Name (English): Lin Heung
Name (Chinese): 蓮香樓
Category: Food & Beverages
Phone Number: +852 2544 4556
Address (English): 160 Wellington Street, Sheung Wan
Address (Chinese): 上環威靈頓街160號
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/xzKgdekF2zyEbXYM9
Address longitude and latitude: 22.284280866413887, 114.15344659659672
Nearest MTR Station: Sheung Wan Station Exit E1
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/RJ6EU6Pc6F8i3Sds9
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.286020393751134, 114.1533843179594
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 7-minute walk from Sheung Wan MTR Exit E1
Opening Hours:
MON 06:00 – 23:00
TUE 06:00 – 23:00
WED 06:00 – 23:00
THU 06:00 – 23:00
FRI 06:00 – 23:00
SAT 06:00 – 23:00
SUN 06:00 – 23:00
Budget (per person): HKD101-200
Recommended Food/Drinks: Siu Mai, Ha Gau, Cha Siu Bao, Ma Lai Gou
Recommended Time to Visit: 11:00
Accessibility Note: Easy access
If you can only go to one dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong, go to Lin Heung.
Opened in 1918, this old school tea house has been treating folks with quality homemade dim sum every day. Besides its great food, what makes this restaurant more adorable is the setting and the atmosphere it has.
On the ground floor is the Lin Heung bakery, selling homemade traditional Chinese cakes and pastries like mooncakes. The products are famous for the very fine and smooth lotus seed paste filling used. In fact it is where the name of the restaurant came from- Lin Heung means lotus fragrance in Chinese.
First floor is for Yum Cha- drink tea & eat dim sum. There you will see traditional Chinese calligraphy and landscape paintings framed and pinned to the walls. Steam carts are still in use for delivering fresh, piping hot dim sum. A nostalgic scene that can be seen nowhere else except at Lin Heung.
For dim sum session, Lin Heung takes no reservation. You have to walk in and find a table yourself. Wherever you decide to dine, due to the popularity of the restaurant, expect to share your table with a few other people. It might feel strange at first, but eventually you are going to enjoy the social atmosphere as well as the noise and steam.
After you sit down, the waitstaff will take your order for tea and give you a tally card. They will also give you a cup, a small plate, a tiny bowl, a spoon, a pair of chopsticks, and a basin for rinsing the cutlery. As soon as they spot an open tea pot, they will come quickly and refill it with hot water. Those will be the only services they provide.
Although Lin Heung was frequently listed on global travel guides’ top attractions, it is still staying hardcore local. There is no English menu or pre-ordering. So walk over to one of the steam carts and ask (or simply check by yourself) to see what they have to offer. If you like what you see, hand them your stamp-card, let them stamp the item you have ordered, and take your food back to your table.
You can also sit back, sip your tea, and wait for the steamer carts to pass by you. But since the dim sum supply is limited and sometimes not very stable, you will see people crowding around a steam cart that just comes out from the kitchen. There, you might want to join in the rumble for the most popular dishes.
Classic dim sum such as Siu Mai (shrimp & pork dumpling), Ha Gao (shrimp dumpling), and Cha Siu Bao (barbecue pork pun) are as tasty as it can be. Traditional dishes that are considered rare nowadays like Dai Bao (big, mixed ingredient bun) are also available.
While most dim sum restaurants have given up traditional flavour and culture during the course of modernisation, Lin Heung continue to provide authentic yum cha experience that is well-preserved and lively.
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