There is only one way to arrive at Kowloon: take the timeless Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island. You disembark on the waterfront promenade, which boasts not just unparalleled views over Victoria Harbour, but the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong film industry's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Welcome to glitzy Tsim Sha Tsui, a world of dazzling neon signs, exclusive fashion stores and grand restaurants, frequented by the local movers and shakers. Top of the list has to be T'ang Court (Langham Hotel, 8 Peking Road, tel 2375 1133), an opulent salon serving lavish Cantonese cuisine, while for classic Peking duck and spectacular noodle-making at your table, reserve at Peking Garden Restaurant (3 Salisbury Road, 2735 8211).
The atmosphere is a lot more laid back, and the cuisine from a different world, at Aspasia (39 Kimberley Road, 3763 8800), where Roland Schuller cooks the best Italian cuisine in town.
Kowloon caters for all budgets. Those not keen on reserving at a chic gourmet address have a host of fun, affordable alternatives. In Tsim Sha Tsui, Ashley Road is a paradise of world cuisine, where you can choose between Malaysian, Australian, Korean, Singaporean, Thai and Indian.
On Knutsford Terrace, teeming with party-goers, the bistros are funkier and the cuisine more cosmopolitan, with Caribbean cooking, steak and oyster bars, and a host of pizza and pasta joints. Alternatively, jump on the MTR Underground to Mongkok, walk along Dundas Street towards the Ladies Market (brilliant for cheap shopping) and you'll find the biggest variety of street food in Hong Kong. Noisy pavement stalls sell everything from grilled octopus and crispy calamari to deep-fried smelly tofu (as strong as ripe camembert), fish and beef balls, and all kinds of weird-looking offal and tripe.
Heading up towards the New Territories you hit Kowloon City, the site of the old airport, so it's no high-rise metropolis. Any foodie should come here just to step back in time at the Shanhai New Sam Yung Market, an amazing wet market at street level, with dozens of lively food stalls on the floor above. The adventure doesn't stop here: track down Cheong Fat Chiu Chow restaurant (60-62 South Wall Road, 2383 9688), beloved by food cognoscenti for its fabulous Chiu Chow cuisine, where, as you enter, the open kitchen is a feast for the eyes.
Local buses or a cheap taxi ride then take you on into another very different world, the beautiful bay of Sai Kung. Fishermen sell a staggering array of seafood, including the biggest lobsters imaginable, fresh from the boat. Of the dozen huge seafood restaurants along the harbour, Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant (53 Hoi Pong Street) has to be the best. Deep-fried mantis prawns, giant razor clams in a spicy green pepper sauce, succulent crabs poached in Chinese wine and egg white, and locally fished sea urchin are among the specialities.
Street food
Egg wu ha Crispy chips made from taro and shrimp
Put chai ko "Pudding cake": steamed sugar flavoured with red beans, often served in a porcelain bowl
Sam po Deep-fried yam, sweet potato and arrowhead slices
Prawn rolls Shrimp wrapped with layers of beancurd skin
Chess biscuits Coconut and bean snack, named after Chinese chess pieces
Curry fish balls Cooked in creamy coconut curry sauce then smothered in shrimp paste and turmeric
Waffle balls Low-baked for five minutes, crispy on one side, soft on the other
Chou doufu Fermented yellow-bean tofu, marinated in brine then fried. Lives up to its "stinky tofu" nickname
Beef balls Made from pounded beef, not minced. Sold at street-side soup stalls with wonton noodles
Yu pin tau Deep-fried fishcakes, where the flesh is pounded again to release the natural collagen, giving the trademark springy texture
