Bowrington Road Market and Cooked Food Centre, Wan Chai
A public market and late-night cooked food centre in Wan Chai, named after the canal that once ran past it.
At a glance
- Name: Bowrington Road Market (鵝頸街市), with a cooked food centre.
- Address: 21 Bowrington Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island.
- Market hours: 6 am to 8 pm.
- Cooked food centre hours: 6 am to 2 am.
- Run by: the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD).
Address and hours are from the FEHD, checked 22 October 2026. Hours can change, so check the FEHD page before a special trip.
What is Bowrington Road Market?
Bowrington Road Market is a public market on Hong Kong Island, in Wan Chai District. The FEHD lists it as a market with a cooked food centre. That means one building gives you two things: a wet market for fresh food shopping, and a set of small stalls that cook meals to eat on the spot. It is one of the 93 public markets and cooked food markets or centres that the FEHD provides across Hong Kong.
In Cantonese the market is called 鵝頸街市 (ngo keng gaai si), the "goose neck market". The name comes from the old canal that once ran past this spot, explained below.
The "goose neck" name and the old canal
Before the city grew here, this was the mouth of the Wong Nai Chung river, which flowed down through Happy Valley. John Bowring, the fourth Governor of Hong Kong, developed the area and named the new town Bowrington after himself.
Bowrington Canal was dug in the mid to late 1850s and fed by the same river. It was long and narrow, and people thought it looked like the neck of a goose, so they called it 鵝頸澗, the "goose neck stream". Only small, low boats could use it, because they had to pass under the bridges along the way.
The best known crossing was Bowrington Bridge, built in 1861 and known in Cantonese as 鵝頸橋, the "goose neck bridge". Hong Kong's trams later ran across it. A first wooden bridge was replaced by an iron one in March 1892. In the 1970s the canal was covered over and put underground when the Canal Road Flyover was built. Today the street names, and the market's Cantonese name, are the main reminders that there was ever water here. The area around it is still also known as 鵝頸, "goose neck".
What's inside
The FEHD publishes how many stalls trade in each category. These are the main food and shopping groups it lists for Bowrington Road Market:
| Stall type (FEHD) | Stalls |
|---|---|
| Wet goods (fresh food) | 87 |
| Dry goods | 39 |
| Non-food dry goods | 17 |
| Fish | 14 |
| Food-related wet goods | 12 |
| Cooked food | 9 |
| Food-related dry goods | 8 |
| Non-food wet goods | 4 |
| Class II commodities | 2 |
| Fruits | 1 |
The FEHD counts the stalls that currently sell each type of goods, so the numbers move as stalls open and close. Wet goods make up the biggest group by far, so this is a place for a proper fresh food shop, with dry goods and household items on the side.
The cooked food centre
The cooked food centre has 9 cooked food stalls, according to the FEHD. It keeps much longer hours than the market: from 6 am until 2 am. That makes it handy for an early breakfast before work or a late supper. Our sources do not list the stalls or their menus, so we do not name them here. If you like this kind of everyday cooking, read our guide to the cha chaan teng.
Nearby markets
Wan Chai's street market. The Hong Kong Tourism Board describes Wan Chai Market as a busy street market near Wan Chai Road and Tai Yuen Street, close to MTR Wan Chai Station. Its stalls and lanes sell fresh produce, seafood, clothing and general goods.
Other FEHD markets in Wan Chai District. The FEHD also runs Lockhart Road Market (225 Hennessy Road, with a cooked food centre), Tang Lung Chau Market (59 Jardine's Bazaar, Causeway Bay) and Wong Nai Chung Market (2 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley). Its listing says the Wong Nai Chung cooked food centre is closed for the time being for improvement works.
The FEHD gives no MTR exit for Bowrington Road Market, so plan your route with the government's HKeMobility route search.
Tips for visiting
- Go early if you want to browse. The market opens at 6 am and closes at 8 pm.
- Come late for food. The cooked food centre stays open until 2 am.
- Wear sensible shoes. Wet market floors stay damp all day. Our wet market guide explains why.
- Learn the weights. Fresh food is often priced by the catty. See our market words.
Heading to east Kowloon too? See our guide to Ngau Chi Wan Market.
Frequently asked questions
What are Bowrington Road Market's opening hours?
The FEHD lists the market as open from 6 am to 8 pm, and the cooked food centre from 6 am to 2 am (checked 22 October 2026).
Where is Bowrington Road Market?
It is at 21 Bowrington Road, Wan Chai, on Hong Kong Island.
Does Bowrington Road Market have a cooked food centre?
Yes. The FEHD lists it as a public market with a cooked food centre, and counts 9 cooked food stalls.
Why is it called the goose neck market?
Its Cantonese name, 鵝頸街市, means "goose neck market". It comes from Bowrington Canal, a long, narrow canal dug in the 1850s that people said looked like a goose's neck. The canal was covered over in the 1970s.
- FEHD, Bowrington Road Market (facility page: address, opening hours, stall types): https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/map/market/market_pt.html?mapID=628&type=market
- FEHD, List of public markets and cooked food markets/centres: https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/Markets_CFC_list.html
- Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Public markets: https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/overview.html
- Hong Kong Tourism Board (Discover Hong Kong), Wanchai Market: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/place-to-go/travel.guide-wanchai-market.html
- Wikipedia, Canal Road, Hong Kong (Bowrington Canal history): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Road,_Hong_Kong
All checked 22 October 2026. Facts were taken from these sources and written in our own words. Photo: Unsplash License. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.