Where can you eat poon choi? Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year speciality gets a Year of the Ox upgrade – 6 restaurants offering Michelin-starred, Hokkaido seafood and vegetarian options
- Born in Hong Kong’s rural New Territories, poon choi has endured as a beloved Lunar New Year culinary tradition
- Today chefs at Dynasty, China Tang, Chop Chop, Dong Lai Shun, Soil to Soul and Sexy Crab offer fresh twists on the village classic
Poon choi is a coveted dish originating from the villages of Hong Kong’s New Territories – the area north of Kowloon that many indigenous inhabitants call home. It features layers of many different ingredients, shared out from large basins called poon. Poon choi is traditionally eaten to celebrate events such as weddings, important birthdays and, of course, Lunar New Year.
However, as time has gone on, people have become more than willing to enjoy the taste of the New Territories dish at villages all year round, and eventually restaurant groups, hotels and other caterers were able to replicate the recipe. It quickly became a hit for its ease of preparation and its impressive presentation.
The traditional dish has come a long way and Michelin-starred and recommended restaurants such as Hong Kong’s Dynasty and China Tang today even offer upmarket versions. Tsim Sha Tsui’s Dong Lai Shun has a northern take on the Hong Kong speciality, as well as offering a vegetarian option, and even Korean temple food masters Soul to Soil have introduced their idea of poon choi.
Innovation abounds as Sexy Crab in K11 Musea has upped the ante by making Japanese Hokkaido crab the centrepiece of their offering, while North Point’s Chop Chop decided to appeal to the masses by providing a claypot rice option. Scroll down to see the details of the latest poon choi offerings this city has to offer.
Dong Lai Shun
Dong Lai Shun’s poon choi is back! The city’s mainstay of northern Chinese cuisine offers different poon chois with a twist. Priced at HK$1,488 (US$192), mutton and Sichuan spices bring a different flavour for Lunar New Year. And now vegetarians too can rejoice, as the restaurant has prepared a meat-free poon choi made with vegetarian abalone, sea cucumber and shark’s fin, as well as other ingredients to make sure everyone can get in on the festive mood.
Basement 2, The Royal Garden, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East