.

Jiayi Snacks
Address: 41 Dundas Street, Mong Kok.
Business hours: Daily 12:00–00:00.

Want to see moreof Buji’s solo travel experiences?

Welcome to followBuji’s fan pageandBuji’s blog.

Delicious treats non-stop from morning to night
Download the “ETtoday News Cloud APP” for quick updates on the latest food news →
iOS:https://goo.gl/rmIDdx
Android:https://goo.gl/XPe8Uj