Hong Kong Local Experience Guide 2026: Hidden Restaurants, Sha Tin Races

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From Taiwan we flew to Hong Kong — not as tourists, but as family. We were visiting relatives, which meant our Hong Kong experience looked completely different from anything a travel guide would hand you. No open-top bus tours, no obligatory Peak Tram queue, no generic dim sum at a tourist-facing restaurant. Instead we got something far more valuable: access to the Hong Kong that locals actually live in.

We stayed four nights across three different hotels — the Alva Hotel for two nights on cash, the Hyatt Sha Tin for one night on a World of Hyatt free night certificate, and the JW Marriott Hong Kong for one night on 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. We rode the MTR everywhere, crossed the harbour on the Star Ferry, pre-ordered sashimi two days in advance, drank milk tea with the locals in Sha Tin, and walked away from the races 20 Hong Kong dollars richer.

Here’s the full story.

Eating Like a Local: The Restaurants Our Family Took Us To

This is the section that matters most, because it’s the one no algorithm can generate without someone who’s actually been there with people who actually live there.

Loi Fat Koon 來發館: The Sashimi You Have to Order Two Days in Advance

Loi Fat Koon is not a restaurant you stumble into. It’s the kind of place that exists in every city but is invisible to visitors — known deeply by locals, completely off the tourist radar, and operating on its own terms rather than catering to the convenience of people passing through.

The signature experience here is the sashimi platter — and the restaurant’s approach to it tells you everything about the philosophy of the place. You don’t order it on the day. You call two days in advance, place your order, and the restaurant sources the fish specifically for your visit. Fresh doesn’t begin to describe it.

The sashimi was extraordinary. The kind of extraordinary that recalibrates your understanding of what fresh fish can taste like — clean, precise, gloriously textured, and completely unlike the sashimi you’d get at any restaurant that sources fish conventionally. The two-day advance order isn’t an inconvenience. It’s the point. This is a restaurant that takes the quality of what it serves seriously enough to refuse to compromise on it.

We would never have found Loi Fat Koon without family. That’s the honest truth and the honest recommendation — if you have connections in Hong Kong, ask them where they actually eat. If you don’t, finding restaurants like this requires the kind of local knowledge that takes years to accumulate.

Red Tea Cafe, Sha Tin: Milk Tea With the Locals

Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style café) culture is one of the city’s defining social institutions — informal neighbourhood cafés serving Hong Kong-style milk tea, toast with butter and jam, instant noodle dishes, and macaroni soup in a setting that functions as much as a community gathering point as a restaurant.

The Red Tea Cafe in Sha Tin is exactly this, and exactly right. No tourist-facing gloss, no English menu prominently displayed, no effort to be anything other than what it is — a local café where the regulars know the staff and the milk tea is made the way it’s been made for decades.

We sat with family, drank proper Hong Kong milk tea — strong, silky, slightly sweet — and watched the rhythm of the neighbourhood move around us. This is the kind of experience that makes travel meaningful rather than merely pleasant. You can visit Hong Kong’s famous dim sum restaurants and tick them off a list. Sitting in a cha chaan teng in Sha Tin with locals on a Tuesday afternoon is something different entirely.

Sha Tin Racecourse: We Won 20 Hong Kong Dollars

Neither of us came to Hong Kong with plans to bet on horse racing. But when family suggests the races at Sha Tin, you go to the races at Sha Tin.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the most impressive sporting venues in Asia — a massive, modern facility built into the valley of Sha Tin New Town, with excellent sight lines, a lively atmosphere, and the particular energy of a crowd that takes its racing seriously. Hong Kong’s horse racing culture runs deep — this is not a casual day out for most of the people there.

We arrived with no real knowledge of form, strategy, or sensible betting practice, picked horses based on names we liked, and proceeded to lose most of our modest bets with good humour. Then, on one race, something clicked. Twenty Hong Kong dollars richer — approximately $3.50 CAD — we called it a victory, cashed out, and decided to retire while ahead.

The experience of being at Sha Tin for a race day is genuinely worth doing regardless of whether you win or lose. The crowd, the atmosphere, the spectacle of the horses, and the particular pleasure of spending an afternoon doing something that most visitors to Hong Kong never do — it’s one of those experiences that makes a trip feel lived-in rather than sightseeing-checked-off.

Entrance to the public areas of the racecourse is inexpensive, and the facility has good food and drink options throughout. Book through Klook for visitor badges and race day packages.

Getting Around: MTR and the Star Ferry

We used the MTR for almost everything during our Hong Kong stay — and it remains one of the best urban transit systems in the world. Fast, clean, air-conditioned, punctual, and comprehensive enough to reach almost every corner of Hong Kong efficiently. The Octopus card handles payment seamlessly across MTR, buses, trams, and even many convenience stores and restaurants.

For the crossing between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, we took the Star Ferry — one of those travel experiences that transcends mere transport. The short crossing across Victoria Harbour, with the Hong Kong skyline unfolding on both sides, is as spectacular as it has ever been. At a few Hong Kong dollars per crossing, it’s the best value scenic experience in the city. Take it at least once, ideally at dusk when the harbour light is at its most dramatic.

The Hotels: Three Stays, Mostly on Points

Alva Hotel — 2 Nights (Cash)

The Alva Hotel was our cash stay — two nights in a comfortable, well-positioned property that served its purpose as a base without leaving a particularly strong impression in either direction. Clean, functional, good value for Hong Kong where hotel prices are notoriously high, and without the points strategy drama of the other two stays.

For visitors to Hong Kong looking for a solid mid-range option without burning points, the Alva delivers what you need. Check current rates on Agoda.

Hyatt Sha Tin — 1 Night (World of Hyatt Free Night Certificate)

The Hyatt Sha Tin was redeemed on a World of Hyatt free night certificate — earned as an annual credit card benefit through the World of Hyatt credit card — making the night completely free.

The hotel itself is comfortable and well appointed, with the quality you’d expect from a Hyatt property. The honest caveat is location: Sha Tin is not the most convenient base for central Hong Kong, and the immediate area around the hotel lacks the density of restaurants and street life that makes Hong Kong’s urban neighbourhoods so energetic. You’ll need the MTR to get anywhere interesting, and the journey to central Hong Kong takes some time.

If you’re visiting family or friends in the New Territories — as we were — the Sha Tin Hyatt makes geographical sense. If you’re in Hong Kong primarily as a tourist wanting walkability and urban energy, a property closer to the centre of gravity serves you better. That said, for a free night certificate redemption, it’s a solid use of the benefit.

JW Marriott Hong Kong — 1 Night (85,000 Marriott Points)

The JW Marriott Hong Kong was the standout hotel stay of our Hong Kong chapter — redeemed on 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for one night of genuine luxury in one of the world’s great hotel cities.

The JW Marriott sits in Pacific Place in Admiralty — one of the best locations in Hong Kong, directly connected to the MTR and surrounded by the city’s premium shopping, dining, and business districts. The property delivers the full JW experience: spacious, beautifully appointed rooms, exceptional service, and the kind of polished luxury that Hong Kong’s best hotels do particularly well.

Eighty-five thousand points is a significant redemption, but the JW Marriott Hong Kong is a property where the cash rate justifies that cost. For one special night in a city where luxury hotels are exceptionally strong, this is a redemption that delivers clear value. Check current cash rates on Agoda to sense-check the points value before booking.

Hong Kong With Family: Why It Changes Everything

We’ve visited Hong Kong before as tourists. This visit — staying with family, eating where they eat, going where they go — was categorically different and categorically better.

The restaurants tourists visit in Hong Kong are good. The restaurants locals visit are extraordinary. The difference isn’t always about quality — though it often is — it’s about context. Eating sashimi that was ordered two days in advance for your specific visit, in a restaurant that your family has been going to for years, with people who know the owner, is an experience no travel guide can manufacture.

If you have any connection to Hong Kong — family, friends, colleagues — leverage it completely. Ask them to take you where they eat. Say yes to everything they suggest. The version of Hong Kong they’ll show you is the one worth seeing.

If you’re visiting without local connections, the MTR, the Star Ferry, a cha chaan teng in any neighbourhood outside the tourist core, and a race day at Sha Tin will get you closer to the real city than most visitors ever get.

Practical Information

Getting around: MTR is the backbone of Hong Kong transport — get an Octopus card immediately on arrival. The Star Ferry between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central is unmissable. Grab operates in Hong Kong for areas not well served by MTR.

Where to stay: We split across three properties — Alva Hotel (cash, solid mid-range), Hyatt Sha Tin (World of Hyatt free night certificate, good but remote), JW Marriott Hong Kong (85k Marriott points, standout luxury). Check all three on Agoda for current cash rates.

Connectivity: Set up a Hong Kong e-SIM through Airalo before arrival — use our link for 10% off. Coverage in Hong Kong is excellent and data is affordable.

Sha Tin Racecourse: Race meetings typically run Wednesday evenings and weekends. Check the Hong Kong Jockey Club website for the schedule and book visitor experiences through Klook.

Best time to visit: October to March for the most comfortable weather — cool, dry, and clear. April to September brings heat, humidity, and typhoon season. Hong Kong is worth visiting year-round but the cool season is distinctly more pleasant.

Flight connections: Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is one of Asia’s premier hubs with connections worldwide. We used Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for our routing — excellent value on Cathay metal through Hong Kong. See our how we saved $20,000 guide for the full flight points strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hong Kong worth visiting as a tourist? Absolutely — Hong Kong remains one of the world’s great cities. The food, the efficiency, the harbour, the energy, the MTR — all of it is extraordinary. The experience is richer with local connections but rewarding without them.

How do you get around Hong Kong cheaply? The MTR Octopus card covers almost all transport needs affordably. The Star Ferry is a few dollars. Walking is excellent in most urban neighbourhoods. Hong Kong’s public transport is a model of how cities should work.

Is Sha Tin worth visiting in Hong Kong? Yes — particularly for the racecourse on race days, and for experiencing the New Territories’ more local, residential character away from the tourist-dense areas. The Sha Tin cha chaan teng scene is excellent.

What is a cha chaan teng? A Hong Kong-style café serving local staples — milk tea, coffee, toast, instant noodles, macaroni soup — in an informal, fast-paced neighbourhood setting. They’re the social heartbeat of Hong Kong’s residential areas and an essential local experience.

Is the JW Marriott Hong Kong worth 85,000 Marriott points? Yes — the JW Marriott Hong Kong is a top-tier property in one of the world’s best hotel cities. The location in Pacific Place/Admiralty is excellent, the service is exceptional, and the cash rate justifies the points cost. A strong aspirational redemption for Marriott Bonvoy members.

Final Thoughts

Hong Kong with family is Hong Kong at its best. The sashimi at Loi Fat Koon, ordered two days in advance and tasting like the ocean itself. Milk tea at Red Tea Cafe in Sha Tin while the afternoon moved slowly around us. Twenty Hong Kong dollars won at the races on a horse whose name we liked. These are the experiences that don’t appear in guidebooks because they can’t be packaged — they come from saying yes, following people who know the city, and letting go of the itinerary.

The hotels were solid across the board — the JW Marriott the clear standout for one exceptional night on points, the Hyatt Sha Tin a good certificate redemption with a location caveat, the Alva a reliable cash option. Between free night certificates and Marriott points, three of our four Hong Kong nights cost us nothing in cash.

This was part of our 100-day Asia adventure. For our full points strategy across the trip, read our how we saved $20,000 guide. For more Taiwan content before this stop, check out our Fairfield Taichung review and Hilton Taipei Sinban review.