Hong Kong has restaurants for almost every cuisine on earth — yet until recently, one whole region was missing from the map. Yurt, on Elgin Street in Soho, changed that: it is billed as Hong Kong's first modern Central Asian restaurant, cooking the hearty, soulful food of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and beyond. If you have never tried a plov, a baursak or (yes) horse-meat sausage, here is what to order at Yurt in Hong Kong, plus prices, the address and how to book.
In This Guide
What is Yurt, and why does it matter?
Yurt is Hong Kong's first restaurant devoted to modern Central Asian cooking. The name says it all — a yurt is the round felt tent of the region's nomads — and the kitchen draws on the shared table of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The whole menu is halal, which also makes it a welcome addition for Muslim diners in the city.
The restaurant was co-founded by two Kazakhs, with Xeniya Tregubenko leading the front of house as its "storyteller". She co-designed the menu with the head chef around dishes central to her childhood, so the recipes arrive in full strength rather than being softened for a Hong Kong palate. In a city crowded with the familiar, that novelty is the point — a whole new cuisine to try in a single sitting. For more firsts and fresh tables, see our running list of new restaurant openings in Hong Kong.
What should you order at Yurt?
Central Asian food is built on bread, rice and slow-cooked meat, so come hungry and order to share. Start soft and carby, then move to the big bowls.
Open with the baursak (HK$55), plump homemade fried dough pockets served with a tangy white-truffle sauce — a staple across the whole region. Add the Uzbek-style acichuk salad (HK$98), a light bed of sweetened quinoa with red grapes and cherry tomatoes that works as a palate cleanser before the heavier plates.
For mains, the pilaf (HK$140) — known locally as plov — is heartier than a Middle Eastern version, with fatty beef laid over rice and slightly firm chickpeas for texture. The signature, though, is beshbarmak (HK$140): hand-rolled square noodles with shredded potato and carrot in a simmering beef broth, traditionally eaten to warm the soul or cure a cold. Vegetarians are looked after too, with a dolma (HK$125) of aubergine, courgette and carrot. Finish with the aport (HK$108), a not-too-sweet cheesecake with green-apple puree and caramel.
The menu and prices at a glance
Yurt: what to order
| Dish | Style | Price (HKD)* |
|---|---|---|
| Baursak (fried dough, truffle sauce) | Starter | 55 |
| Acichuk salad (Uzbek) | Starter | 98 |
| Pilaf / plov (beef) | Main | 140 |
| Beshbarmak (signature) | Main | 140 |
| Horse-meat sausage (add-on to beshbarmak) | Add-on | +90 |
| Dolma (vegetarian) | Main | 125 |
| Aport (cheesecake dessert) | Sweet | 108 |
*Prices as published and may change; budget roughly HK$500–750 for two. Tasting menus are also available. Verify when booking.
Is the horse meat really worth trying?
Yes — and it is the dish everyone talks about. Horse meat is a genuine Kazakh tradition, and at Yurt it comes as a sausage you can add to the beshbarmak for HK$90. The taste sits somewhere between beef jerky and a lightly salted, stringy cured meat: it falls apart on the palate and lands with a deep, savoury hit.
It is not a gimmick so much as a window into how the region actually eats. If you are squeamish, the beef version stands on its own; if you are curious, this is a rare chance to try it in Hong Kong. Either way, it fits neatly on a night of eating your way around the world — the same spirit as our guides to the city's best Indian restaurants and best Malaysian and Singaporean tables.
Where is Yurt and how do you book?
Yurt sits on the ground floor of 32 Elgin Street, in the heart of Soho. The dining room is calm and simple, keeping the attention on the table, and the space is compact — so a reservation beats chancing a walk-in, especially at weekends.
Yurt
Elgin Street is one of Soho's most walkable food strips, a short climb from the Central–Mid-Levels escalator. Come with a group, order across the menu, and treat it as an evening of trying something genuinely new. Round the night off with a drink from our guide to Hong Kong's best cocktail bars.
Still deciding where to book? Browse the city's 50 best restaurants, the best Cantonese kitchens, or more new openings across Hong Kong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book a table and travel by taste
Gather a few friends, order across the menu and let the plates keep coming. Yurt is a rare chance to eat a whole new cuisine in Hong Kong — go curious and go hungry.