Twist & Buckle

Verdict: The Michelin-Recognised Churro Shop in Tsim Sha Tsui Worth Making Time For

Picture a counter in Tsim Sha Tsui piled with fresh churros dusted in cinnamon sugar, caramel dips on the side, a queue of locals who clearly know something about afternoon snacking. That image is Twist & Buckle; and the verdict is direct: if you are in the TST area and want a low-cost, well-executed sweet stop with genuine Michelin credibility behind it, book this into your day. At the $ price tier, it demands almost no financial commitment, which means the only real question is whether churros are what you are after.

Two young South Americans opened this shop with a specific mission: to do churros properly in Hong Kong. The traditional version with cinnamon sugar is the baseline, but the menu extends into glazed variations, dipping options like dulce de leche and salted caramel, sundae builds that pair churros with ice cream. The Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 is not a star, but it is the guide's signal that the kitchen is producing food worth eating; meaningful at this price point, where the bar for recognition is set against value rather than luxury.

Daytime vs Evening: When to Go and What Changes

For a churro shop, the lunch-versus-dinner framing shifts slightly compared to a full-service restaurant. Daytime is the stronger call. Churros are a mid-morning or afternoon food, fried dough works well when the kitchen is running at full speed and the oil is fresh. Coming in during the midday hours means you are likely hitting the operation at its most consistent, the street-food format means there is no real ambient difference between a 1pm visit and a 7pm visit except foot traffic. The TST location on Chatham Road South sees significant pedestrian movement throughout the day, so daytime crowds are entirely normal.

If you are revisiting (and the GL-2 lens applies here, you have been once, you know what to expect), the evening is worth trying primarily to see whether the sundae builds hold up later in the day when the shop has been running longer. The ice cream element in the sundae variations makes these more weather-dependent; on a cooler Hong Kong evening, they are easier to handle than in midday humidity. That is not a reason to avoid daytime, but it is a practical note for return visitors deciding what to order differently the second time around.

For those planning a longer eat-around in TST, Twist & Buckle works well as a pre- or post-meal stop rather than a destination in itself. Pair it with a visit to Cheung Hing Kee (Tsim Sha Tsui) for something savoury first, then finish here. That sequence makes the price investment across both stops negligible and the overall meal satisfying.

The Space

The address at 29-31 Chatham Road South puts this in a dense, commercial stretch of TST. Do not arrive expecting a sit-down dining room, this is a counter-format street food operation, the experience is built around the order, the wait, eating at pace. The physical scale is compact, which keeps the operation focused but also means this is not a place to linger with a group. Parties of two or three are the natural fit. If you are coordinating a larger group, the format can get logistically awkward; it is worth ordering in rotation rather than trying to manage a large simultaneous order at the counter.

For context on how Hong Kong handles Michelin-recognised street food formats, the experience here is comparable to what you find with awarded hawker stops in Singapore, places like Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle or A Noodle Story, where the recognition is about the quality of execution at the format's own standard, not against fine-dining benchmarks. Twist & Buckle belongs in that frame.

What to Order on a Return Visit

If you have already tried the classic cinnamon sugar churros, the second visit should go one of two ways. Either commit to the dulce de leche dip, the South American standard and the one most in keeping with the founders' reference point, or go full sundae. The sundae format is the most differentiated item on the menu relative to what you can get elsewhere in Hong Kong, it is the clearest expression of what makes this shop worth Michelin's attention. The glazed variations sit between those two poles and are worth trying if you are ordering for a group and want to cover the range.

For other Michelin-tier street food comparisons across the region, 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles in Singapore and 888 Hokkien Mee in George Town show how this tier of recognition plays out across Southeast Asia's street food circuits. Twist & Buckle holds its own in that company in terms of focus and consistency.

Booking and Practical Details

Reservations: No booking required, this is a walk-in counter format. Booking difficulty: Easy; just show up. Budget: $ price tier; expect to spend very little per person. Leading timing: Daytime visits during mid-morning or early afternoon for freshest output; return visitors should consider early evening for the sundae builds. Group size: Leading for 1-3 people; larger groups can find the counter format cumbersome. Getting there: Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, well-served by MTR (Tsim Sha Tsui station). Dress: No code; this is casual street food.

For more ways to spend time eating around TST and the wider city, see our full Hong Kong restaurants guide, our full Hong Kong bars guide, and our full Hong Kong experiences guide. If you are building a broader Hong Kong itinerary, our full Hong Kong hotels guide covers where to stay by neighbourhood. For other well-regarded casual spots in the city, Banana Boy, Fat Boy, and Beanmountain are worth checking. For a savoury contrast on the same trip, Bánh Mì Nếm (Wan Chai) offers a strong $ alternative across the harbour. Those planning a day that includes something more historic should note the Former Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen and, for a different kind of sweet stop, Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon Hong Kong in Central. For regional street food context, 91 Fried Kway Teow Mee and A Pong Mae Sunee show how the Michelin street food tier looks across Asia. See also our full Hong Kong wineries guide for completeness.