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Header image courtesy of @maki_kowloon (via Instagram)
Lamma Island is one of the most-visited outlying islands in Hong Kong thanks to the short ferry ride. Easy to access, with departures from both Aberdeen and Central ferry piers, it is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway. The atmosphere on Lamma is relaxed, cheerful, and fun, and after a long workweek, that’s exactly what all of us need. Granted, the best place to eat on the island might be the rooftop of your friend who lives on Lamma, but the island is filled with plenty of other places to eat and drink, from fresh seafood restaurants and trendy bars to relaxed cafés. Here are some of our favourites.
Hidden away at the far end of Sok Kwu Wan is Lamma Island Fishing Village Restaurant. This strip of the island has many seafood dining options, but none of the others have tables on a dock going out to sea like this one. The intimate setting offers 180-degree views of the hills and the ocean, all while the restaurant’s recognisable orange awning provide much-needed shade. It is the perfect place to tuck into a feast after walking the easy route over from Yung Shue Wan.
Lamma Island Fishing Village Restaurant offers generous set menus or a great à la carte selection. We recommend the steamed squid and black bean clams, or the fresh fish of the day! Usually open for lunch until late afternoon, give them a call during the wintertime as they sometimes close on quieter days.
Here’s a good hint: Snap a picture of the ferry timetable when passing by Sok Kwu Wan pier, ensuring a swift return ride to Central.
Lamma Island Fishing Village Restaurant, Section 584, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island
If you are tired of seafood places, do not scroll past this! Even if this restaurant’s name suggests yet another seafood pitstop, Sampan Seafood Restaurant is first and foremost the place to go for when the dim sum cravings hit. Served the traditional way—only at breakfast—this one is for early risers. One of the first locations off the Yung Shue Wan pier, it is recognisable by its signature red-and-white chequered tablecloths assorted to a red awning. Offering a large selection of dim sum delights from steamed baskets, Sampan Seafood has become a breakfast tradition amongst many Hongkongers.
Sampan Seafood Restaurant, 16 Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Sunsets are quite hard to chase when on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, often involving hiking up a hill. If the rewarding feeling of reaching a peak just in time for twilight is something you crave, then how better to do it than by sitting down and taking it all in once you’ve reached your goal? Fortunately, breathtaking sunsets are visible from Yung Shue Wan without the trek, and Sau Kee Seafood Restaurant offers one of the best views in town! With a great selection of seafood, soups, meats, and plenty of cold beer in the fridge, its outdoor terrace guarantees you front-row seats to the spectacle.
Sau Kee Seafood Restaurant, 43 Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
For sunset lovers with a more meat-based diet, Sau Kee’s neighbour, Lamma Grill, offers the same view with a very different menu. Serving juicy burgers, wraps, skewers, and charcoal-grilled ribs of all kinds, Lamma Grill is a carnivore’s paradise. It also sets the perfect scene for enjoying drinks by the sea in a family-friendly and fun atmosphere!
Lamma Grill, 36 Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Bookworm Café is a local favourite. Do not be fooled by its dim appearance on the outside; the café’s décor is lively, with plants scattered all over, leaf patterns on the wall, bookshelves for you to take your pick while you enjoy food and drinks, and a recognisable blue surfboard propped against the outside wall. It is a creative hub as well as a great place to catch up with friends.
Serving an array of fresh juices as well as your favourite coffee order, the menu offers a yummy selection of Western foods, such as tacos, pizzas, and some vegetarian dishes, including a signature vegetarian lasagna.
Bookworm Café, 79 Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
If you are looking to blow off some steam, head to Dale Candela! Located a mere 300 metres from the Yung Shue Wan pier, you will not have to walk far nor look hard to find this address. Located on the corner of Main Street, Lamma’s buzzing atmosphere easily transfers to the wooden-bench terrace of this tapas restaurant and bar.
Dale Candela serves a filling Western set lunch, a Spanish selection of tapas, and mains such as the seabass, cooked to perfection. Most importantly, its regular clientele knows to order a fresh bottle of red or rosé sangria, the real star of the meal.
Here’s a little tip: Do not stress about ferry times. Just get up once you start to see crowds rushing past, or hear locals chatting away about which ferry they are catching—that’s how you know it’s time to go. Bottoms up! It’s time to hop on the ferry back to Central.
Dale Candela, 23 Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
On the hill slightly above Lamma Power Station Beach is one of the rare dining options available on Lamma which is not located near Yung Shue Wan or Sok Kwu Wan ferry piers. Restaurant on the Hill is a Chinese establishment with a spacious outdoor terrace. In true Lamma style, its sea views also double as a panorama of the aforementioned power station, but that is just part of the charm.
The menu is all in Chinese, but you can ask for classic fried noodles, veggies, and soups, such as mung bean, red bean, or pumpkin sago.
Restaurant On the Hill, 39 Tai Wan To, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Sok Kwu Wan is a secluded strip of Lamma with a deeply local vibe. However, standing out from the row of classic seafood restaurants with fish tanks and one-litre Blue Girl beer bottles is the recently reopened Lamma House. Its design catches the eye with its white-and-blue wicker furniture, walls of greenery, wicker lanterns, elegant cushions, and overall dreamy ambiance. No need to travel to Saint-Tropez— Lamma House by Nextwave Yachting has brought the Mediterranean dolce vita to you!
With an upscale seafood menu including baked lobster with butter or cheese sauce, steamed rice with dried seafood, sea cucumber with mapo tofu, or geoduck sashimi among others, the highlight is also on the drinks with Minuty rosé and Krug champagne on the list.
Lamma House 南丫公館, 1A–B First Street, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island
Lamma will never judge you for making the ferry journey and sitting down in a restaurant all afternoon, not adventuring any deeper into nature. Once you have covered seafood, skewers, dim sum, and other classic eats, why not try out the Indian menu at Spicy Island? Located in a corner just left after landing on Lamma via the Yung Shue Wan ferry, the establishment serves an array of delicious samosas, pakoras, papadams, and chaats as appetisers, and all your favourite tandoori dishes as main courses.
Spicy Island Indian Restaurant and Bar,7A–B Main Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Calling out to all the sweet-toothed day-trippers! Shelly Cake Express is an independent cake shop nestled in the narrow, zigzagging streets of Lamma. Famous for its tofu cheesecake, the homey location also serves as a café, offering assortments of espresso, Earl Grey, almond, cornflake, oatmeal and raisins, chocolate, or butter biscuits, as well as seasonal treats and colourful milkshakes.
Shelly Cake Express, 21 Back Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
Born and raised in the French countryside, Lily arrived in Hong Kong looking for an adventure. Passionate about books, she spent some time in Parisian publishing houses and is the author of an illustrated book about hair. Life in Hong Kong for her entails looking for seaside places to eat and a lot of hiking.
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