Hong Kong food today is built on the foundations of dishes brought by waves of immigrants from southern China. The dishes mostly originate from neighbouring Guangzhou and Chiu Chow.
Traditional Chinese cooking techniques can still be found here although they're fast disappearing from the repertoires of both home cooks and restaurant kitchens.
Versions of dishes such as eight treasure duck or salt-baked chicken may be widely available but they are arguably made with poor technique and are poor substitutes for authentically-made versions.
'We're always willing to tell people about how our dishes are made,' says Dr Daniel Chui, executive director of Fook Lam Moon, or 'tycoons' canteen' as it's sometimes known. 'It's just that people take shortcuts nowadays.'
Dishes such as eight treasure duck (which, more often than not must be ordered in advance at other establishments) are favourites at Chui's restaurant.
These dishes are often laborious to make. They require good knife skills, and meticulous preparation including extensive cleaning, delicate handling and long marination and cooking times.