Anthony Bourdain ate here: these are some of the chef’s Hong Kong haunts
Anthony Bourdain was a big fan of the city’s cuisine and culture, and made Hong Kong the destination for his most recent episode of CNN’s ‘Parts Unknown’
Celebrity chef, author and TV host Anthony Bourdain visited Hong Kong and its local food scene several times, including for the most recent episode of his CNN series Parts Unknown, which aired this week.
He didn’t seem keen on going to Michelin-starred restaurants in his Hong Kong travels, though he did once check out Bo Innovation served by “Demon Chef” Alvin Leung. Generally, Bourdain was more interested in eating local dishes to better understand the city’s culture.
Here are a few places he visited. Except where noted, these were among places featured in Parts Unknown.
Lau Sum Kee
Bourdain appreciated how Lau Sum Kee owner Lau Fat-cheong goes through the painstaking effort of making bamboo pole noodles. Here are some of the best egg noodles in town, and he tried the noodles served with a generous topping of shrimp roe, and with wontons in soup.
48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po, tel: 2386 3533
Yat Lok
For his series No Reservations on the Travel Channel, Bourdain visited the restaurant in the Tai Po Market and tucked into some of the famed roast goose that left him speechless. It was that good.
That restaurant, though, was recently closed. To get a similar taste, check out the branch in Central.
G/F, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2524 3882
Best roast goose in Hong Kong just a memory now Yat Lok closed
Happy Paradise
Earlier this year Bourdain tried chef-owner May Chow’s restaurant that re-interprets Cantonese classic dishes. He tried several dishes here, including tea-smoked pigeon with five spice salt, poached yellow wine chicken with oyster mushroom fried rice and shiitake broth, and pan-fried pig’s brain with burnt pear vinaigrette.
UG/F, Ming Hing House, 52-56 Staunton Street, Soho, Central, tel: 2816 2118
Keung Kee Dai Pai Dong
In a late-night meal, Boudain sampled drunken chicken and claypot rice with tripe.
Shop 4, Yiu Tung Street, Sham Shui Po (no phone number)
China Cafe
This was Bourdain’s first time trying macaroni in soup with spam and a fried egg, as well as deep-fried pork cutlet on a bed of rice with tomato sauce.
G/F, 1077A, Canton Road, Mong Kok, tel: 2392 7825
Tung Po
This cooked food centre is a favourite with expats and locals in big groups who want to dine in a boisterous atmosphere. When he visited for his Travel Channel show No Reservations, Bourdain sampled dishes such as deep fried mantis prawn, fish head stir-fried with noodles, and crispy pork knuckle. In all, he was impressed by chef Robby Cheung’s operation.
2/F, Java Road Municipal Services Building, 99 Java Road, North Point, tel: 2880 5224
Lin Heung
The chaotic atmosphere in this old-school dim sum establishment didn’t seem to faze Bourdain at all when he visited it, again for No Reservations. As he ate, customers chased old women pushing carts piled high with bamboo steamers filled with everything from har gao, or steamed shrimp dumplings, to char siu bao, or roast pork buns.
160-164 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2544 4556
