Local Flavours

Jardine Crescent is my favourite place in all of Hong Kong. It runs for about 200 metres, hidden away from the trams and shops of Causeway Bay, and in that short space you'll find almost every take possible on Cantonese cuisine in the city. There's even a store that just sells stuffed tofu. Vegetarians beware, the stuffing is more often pork, prawns or both. This is China after all.

On this street you'll find a typical seafood restaurant with massive fish, crabs and other creatures swimming around in the tanks. There are cheaper places in town to get your street fresh seafood, such as the Temple Street Markets, but you won't get better quality and you certainly wont get a nice clean table.

Maks Noodles masters the art of wanton soup when you want to eat and run or don't have ten family relations to share a dinner with. Small kitchens spill their tables onto the side lanes, serving Hong Kong roasted duck, congee for breakfast and an array of fresh produce you wont find at home. Most places have English menus tucked away beneath the counter, but mostly this street caters for local customers.

There's even a wet market at the far end, filled daily with fresh produce, seafood and meat. They call this street Jardines Bazaar and it's just metres away from the Lanson Hotel so you can have your Cantonese and sleep there too.


Private Parties

Private kitchens were a unique response in Hong Kong to the licence restrictions that make it expensive and challenging to open up a restaurant. They open only for dinner, offer a small menu or a nightly set dinner and usually are tucked away in a residential apartment where the lounge room has been hastily converted for diners.

What you don't get is a complex a la carte menu, but what you do get is some of the most genuine culinary experiences you can have short of marrying a local and getting the mother-in law to cook dinner. Some private kitchens specialise in serving old family recipes, rich and hearty dishes that are great for sharing and leave you feeling as full as a duck, while others explore the breadth of mainland Chinese cuisines.

I spent a long evening at Yellow Door being assaulted by one culinary indulgence after another. Not everything on the table was divine, but you couldn't eat all of it anyway without being rushed to hospital. Their style is for a mix of Shanghai and Sichuan cuisines, neither of which have any connection with each other or Cantonese culinary traditions – so you're really getting a taste of mainland China.

Yellow Door Kitchen
37 Cochrane Street
Central
(852) 2858-6555
www.yellowdoorkitchen.com.hk


Dim Sum

If you visit Hong Kong and don't try the dim sum then you get an instant fail. The name itself literally means “little hearts”, and the Cantonese really do put their hearts into it. Finding a good place to dine can be hard if you're not a local, as many of the best places are hidden away down lanes and don't speak English. Of the ones you can find easily the standard can be impacted by the sheer volume of tourists who pass through. The Luk Yu Teahouse is a good example, a charming place that retains the traditional trolleys but lacks any commitment to service.

Ming Court stands out in Hong Kong, not only for the service but for the unique character of the dim sum. Each individual item has it's own story of flavours to share, and no two items are comparable to each other. Each dumpling is hand made and steamed fresh before serving. Even a standard dish like Har Gau (Prawn dumplings) tastes better at Ming Court. Add to their superior dim sum a superb menu of tea leaves and you have a clear contender for Hong Kong's best dining experience. In the west we know dim sum better as “yum cha”, which is simply Cantonese for “with tea”.

Ming Court at Langham Place Hotel
555 Shanghai Street
Mongkok
(852) 3552 3300 
www.hongkong.langhamplacehotels.com/restaurants


Floating Fare

Far removed from the millionaire views of Victoria Harbour is the fishing village of Aberdeen. Even in the 1950s this was a very busy village, with fishermen in their sampans plying the shore as they dropped off seafood and cargo. Not surprisingly the abundance of market fresh seafood gave rise to some popular restaurants by the water, and on the water.

Tai Pak is an austere craft that calmly drifts on the sheltered harbour at Aberdeen. The elaborate detail and imperial design of the vessel is more like a palace than a restaurant. Tai Pak and her sister ship Jumbo Kingdom receive guests daily, with traditional dim-sum menus at lunch and an elaborate dinner service that features classic Cantonese fare and locally caught fish.

Jumbo Kingdom also operate private sampans for intimate groups who want a private setting for their seafood indulgence. The dinner sampans are a little more up-market than those used by fishermen in the 1950s, but the seafood is still just as fresh.

Jumbo Kingdom
Shum Wan Pier Drive
Wong Chuk Hang
Aberdeen
(852) 2553-9111
www.jumbo.com.hk


Stars in My Soup

When Michelin Guides expanded their reviews to Hong Kong there was a lot of excitement over who would get the stars. Not all the accolades went to restaurants in 5-star hotels, but most did. And there's a reason for that. In Hong Kong the big hotels do battle for prestige in the dining room. The Chinese are culturally fixated with the pleasure of food, thank goodness.

Shang Palace is the Cantonese kitchen in Shangri-La Kowloon, and they have earned a reputation for fine dining without departing from the local traditions. They earned my respect with a classic seafood dumpling soup, sensuously light but with a depth of flavour that could only have come from the hands of an experienced Cantonese chef. I can't remember his name, just his soup.

It came as no surprise when I discovered that Shang Palace earned two Michelin Stars. This is Cantonese cuisine for Cantonese people.

Shang Palace at Kowloon Shangri-La
64 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East
(852) 2721 2111
www.shangri-la.com/en/property/hongkong/kowloonshangrila


Gwailo Fix

If you're over the Chinese food and start craving something more familiar then you won't be disappointed in Hong Kong. Michelin Star French cuisine is served on Hong Kong Island at Petrus, an excellent Italian menu greets lunch and dinner guests in Mongkok at Aspasia and you can find some contemporary gastropub dining at The Pawn in the Wan Chai district.

But really, if you don't like Chinese food then what are you doing in Hong Kong anyway???


Restaurant Petrus at the Island Shangri-La
Pacific Place
Supreme Court Road
Central
(852) 2820- 8590
www.shangri-la.com/en/property/hongkong/islandshangrila

Aspasia at The Luxe Manor
39 Kimberley Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
(852) 3763-8800
www.aspasia.com.hk

The Pawn
62 Johnston Road
Wan Chai
(852) 2866-3444
www.thepawn.com.hk