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SCMP Reporter

Kai-yin Lo Jewellery designer.

I'm a peasant when it comes to food, so I like simple provincial cooking. Probably the best for that is the China Club, where they will cook simple tofu, for example, in an interesting and unusual way. Outside, I have a variety of small places where I liketo eat, such as the Tai Wun Chuk congee house in Happy Valley and the Ho Kam Kee near the former Lee Theatre where I go for won ton.

 Samson Sun Watch tycoon and vice-patron of the Community Chest.

My favourite is the East Ocean Restaurant in the basement of the East Ocean Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, where my office is. The same company owns a restaurant with a similar menu, mostly typical Cantonese food, on the 16th floor of the Ambassador Hotel in Kowloon. It also owns the Victoria Restaurant in the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wan Chai, but there they also serve some Beijing and Shanghai dishes.

 Ray Yip Artist and unofficial mayor of Shek O.

 I don't go into town that much, but when I do I go to the Chinese restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental. Traditional and very tasty. I think most Hong Kong people have too much food in their stomachs and not enough in their brains.

 Gordon Seow Commissioner for Singapore.

 Quite definitely my favourite restaurant is the Satay Hut in Sino Plaza, Causeway Bay. It's not strictly Chinese but then, as a Singaporean living in Hong Kong, it's the multi-racial aspect I like and which is unusual for Hong Kong. You can eat Chinese, Malay, and even some Indian curries all in one place. I do a lot of entertaining there.

 Adrienne MA Communications manager, Joyce Boutiques.

 For food, not for decoration, the Victoria City in the Sun Hung Kai Centre is my favourite. They have the best range of dim sum and some spectacular specialities, such as large crab in fermented wine which the sauce is used later for noodles. More simply,in Wellington Street there is an excellent, very local (but not dirty) place called Sheung Sun. Try the soupy vegetables cooked with salted eggs.

 Peter Tsao Businessman and former career civil servant.

 Simple, I go to my own club, the Shanghai Fraternity Club, in Wyndham Street. Most members are Shanghainese and you have to know a lot of them to be accepted. The food is excellent, of the type you cannot get elsewhere in Hong Kong. What's special about it is that all the chefs were formerly cooks for Shanghai bigwigs. Club president Charles Wong is also a bit of a connoisseur of Shanghai cuisine (he cooks too) and he is on hand almost every night to keep an eye on things.

 He also has contacts in Shanghai who send down seasonal food, especially vegetables. The Shanghainese are particular about the right food at the right time. The shark's fin soup and the fried river prawns are superb. I go there every other night but it's not cheap.

 HARRY WONG Radio DJ.

 Every self respecting businessman should have three places. First, a local, where it's cheap and you don't have to queue for dim sum. I like the Ho Wah in Waterloo Road. Second, a luxury place for entertaining friends and family for a treat. I go to the Tai Po Country Club at Hong Lok Yuen. Third, I think everyone should have a favourite Thai or Indian place, but since this is only about Chinese I would say you should have a favourite seafood restaurant. Mine is the Chuk Yuen opposite the airport.

 It's really exciting and you can pick the fish you want. Prices are reasonable too. Another two, not Cantonese, are the Kam Chun Lau in Tsim Sha Tsui, near the Science Museum, a Sichuan restaurant, and the Peking House in Nathan Road, where all the waiters and cooks are northerners.

 ROBERT LAM Owner of the photo laboratory chain bearing his name.

 I have two favourites, at opposite extremes. For meeting people in style I like the Chinese restaurant in the Grand Hyatt. To get down to earth I like to go to Lei Yue Mun, where you can buy fish in the market and then take it to a restaurant to be cookedas you wish. There's a good place there called Hon Chi.

 BILL YIM Cartoonist.

 For Cantonese food I like the Hsin Yah, opposite Joe Bananas. The menu is very Cantonese, very peasant. Lots of dishes people couldn't imagine. Prices are average, but the quality and service are above average. It's the restaurant's third location in Wan Chai in 10 years, the other two buildings have been demolished. My favourite dish is pig's ears, and the way they do it you wouldn't know what it was, it looks more like a French pate, sliced very thinly. It looks like marble.

 SUSIE HO BUSSMAN Banker.

 For formal eating I like the Conrad, where the chef can do a lot of special things and is very easy to talk to. I took cooking lessons from his predecessor who went to the Jockey Club. The best value for money is the Tin Tin Seafood restaurant in Elizabeth House. I think places such as the Fuk Lam Moon and The Forum are overpriced.

 ALAN HOO Queen's Counsel.

 There are so many provincial restaurants. I go for Cantonese and have a particular weakness for abalone. The Forum in Lockhart Road is a real treat and cooks abalone to perfection, but a good meal is going to cost $3,000 a head. Extravagance can only be appreciated if it's occasional, so I go there once a quarter. For modest home cooking I like the Farmhouse in Causeway Bay, but it's essential to book. And still unique to Hong Kong is the Luk Yu Teahouse. It's like a gentleman's club: if you become a regular, the waiters aren't so bad.

 JULIE RIVA Singer, actress and porn star.

 Favourite restaurant? Ha ha, it's a secret. No. 1 Harbour Road, for formality. Informal, the Tai Woo opposite the Yung Kee in Wellington Street. It's unpretentious and the food is good. There's also the Snow Garden, in Causeway Bay. It's upmarket, has very good hairy crab, not cheap, but excellent.

 ADA WONG Lawyer and politician???  I'm afraid I'm a bit boring. Since the China Club opened, that's where I go. The food and the ambience are good and it's so convenient.

 CHRISTINE LOH Legislator.

 There's one I particularly like in Wan Chai, whose name I can never get right. I think it's Steam, Boil and Fry. No, it's Steam and Stew, sounds like a hotpot restaurant but isn't. It prides itself on good home Cantonese cooking, no MSG, and that sort of thing. The decor is sparse and natural, no frills. This is the place I'd go with a friend for a relaxed meal. If I have overseas visitors, I always take them to the Hunan Garden in the Forum, Exchange Square.

 CARLINE KI Public relations consultant.

 The Luk Yu in Stanley Street, it's the traditional style where the waiters don't care about the customers, they just do things their way. If you don't leave a big tip you won't get a table next time. The funny thing is people keep coming back for more.

 JEAN WONG Ballet teacher.

 I'm not a strict vegetarian but I eat very little meat. So I like Kung Tak Lam, a renowned Shanghai vegetarian restaurant established for more than 100 years. They've had two places here for the past three or four years. One is in Hanoi Road, Kowloon, andthe other one is on the move, opening soon on the ground floor of China Products in Causeway Bay. Shanghai food is less fatty than Cantonese. The cooks at Kung Tak Lam will respect your wishes if you ask for dishes without MSG.

 ELAINE SUNG The first Miss Hong Kong now a public relations consultant.

 The Wah Ting in Causeway Bay is a Hang Chow place and cooks superb specialities of the region - including special ham cooked with lotus seeds (must be ordered in advance). There's also shark's fin in a clay pot with cabbage and a special ham from the area. It's a family-style restaurant and prices are quite reasonable.

 WILLIAM TANG Fashion designer.

 The Lok Yu where the food is genuine, although the waiters can be extremely difficult. It's best to avoid the rush hour at lunch and go for afternoon tea or dinner. Have something simple such as a bowl of noodles. I also go to the Kao Kee, off Aberdeen Street, in Central. It's hardly a restaurant at all but it's been going for six generations. I like the beef noodles.

 ALLEN LEE Politician and businessman.

 I have lots of favourites, including the Dynasty Club, which I visit at least once a week, and the Shanghai Restaurant in Pratt Avenue, Kowloon.

 Elaine Simmonds, PR Manager 



The local's local