Curry she’s been eating for 20 years, Thai fat noodles and harbour-view favourites - a vegetarian’s go-to Hong Kong restaurants
- At Kaye Dong’s favourite curry place there are only two choices for vegetarians, but both are packed with flavour. She’s a sucker for Samsen’s Thai food too
- PANO or Palco Ristorante are perfect for a fancy night out, she says, and with her Vietnamese roots she would fly to Da Nang for a bowl of pho if she could
Born in Australia to a family that fled Vietnam after the war, Kaye Dong is a philanthropist through her K For Kids foundation, is a committee member at charity Mother’s Choice, and opens her home to foster children. She also leads a design firm, The Good Studio, and recently started a retail and content platform, The New Moon. She speaks to Andrew Sun.
I am definitely a simple food person. I love authentic, comforting and wholesome food. I would pick a dai pai dong over a Michelin-star restaurant any day. Oh, and I am vegetarian.
My husband and I have been eating at Ah Lung Pakistan Halal Food (93A Woosung Street, Jordan. Tel: 2782 1635) for over 20 years. The shop decor is simple. In fact, there isn’t much decor. The service is always fast, but the curry is packed with so much flavour. As vegetarian, my options are the curry potatoes and curry vegetables. My husband always order the curry chicken, extra spicy. The only problem is we end up eating two plates of rice.
I also really love Samsen (23 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan). My office is one street away and I love popping in for lunch with colleagues or friends. What I love is that they offer vegetarian versions of almost everything on the menu. My favourite dishes are the curry with rice, fat noodles with veggies and the khao soi (vegetarian version) with a calamansi lime and salted plum soda.
For visitors, Tung Po (2/F, Java Road Municipal Services Building, 99 Java Road, North Point. Tel: 2880 5224) is loud, chaotic, eclectic and a ball of energy – just like Hong Kong. The food is authentic, fresh and always flaming delicious.