Hong Kong packs an improbable amount into a small footprint. Only about a quarter of the territory is built on — 40% is protected country park — so you can eat dim sum beside retirees, ride a century-old tram, hike above the South China Sea and finish with world-class cocktails, all in one day. A new five-day itinerary from two long-time Hong Kong food and travel writers lays out exactly how, with each day built around public transport so you're exploring rather than backtracking.

Day one covers Hong Kong Island's classics: a 1940s-era cha chaan teng breakfast at Wah Lok (scrambled egg sandwich, silky milk tea), the incense coils of Man Mo Temple, the Cat Street antiques market, and Tai Kwun — 16 restored heritage buildings including the old Central Police Station. Lunch is wonton noodles at old-school Mak An Kee, reached via the Mid-Level Escalators, the world's longest outdoor covered escalator. Dinner is chef Ricardo Chaneton's Latin-meets-European tasting menu at Mono, with a nightcap at Japanese bar Gokan.

Day two gets you outdoors early. The Morning Trail from Hatton Road climbs steeply to The Peak — worth it for the views — and the Peak Tram, Asia's first funicular railway (running since 1888), whisks you back down. Afternoon stops include Hong Kong Park's Edward Youde Aviary and vegetarian dim sum at LockCha, which stocks more than 100 teas. Then it's shopping in Causeway Bay and modern Indian fine dining at Leela.

Day three belongs to Kowloon. In Sham Shui Po, Hop Yik Tai sells around 5,000 plates of cheong fan rice rolls daily; nearby Apliu Street is a flea market of vintage electronics, while Ki Lung and Yu Chau streets are lined with buttons, ribbons and beads. Dim sum trolleys roll through Mong Kok's London Restaurant at lunch, and the contrast of Chi Lin Nunnery's golden pavilion against the skyscrapers is a highlight. Dinner means a dai pai dong — open-air street stall — at Oi Man Sang, going since 1956: order the salt-and-pepper squid.

Day four heads to Lantau Island. The Ngong Ping 360 cable car (there's a glass-floor crystal cabin) delivers you to the 34-metre Big Buddha, reached up 268 steps. Bus 21 continues to Tai O, the city's oldest fishing village, known for stilt houses; lunch at the Tai O Heritage Hotel's glass-roofed restaurant pairs ocean views with local shrimp paste dishes. Back in town, Temple Street Night Market brings fortune tellers, Cantonese opera and typhoon shelter crab at Hing Kee.

The final day crosses the harbour by Star Ferry — 120-plus years old and still the best skyline view in town — for afternoon tea at Rosewood's Butterfly Room, then M+ museum's 33 galleries in West Kowloon, including a show on Hong Kong's retro neon signs. Drinks at Ozone, the world's highest rooftop bar, precede a farewell Cantonese banquet at two-Michelin-starred Lung King Heen. It's a full-on five days, but the MTR, buses and ferries make it genuinely doable — and every day ends with a proper meal.