Hong Kong-based Olivia Cotes-James is the founder and CEO of LUÜNA. As told to Andrew Sun. I am adventurous with food. I don’t think I’ve ever turned down the opportunity to try something new. A group I really love is Maximal Concepts. I admire how they’ve built such a strong brand and amazing dining concepts. Their restaurant Mott 32 (Basement, Standard Chartered Bank Building, 4-4A Des Voeux Road Central, tel: 2885 8688) has long been one of my favourite places to go for amazing Cantonese dishes, though I save this for special occasions. I’m dying to try their new concept, The Aubrey (25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 5 Connaught Road Central, tel: 2825 4001). For a celebration, it’s Yardbird (154-158 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2547 9273) every time. Their menu – and their playlist – is second to none, including amazing vegetarian dishes. The staff are attentive and welcoming. It’s the first restaurant I went after dining restrictions were lifted. For cocktails, it has to be Terrible Baby (4/F, Eaton Hong Kong, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan, tel: 2710 1866), which is a venue I love, not only for its great drinks menu, but because the Eaton team put so much work into supporting local artists, creatives and communities. The last friend that visited me in Hong Kong raved about our trips to Dragon State Kitchen (38B, Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, tel: 2342 3189) which serves incredible char siu pork rice, and Luk Yu Tea House (24 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2523 5464) for the dim sum. For that reason, these are my go-to list for amazing local restaurants for visitors. A chief concierge’s guide to grazing with gusto My company has offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, so both these cities have a very special place in my heart. Before Covid-19, I commuted frequently between them. When I can travel again, the first place I will go is Shanghai. Of course, I’m mainly excited to see my amazing team and friends, but there are so many restaurants and dishes I cannot wait to get back to. I dream of many xiao long bao restaurants, but a special mention goes to FuChun XiaoLong (650 YuYuan Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, tel: +86 21 6252 5117), a bustling hole-in-the-wall offering amazing local classics. I also would have to indulge in a nostalgic breakfast of jianbing [a stuffed pancake]. Its taste always reminds me of 2018 when I lived in Shanghai trying to get my company off the ground. Every morning, around 7am, I would cycle through the Former French Concession to the co-working space I worked out of, grab a jianbing from my favourite stall on Xiangyang Road after navigating the long queue of people that would build from 6am. That dish, plus the free coffee at the office, was my survival mode breakfast; fortunately both delicious in taste and kind to the wallet.