Free WiFi Cafes in Hong Kong :: An Ongoing Compendium

I don't post here regularly but I think a list of Hong Kong cafes that offer free wifi deserves a home on FFE. Since moving to Hong Kong, I've been adjusting to a work-from-home situation. It has its highs and it has its lows. One of the lows being that it is terribly lonely. (cue sad violin music) So, I've been forcing myself out of my apartment to work amongst the people! And I've found some great wifi hot spots around HK.

Here's an ongoing list of Free WiFi Cafes in Hong Kong that are tried and tested (plus a handy public Google Map)

View Free Wifi Cafes Hong Kong in a larger map

Heirloom Eatery & More
226 Hollywood Road
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Notes: Solid lunch joint for creative and flavorful sandwiches, salads and tacos. If you work late enough to warrant a cocktail, they have a great selection. Closed Mondays.

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Teakha
Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Notes: They don't advertise free wifi but if you ask for the password, they'll share it with you. Such a lovely place with a rotating lunch plate and carefully made teas. It's a small and new space, so be mindful of others and maybe don't post up for a whole day sipping on 1 cup of tea. Closed Mondays.

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Java Java Coffee & Tea Lounge
188 Hollywood Road
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Notes: Friendly staff, simple snacks and drinks. Ask the friendly staff for the password. Plenty of seating. By far my go-to spot for afternoon work sessions.

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Classified
108 Hollywood Road
Central, Hong Kong

Notes: Great for people watching. Very good lunch menu.

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Holly Brown
22 Stanley Street (Between
Central, Hong Kong

Notes: HUGE. Free wifi not available from noon-2pm weekdays and only accessible from the first floor. Take a break with good coffee and ice cream.

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Brunch Club
70 Peel Street (Between Elgin and Caine Road)
Central Midlevels, Hong Kong

Notes: Hike up Peel Street to this all-hours brunch cafe. Very good lunch, shabby chic decor with outdoor seating.

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Cafe O (multiple locations)
284 Queens Road Central
Central, Hong Kong

62 Bonham Road
Central Midlevels, Hong Kong

Notes: A chain with healthy food and juices. WiFi can be spotty in my experience.

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Cafe Loisl
Tai On Terrace
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Notes: A small Austrian cafe with a terrace. Delicious lunchtime sandwiches, cakes and tortes. Extensive tea and coffee menu. 90 minutes of free complimentary WiFi. Closed Mondays.

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The Coffee Academics (multiple locations)
38 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay

35-45 Johnston Road, Wan Chai

Notes: I really like the location in Causeway Bay. It's big, airy and the food is quite good. WiFi is free flowin' and the waiters don't give you much grief if you come post-lunch rush.

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Sociolito

• Shop 2, G/F, The Centrium, 
• 60 Wyndham Street, Central
• Hong Kong

Notes: OK, not really a cafe but one of the better Mexican restaurants in Hong Kong. They offer free wifi on their outdoor counter service seating. Great for warmer weather when you want some tacos, guacamole and margaritas. The waitresses here are super friendly and nice too!

Mr Vietnamese Banh Mi in Fortress Hill

I started apartment hunting this week. I've been looking forward to home search all month, but now that I'm finally doing it, I'd like it to be over. Having just moved from a serviced apartment in Roppongi Hills, it's safe to say that I need to adjust my expectations in Hong Kong and accept the fact that our bathtubs will not be automated by friendly robots and our washer/dryer will be in the kitchen.

Our real estate agent in part Vietnamese and being around Viets always makes me crave Vietnamese food. So to reward myself for surviving the first 2 rounds of viewings, we tried a highly rated (on Open Rice, the Yelp! of Hong Kong) banh mi shop in Fortess Hill.

Mr Vietnamese is pretty decent and I'm sure I will return to try the other variations. It's a very small shop with a few places to sit and enjoy your made to order sandwich. The bread is spot on with the fillings hitting all the right notes, though lacking a bit of punch.

Mr Vietnamese
Shop 9, G/F, Wang Fai Mansion, 2-12 Wang On Road North Point

Take the tram to the Fortress Hill stop. Walk down Oil Street, turn left on the street after Electric. It's the shop with the green awning.

Bye Bye Tiger, Hello Rabbit :: 2010 in Review

Last meal of 2009/First meal of 2010 ::  Kamakura Ramen, Shibuya

 Bun Bo Hue in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Fell in love with dagashi, old school Japanese candy.

Ate lots of burgers.  

Had my final Japanese school lunch. 

Ate Okonomiyaki in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. 

Had my first hanami party in Shinjuku Gyoen. 

Escaped Tokyo and ate wild greens from the mountains of Saitama. 

Went home to the Bay Area twice. Ate lots of Monte Cristos and established myself as a regular at Mama's even though I don't live in SF. 

Cut my throat on some delicious and ambitious bacon in Inverness, CA 

Flying solo with Vietnamese cooking. I still prefer my mom's cooking, but I'm improving. 

Spent too much money on fancy food. Some good. Some not so good. 

Made an awesome cake for Blammo's birthday. 

Enjoyed Yokote Yakisoba at the Super Genki Festival in Tokyo. 

Survived one of the hottest summers in Japan with shaved ice, ice cream and soft cream. 

 Checked out all that Hong Kong has to offer. (And 30 minutes of Macao) 

Whoopied it up in Pennsylvania. 

Went to a lot of weddings. 

New York, New York! 

After 22 bread classes, I'm getting pretty good at making mushy pan!

Really missing my friends and family but glad to know that they have my back when I need them most. 

My first nabe.

And my first Japanese birthday cake. I should mention here that I am also thankful for the friends I have made in Japan and am happy to know that they too, have my back when I need it most. 

Joanne Chang - I love you!

Finally found a sushi restaurant that is high quality and foreigner friendly in a non-pandering way. 

Finally went to karaoke.

Hopefully, started a new tradition. 

It's been a long year. I think I need a nap.

Hong Kong :: Hutong, More like Woo!tong

On the our last night in Hong Kong, Squids and I made 7pm reservations at a Michelin starred restaurant called Hutong. Hutongs are narrow streets and alley ways in Beijing and the food served here is a modern take on the food that can be found in hutongs. There are a few cuisines, like Chinese and Mexican, that I think is best in the mom and pop shops with plastic covered tables and sticky floors. But a few of Hutong's dishes really made me rethink this especially factoring the amazing view of Victoria Harbour. Much to the annoyance of our waiters, we ate very slowly in order to catch the 8pm Symphony of Lights shows from our table. Every night, the buildings on Hong Kong Island put on a lovely light show that is best viewed from Kowloon. We enjoyed the show while sipping on lychee wine and chowing down on crispy lamb, noodles and apple fritters. It was the perfect way to end our trip.

Lychee rice wine served in a classic clay tea pot. This would most certainly make my mom sing, as she tends to do when she has a little something to drink. 

 Simple noodle soup with shitake mushrooms. The broth was incredibly flavorful. This was Squidward's favorite. 

My favorite dish of the night, crispy lamb done in a traditional peking style. I have never had lamb so juicy and delicious as this. It has a salty and crispy"skin" (I don't think it was actual skin...that would be kind of gnarly) which gave it some texture. I hope they never take this off their menu. 

Apple "eggrolls" for dessert. This definitely reminded me a lot of my dad. He's doesn't spend a ton of time cooking. He's mostly responsible for stocking my mom's kitchen with the proper tools and gizmos and telling her how delicious her meals are. But he does have a few signature dishes up his sleeve, one being banana fritters with honey and sugar and vanilla ice cream. I think that's why I tend to like fruit desserts over chocolate. 

We actually ordered a lot more food than this, but the restaurant is VERY dark and my pictures were coming out pretty bad and I think my flash was really annoying some of our neighbors. The menu at Hutong, like many Chinese restaurants, is HUGE. I welcome the chance to go back and try some of their other dishes. 

Hong Kong :: Dim Sum Delight

Monday was "Respect for the Aged Day" in Japan, so I went to Hong Kong for the long weekend. You can't really mention Hong Kong without talking about the food and you can't talk about food without talking about dim sum. It's pretty tough to find good, authentic dim sum in Tokyo, so I was happy to be reunited with this Sunday morning tradition.

Really fucking happy, actually. I didn't realize how much I missed it, but once we stepped into our first tea house and I heard the clinking and clanging of tableware, I was transported to a happy place. This despite being seated at the most disgraceful seat in the house -- furthest from the kitchen! You gotta box out for the dishes you want! Naww, just kidding. Since it was lunchtime, we just ordered off an English menu, instead of the morning carts. But I would have gotten East Bay/SF Chinatown on the locals if I had to! Anyways, back to my happy place. I love snacks and can put away a ridiculous amount of food so long as there is variety. If I had to eat a huge dish of just 1 thing, I probably couldn't stomach too much of it. But place 100 little plates in front of me and I'll eat you under the table. That's a threat and a promise.

I wish I had written down the name of this particular tea house next to the Western Market. Basically, if you ride the tram down Des Vouex Road in Central, it is the dim sum restaurant next to the Western Market. There are bunch of cool old dudes off-track betting outside if you need another landmark. I'm almost certain they'll still be there if on your trip to HK.

I finally learned that these pork and shrimp rolls are called cheung fan in Cantonese. This was the first Cantonese word I looked up when we booked our tickets. This has been my favorite dim sum dish since I was a kid. Even though you're supposed to share everything on the lazy susan, my family would order me my own plates of shrimp cheung fan and just leave me alone. These are steamed rice paper rolls with pork or shrimp filling. Sounds pretty bland, but the key is the soy sauce. Cheung fan comes with its own special sweet soy sauce. I could drink it by the tubs and would save my empty plates to sop up the extra sauce with other dumplings and buns. Omagahh...I'm so disgusting. I love it.

The other must have dish at dim sum for me are phoenix talons. That's a fancy Cantonese way of saying chicken feet. Now, trust me when I say that it is not the meat of chicken's feet that appeals to me. I've been served cold, plain boiled, unsauced chicken feet (oddly enough, on a number of occasions) and they're pretty gross. (Special message to Squidward, my sister and mom -- remember those gnarly black ones we got in Vietnam?!) The dim sum style chicken feet come in a spicy black bean sauce and while they're not the sexiest things to eat (you have to spit the tiny bones out on to your plate and you constantly have sauce on your face) they just can't be resisted.

Hey wait a sec. That's not dim sum! That's right, it's not but I'm not afraid to order off the menu. When a restaurant goes out of it's way to hang their roasted meats in their window (basically every restaurant in HK), you'd better order it. This is a plate of chopped pork topped with crispy pig skin -- also a childhood favorite of mine (no seriously, I was a disgusting child! how did I have friends and not develop gout?) Salty, sweet, fatty and delicious.

Look at that shiny delicious morsel! 

Eating Dim Sum in Hong Kong was at the top of my list of things to do. Had we eaten at a tea house for every meal, I would have been perfectly happy. But we didn't. We had lots of other great food! Perhaps I will tell you more about it sometime. (Probably tomorrow.)