Korean Chinese blogger Sue Chang says she's not a KOL

Quick with a smile and a laugh, Sue Chang epitomises the quintessential girl next door. As a Korean-Chinese power blogger, adept at capturing the attention of her 412,000 subscribers and followers across her Instagram, YouTube and Facebook page, Chang's biggest appeal is her friendly online persona.

She's the girl you want to hang out with over the weekend - or in this case, over lunch. So it's fitting to learn that her favourite cuisine is whatever her mum's cooking that day.

"I love eating everything: Chinese, Korean, Japanese but my favourite thing to eat is something simple at home," she says. "I think I could eat my mom's home-made doenjang jjigae [fermented soybean paste stew] with rice and a side of gim [roasted and salted seaweed sheets] every day and never get sick of it." We decide to eat at Mercato, celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's latest venture into Hong Kong's dining scene.

"I came hungry," Chang jokes as she slides into her seat, looking at home in the bright and airy restaurant in the heart of Central.

Luckily, we're saved by the arrival of our appetisers: tuna tartar topped with black olives, cucumber and mint with avocado on the side; and house-made ricotta with strawberry jam, olive oil and grilled bread.

Mercato's dishes are made for sharing, which is what we do. When the dishes are laid on the table, Chang takes over the utensils and starts serving.

"Eat, eat," she urges, as she doles out spoonful after spoonful. The tartar is creamy and tastes good but the star is the phenomenal ricotta, which boasts a subtle taste and texture that is complemented by the sweetness of the jam.