Celebrated in late May or early June each year, depending on the Chinese calendar, Dragon Boat Festival is a holiday that was originally created as a tribute to Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who sacrificed his life for his country. The nearby villagers rowed boats to recover the poet from the river where he had drowned himself, throwing glutinous rice dumplings into the water to distract the fish from eating the body.

Today, despite its morbid origins, the holiday is much more joyfully associated with dragon-boat races and eating our fair share of glutinous rice dumplings, known in Chinese as zongzi

These stuffed sticky rice dumplings, which are usually pyramid or pillow shaped in southern China and Hong Kong, are wrapped in bamboo leaves and then steamed or boiled. The Cantonese fillings veer towards the savoury side, from roast pork and dried scallop to salted egg yolk and abalone, but in northern China, sweeter fillings are more common.

We’ve rounded up our top 5 favourite sticky rice dumplings this year that are worth seeking out, some traditional and others much more inventive.

Hong’s Kong best sticky rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival 2024

Lung King Heen

Lung King Heen Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

The Four Seasons’ two-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Lung King Heen is offering a mix of old and new this year for Dragon Boat Festival, with chef Chan Yan Tak crafting two gift sets that include Yingde No 9 black tea. A reliable favourite, the delightfully chewy organic glutinous grain rice dumpling with abalone and conpoy (HKD568) features two pieces of coveted South African abalone, conpoy, Chinese mushroom, and salted egg yolk for an umami explosion; it weighs 300 grams, so it’s hefty enough to serve four.

If you’re looking to try something new this year, there is a creative sweet-meets-savoury duo of glutinous rice dumpling with osmanthus and sweet potato and glutinous rice dumpling with whitebait, conpoy, and termite mushroom (HKD488) that sounds intriguing.

Lung King Heen, 4/F, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, 3196 8882, order here


Yat Tung Heen

Yat Tung Heen Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

There are two sustainably packaged sticky rice dumplings available at Yat Tung Teen, another Michelin-starred Cantonese contender, this time housed at Eaton HK hotel. The stylishly recyclable dark green envelopes are adorned with a traditionally woven knot that can be repurposed at home. The deluxe whole abalone rice dumpling with conpoy (HKD328) by chef Tam Tung also contains salted egg yolk, dried scallop, roasted goose, and Chinese mushroom, whilst the OmniPork vegetarian rice dumpling (HKD298) is a nutrient-rich plant-based option bursting with “eight treasures” ingredients like kidney bean and mushroom.

Yat Tung Heen, B2/F, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan, 2710 1093/2710 1094, order here


Shang Palace

Shang Palace Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

At nearby Tsim Sha Tsui East hotel Kowloon Shangri-La, Shang Palace, also crowned with a Michelin star, shines with its varied Dragon Boat Festival offerings courtesy of chef Raymond Wong. The rice dumpling with abalone, dried scallop, roasted pork, and salted egg yolk (HKD378) is a popular classic choice, but if you want to walk on the wild side, we recommend the brand-new Taiwanese sweetened crystal rice dumplings, which come in a six-piece gift box (HKD298) in flavours of peanut, red bean, and orange and passion fruit. Also inspired by Taiwan is a sweet dumpling newcomer in the form of the Shangri-La Far Eastern Taipei purple rice dumpling with custard (HKD148).

Shang Palace, Lower Level I, Kowloon Shangri-La, 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, 2733 8754, order here


Hotel ICON

Hotel ICON Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

It seems like a lot of the rice dumpling action is taking place in Kowloon this year, with Hotel ICON delivering both sweet and savoury creations that stand out from the pack. First up at Cantonese fine-diner Above & Beyond, chef Wong Chi Ki has created a truffle rice dumpling with Yunnan ham, conpoy, and abalone (HKD298) that’s a great choice for purists looking to indulge. However, it’s the hotel’s Malaysian executive chef, Danny Ho, who has truly wowed us with his striking trio of rainbow sweet rice dumplings with durian-pandan kaya (HKD238). Each mini cube is made with Thai glutinous rice and showcases a different natural food colouring (butterfly-pea flower blue, pandan green, and turmeric yellow).

Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, 3400 1000, order here


Jade Garden

Jade Garden Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

Long-standing Cantonese restaurant brand Jade Garden, dating back to 1971, has unveiled five affordably priced sticky rice dumplings this year, each one more innovative than the last. On the savoury side, there’s the scallop and squid rice dumpling (HKD119), roasted goose and pork rice dumpling (HKD111), and uber-luxe sea urchin and fish maw rice dumpling (HKD141). The mandarin peel and red bean rice dumpling (HKD52) and coconut-laced kaya rice dumpling (HKD52) are ideal for the sweet-toothed.

Jade Garden, multiple locations across Hong Kong, order here

Stephanie Pliakas is the Digital Editor of Foodie. From Michelin-starred fine-dining to the local comfort-food eats dished out at cha chaan tengs, she has immersed herself in the city’s ever-changing food scene since making Hong Kong her home more than a decade ago. When Stephanie is not devouring something delicious, she’s cooking and baking up a storm at home (whilst listening to true crime podcasts).

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