Foodies can't seem to agree what constitutes Hong Kong cuisine, but they do accept that, gastronomically, the world is becoming one big melting pot. Modern Australian cuisine is heavily influenced by Asian and Southeast Asian flavours. The development of Singaporean food evolved through its ethnic Chinese, Malay and Indian settlers. And modern Californian owes a lot of its flavour to the Mexicans and Asians who make up much of its population.

In the same way, Hong Kong Chinese food has its roots firmly in the flavours of southern China - Guangzhou and Shun Tak - but has also been influenced by Western cooking and other Asian countries to create a sort of fusion haute Cantonese cuisine.

'Fusion has a long tradition in Hong Kong, with its exposure to Western culture for more than 100 years and with the tourism industry since the 1950s,' says William Mark Yiu-tong, president of the Federation of Hong Kong Restaurant Owners. 'Hong Kong is a melting pot of culinary arts. We borrowed ideas from each other and developed a new cuisine. You may notice a lot of outside influences in Cantonese restaurants - before, it was from the British and Portuguese but now it's mainly a Japanese influence.

'We've improved Cantonese and Northern [Chinese] cuisine. Through more refined preparations we've made them lighter, more natural and balanced, and more suitable for modern tastes.'

Wilson Kwok, the Hong Kong restaurateur (W's Entrecote in Times Square) and wine expert who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, says: 'Our cuisine is distinctive if people understand the culture and our neighbouring countries. Chinese is still the key influence, but Cantonese cuisine from Hong Kong is also influenced by the British as well as Southeast Asian countries.

'Every country has its evolution based on its roots. In New York there's a strong influence by immigrants - Italians and Jews. Chop suey came about from cooking whatever was available. In Hong Kong, this [influence by immigrants] meant the use of Worcestershire sauce as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, using vegetables that were not to be found in Hong Kong such as asparagus and iceberg lettuce, which are now served at Chinese banquets, and egg tarts, which are not Cantonese cuisine but are part of Hong Kong cuisine appreciated by everyone from the working class to the upper class.'

Two of Hong Kong's most creative chefs agree with Kwok and Mark on their assessments.

'My food is Cantonese but I also use other ingredients to make up new dishes,' says Cheung Kam-chuen, executive chef of the elegant Yan Toh Heen at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Tsim Sha Tsui. 'I search for special ingredients and try to create new tastes.'

He cites one of his own creations, deep-fried scallops and pears, which is now one of Yan Toh Heen's signature dishes. 'Chinese don't usually put [savoury] food and fruit together,' he says. 'I've been to many places all over the world and the cooking in Hong Kong is different. Hong Kong cuisine is based on fresh ingredients. Hong Kong people like lighter, more subtle dishes with fewer spices.'

Leung Shu-wah, chef de cuisine of Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental, also attributes much of his creativity to his travels. 'I get ideas from other countries - Japan and Europe - and I combine them with traditional Chinese cuisine and also use other ingredients. It's based on tradition, not just Cantonese but the foods of other provinces.

'Peking duck, beggar's chicken, hot and sour soup are not traditional Cantonese but we have international customers who want something they might have tasted before. They might not know the difference between Cantonese and other Chinese food.'

Leung says his favourite creations include black chicken with lily bulbs and sweetened walnuts and braised bird's nest soup 'tai chi' style, which has two sauces.

'Traditional dishes have a limit. Our clients are looking for something new, so we create something for them using Cantonese food and food from other provinces to create our own cuisine,' he says.

Everybody seems to agree that Hong Kong's reputation as a culinary mecca is one reason tourists visit. Henry Ho, manager of Man Wah, has plenty of opportunities to observe the culinary preferences of various nationalities. 'If they're from Japan they want shark's fin and abalone and Cantonese dishes with mild flavours,' Ho says. 'If they're from Europe they want something stronger: Peking duck, hot and sour soup, fried chicken, ma po dou fu [spicy bean curd].

'Americans are more or less the same, but maybe they want it a little spicier. Singaporeans and Southeast Asians want fried chicken and shark's fin, Thais want bird's nest. If they're from the mainland they're looking for food from their own province so they can compare, but they also go for steamed fish and seafood they can't get elsewhere - lobster and crabs. We get seawater fish, while on the mainland they get freshwater fish.'

When asked to name one dish that represents Hong Kong, all five men select traditional dishes that have been highly refined. Leung names an everyday food: char siu (barbecued pork), which can be found everywhere from the humblest dai pai dong to the most elegant five-star restaurant 'It's a very simple dish,' he says. 'Other countries have it, but the results are different. It depends on the skill of the chef, the marinade, the quality of the meat. That's what makes barbecue pork in Hong Kong better. Hong Kong has the best compared to other countries.'

Mark agrees with Leung, but if he was offering advice to tourists he would suggest they try all barbecued meats. 'Chinese barbecue dishes - the roasts, suckling pigs, duck and goose - are readily available, don't cost a fortune and are served the whole day.'

Ho names two dishes: crispy-skin deep-fried chicken and wonton noodles. 'Wonton mein is made everywhere, but the quality is different, the noodles are different.'

Cheung is emphatic that shark's fin soup and crispy chicken are the most important dishes on Hong Kong menus. 'The tastes are different, we have different methods of preparation, the ingredients are different. The crispy chicken tastes totally different here because we uses fresh chickens, not frozen.'

Kwok recalls a conversation he had with Lau Chi-sun, wine writer, food lover and editor of the Chinese-language Wine Now magazine. 'Lau mentioned that if he was ambassador of Hong Kong he would always recommend wonton noodles,' Kwok says, before bemoaning the fact it is difficult to find good wontons these days. 'It has to be served in small bowls because if the portion is too big the noodles get soggy. They're also not supposed to have so much prawn, they should be tiny shrimp with proportionately more meat. People try to compete by serving bigger portions.'

In Kwok's view it's an easy dish of steamed prawns - something that even a novice can cook at home - that best represents Hong Kong cuisine. 'It's not a dish from Canton because you don't get seawater prawns,' he says. 'Seafood is very much related to Hong Kong - Lei Yu Mun, Lamma, all those seafood restaurants where everything is alive and fresh. You can't get it in Shenzhen or Shanghai and certainly not overseas.'

What's our national dish?

'It should be dim sum. Everyone tells me to try it, and my friends back in Norway are eager to have some if they come here'

Tommy Flakk, 27, HKU student

'Egg tart. Even former Governor Chris Patten loved it'

Anita Chan, 29, personal assistant

'Overseas Chinese people always have wonton noodles and fishballs when they come back to Hong Kong'

Eddie Chan Wai-man,

IT consultant

'Fishballs and barbecued pork. The price is good, the taste is good'

Edmond Tsang, 43, captain of Tsui Wah Restaurant in Central

'I think dim sum. I like the variety and small portions. I get to try a little of everything'

Jackie Graham, 33, tourist from Toronto

'Definitely dim sum. That's why it literally means 'touching the heart' '

Julie Ng, 23, music executive

'Instant noodles because it fits Hong Kong people's fast-paced lifestyle'

Stephen Siu, insurance agent

'Smelly tofu - it is a delicacy that only Hong Kong has. The combination of chilli and sweet and sour sauce in the cube of tofu is like the variety of people in this city. And, like Hong Kong, smelly tofu is something you either love or hate'

Jennifer Tang, 26, software programming consultant

'Curry fishballs on a stick, or rather anything on a stick. Then again, I think anything McDonald's should be Hong Kong's national dish'

Sandra Gee, Grade 3 teacher

'Sweet and sour spareribs'

Brenda Aw Miu-ling, 37, cook