Plating the pork tenderloin dish at the chef's counter at MONO restaurant. Photo / Neil Porten
Having been to Hong Kong, the best advice I can give is to go on an empty stomach. A period of fasting beforehand is probably a good idea too.
In a global city of diverse peoples, bringing their own culinary traditions to complement the local Cantonese cuisine, eating is a pleasure above all others.
And global concerns, sustainability particularly, are flavouring the food trends too. Top restaurants and chefs look to meet consumer demand for environmentally responsible consumption by turning to local suppliers. Eating local seafood has always been a Hong Kong tradition: visit the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market or Dried Seafood Street to experience a bottomless ocean of options.
The wider world of food is not forgotten though, as 300 exhibitors at the recent Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival know: this is a city that never stops eating.
Here is a selection of the city’s finest restaurants giving Hong Kongers and visitors alike no excuse for going home hungry.
Address: 1/F, Elegance Court, 2-4 Tsoi Tak St, Happy Valley
Where are we? On a steep street not far from Happy Valley Racecourse.
Whose house? Chef Silas Li trained in French cuisine before travelling throughout China to learn traditional techniques using different Chinese ingredients. The restaurant has a focus on innovating around classic Cantonese dishes.
The vibe? Dark wood and geometric glass panels, paintings of peacocks and camellias. Servers in suits, but no ties, add just the right note of formality.
The occasion? Happy Birthday was sung in the main dining room. Larger groups will love the giant marble lazy susans in the private rooms.
We’re eating? There’s daintiness and theatrics in the earlier courses - the chayote (choko) jelly lollipop arrives in a bell jar, smoke escaping as the glass is lifted. The sweet and sour bombay duck glistened orange, yellow, green and red. A trio of chickens - salted, crispy and smoked soy sauce - disappeared quickly via the not-so-lazy Susan. I thought the mandarin and tangerine dessert had me beat, but the petit fours restored my faith in gluttony.
Stand out: The preserved chicken glutinous rice wrapped with crispy chicken skin. A ruby-glazed ball, the dimpled skin crackling with each cut, imparting intense flavour and crunch with every mouthful.
Leave out: Breakfast and lunch - order another chicken rice ball instead. Or two.
Shout out: To my happy French companion, who urged me to eat the tiny crispy crab accompanying the layered egg and crab meat course. It was the perfect salty textural foil for the other sweet-smooth ingredients.
Address: 34 Wyndham St, Central
Where are we? Street-level on the curve of a busy road in Central, watching the double-decker buses fill the windows a few steps away.
Whose house? Chef Palash Mitra grew up in Bengal and Gujarat, cooking with his grandmother and mother before his formal training and early career led him to the pleasures and challenges of cooking with the tandoor oven.
The vibe? The easy luxury of a post-colonial Subcontinental gentlemen’s club. Burgundy leather banquettes, waiters with a military bearing giving assured table service in navy Nehru jackets.
The occasion? For those who refuse to believe the sun ever set on the Empire. Any empire.
We’re eating? In 2019 New Punjab Club became the first Punjabi restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star and has kept it ever since. The charred tandoor meats are the standouts: a fillet of cobia fish cuts like a succulent pork steak, moist and smoky; a crown of crusted tomahawk lamb chops arrives, accompanied by a half of ember-roasted onion whose individual layers are used as edible bowls for the mashed potato. The smashed samosas and the spiced mutton spooned onto glazed buttered milk buns will never be forgotten.
Stand out: The religious experience in the loos: golden everything (yes, everything - tiles, bowl, seat, tapware), incense, candles and the deep-toned incantations of an Eastern mystic.
Leave out: The sticky toffee pudding at your peril. It’s what pudding stomachs are made for.
Shout out: To the vintage drinks trolleys parked in the centre of the restaurant, tempting me throughout lunch, particularly the trio of Amrut whiskies and the enormous bottle of Graham’s tawny port.
Address: 5/F, 18 On Lan St, Central
Where are we? On the fifth floor of a tall building in a short cul de sac in Central. Exit the lift into a dark-leather-lined foyer and be welcomed into the bright intimate space like a guest in someone’s home.
Whose house? Born in Venezuela, chef Ricardo Chaneton trained in the French culinary arts and worked in 3-Michelin-star restaurants in Spain and Hong Kong.
The vibe? Blue tiles on the walls, a stainless steel chef’s counter, a squad of synchronised chefs in black shirts, servers who stand at your shoulder having a conversation with you about each dish.
The occasion? Bring a date, for lunch or dinner, and plan your next Andean trek or Orinoco cruise.
We’re eating? The chef’s tasting menu, a succession of technically beautiful courses using both the freshest local, and traditional Latin American ingredients. The blue corn infladita, a puffed-up shell stuffed with mezcal-steamed oyster and shallot cream started the show. A Bolivian kiwicha sourdough, with Spanish arbequina olive oil was a carb-comforter. Our server mixed the 21-ingredient mole in front of us before it was plated like modern art with a heritage pork tenderloin. Both the bream ceviche and the pan-seared corvina were divine.
Stand out: You may be familiar with nasturtium flowers and leaves as edible decorations, but the plant’s yam-like tuber, called mashua, is oven-roasted, has slivers of smoked Cantabrian sardines inserted and is served with a shiitake dressing.
Leave out: Thoughts of boring white plates and marvel at MONO’s parade of gorgeous platters and bowls.
Shout out: To the Technics turntable by the window and the gallery of ‘70s and ‘80s vinyl art, part of Chef Ricardo’s dad’s music collection, on the wall near the bathrooms.
Address: 61 Hollywood Rd, Central (accessible via Man Hing Ln, off Peel St)
Where are we? As unassuming as the name suggests, on a pedestrian-only lane on the edge of a small square, off Peel St in SoHo.
Whose house? Recognised by his peers as one of the best chefs in Asia, David Lai trained in San Francisco and Hong Kong
The vibe? Step into a cosy room where illumination is saved mostly for the tabletops. That’s just fine for a hard-to-book restaurant on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list sporting one Michelin star, where the simply-prepared seasonal food is the main event.
The occasion? A treat for any food lover who appreciates substance over style.
We’re eating? Whatever the hell chef wants to serve, fortunately. Grilled persimmon wedges draped in culatello ham were the perfect start. The signature salt-baked chicken rice, getting crunchier every minute the cast-iron pan sat on the table, was delicious. Our table made quick work of splayed fillets of smoked sama fish, the prawn ceviche and cups of the richest bouillabaisse.
Stand out: I’m going for the blood sausage, served with the sunniest fried egg and mushrooms. An unexpected mid-dinner Sunday brunch.
Leave out: Asking for a fresh plate. A companion did, got a puzzled look from the server, then an admonishment that “this is not fine dining” from the otherwise amenable chef. A fresh plate was provided...
Shout out: The napkins - ordinary red-striped tea towels, perhaps for if you’re asked to help with the washing up, which seems quite plausible in Chef Lai’s house.
Address: 5/F, The Wellington, 198 Wellington St, Central
Whose house? French chef David Toutain, winner of multiple Michelin stars, themes his vegetable-focussed tasting menu around the plant lifecycle.
The vibe? The servers’ double-breasted suits don’t detract from the relaxed fine dining.
The occasion? Lunch with your favourite aunt, who doesn’t mind frog legs.
We’re eating? The aforementioned frog: crumbed crispy bites of delight. Pigeon Wellington (essentially), pink and pastry-crusted. The greenest, silkiest spread made of dill oil and fish bone collagen.
Stand out: Two tarts: one a white-chocolate foam topped with scarlet raspberry sorbet, the other a chocolate one with a jelly-drop nipple.
Address: 3 Ocean Drive, Aberdeen
Whose house? Hong Kong-born chef Lai Ching Shing has over 40 years in the industry, which he uses to good effect on the freshest seafood he can buy at the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market just down the road.
The vibe? Cool hotel dining room decorated with fine ornaments, starched tablecloths, huge green glass lazy Susans and sea views.
The occasion? Watching your ship come in beyond the Aberdeen Channel and Ap Lei Pai Island.
We’re eating? Authentic Cantonese. Chilled abalone with Chinese rose wine, bubbling and steaming from its bed of dry ice. The simplest seafood fried rice. Double-boiled fish soup with spotted groper and scallop. Simmered chicken, smoky-tasting from skin to bone.
Stand out: The baked crab shell stuffed with fresh crab meat and onion: served in a gold crab-shaped dish, crusted golden on top.
Address: Shop 8, Podium 1/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai
Whose house? ‘Demon Chef’ Alvin Leung, TV star and one of a handful of self-taught chefs with three Michelin stars to his name.
The vibe? Centrepiece bar mixing up fantastic cocktails. Photos of old Hong Kong on the blue walls.
The occasion? A dinner party - hopefully someone else is paying - where the cocktails keep coming and the food wows the crowd.
We’re eating? Farm-to-table food using as much local produce as possible. Heritage pork schnitzel with fried potatoes and mixed berry jam. A gorgeous plate of deep-fried whitebait with preserved salted lemon mayo. The poached peach and the citrus honeycomb desserts were visual knockouts and tasted amazing.
Stand out: A toss-up between the whole roasted groper, fillets unfurled like wings in the dish, and the oxen tartare served with Lau Fau Shan oyster sabayon and housemade potato chips.
The chef chats to Herald Travel about unforgettable foodie experiences in Aotearoa.
