Where’s the best French toast in Hong Kong? Columnist Francis Cheng opens up about his favourite restaurants
- Founder of events and management agency, Number One PR Communications talks food
- He eats at La Petite Maison, Sevva and more
The founder of events and management agency, Number One PR Communications, Francis Cheng has been publicising celebrity and society events for so long, he’s become well-known himself, with his TV appearances and magazine columns.
My dining preference is simple: I absolutely love good food. Regardless of how many Michelin stars a restaurant has or how it is decorated, what I expect is good food.
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I like having several courses for dinner; however, it’s nice to have a simple and casual lunch on weekdays. I always enjoy discussing business over meals.
As a Chinese person, I feel more satisfied after eating rice. I love Chinese food.
My favourite place right now is La Petite Maison (1/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 2887 1113). It is the hottest restaurant in the town. More importantly, it’s the first Western restaurant that accommodates the food sharing culture and taste of Chinese people. So it’s not surprising that the restaurant is becoming awesomely popular. Their baby chicken is delicious. I also believe it’s not an exaggeration to say that their French toast is the best in the world.
I always bring new visitors to Sevva (25/F Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, tel: 2537 1388) which has a great view of Hong Kong. It also serves both Chinese and Western food, so it is good for visitors.
For a casual quick lunch, I like Cafe Landmark (1/F, The Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 2526 4200) because it is an excellent place to see and to be seen. You can have a quick lunch, usually within 45 minutes. I rather like their lobster linguine and abalone rice. The crab rolls and afternoon tea are also popular.
For celebration dinners, it’s crucial to have a private room, so my guests and I can have our space and not worry about disturbing other people while having a great time. There are a couple of restaurants that offer great private rooms for any occasion. I would recommend Isola (Shop 2075, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, tel: 2383 8765) and Gaia Ristorante (Grand Millennium Plaza, 181 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, tel: 2167 8200) for Italian meals, and Howard’s Gourmet (5/F, CCB Tower, 3 Connaught Road Central, Central, tel: 2115 3388) for Chinese.
A new restaurant I also enjoy is Fisher & Farmer (Shop 5, 13/F, Enterprise Square Five, MegaBox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, tel: 2529 8383). They do an amazing Peking duck and some very good fish dishes.
I have some guilty pleasures. I can’t resist the waffles and pancakes with ice cream at UCC Coffee Shop (various locations, including 2/F Causeway Bay Plaza 1, 489 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2891 7340). What makes their waffles great is they use seasonal ingredients. In the summer, they had waffles with strawberries and right now it’s melon.
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As a dessert person, I would also recommend the mango pomelo sago from Lucky Dessert (various locations including 528 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 3427 9580). If I have some free time, I definitely go to there.
