Diner’s DiaryHong Kong's best mac 'n' cheese face-off: perfect for a cold day

Central restaurant pits its version of the classic American snack against four others in a contest that starts today. Winner of The Mac Attack will be decide by Instagram posts and sales figures. We tasted all five to give you a head start

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May Chow's mac ’n’ cheese includes steamed Korean rice rolls with cheese, Shaoxing wine and pan-fried foie gras.

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Jan 2016Updated: 11:56am, 23 Feb 2016

Mac ’n’ cheese fans will have a food coma after tackling “The Mac Attack” at Hong restaurant Lily & Bloom.

Available from today until the end of February are five restaurants’ interpretations of the all-American comfort food. We had the tough job sampling the dishes – cooked up by Little Bao, NOM, Tiger Curry, Stone Nullah Tavern and Lily & Bloom.

First up was chef May Chow’s Little Bao Mac & Cheese. She used steamed thick rice rolls instead of pasta, applewood cheddar sauce, a splash of Shaoxing wine and topped with a big slab of seared foie gras for decadence.

The end result? We liked the combination of ingredients that worked well together, and the Shaoxing wine and foie gras added another dimension to the flavour.

Satoru Mukogawa’s mac ’n’ cheese with scallops and mountain yam topped with fish roe.

Next was Tiger Curry’s Satoru Mukogawa. Called Tiger Style Mac & Cheese, it includes large scallops, mountain yam, macaroni, and miso topped with a generous dollop of salmon roe. It’s an interesting combination of textures and flavours not normally found in mac & cheese. But who knows? It could catch on.

Vinny Lauria’s mac ’n’ cheese has an egg yolk and black truffle.

Vinny Lauria of Stone Nullah Tavern brought out its straightforward Black Truffled Carbonara Mac & Cheese with an egg yolk and diced chives. He came to our table to shave the black truffle.

The lovely pungent scent of the truffles was intoxicating, which built up the anticipation for an amazing dish. However, once everything was mixed together and scooped onto our plates, the gorgeous truffle scent had disappeared into the creamy sauce which was a pity, but it was a delicious dish nonetheless.