Mak’s Noodle – Most Famous Wonton Noodles in Hong Kong

I was enjoying my stroll along Wellington Street in Hong Kong, trying to locate the famous Mak’s Noodle. It did not take long before I spotted the restaurant with its brightly lit facade.

Mak’s Noodle

Mak’s Noodle is a famous wanton noodles shop located along Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong.

It was once a Michelin starred restaurant but is currently no longer on the Michelin Restaurants list (2018).

The restaurant also has a branch in Singapore at The Centrepoint, which has received generally negative reviews.

History of Mak’s Noodle

When planning my trip to Hong Kong, I realised that there are plenty of “Mak’s noodle” shops, which was pretty confusing.

After some research, I managed to piece together a rough narrative of Mak’s Noodle’s history. However, it may not be entirely accurate because I only used secondary online sources. Therefore, please feel free to correct me if you guys find any glaring discrepancies!

All Mak-related noodle restaurants today can be traced back to the original Mak’s Noodle in Guangzhou, China. This noodles stall was founded in 1920 by Mak Woon Chi.

During World War II, Mak Woon Chi moved his business to Hong Kong, opening an outdoor street stall in Central. This simple stall eventually developed to become an indoor eatery.

In 1957, an uncle of the family, Mak Man King started Mak Man Kee as a dai pai dong with his wife. Today, this business is run by his daughter, Lesley Mak.

In 1968, one of Mak Woon Chi’s sons, Mak King Hung (nicknamed Mak Ngan) took over the main operations of Mak’s Noodle.

In 1983, the founder Mak Woon Chi officially retired, closing his eatery in Central.

In 1986, the founder’s eldest son, Mak Chi Chung opened his own Mak An Kee shop at Wing Kat Street in Sheung Wan.

In 1989, Mak Woon Chi came out of retirement to reincarnate Mak’s Noodle at Wellington Street with his son-in-law, Tony. (This is the branch I went to)

In 1996, the elderly Mak Woon Chi retired a second time. He handed over the business to his second son, Mak Chi Ming, who is the main owner today and runs the business with Tony.

There are also several other Mak-related restaurants opened by Mak descendants and disciples. Below is a summary of ALL the Mak restaurants for your easy reference!

List of Mak-Related Restaurants

Name	Description	Address
Mak’s Noodle	The original shop founded by Mak Woon Chi in 1920	77 Wellington St, Central
Mak Man Kee	Founded by uncle of the family, Mak Man King in 1957. Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurant 2018	51 Parkes St, Jordan,
Mak An Kee	Opened by Mak’s eldest son, Mak Chi Chung in 1986	37 Wing Kat Street, Central
Mak Siu Kee	Opened by Mak’s granddaughter	61 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai
Ho Hung Kee	Opened by Mak’s protege, Ho Wing Fong in 1946. Michelin One Star Restaurant 2018	1205 Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Rd, Causeway Bay
Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun	Founded by Ho Wing Fong’s son, Ho Kun Ming. Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurant 2018	Shop 3016, IFC Mall, 8 Finance St, Central

I hope you’re still awake after the history lesson above! Ok now it’s back to the review of Mak’s Noodle at Wellington Street.

Pleasant Ambience

Walking into the restaurant alone, I was led by an unsmiling elderly male staff to a small table. He served me a complimentary cup of tea before promptly walking away.

I wasn’t affected by this nonchalant service at all because I was already well aware of Hong Kong restaurants’ infamous hospitality standards. And at least there was tea!

Moments later, I was joined by another individual diner at my table. Again I wasn’t surprised because it is a common practice to share tables in many Hong Kong eateries.

On the upside, I liked the bright cheery vibe of the restaurant, which had a modern oriental decor with a pleasant green colour theme.

Signature Wanton Noodles

I looked through the menu placed below the glass table top, and decided to just order the Signature Wanton Noodles (HKD42).

The noodles came shortly after, and I was a little surprised by the small size of the bowl. The portion of noodles was quite small, but after stirring around I found four big pieces of wantons inside.

I actually liked the small serving because I was going to check out other eateries after this. Therefore, the small portion ensured I would still have sufficient stomach space later on.

I was pretty excited to check out the wanton noodles because Mak’s Noodle has been widely touted to be “one of the best” in Hong Kong.

I decided to taste the soup first. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I wasn’t blown away. The soup was decent, though I felt it was lacking in flavour.

Next, I had the noodles. It was quite well-cooked, with a very smooth and springy texture. However, it had a slight alkaline aftertaste which distracted from my enjoyment of the noodles.

The highlight of the dish was the four succulent wantons, which tasted very fresh and had wonderful bite. I enjoyed the smooth texture of the wanton skin too.

Mak’s Noodle Menu (click to enlarge)

Conclusion

I left Mak’s Noodle feeling underwhelmed. After reading so many raving reviews of the restaurant, and at HKD42 per bowl, I had expected better quality wanton noodles. The noodles and soup here were average at best. The only redeeming factor was the succulent wantons. That said, I felt Mak’s Noodle was still better than opposite Tsim Chai Kee, whose wanton noodles left even more to be desired. On the whole, I had a pretty disappointing wanton noodles experience at Wellington Street.

Mak’s Noodle (Main Branch)
What to order: Signature Wanton Noodles (HKD42)
Address: G/F, 77 Wellington St, Central
Directions: Seven-minute walk from Sheung Wan station
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am to 9pm
Phone: +852 2854 3810

Other Branches
The Peak: Shop 12-13, L1/F, The Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road, The Peak
Causeway Bay: G/F, 37 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Tin Hau: G/F, No. 76B Electric Road, Tin Hau
Jordon: G/F, No. 55 Parkes Street, Jordon, Kowloon
Tsim Sha Tsui: G/F, No.19 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tsim Sha Tsui: Shop OTG02, Ground Floor, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hunghom: Shop G12, G/F, Deli Place (Site 4), Wonderful Worlds of Whampoa, Hunghom, Kowloon
Tsuen Wan: Shop G13&G15,Ground Floor,1 Yeung Uk Road, Citywalk, Tsuen Wan, Kowloon