In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Temple Street, between Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, is an evening street market of souvenir and clothing stalls, dai pai dong food stalls and fortune tellers. Eat claypot rice at Hing Kee (15 Temple Street), a milk tea at Mido Cafe (63 Temple Street) and stir-fries at the Woosung Street hawker bazaar. Take the MTR to Yau Ma Tei (Exit C) or Jordan (Exit A) and haggle at the souvenir stalls, not the food stalls. Or book a tour: the Kowloon night markets and street food tourad (from HK$1,980, 5 stars from 12 reviews) is a private evening walk with eight tastings. Streets and stalls are in the 3-day itinerary, and the rest of the food is in where to eat.
What the market is
Temple Street runs through Jordan and Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon. The road was built in the Qing dynasty and named after the Tin Hau temple on the site, and the market starts at 2 pm and is liveliest from dusk, when the street is closed to traffic and visitors fill it. Wikipedia counts more than a hundred stalls (Wikipedia). The street is sometimes called Men’s Street because of its men’s fashion stalls, and old traditional Chinese medicine clinics still stand along it. The nearest MTR stations are Yau Ma Tei (Exit C, about a minute away) and Jordan (Exit A, about ten minutes), per the same page.
The Temple Street archway. Photo: Deror_avi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board describes it as a market where roadside dai pai dongs, open-air cooked-food stalls, sell local dishes, and where shops and stalls sell clothing, accessories, jewellery, bags and souvenirs. The food stalls are clustered near the Temple Street archway, with claypot rice, fish balls and siu mai alongside pepper cakes, spicy skewers, Turkish lamb and Pakistani food. Cantonese Opera troupes and fortune tellers perform and sit around the market in the evening (Hong Kong Tourism Board). At the souvenir and clothing stalls prices are negotiable; food has menu prices. The tourism board lists inexpensive souvenirs, clothing, accessories, jewellery, bags and second-hand items among the goods. In the evening you may also find musical troupes giving impromptu Cantonese Opera performances and fortune tellers.
Neon signs near Temple Street. Photo: Deror_avi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Where to eat
Hing Kee Restaurant
Yau Ma Tei · G/F, 15 Temple Street · 13:30 to 15:30 and 17:30 to 23:00, every day · about HK$51 to 100 a head · cash, Alipay or AlipayHK (OpenRice) · claypot rice
Hing Kee is a claypot rice restaurant on Temple Street. Claypot rice (bo jai fan) is rice cooked in an earthenware pot with meat or sausage on top; pour the soy sauce round the edge, wait a minute and scrape up the crust. It is a two-minute walk from Exit C of Yau Ma Tei station. The kitchen shuts between 15:30 and 17:30, so a late-afternoon visit finds it closed.
Claypot rice. Photo: Abasaa, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Mido Cafe
63 Temple Street, at Public Square Street · milk tea, egg sandwiches, noodles
Mido is a cha chaan teng, a Hong Kong-style cafe, serving since the 1950s in a corner building with original stained-glass windows, wooden booths and wall tiles. It has appeared in The World of Suzie Wong. It closed temporarily in July 2022 and reopened later that year (Hong Kong Tourism Board). The cha chaan teng guide has more.
Mido Cafe at the corner of Temple Street. Photo: Lord Jaraxxus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woosung Street Cooked Food Hawker Bazaar
29-39 Woosung Street, Yau Ma Tei · milk tea and comfort food by day, stir-fries and seafood at night
The bazaar opened in 1984 and reopened in March 2021 in a barrel-shaped building. A handful of stalls serve fast food by day and dai pai dong-style stir-fries and seafood at night; the Hong Kong Tourism Board recommends the salt and pepper fried squid (Hong Kong Tourism Board). The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department lists it among its hawker bazaars.
Plan the evening
- Late afternoon. Stalls open from 2 pm, which is early for dinner. Walk the stalls and the Tin Hau Temple square first; Hing Kee’s kitchen is shut until 17:30.
- Dinner. Claypot rice at Hing Kee from 17:30, or the seafood and stir-fries at the Woosung Street bazaar, which turns from milk tea and fast food by day to dai pai dong cooking at night (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
- Souvenirs. Buy at the end of the walk and negotiate; food prices are on the menu and are not negotiable.
- Getting out. Yau Ma Tei (Exit C) is the closer station; Jordan (Exit A) is about ten minutes’ walk.
What else is nearby
The tourism board points visitors to the Tin Hau Temple at Yau Ma Tei, which gave the street its name, and to Mido Cafe. For the rest of the evening, see the 3-day itinerary, and for dishes elsewhere, where to eat.
Tours
Kowloon night markets and street food
From HK$1,980 · 5 stars from 12 reviews · 4 hours · private
Kowloon Night Markets & Street Food with a Licensed Guidead is a private evening tour with eight sweet and savoury tastings, from curry fish balls to egg waffles. It is a private group of up to 8 people, run in English, with free cancellation and a booking deadline of 24 hours before the start.
Michelin street food walk in Kowloon
From HK$880 · 4.9 stars from 21 reviews · 4 to 5 hours
Hong Kong Kowloon: Michelin Street Food & Culture Walkad tastes Michelin-rated street eats across Kowloon’s neon-lit streets. Pickup is available, a private option exists, guides work in English and Chinese, and groups are capped at 8. Children aged 7 to 11 and under-7s have their own ticket types. Cancellation is free and bookings close 10 hours before the start.
Open-top bus night tour of Kowloon
From HK$345 · 4.2 stars from 192 reviews · 1 hour
Hong Kong: Panoramic Night Tour of Kowloon by Open-top Busad passes Nathan Road, Temple Street Night Market and Canton Road. It has an optional audio guide in English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, French, German and Korean, is wheelchair accessible and has free cancellation. It suits a first look at the street before you eat on foot.
More tours are on the food tours page.
Common questions
How do you get to Temple Street Night Market?
Take the MTR to Yau Ma Tei (Exit C, about a minute from Temple Street) or Jordan (Exit A, about ten minutes), according to Wikipedia.
What is claypot rice and how do you eat it?
Claypot rice (bo jai fan) is rice cooked in an earthenware pot over a flame with meat on top, served with a soy sauce you pour round the rim. Leave it for a minute, then scrape up the crisp rice crust at the bottom.
Do you haggle at Temple Street?
At the souvenir and clothing stalls, yes: prices are not fixed. Food stalls and restaurants have fixed menu prices.
Are there fortune tellers at Temple Street?
Yes. The Hong Kong Tourism Board says Cantonese Opera troupes perform on some evenings and fortune tellers work in the market.
