I generally prefer Western food to Chinese, especially for breakfast. But there are many local eateries that I frequent. What I look for is variety. That’s why I prefer getting four or five dishes to share.
My husband and I have dim sum on Sundays at Luk Yu Tea House (24 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2523 5464). I also really like Shung Hing Chiu Chow restaurant (29 Queen’s Road West, Sheung Wan, tel: 2854 4557). It’s not fancy, but it’s authentic. Two must-haves are the cold crab and fried large clams. The handmade fried shrimp balls are really good, too, along with the baby oyster congee.
Kin’s Kitchen (9 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, tel: 2566 6177) does excellent, refined home cooking.
Close to my office is my “second office”, the MO Bar (Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 15 Queen’s Road Central, tel: 2132 0077). The prices of drinks are reasonable given the location, and the snacks are better than anything in the area.
For Italian I really like Giando (1/F The Fleet Arcade, 1Lung King Street, Fenwick Pier, Wan Chai, tel: 25118912). It’s southern Italian cooking. The pork chops are really good, even though I am not a meat person.
Believe it or not, I go to Tai Ping Koon (60 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2899 2780) for afternoon tea. The baked soufflé is enough for two or three people. The oxtail stew is excellent and I can’t resist the fried prawn toast. I often travel to Paris and Milan for work. Whenever I’m in Milan, I eat at Bice (Via Borgospesso, 12 20121) one of the city’s oldest restaurants, famous for its hand-cut pasta.