Fa Yuen Street Market, Hong Kong

Fa Yuen Street Market, Hong Kong Overview

An absolute and undisputed shoe haven, the Fa Yuen Street Market, more infamously called the home for ‘Sneaker Street’, is situated at the Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok between Dundas and Boundary Street of Hong Kong. It is simply a fun and lively street market full of interesting products, endless types of exotic and eccentric shoes that are equal parts flamboyant and cool, affordable clothing, and miscellaneous electronics.

From footwear, accessories, and bags to small leather goods like belts and wallets, there is something for everyone at highly discounted rates making it an unmissable spot for shopping enthusiasts, people with a knack for negotiating very well. Earlier a district for growing flowers (hence the name which literally translates to “flower garden street”), Fa Yuen Street became the present-day shopping hub and came in the spotlight since the 1980s. The market itself ranges for about 1.2 km while the footwear shopping market stretches over 300 meters, lined with over 50 shoes and sportswear selling stalls and shops. All this combined with the vast array of native Chinese food options makes it a definite in the itinerary of anyone looking to explore Hong Kong in its true essence.

Shopping at Ya Fuen Street Market

The market has 2 main portions/divisions, the south section is the sneaker street market lying between the Soy street and Argyle Street while the north consists of other street market stalls as well as Chinese eateries between Prince Edward Road West and Mong Kok Road.

Beginning with the main attraction- sneakers, walking shoes, cross trainers and basically every other sports shoe type that can be named. These can be found in abundance at more than 50 shops including authentic brand names like Puma, Nike, Converse, Reebok, K Swiss, New Balance, and their likes. All kinds of sporting goods are available to purchase from rackets and shoelaces to shoes and other sportswear accessories. The variety present is unbeatable.

It is not behind even in fashion merchandises like dresses in Asian styles, smart plus versatile bags, belts, hats, wallets along with a galore of electronics at the several street stalls beyond/before the sneaker market making it a complete shopping experience in itself for locals, expats and tourists alike. This part is similar to that of the Ladies market and may not be as happening but has wider streets for a comfortable shopping excursion.

Ya Fuen Wet Market

The Ya Fuen Market also has a food center inside the Municipal Services Building offering a multitude of traditional delicacies, wherein resides the wet market. The is a great place to soak in the local cultural vibes as you see Chinese people grocery shopping in the morning for the super fresh and newly bought produce of raw food materials. It is also known for its popular cooked poultry food like roasted duck, deep fried pigeons soy sauce chicken and roasted goose.

Food at Ya Fuen Street Market

Other than shopping, this market has a plethora of delectable food alternatives. There is the food center inside the Municipal Services Building which serves a large variety of sumptuous local dishes, its reputed cooked poultry delicacies, and the wet market to purchase fresh produce. There are also quite a few snacks and food stalls in the market itself.

Some very popular ones are the stinky tofu stalls with fragrance so strong that you can apparently smell your way to them and the Fei Jei Snacks Shop, a vendor known for its braised items like octopus tentacles, chicken livers, and turkey and pig offals.

Best Time to Visit

Since Fa Yuen Street Market and all its shops are open till 11:00 PM in the night and throughout the day, it is pretty much bustling with people and vibrancy at all times. It can get more crowded at night or during lunch hours but otherwise feel free to go at any time.

Tips

1. Make sure to compare prices at/of different stores because there is a good possibility of finding better prices further along the road and this also gives you buyer’s advantage of convincing the salesman to come down to your price if you know that others are selling the same thing for a lower amount.
2. You may not find dearth cheap shoes or too heavily discounted designs, so don’t go with that mindset in case of sneakers at least, because this market is more known for carrying and having a collection of the latest, most trendy and even special/limited edition shoes than it is for being cheap or too affordable.
3. Most of the shoes sold are authentic and are available at slightly discounted prices mainly because they are imported/sourced from countries with lower tariffs and because all the sneaker buffs lose interest in previous versions, making it possible to sell them at lower prices to regular customers. So, you need not worry about that aspect.

How To Reach Fa Yuen Street Market

Hop on the MTR and alight at the Mong Kok MTR station, take exit D3 from there and walk along the Argyle Street to reach the Fa Yuen Street where this market is located.

One can also take the MTR to the Prince Edward Station, take exit B2 and walk along the Prince Edward West. After about 150 meters, turn right and cross the road to enter the Fa Yuen Street into the Fa Yuen Market.