Favourite Hong Kong restaurants of Yvonne Chu, keen cook and former beauty executive
Chu likes to try out new places but there are restaurants she returns to again and again, for the food and the ambience
I always like to try out new restaurants and hidden gems. Especially with my interest in cooking, I always like to see how new ingredients are used, and the plating of dishes in different restaurants. But I also like returning to restaurants where the food, service and environment makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. I have so many favourites – here are just a few.
Fofo by el Willy (20/F, M88, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2900 2009) is so accessible and a good setting for a gathering with friends. I like restaurants that manage to keep a consistent food standard from when they opened. My favourite there is the scallop ceviche. The combination of their avocado purée and sauces always make me feel so pampered.
To be honest, I prefer the previous location of Giando (Tower 1 Starcrest, 9 Star Street, Wan Chai, tel: 2511 8912); when it was at Fenwick Pier, it felt like somewhere special in town. Still, their food is just as good in the new location. I love their burrata with mixed Italian tomatoes, followed by the hand-twisted pasta with prosciutto, fava beans, caciocavallo cheese and black truffle sauce, finishing the meal with tiramisu. This is my fantasy comfort food to end a busy and stressful week.
And for Chinese food, there are things that I can have again and again. These include the sweet and sour pork at Pang’s Kitchen (25 Yik Yam Street, Happy Valley, tel: 2838 5462); the pan-fried lotus root cake and simmered boxthorn leaves with pig’s liver from Sing Kee Seafood Restaurant (3/F The Phoenix, 23 Luard Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2528 9028); the pig’s lung soup with almond cream in Luk Yu Tea House (24-26 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2523 5464); and the barbecue pork from Kwan Yu Roasted Meat (102 Electric Road, Tin Hau, tel: 2510 0318).
For visiting guests, I would take them not necessarily for Chinese food, but places with a nice view. The Wooloomooloo rooftop bar (31/F The Hennessy, 256 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2893 6960), Sevva (25/F, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, tel: 2537 1388) and Eyebar (30/F, iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2487 3988) are good spots for a pre-dinner drink.
Places with good coffee are pit stops for me during a busy day or weekend. There’s good brunch at Mansons Lot Coffee House (15 Swatow Street, Wan Chai, tel: 2362 1899); milk tea and chicken pie in Kam Fung (Spring Garden Mansion, 41 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai, tel: 2572 0526); and pasta and coffee at Barista Jam (126-128 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2854 2211).
A complete guilty combo for me is a vanilla milkshake, a burger with sweet potato fries and a warm skillet cookie and cream in Beef & Liberty (three locations, including 3/F California Tower, 30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Central, tel: 2450 5778).
