Your Cantonese Cuisine Flavor Charts

Sweet / 甜 (tim)

There’s always a pinch of sugar in your food, even if you didn’t know it.
Try it… The quintessential Hong Kong dessert: mango pomelo sago, served in coconut milk. Get this classic dish from the place it was invented: Lei Garden (Various locations including Shop 1003, 10/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson St., Causeway Bay, 2506-3828).

Fresh / 鮮 (sin)

There’s nothing more important in Cantonese cooking than freshness. From caught-that-day fish to vegetables that have just been pulled out of the ground, freshness is king.
Try it… Good sashimi always has that fresh-sweet taste. Try some wallet-friendly omakase at Sushi Man (Shop 5, Lee Fat House, 5 Yan Lok Square, Yuen Long, 2285-9477).

Salty / 鹹 (haam)

Salt is pervasive in Hong Kong cooking, from salted fish to ubiquitous soy sauce.
Try it…Salted duck egg yolks lend a rich salinity that works perfectly with seafood, such as with the salted egg yolk prawns at Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter (Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, 8112-0075), where you’re served your meal on a sampan in the middle of the harbor. Just try not to think about the cholesterol…

Sour / 酸 (suen)

The perfect balance to sweet flavors, usually brought out in dishes made with vinegar.
Try it… Sweet and sour pork is, as the name would imply, both sweet and sour. Try the posh version at Mott 32 (B/F, Standard Chartered Building, 4-4A Des Voeux Rd. Central, 2885-8688), which uses aged black vinegar for a refined twist on a classic.

Aromatic / 香 (heung)

This implies a heady aroma, of spices being dry-fried in a wok (bao heung, “exploded into aroma”) until the whole room is full of smells that are both earthy and heavenly at the same time.
Try it… The Yuan Heng Spice Co. (19 Tung St., Sheung Wan, 2542-0275) sells spices from every corner of the world to kickstart your cooking.

Intense / 濃 (nung)

A strongly-flavored brew is said to be nung, a mix of flavors that are almost too much.
Try it… Nothing is nung like Hong Kong-style milk tea. Head to Lan Fong Yuen  (2 Gage St., Central, 2544-3895) and order one of their classic silk-stocking milk teas—to go. There’s no reason to wait around.

Bitter / 苦 (fu)

A classic Cantonese flavor, challenging… but rewarding.
Try it… The classic bitter dish is stir-fried bitter melon with beef and black bean: Soft velveted beef fights against the bitter crunch of the melon for a truly Cantonese combination. Hit up the open-air dai pai dongs of Temple Street for a meal that’s half-touristy fun, half-quintessential Hong Kong.

Tart / 澀 (gip)

Astringent, sharp, bitter notes that make you pucker are said to be gip. It’s also the word used for tannins: The slogan for Vita Ceylon lemon tea is gip dak hei—“tart enough!”
Try it… Red wine is often described as gip, making this an easy flavor to get your head around.