Favourite Hong Kong restaurants of Jacqueline Lai, Hong Kong showjumper
A Lamma seafood restaurant to treat visitors, Tai Hang Vietnamese for a quick bite, Grappa’s Cellar for a post-competition risotto and Gitone Limited for a fancy dinner
Training in Europe, I’ve become accustomed to simple eating – rice, pasta or potatoes, a meat and a salad. But when I travel around for competitions I love to try new things. I love almost all cuisines, but good seafood is always my first pick.
In Hong Kong, my first choice is always a meal with family at the members’ club, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Bistro (Kellett Island, Causeway Bay, tel: 2239 0348). It’s tradition for us and everything on the menu is a score. They serve good local dishes as well as Western.
To satisfy my cravings for true Cantonese food, I like Lingnan Club (12/F-13/F, On Lok Yuen Building, 25-27A Des Voeux Road Central, tel: 2522 3339). It’s the style of cooking I miss when I’m abroad. I also love Japanese. Itacho Sushi (various locations, including shop L1-12B, Hong Kong MTR Station, Central, tel: 2536 9666) is my first choice for affordable fresh-tasting sushi. I also love good sashimi and soft-shell crab hand rolls.
I would take visitors to Rainbow Seafood Restaurant (23-25 First Street, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island, tel: 2982 8100). The freshness is simply incomparable to anywhere else. Deep-fried squid in garlic, steamed shrimp, garlic prawns, soy sauce and ginger steamed fish, deep-fried “lai liu ha” (pissing prawns), a lot of fresh tasty greens to balance out the fried food and never without a bowl or two of rice. Living in Europe really teaches a Chinese person to appreciate a good bowl of rice.