Hot pot & sweet dessert soups (tong sui)

Two very different but equally central parts of Hong Kong's food culture: hot pot, a communal, cook-it-yourself meal especially popular in cooler months, and tong sui, sweet dessert soups eaten as a matter of course rather than an occasional treat.

Hot pot

A simmering pot of broth is placed at the centre of the table, with diners cooking their own thinly sliced meat, seafood, vegetables and noodles in it, usually dipped in a personal sauce mix afterward. It's inherently social — rarely ordered for one, and often stretching into a multi-hour meal among a group. Restaurants typically offer several broth styles, from mild to a numbing Sichuan-spiced version.

Tong sui (sweet soup)

A category of warm or cold sweet soups eaten as dessert or a snack — common versions include black sesame paste, walnut paste, red bean soup, and sweetened tofu pudding (dau fu fa). Small, dedicated tong sui shops exist purely for this category, open into the late evening as a genuine after-dinner or late-night habit rather than a special-occasion dessert.

When to have each

Hot pot leans toward cooler months and groups; tong sui is eaten year-round, any time of day, alone or with company — a good, low-commitment way to try something distinctly local between bigger meals.