A Hong Kong food and culture tour guide’s favourite restaurants, from Ngau Kee to The Chairman
Daisann McLane, director of Little Adventures in Hong Kong, learned Cantonese so she could find the city’s best places to eat. A fan of local classics prepared to perfection, she reveals what she has discovered
I’ve spent 15 years obsessing over Cantonese food and eventually it turned into my business. My motivation to learn Cantonese was to find the best places to eat and get dishes that are not on the English menu.
Years ago, I met journalist and restaurateur Lau Kin-wai. At he and his son’s restaurant, Kin’s Kitchen (5/F, W Square, 314-324 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2571 0913), they innovatively revive neglected Cantonese classics and create new ones. This is where I take jaded foodie friends. I order the braised pork belly with Yunnan mushrooms, the lightly fried fermented tofu from Puning, and the house-smoked chicken. Your mind and taste buds will explode. Lau is also an advocate for locally produced foods and on their menu is rice grown in Lantau’s Yi O village.
I shared a fancy bottle of Bordeaux with Lau and his wife years ago in a small restaurant called Ngau Kee (2/F, Chai Wan Municipal Services Building, 338 Chai Wan Road, Chai Wan, tel: 2546 2584). It has moved several times but recently got back to its dai pai dong roots. I think it’s way better than many more well-known places. I happily trek out to taste favourites like fried aubergine stuffed with fish paste and delightful steamed custard.
A fine dining restaurant I like is The Chairman (18 Kau U Fong, Central, tel: 2555 2202). Everyone loves the flower crab with Shaoxing wine, but I adore their version of mui choi kau yuk (preserved mustard greens with pork belly), with fresh dates adding sweetness and thicker texture – perfect for spooning over rice.
