Stuck in Hong Kong, 8 chefs on what they miss most from home, from chicken rice in Singapore and fish and chips in Britain to white sandy beaches in India
- These chefs from Hotal Colombo, Mono, Ocean Table, Chaat, Roganic, Salisterra, Bâtard and Rajasthan Rifles all have local dishes they can’t wait to get back to
- It’s not just the food and flavours they miss, but the experiences unique to their homelands that have shaped their culinary art
The diversity of Hong Kong’s restaurant landscape is famed for letting diners travel the world through their palettes without ever leaving the city. Such flights of food fancy are appreciated more than ever in the current climate, but spare a thought for the chefs crafting the dishes that whisk you to the heart of India, the islands of Finland or the mountains of Colombia.
Many of these kitchen artists have also been grounded, unable to connect with the distant family, friends and foods that have shaped them. Here, some of Hong Kong’s finest reveal what they miss most about their homelands:
Gisela Alesbrook, Hotal Colombo
“Hong Kong has some really amazing markets, but there’s nothing like the ones back home in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The minute you walk in, you are just overwhelmed by the smells.
“In Sri Lanka, every family has its own combination of spices, passed down through generations, and they are never the same. My family recipe is entirely different from my neighbour’s and often, back home, families don’t have a grinder in the house, so they go to the local grinding mill. The aroma that hits you near one of these mills makes it absolutely clear you are in Sri Lanka.
“Another thing I can’t wait for is [to mix again with] the people of Sri Lanka! They are so easy-going and never in a hurry to get anywhere, something so different from life here in Hong Kong. When I can visit again, I know that the minute I land, I’ll be waiting an hour just to get out of the airport. Not because the lines will be long, but I can imagine the airport workers casually chatting with the arriving passengers and each other, taking the time to make a cup of coffee in-between and in no rush to keep things moving. It is this attitude that reminds me that I’m home.”
Ricardo Chaneton, Mono
“This October marks 24 months since I last took a flight. As I don’t have a Venezuelan passport, I can’t return back to my home country of Venezuela, but my mother lives in Colombia.