'Let's face it, deli food is lowbrow food,' says New York native Que Vinh Dang, executive chef at Duke's Deli, which opened in October. 'But there is a need for this type of food. Even when I was working in a fine dining kitchen, after my shift, I didn't want prime-grade rib-eye - I wanted a deli sandwich.'

Although it's slightly more expensive than it would be at a deli in New York, Dang's Philly cheese steak is a reasonable HK$68 and is fast becoming a lunchtime favourite with customers.

Creating a New York-style deli in Hong Kong is difficult, because each person's idea of one can be different. 'You start a fancy French restaurant, and only a few people may have comments. You start a deli, and everyone's an expert with their own two cents to add,' says Dang.

'Some people think a [high-end] grocer like Dean & DeLuca is a New York deli, but my idea [of a deli] is the Korean-run deli around the corner from my house,' he says.

Levin got his inspiration from neighbourhood institutions such as Katz's, and when the Main Street Deli opened in 2001, the food and beverage unit at the Langham Hotel sought advice from the original family behind the 2nd Avenue Deli in Manhattan, which reopened recently after a brief hiatus.

'Of course, there's going to be controversy over what a real deli is in Hong Kong. Even in New York people argue about it. The folks uptown think there are no real delis below 14th Street, and vice versa,' says Levin.

But even though people may argue about the menu, everyone agrees that delis should serve simple, everyday food.

'Deli food is less pretentious and easier on the wallet than gourmet cuisine, but it's much healthier than fast food,' says Denise Hassan, the director of Urban Eatery, which opened in August.

Hassan says 70 per cent of her customers come in daily and half of them are expatriates from the US.

Dang says 75 per cent of the Duke's Deli customers visit five days a week, and that many are New Yorkers like himself.

Nostalgia plays a big part in customers' notions of 'real' deli food, say the chefs. 'For many people, it's not even about hunger, but a craving for a taste they remember,' says Dang, who ensures the flavours at Duke's are up to par by making many things from scratch. All the breads and bagels are baked in-house and even the pastrami and roast beef is cured and cooked in a three-day process in the deli's kitchen.

'People are sceptical. They've had fake New York deli food before, and they come with a critical eye,' says Levin, who ships in part-baked H&H Bagels from New York.

Even in New York, delis vary greatly: some offer sandwiches and an array of salads for takeaway, while others - such as Katz's - let customers order their sandwiches at the counter carry them to the tables. Other places offer table service. The same differences exist between delis in Hong Kong, which locals sometimes find perplexing.

'At Duke's Deli, a lot of local customers are confused because there is no seating, and the food at the salad bar is charged by weight,' Dang says. 'The two questions they always ask are, 'Where are the seats?' and, 'What's the price?''

At Urban Eatery, Hassan tries to make the deli more user-friendly for local customers by offering printed menus on the tables, but she says: 'Menus with make-your-own items are sometimes a bit confusing to local Hongkongers. In the States, it's like clockwork. But here, you have to explain to customers that they get to customise their own sandwich.'

Hassan has added a few dishes that stray from the deli theme, including an afternoon tea menu with mini sandwiches and burgers, Swedish meatballs, fish and chips, hash browns and soup. And so far, customers have welcomed the additions.

But Mark Bannon, executive chef at the Langham Hotel, warns that altering a deli menu too much can invite complaints.

'For the past seven years, the Main Street Deli menu has only been tweaked with a few things, but we've received comments requesting our old menu back. Once I changed a biscuit into a tart for the holidays, and you'd have thought I'd shot someone, there were so many objections. When it comes to deli food, things get personal.'

'At the end of the day, it's a lot less to do with what's on your plate and more about what's in your heart,' Levin says.

'Sometimes all it takes is to sit in a deli and listen to the Brooklyn accents around you to feel like you're home in New York. When you walk out, you realise you're halfway across the world in Hong Kong.'