Eat your big meal at lunch. Most Asian (excluding Chinese) and Western restaurants offer special fixed-price lunches that are much cheaper than evening meals; their menus often include an appetizer, main course, and side dishes. Don't neglect expensive restaurants just because you assume they're out of your price range. If you feel like splurging, lunch is the way to go. For example, you can eat lunch at Gaddi's (one of Hong Kong's most famous restaurants) for HK$339 (US$44) per person (dinner would be at least double that).

Jump on the buffet bandwagon. Buffet spreads are another great Hong Kong tradition. Almost all hotels offer buffets, often for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; independent restaurants are more likely to feature buffets at lunch. Some include a variety of both Asian and Continental dishes, a real bonus for lone diners who want to sample a variety of cuisines at a reasonable cost. If you have a hearty appetite, buffets are one of the best bargains in town.

Eat an early or late dinner to take advantage of special fixed-price meals. A few restaurants offer early-bird or late-night specials. If you dine before 7pm at trendy Felix, for example, a three-course meal costs only HK$339 (US$44) as opposed to the HK$616 to HK$770 (US$80-US$100) usually spent on dinner here.

If you want to imbibe, stick with beer. Wine is especially expensive in Hong Kong. The estimated meal prices for the restaurants presented in this chapter do not include wine, since you could easily spend a fortune on drinks alone. To keep costs down, try the two most popular brands of beer: San Miguel (Filipino) and Tsingtao (Chinese.

Go the dim sum route. Dim sum, served mainly in Cantonese restaurants, is another way to economize on breakfast or lunch. Dim sum are usually served four to a basket or plate; two or three baskets are usually filling enough for me, which means I can have breakfast or lunch for less than HK$100 (US$13).