Hong Kong’s Dining secrets

Avoiding crazy high rental rates, this city’s savvy restaurateurs are turning their small flats and holes-in-the-wall into Michelin star dining successes. EDUARDO CATACUTAN whets our appetites with a rundown of some of the best. Photos by DANTE PERALTA

YIN YANG

In a refurbished heritage building along Ship Street, celebrity chef Margaret Xu Yuan revived interest in Hong Kong’s “village” cooking by giving it a modern twist. In keeping with her homespun theme, she uses mostly produce from her own organic farm in Yuen Long to create dishes that have made Yin Yang’s six tables among the hottest in town. Waiting time for weekend bookings can be as long as two weeks with prices ranging from HK$560/US$72 to HK$900/US$115 per head. Can’t-miss dishes are Margaret’s roasted baby pig and chicken cooked in her own Terracotta stove.

Ying Yang’s trademark Wild Side or slow-cooked wild buffalo.

TIM HO WAN DIM SUM RESTAURANT

Opening a dim sum restaurant and stand out in a city where there seems to be a dim sum eatery on every street corner is quite a feat but that’s exactly what Mak Kwai-puis and Leung Fai-keung have done. They earned a Michelin star less than a year after opening the first Tim Ho Wan restaurant in Mong Kok, and did the same with a branch in Sham Shui Po last year. One bite of their cha siu bao or barbecue pork buns (HK$14/US$2 for three), with their crispy outer layer and succulent filling will make you an instant fan. Same with their vermicelli roll stuffed with pig’s liver (HK$15/US$2) and pan-fried turnip cake (HK$10/ US$1). There are constant queues outside both eateries, but the food is worth waiting for.

It can take as long as two weeks before you land one of these six tables at Yin Yang, the private kitchen run by celebrity chef Margaret Xu Yuan.

HIN HO CURRY HOUSE

Owner Andy Tse says he has had an odd mix of customers since his ornately decorated restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, including the occasional group of giggling girls who go there for what Tse calls “Facebook pictures.” His clientele are hooked on Hin Ho’s exquisite cuisine with a North Indian bias. The most in-demand are his lamb chop masala (HK$128/ US$16), chicken tikka (HK$80/US$10) and korma blue mussels with mushrooms (HK$128).

GITONE

The fine-dining cuisine on offer at Gitone is just another form of self-expression for Terence Lee, a renowned local artist and one of the pioneers in the private kitchen business. Each night, when his art studio cum pottery school transforms into a cozy resto, food is served in his pottery creations while his artistic touch reflects in the cuisine’s detailed preparation. “We just don’t serve customers. We present the food just like we present our art work,” Lee says. Gitone has long been known for its Shanghainese and Shun Tak dishes, but with a new chef on board, it now also offers modern and vegetarian alternatives that go from HK$380/ US$49 to HK$880/US$113 per head.

Pray you get this Shrimp Etouffee when you book a private dinner at Magnolia, where the meal is a surprise until it is served.

HO TO TAI NOODLE RESTAURANT

Walking through its door is like stepping into a black-and-white Chinese movie. Everything about the eatery feels old, from the wooden tables to the china. But this 62-year-old noodle shop has gained newfound fame as the cheapest Michelin-starred fare in the world. A steaming bowl of its wonton noodle soup still sells for HK$17/US$2 while its signature egg noodles sprinkled with shrimp eggs goes for HK$38/US$5. “The secret lies in the noodles because this one makes its own,” said longtime customer Ken Tang. “ The eatery has branches in Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and Sai Ying Pun that are more accessible to tourists.

MAGNOLIA

There’s one very simple rule when you book a private dinner at Magnolia. “Nobody knows for chefs and restaurants. what they’re eating when they come here—they eat what we serve them,” says New Orleans Its three-star rating is the rarest and most coveted. First native Lori Granito, with a laugh. All-American dinners start with welcome cocktails and published in France in 1900, the Michelin Restaurant and usually consist of big platters of her trademark gumbo, jambalaya and barbecue ribs served Hotel Guide was created family-style, topped off by a dessert of pecan pie. Cost is HK$450/US$57 per person.

Tokyo Chili House used to do a fusion of Japanese and Thai cuisine but now only serves Thai dishes, like this basil-baked whole mackerel with spicy sauce.

TOKYO CHILI HOUSE

In a residential block a few minutes’ walk away from Times Square in Causeway Bay, owner Freddie Chen turned a two-room unit into a five-table dining spot that has established a loyal clientele of mostly office workers at lunchtime and a mix of locals and Westerners at night. The food used to be a fusion of Thai and Japanese cuisine but is now devoted to traditional Thai fare. Set menus go for HK$200/US$26 to HK$300/US$38 per person. Ala carte dishes are also available like barbecue chicken in Penang curry (HK145/US$19), green mango salad with deep fried fish (HK$128/US$16) and a pumpkin custard desert (HK$25/US$3).