Danish food not only sandwiches
Anyone in Hong Kong looking for the flavours and textures of genuine Danish cuisine can hop on a plane to Copenhagen or, rather more conveniently, head instead to Hang Hau village in Tseung Kwan O.
There, they will find the Lardos Steak House, which on request is ready to lay on a full spread of traditional fare for expatriate Danes in search of a taste of home or, indeed, anyone else keen to try a distinctive menu based on fresh seafood and the very best farm ingredients.
"To many people, Denmark is famous for its cold cuts and open-faced sandwiches with things such as pickled horseradish and asparagus cream, but of course there is much more than that," says Henry Theil, owner of Top Chef Food Services, which operates the restaurant, TC Deli, a few steps away and other stores in Sai Kung and Pok Fu Lam run in collaboration with supermarkets.
For example, diners who book for the "100 per cent traditional Danish lunch" can expect to start with three kinds of herring - marinated, curried and with tomatoes. Next come gravlax, consisting of raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill, or maybe smoked salmon and smoked eels with scrambled eggs.
"The way we serve the meal is almost like going out for Chinese yum cha, but everything doesn't come at the same time," Theil says. "The idea is nibbles but there is lots of food to go round."
Later courses include plaice topped with lemon, small fresh shrimps, warm liver pate with bacon and mushroom, rolled pork, Danish meatballs, Cumberland sausages, creamed spinach and pork loin with crackling. Everything is usually rounded off with blue cheese and a glass or two of aquavit.
"Danes love herring, eat a lot of pork, chicken and other fish because the quality is very good, and we can't live without red cabbage," says Theil, who has been in Hong Kong for 30 years. He arrived to work as a production manager in the flight kitchen for Cathay Pacific before moving on to a position as executive chef at the Hong Kong Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
In 1989, he and his wife set up as importers and from premises in what was then Junk Bay mainly supplied high-quality meat from Australia and delivered to hotels and restaurants around town. Those orders were supplemented by shipments from Denmark and, as business grew, it made sense to open the first shop in 1998 - partly to show F&B managers what they had - and the restaurant two years later.
Now, there is a production facility next door making up to four tonnes of sausages a month for sale in the deli and to supply supermarkets and some of the top hotels. It also turn outs meatballs and hamburger patties, while a small bakery makes hot dog and hamburger buns, European bread and Danish pastries.
The business sources everything from meat to milk and free-range eggs from countries where quality is assured.
"There is hardly any cut of meat we don't have, from rump and topside steaks to pork, veal, lamb and chicken, which we fly in every Friday," Theil says. "
With the festive season approaching, the restaurant will be stocking up to serve a special Christmas menu and other winter favourites. Tradition dictates a smoked salmon starter, venison soup, roasted duck with prunes and apples, and roasted pork with crackling. With that, there is red cabbage and caramelised potatoes and, as a dessert, Danish rice pudding with a warm cherry sauce.
"It may sound weird but it really tastes quite good," Theil says. "And for the New Year's Eve menu, you can be sure we will have the typical cod roe."