On the shelf

The Waitrose All Butter Puff Pastry is a good option for those who don't make their own (although knowing how to do so is a useful skill, and it's not difficult). It comes either as a slab of dough or as rolled-out sheets; I prefer the former because it means you can roll it exactly to the desired size and thickness. Produced in France, it's puff pastry as it should be: made with just wheat flour, butter, water and salt. It sells for HK$51.77 for 500 grams at Great (Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2918 9986).

As with most products, not all rice vinegars are created equal. Some bottles say "rice-flavoured vinegar" and these tend to be made with distilled vinegar mixed with flavours. Look on the label for "pure rice vinegar" and check the ingredients: the bottle should contain only rice and water. The pure rice variety usually costs about 50 per cent more than rice-flavoured vinegars. I buy the Mizkan brand, a 500ml bottle of which sells for HK$44.50 at Fresh Mart in Sogo (555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2833 8338).

The Matumaeya brand of Konbu No Mizusio liquid sea salt doesn't add just salt when sprayed onto foods - it also gives umami, the so-called "fifth taste" on top of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. It's made with kombu (giant sea kelp), a precursor to manufactured monosodium glutamate. The company makes the product in different salt concentrations - the one sold at Pavilion Gourmet (45 Hau Wo Street, Kennedy Town, tel: 2698 1090) contains 17 per cent. When added to a savoury dish, it gives more depth of flavour than pure salt would. It sells for HK$152 for a 150ml bottle.