Favourite Hong Kong restaurants of Jeffrey Leung, head barista at Beanery

To me, coffee is so much more than a beverage. Through coffee, I get to meet interesting people and make new friends every day. It’s a very sophisticated science and I love to talk to other coffee geeks and exchange ideas and information. Coffee is an obsession and a social tool as well. This is why I co-started Beanery (Nan Fung Tower, 88 Connaught Road, Central). It’s not just about grabbing a cup for work, we want people to approach coffee seriously, almost like wine.

Single origin/single estate artisan dark chocolate pairs very well with good coffee, especially pour-over single origin coffee. It is always interesting to see how their various tastes interact with each other. My favourite dark chocolates at the moment are handmade by Marou. In Hong Kong, you can find their artisan chocolate at speciality coffee shops, or on HKTV Mall.

I love Japanese cuisine. Japanese people have this slight obsessive tendency that is a great advantage to their cooking. They pay so much attention to the smallest details in order to make their dishes better. My favourite Japanese is Noodle House Ippei-An (shop B1, Energy Plaza, 92 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2722 4826). They serve authentic home-style Japanese dishes. My favourite dish there is buta no kakuni. The braised pork belly is so tender, it just melts in your mouth.

Finds (1/F The Luxe Manor, 39 Kimberly Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2522 9318) is my choice for special occasions. They offer a special 12-course menu named Nordic Express. It is a wonderful journey of beautiful food, an adventure of exotic flavours.