How Do I Love Thee, Hong Kong?

Our dining community pens their love letters to the city

In celebration of the vibrancy and community of Hong Kong’s dining scene, Rachel Read spoke to some of our F&B industry’s leading lights—capturing the cherished memories, delicious ingredients, favourite meals and unforgettable experiences that best encapsulate their love for this city

Nana Chan Founder of much-loved tea café Teakha and specialist tea purveyors, Plantation

There’s something inexplicable about the allure of cha chaan tengs—they somehow capture the heart and soul of the city.

That’s the type of food I crave when I’m away from Hong Kong, and my favourite of them all is Yue Hing on Stanley Street. I love their spiced pork, scrambled egg and melted cheese sandwich; it’s the layer of peanut butter and shredded cabbage, adding another level of flavour and texture, that makes it so addictive.

Peggy Chan Former chef-owner of pioneering vegetarian restaurant Grassroots Pantry and founder of Grassroots Initiatives Consultancy, who help businesses implement sustainable, plant-based food operations

One of my favourite local ingredients is the firm tofu from Sun Fat Heung [one of Hong Kong’s last tofu factories]. They make the best tofu scramble and no other Westernstyle firm tofu can compare. As for my favourite Hong Kong food memories… how about hawker-style curry fishballs? People lining up to eat fishballs from a cart, poked by a hawker with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Hong Kong-style curry fishballs are one of the greatest local food inventions.

Gregoire Michaud Founder and award-winning pastry chef behind bakery-café Bakehouse, and wholesale bread and pastry suppliers Bread Elements

Arriving in Hong Kong 21 years ago, what struck me most were the vegetables; the world of diversity here was unreal! Also, the way they were cooked—a quick, high temperature wok-fry for vibrant crisp greens, and mind-blowingly intense pickled and preserved fruit and vegetables—made me fall in love with vegetables all over again. One of my fondest memories is visiting Zen Organic Farm in Fan Ling, and discovering so much amazing produce grown locally by wonderful people.

Ringo Chan Award-winning executive pastry chef at Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, where he has worked since its launch in 2005

Traditional Hong Kong sugar egg puffs— sha yung—are engraved in my childhood memories. Every time I pass Jordan, it transports me back to my mum taking me on a sha yung expedition; I had my first and best sha yung here, and I still remember it to this day. That shop closed down many years ago, so nowadays I love the ones from Tai O Bakery—fresh, warm and with generous amounts of sugar sprinkled on top.

Gisela Alesbrook Head chef at Hotal Colombo, Black Sheep Restaurants’ first Sri Lankan restaurant

One dish that really stands out for me is the thick flat rice noodles with sliced beef at Good Companion on Peel Street. It’s takeaway only and you can basically see the whole kitchen from the counter. Their chef is usually dressed very casually, but don’t let that fool you; the beef is tender like it’s been marinating all day, and the noodles are so soft and filling. It’s such a Hong Kong experience—something so delicious being made in such a small space.

Kosei Kamatani Founder of popular noodle chain Ramen Jo and soft-serve specialists Via Tokyo

I love the street food here; whenever I’m in Mong Kok, I’ll brave the lines at Fei Jie for the skewered squid tentacles with hoisin sauce and mustard. I’d be there all the time after school back in the day, up to no good in the streets of Mong Kok with my friends. I always craved it then, and I crave it now! If I were to have one final meal in Hong Kong, you know where to find me.

Yvonne Kam Third-generation owner of Hong Kong roast goose institution Yung Kee, and its contemporary spin-off Yung’s Bistro

When I was younger, choosing dim sum from the mobile carts passing your table must have been every child’s highlight at lunch. I remember how some of the ladies would cook the dim sum straight away for you table-side and for the really popular items, we needed to line up besides the cart and “fight” for our order!

Lam Yuk-Ming Chinese cuisine executive chef at Spring Moon, The Peninsula Hong Kong’s renowned Cantonese restaurant

I always visit a shop in Kowloon City that sells local Chiu Chow products, and organic fruit and vegetables; Chiu Chow dried seafood has a slight difference in taste, with a distinct fragrance. Every time I go there, I feel like I’m visiting a friend—the owner and I always talk about how our kids are, their schoolwork, their exams… it feels great having someone who understands exactly what you’re going through as a father.

Gigi Paulina Ng Fourth-generation owner of Ser Wong Fun, one of Hong Kong’s longest-standing restaurants famed for their snake soup

I love the shrimp paste from Tai O; cooking it simply with large dried shrimp and fat ribbons of fettucine, or even just adding it to morning glory, never fails to make my day. Another local favourite is Kowloon Soy’s sesame oil. I’ll braise that with chicken, spring onions, fungus, cabbage and noodles for an extra boost to my energy and immune system—it’s like a miraculous food medicine to me.

JJ Acuna Founder and creative director of JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio, the design brains behind restaurants such as Tate Dining Room and Hansik Goo

One of my earliest Hong Kong food memories is from when I first moved here, 15 years ago. I’d just got my keys for my first flat in Wan Chai; hungry, I walked round the corner, and there was Happy Cake Shop. Because it all looked so impressive and I was shopping on an empty stomach, I ordered a pineapple bun, coconut tart, cream cone, meat floss bun, egg tarts and a Vitasoy. I went back to my flat, spread it all out on the empty floor, and finished every last bite. To this day, every time I pass there, I’ll grab a pineapple bun—I still think it’s one of the city’s best.

Gloria Chung Writer, food stylist and founder of The Props Dept, a food styling agency

Growing up in Yuen Long, I remember my mum bringing me to the busy wet market there. We’d grab hot pineapple buns from Tai Tung Bakery, one of the oldest bakeries in Hong Kong, then have wonton noodles in Ho To Tai Noodle Shop. As a kid, my favourite dish was their sweet spicy marinated pork noodles, but as time went by, I began to appreciate their homemade dumplings with fish skin… I guess that’s what is called growing up!

Victoria Chow Founder of nomadic cocktail bar and creative caterers, The Woods

I’ve been going to Graham Street wet market for as long I can remember. My mom would bring me for our weekly shop—as a kid, I remember picking tiny caterpillars from our fresh greens on the way home. When I started The Woods, we became friends with the fruit stall owner there, who would always let us know which produce was at its prime. So much has changed on that street in the past few years, but I hope it’ll always be there in one form or another.

Rohit Dugar Founder of Young Master Brewery, one of Hong Kong’s earliest craft brewers, and several taproom-restaurants including Second Draft and Alvy’s

One of my most memorable meals was at Dai Lee, in Sham Shui Po Cooked Food Centre. In the midst of the 2019 protests, a group of us craft beer fans gathered for a feast with course after course of quintessentially comforting Hong Kong dishes, washed down with copious amounts of brewery fresh beers, plus impromptu karaoke and dancing in the middle of a brightly-lit cooked food centre. With most means of transport closed, getting home afterwards was a nightmare—but it didn’t matter.

Tell us why you love Hong Kong—tag us at @tatlerdininghk on Instagram with your best memories.