Why Hong Kong's 7-11 Culture Is Unlike Anywhere Else

The shocking profusion of 7-11s in Hong Kong might have some wondering whether they can walk a single block without spotting the distinct green, orange and red stripes. It literally makes me L.O.L. the fact that they even have to have a store locator on their site.

Born in raised in Hong Kong myself, I simply can’t imagine life without 7-11 here. Unlike anywhere in the world, 7-11 isn’t just your normal, ordinary convenience store, no, 7-11 is much, much more than that. If you’ve lived in Hong Kong for an extended period of time and you’ve perhaps been studying abroad elsewhere, you’ll know what I mean when I say life here just wouldn’t be the same without 7-11.

Some bigger 7-11s here have food counters that serve hot street food without the trouble of actually having to scour the streets for it… from siu mai and mini-sausages to steamed dumplings. Their garlic noodles however, are truly a snack worthy of the gods (seriously, if you haven’t tried these, you haven’t lived.).

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If you’re here on holiday or studying abroad looking to explore Hong Kong a little bit, 7-11 would also be the place to go as they provide tickets for some of Hong Kong’s biggest tourist attractions: Disneyland, Ocean Park, Ngong-Ping 360 as well as Hong Kong’s very own Noah’s Ark.

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If you’re looking for some free Wi-Fi to whatsapp a buddy you’re supposed to be meeting up with later on and you’re out of texting credit for whatever reason or maybe you just feel like catching up on the latest tweets or Facebook newsfeed, 7-11 is also your friend. 7-11’s around Hong Kong now provide up to 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi, so surf away!

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Your phone ran out of battery halfway through the day and need to call mommy to pick you up? no problem! Hong Kong 7-11s offers phone charging services for most phone models.

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You can also get any and all of your bills paid at 7-11!

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Last but not least, our beloved 7-11 turns into ‘club 7’ by night. The party goers have dubbed the convenience store as ‘club 7’ due to the amount of people surrounding the store and chatting to their friends whilst holding a beer and maybe having a smoke or two, most notably at the Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai 7-11s, which are open 24/7. Not only does 7-11 serve the cheapest alcohol around (2 beers for $12.50 as opposed to $125 at a club), they also serve an amazing variety of alcohol from Grey Goose and Johnny Walker to some of the most premium wine labels at a budget price.

One of my fondest memories has to be when I had my first illicit taste of alcohol when I was 14 at 7-11, due to their lenience to ID-checking whilst purchasing alcohol. I have to admit, it tasted quite disgusting at the time but boy did I feel like an absolute rebel.

oh 7-11, what would we do without you.