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Bruce Lee’s favourite dishes – and where he most liked to eat out in Hong Kong and Seattle

Bruce Lee often ate four to five small meals a day, and was fond of a wide variety of Chinese dishes. Photo: LoDown
Bruce Lee often ate four to five small meals a day, and was fond of a wide variety of Chinese dishes. Photo: LoDown
Bruce Lee

Legendary kung fu master liked steak and spaghetti but avoided fried food and alcohol; he also ate four or five smaller meals a day and snacked on fruit to boost his metabolism

We know a lot about Hong Kong’s most famous son, actor, martial artist and founder of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee, who sadly died at the age of 32 while filming Game of Death. But do you know what his favourite food was or where he liked to eat?

According to Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant in Seattle, this restaurant was Lee’s favourite spot to dine when he was in the city. He would walk into the restaurant and sit in his favourite booth at the back and the waiter would know exactly what he wanted – beef with oyster sauce and garlic shrimp, served with a bowl of cabbage soup.

Lin Heung Tea House, Central, Hong Kong Photo: SCMP/Nora Tam
Lin Heung Tea House, Central, Hong Kong Photo: SCMP/Nora Tam
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In Hong Kong, he used to eat at the famous Lin Heung Tea House in Central or the Mido Café on Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei.

Mido Cafe, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong
Mido Cafe, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong

“I remember we used to go for dim sum a lot,” says Robert Chua, who created and produced TVB’s Enjoy Yourself Tonight in the late sixties. Lee appeared on the show when he came back to Hong Kong.

Robert Chua, Bruce Lee and Raymond Chow. Photo: Robert Chua
Robert Chua, Bruce Lee and Raymond Chow. Photo: Robert Chua

Another family friend remembered how they used to eat at a large Chinese restaurant on Waterloo Road near to Nathan Road, “Lee was never a big eater though,” she says.

Tracey Furniss is a freelance writer for the SCMP. She was the former Deputy Editor, Specialist Publications at the SCMP, where she oversaw special reports and publications, and was editor of Good Eating magazine, Christmas magazine and 100 Top Tables – an award-winning executive dining guide. Before joining the SCMP, she was a television journalist and an award-winning documentary filmmaker, digital editor and travel writer for a host of international publications such as Fodor’s, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel and Passport Newsletter.