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Food and Drinks
LifestyleFood & Drink

Mind-blowing Japanese food, char siu, Thai street noodles: where a Hong Kong chef eats

Korean-Canadian chef Yong Soo-do, who didn’t eat a hamburger until he was in Primary Six, loves simple food done well

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Beef tendon in curry sauce at Kau Kee in Central, one of chef Yong Soo-do’s favourite Hong Kong restaurants. Photo: SCMP
Andrew Sun

Korean-Canadian chef Yong Soo-do oversees Liberty Group’s restaurants, including Forbidden Duck and Qi House of Sichuan. He spoke to Andrew Sun.

I was lucky to grow up with a lot of food and drink in the family. My mum’s side are all chefs or restaurant owners in Korea, but they were in the countryside so they didn’t know what pizzas or hamburgers were.

I used to think that kimchi jeon, Korean kimchi pancake, was pizza. I didn’t eat a hamburger until I was in Primary Six. But I had every kind of Korean food, done very simply but very well. That is now my cooking philosophy – simplicity is best.
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Right now, my favourite place is Yorucho (16/F, Circle Tower, 28 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay. Tel: 8401 3785). The chef, Kevin Lam, used to work with me. It’s modern Japanese with a bit of Chinese and Korean. The food is refreshing. When I went, it was mind-blowing. The ramen dishes and the nori (seaweed) taco are nice.

A nori taco at Yorucho. Photo: courtesy of Yorucho
A nori taco at Yorucho. Photo: courtesy of Yorucho
Yong Soo-do is the group chef of Liberty Group, and oversees Hong Kong restaurants including Forbidden Duck and Qi House of Sichuan. Photo: courtesy of Yong Soo-do
Yong Soo-do is the group chef of Liberty Group, and oversees Hong Kong restaurants including Forbidden Duck and Qi House of Sichuan. Photo: courtesy of Yong Soo-do

O’rm (8 On Wo Lane, Sheung Wan. Tel: 5500 3679) by chef Junwoo Choi, formerly with OBP, is a Korean-style izakaya, and they have a variety of Korean spirits and traditional drinks. I like all the grilled meats – I don’t think anyone else does this kind of marinated Korean barbecue using a robata grill.

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