Preserved meats: lap cheong & waxed meats

Preserved meats — cured sausages, waxed duck and waxed pork — are a genuine seasonal fixture of Hong Kong's food culture, most visible in the cooler months when strings of these preserved meats hang openly outside shops.

Lap cheong (Chinese sausage)

A sweet, dense cured pork sausage, most commonly used as an ingredient rather than eaten on its own — a classic addition to claypot rice (see our banquet food guide for the wider claypot tradition) and fried rice.

Waxed meats (laap mei)

A broader category including waxed duck, waxed pork belly and liver sausage, traditionally prepared in winter when cooler, drier air suits the curing process — laap mei restaurants specialising in rice dishes topped with an assortment of these meats become particularly popular in the colder months.

Where to try it

Dedicated laap mei restaurants serve claypot rice with a choice of preserved meats on top, generally most available and freshest from around November through the Lunar New Year period, after which the tradition naturally winds down until the following winter.

Buying to take home

Dried goods shops, particularly in Sheung Wan and Des Voeux Road West (see our Sheung Wan guide), sell preserved meats for cooking at home — check your destination country's customs rules on bringing meat products back before buying to travel with.