Offering a nostalgic glimpse of old Hong Kong, Yau Ma Tei’s Temple Street Night Market serves up an enticing mix of street food, souvenir stalls and offbeat cultural experiences every night of the year. Covering multiple city blocks from Man Ming Lane in the north to Nanking St in the south, Temple St is cleaved in two by the Tin Hau Temple complex. In the 1920s, vendors gathered there to serve temple-goers; a century on, the crowds descend nightly for cheap clothes and watches, street food, trinkets and teaware. Marked prices are mere suggestions – this is a place to bargain.
Tourist trap? Absolutely, but don't let that stop you. Among the tourist crowds and trinkets can be found dai pai dong (food stalls), al fresco Cantonese opera performances and traditional fortune-tellers. From Jordan Rd to Nanking St is a revamped street food night market, with 30 stalls offering a mix of international dishes (think Southeast Asian) and local snacks like wonton noodles, egg waffles, siu mai (steamed dumplings with pork and shrimp) and snake soup.
Every evening, fortune-tellers sets up tents in the middle of the market. Pay to hear predictions about your life (from HK$100), made by reading your face and palm, or based on the day you were born. Some even keep birds that have been trained to pick out "fortune" cards. Most operators speak some English.
The market is at its bustling best from 7pm to 10pm; after that, if you want more, head to the hyper-local wholesale fruit market, a hive of nocturnal activity.
To reach the market, take exit C2 from the Jordan MTR station and walk along Bowring St, or exit C from the Yau Ma Tei MTR station and follow Man Ming Lane.
