Favourite Hong Kong restaurants of Benjamin Cox, Belgian beer and chocolates purveyor
Quality of service, freshness, and cleanliness are top of my list when eating out. I enjoy meat a lot and am always on the hunt for good cuts. My comfort foods are dim-sum and pizza. A good burger works, too. I eat dim sum at Ding Dim 1968 (14D Elgin Street, SoHo, tel: 9698 1968), pizza at Motorino (14 Shelley Street, SoHo, tel: 2801 6881), and burgers from The Butchers Club Deli (Unit A-B, 16/F Shui Ki Industrial Building, 18 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, tel: 2884 0768).
Dim sum is definitely a must-try culinary experience for first-time overseas visitors. Obviously, Maxim’s Palace Chinese Restaurant (2/F Low Block City Hall, Central, tel: 2521 1303), Din Tai Fung (68 Yee Woo Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 3160 8998) or Metropol Restaurant (4/F United Centre, 95 Queensway, Admiralty, tel: 2865 1988) are great for this. I think the floating restaurant Jumbo Kingdom (Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, tel: 2553 9111) is always a nice nostalgic experience for tourists, although the food is rather standard.
When happy hours arrive it is time to unwind over beer, cocktails, wine and snacks with friends. I like Posto Pubblico (28 Elgin Street, SoHo, tel: 2577 7160) a lot, as the vibe is quite relaxing and the location is convenient. La Piola (8 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, tel: 2851 2281) is pleasant, too, as they have food to complement while sipping a drink.
The French eatery Cocotte (9 Shin Hing Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2568 8857) is one of my favourite restaurants. I love the refined atmosphere and impeccable service. Their scallops, tartare, beef and lamb chops are awesome. I like to eat by the kitchen bar counter at Chachawan (206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, tel: 2549 0020) to chat with the chef, devouring mouthwatering grilled seabass. Yardbird (33-35 Bridges Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2547 9273) is my place for creative Japanese yakitori. My surprise [discovery] is their corn tempura. For an uncomplicated, filling steak meal, La Vache! (48 Peel Street, Central, tel: 2880 0248) is perfect – there’s no menu, offering only steak, salad and fries; but I get to select from a bevy of desserts!
