Born in Belgium and raised in the US, Marc Jolly is the growth director for APAC & Middle East for Tindle, the plant-based chicken substitute, now offered at many restaurants in Hong Kong. He speaks to Andrew Sun. I love to keep it casual in terms of dining. Just pop me at the bar counter of a good restaurant, then I’ll strike up a conversation with the person next to me. Hong Kong is full of characters and great conversations. But in terms of food style, I do it all. I’ve been in Asia for 14 years and started my journey in Beijing, so I’m a sucker for northern-style Chinese dumplings. Here, I get them at Wang Fu (65 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2121 8089). I also enjoy Bentori (10 Tit Hong Lane, Central, tel: 2838 8865). I love their yakitori skewers on a grill any day. I also love that it’s hard to find in the middle of Central’s hustle and bustle. Boy n Burger (208 Johnston, 206-212 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, tel: 3686 0928) is newly opened and a great place to get your burger fix. It tastes good and they’re also doing a lot on the sustainability end. The Mexican food and cocktails over at 8five2 (8 Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2618 8854) are also great. You can’t come to Hong Kong without trying the dim sum, so Lin Heung Lau (160-164 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2544 4556) is a must for any visitor for that local experience. Mott 32 (Basement, Standard Chartered Bank Building, 4-4A Des Voeux Road Central, Central, tel: 2885 8688) is another must do, for an elevated dim sum experience. The setting is awesome. Then at night, hit up a rooftop bar like Plume (Rooftop, H Queens, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 5200 1683) or some speakeasy like Penicillin (LG/F, Amber Lodge, 23 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 9880 7995) for cocktails. In a cool local neighbourhood like Tin Hau, Superhooman (16 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, tel: 9181 1193) and Second Draft (98 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tin Hau, tel: 2656 0232) are good places to explore. Although I said I love to keep it casual, I do like the occasional splurge, like at any one of Shane Osborn’s restaurants. I’m intrigued to try Moxie (Shop 203, 2/F, Alexandra House, 16-20 Chater Road, Central, tel: 2718 8211). Tindle is now served at over 30 spots across the city. What I love is the versatility of the cuisine choices. Big Birdy (Pinnacle Building, 9 Ship Street, tel: 3401 1013) has a very good peri peri chicken burger made from plants. Both Draft Land (63 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2711 8809) and Hemingway’s By The Bay (Shop G09, D’Deck, Discovery Bay, tel: 2987 8855) put their own touches on traditional skewers. At Draft Land, I recommend the optional quail egg in the spicy soy vinaigrette dip for the [vegan] menchi-katsu (fried ground meat patties) skewers. At Hemingway’s, chef Meeta puts a fresh spin on her fully plant-based menu, with the chick’n kebabs with mint sauce and pita bread perfect [for] the beach vibe of Discovery Bay. At Candour (65-65A Peel Street, Central, tel: 2362 8100), a very cool new bar, I love how they’ve brought together the old and new by putting our Tindle chicken in a traditional Hong Kong pineapple bun. Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here .