Dumplings with a twist, tacos and modern Chinese food: where a French chef who does not ‘do too much fine dining’ eats in Hong Kong
- Romain Dupeyre, co-executive chef of French bistro Racines in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district, shares an Indian-French place that is ‘seconds from my flat’
- He reveals where he goes for dumplings with a French twist, the restaurant to go for fine dining, the ‘prime place to go for Mexican’ and a spot for turtle soup
Chef Romain Dupeyre grew up in Nice, France, and is now co-executive chef of Provencal cuisine bistro Racines in Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island. He spoke to Andrew Sun.
My mum was not a really good cook. All the men in my family are the cooks. Mum was a busy nurse so she always served prepared meals.
It was my dad and my grandad who cooked authentic meals like brandade, which is salted cod with mashed potatoes. They also made ratatouille, fish dishes, gambero (prawn) and tabbouleh salads.
I spend a lot of time here at my restaurant in Sheung Wan, so for casual dining I tend to stay in the area. I like to go to Pondi (14 Fuk Sau Lane, Sai Ying Pun. Tel: 6113 0195). It’s a small place.
The chef is a local guy named George Kwok, doing Indian-French sharing style of cuisine. It’s really casual, not too expensive, and it’s really chill. Best of all, it’s seconds from my flat.