For those looking to get to grips with Chinese cuisine at its essence and heights, Chinesology, which inherits its address from French Window, is the place to do so with a view. Chef Saito Chow spotlights textures and flavours foundational to traditional Chinese cuisine with top notch ingredients such as the A5 Kagoshima Wagyu amuse-bouche with treasure and pine nuts and double-boiled fish maw soup with Japanese melon, chuanbei and almond.

Shop 3101, 3/F, IFC Mall, Central, 6809 2299

2. Auntie Āyi

The Chinese-tinged neo-deco surrounds of Auntie Āyi set a nostalgic scene evoking dark lounges of the 60s and 70s, spotlighting the highly referential-yet-novel Chinese cuisine on offer. Wow factor abounds with starts such as the 8 Immortals Drunk platter which is served ethereally using dry ice and comprises cold appetisers like duck tongue, bitter gourd, jellyfish, steamed chicken and abalone, variously marinated in baijiu and yellow wines. Also not to be missed is the sesame candy chicken where nostalgic sweet meets spectacular savouriness, as well as the egg custard with huadiao infused lobster for maximum taste, texture and fragrance.

Shop 002, LG1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, 2803 7881

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3. Ho Lee Fook

If you have ties to North America and have become nostalgic for Chinatowns across the pond, Black Sheep’s Ho Lee Fook is your golden ticket for a few hours home as they serve up banquet-style cuisine in playfully kitschy interpretations of western Chinese restaurant decor, down to the red velvet chairs and carpets, and the yellow jackets on the staff. Head chef Archan Chan, herself trained in the Chinatowns of Australia, whips up global favourites such as crispy garlic salt-and-pepper tofu, honey-glazed and charcoal-grilled kurobuta pork char siu and classic steamed razor clams with glass noodles.

3-5 Elgin Street, Central, 2810 0860

4. Woo Cheong Tea House

Woo Cheong Tea House inherits the name of erstwhile tenant Woo Cheong Pawn Shop as it sits in The Pawn, one of Hong Kong’s most iconic restored “tong lau” old buildings. On the menu are a serviceable mix of well-executed local favourites in food and beverages such as dim sum tasters including goldfish-shaped fish dumplings, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, tea smoked chicken, Bailey’s egg tarts and premium barbecued pork. Tea cocktails are also in vogue here, perhaps one of only a handful of places to do so well in a city that runs on tea.

1-2/F, 62 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai, 2866 3444

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5. The Chairman

Staying at the top at No 5 this year on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants after taking the top spot in 2021, The Chairman is one of the premier places in the city to take in modernised Cantonese fare. It’s not gimmicky, overly done, or adapted specifically for non-local audiences, but is just an excellently executed culinary experience. Crispy Sichuan chilli fermented tofu, slow-cooked pork belly in preserved Chinese vegetables, king prawns cooked in fish and rice broth and many others are solid takes on dishes the city feels most at home with. If anybody asks how Hong Kong likes to eat, this is the place to take them.

18 Kau U Fong, Central, 2555 2202

6. Mora

40 Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, 9583 8590

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7. Wing

29/F, The Wellington, 198 Wellington Street, Central, 2711 0063