On Lot 10
Small, casual and basic, spread over two floors and decorated in shades of white, On Lot 10 is probably the most unassuming of the top French restaurants in Hong Kong. Chef and "Boss Man" (as it reads on his card) David Lai – who has twice worked alongside Alain Ducasse – shops daily in the wet markets and excels at making large, family-style platters. Some variation of locally raised roast chicken is always on the menu – a whole bird, cut into pieces and cooked with seasonal ingredients – as is a whole fish which, when roasted in salt crust, is absolutely delicious. Other specialities include seafood soup, whole roast foie gras (order in advance), veal kidneys and sweetbreads – Lai is an advocate of nose-to-tail eating.
• 34 Gough Street, Central, +852 2155 9210, no website. Set lunch around £10, three-course dinner around £35. Open Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10pm Sat 6.30pm-10pm
Above & Beyond
Sir Terence Conran has made the most of this restaurant's panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, but to come for the views alone would be a pity, as the food is delicate, creative and delicious. Chef Joseph Tse and his staff – mostly trainees from the teaching and research facility on the floors below – take classic Cantonese dishes and give them a refined, light twist while maintaining maximum flavour. Highly recommended are the marinated shredded chicken, duck and jellyfish with cantaloupe and honeydew melon; smoked egg with oolong tea leaves and black truffles; and pan-seared Kagoshima pork belly with raisins and osmanthus.
• 28F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, +852 3400 1318, hotel-icon.com. Dim sum lunch around HK$150 (around £15), dinner around £35. Open daily 11am-11pm
Island Tang
While some might consider this a "poor cousin" for those who can't get into nearby China Club, the food here is better. One of the most stylish Chinese restaurants in the city, the interior features plush chairs and banquettes, dark wood contrasting with bright accents and updated-retro decor reflecting the elegantly presented and beautifully cooked Cantonese classics on the menu. Try their delicious version of barbecued pork coated in honey before being roasted to a succulent softness, a delicate rendition of wok-fried minced pigeon in lettuce wrap, and boneless duck as moist and tender as confit covered in mashed taro before being deep-fried. Service is excellent.
• Shop 222, The Galleria, 9 Queen's Road Central, Central, + 852 2526 8798, islandtang.com. Dim sum lunch around £15, dinner around £45. Open daily noon-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm (last order). Second branch, called Kowloon Tang, at Shop R002-003, 3F Roof Deck, Elements, Kowloon Station, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, +852 2811 9398, kowloontang.com
The Chairman
It didn't take long for this small backstreet restaurant, a few blocks from the busiest parts of Hong Kong's Central district, to make a name for itself. Within months of opening in 2009, it was difficult to get a booking less than a week in advance, and now it's wise to call at least three weeks before your visit. Discreet and quiet, the two-storey restaurant has white tablecloths and artwork on the walls, but the star is the food – The Chairman became famous for its tasting menus, usually aimed at tourists and a no-no at Chinese restaurants. The food is made without MSG, some of the condiments, including the pickled ginger, are made in-house, and the menu changes with the seasons. Probably the most famous dish – and rightly so – is the steamed flower crab with aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil; but also good are the soy sauce chicken, slow-cooked pork spare ribs and smoked baby pigeon.
• 18 Kau U Fong, Central, +852 2555 2202, thechairmangroup.com. Lunch around £17, set dinner menus from around £50. Open daily noon-3pm, 6pm-11pm
Tim's Kitchen
The purple and gold colour scheme at this double Michelin-starred restaurant might seem a bit garish, but Tim's classic Cantonese dishes more than make up for it, with an entire section of the menu devoted to rare, dried ingredients such as bird's nest, sea cucumber, fish maw and abalone. Fortunately, it also has food such as braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe, roasted pigeon, and braised goose web with pork tendon. In winter, look out for an excellent version of warming snake soup, and, if you're feeling slightly indulgent, order one of the three versions of whole crab claws steamed with a choice of winter melon or egg white, or deep-fried with peppercorn salt.
• GF and 1F, 84-90 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan,+852 2543 5919, timskitchen.com.hk. Dim sum lunch around £15, dinner around £45. Open Mon-Sat noon-3pm, 6.30pm-11
Gold
A restaurant for beautiful people named after its colour scheme and larger-than-life chef Harlan Goldstein, who became famous at a number of his own venues around town. Many of the chef's hugely popular "signatures" from previous ventures make an appearance on the menu: Tuscany seafood soup; lobster spaghetti with Napoli tomatoes; wild boar ragout tagliatelle with melting organic egg and shaved pecorino cheese; and slow-cooked Colorado lamb rib. Gold has an extensive, expensive and predictably bold wine list including "unique and playful" whites, and "silky and sexy" reds.
• Level 2, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, +852 2869 9986, gold-dining.com. Executive set lunch around £25, à la carte appetisers from around £12, mains from around £20. Open Mon-Thurs noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm, Fri, Sat noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-11pm
Otto e Mezzo
When the Ritz-Carlton closed its Central location in 2008, food lovers mourned the loss of its Italian restaurant, Toscana, where chef Umberto Bombana had been at the helm since 1993. It took two long years before Bombana opened his own restaurant, and it has since become the first Italian restaurant outside Italy to receive three Michelin stars. It has deep carpets and plush chairs, and the modern Italian food is decadent, including signature dishes of burrata cheese ravioli; marinated scampi with caviar and sea urchin; artisinal chitarra with red king prawn and datterino cherry tomatoes; and veal chop Milanese with Sicilian tomatoes. During the white truffle season late in the year, the menu is littered with the stuff – Bombana was named a Worldwide Ambassador of the White Truffle in 2006.
• Shop 202, Landmark Alexandra, 18 Chater Road, Central, +852 2537 8859, ottoemezzobombana.com Two-course set lunch around £35, a la carte appetisers from around £17, pasta dishes from around £19, mains around £20. Open Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm. Bar open Mon-Sat noon-late
Celebrity Cuisine
Tucked away on the first floor of Lan Kwai Fong, a small, discreet boutique hotel, the 40-seat restaurant was opened several years ago by Cheng Kam-fu, formerly employed by a food-loving tycoon – the "celebrity" part of the name refers to all the famous people the chef has cooked for. While the menu at this two-star Michelin restaurant lists all sorts of dishes that tycoons and celebrities will appreciate (and can afford), the chef also excels at simple, home-style food like minced beancurd fritters, fish head clay pot, pan-fried turnip cake, and pig's lung and almond soup.
• 1F Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, 3 Kau U Fong, Central, +852 3650 0066, lankwaifonghotel.com.hk. Dim sum lunch about £10, dinner about £35. Open daily noon-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm
Fook Lam Moon
It might be known as the "tycoon's canteen" (look for the cavalcade of sports cars outside) but people come here for well-cooked Cantonese classics – the dim sum (served during the day) is fabulous, and at night the deep-fried giant pomfret, baked stuffed crab shells and the soy sauce chicken is equally sublime. Fook Lam Moon is also home to one of the best suckling pigs in Hong Kong, with paper-thin, crisp, delicate skin. Many of their more famous dishes sell out, so it's best to reserve them when you book a table. There's also a branch in Tsim Sha Tsui.
• Shop 3, GF, Newman House, 35-45 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, +852 2866 0663, fooklammoon-grp.com. Dim sum lunch about £15, dinner about £40. Open daily 11:30am-3pm, 6pm-11pm
• Susan Jung is the food editor of the South China Morning Post
Sushi Kuu
A relaxed, convivial high-end Japanese restaurant – where else, having had omakase (literally "chef's choice" , which costs £80 or more), might you be asked if you want a humble rice burger to end the meal? This is after a long parade of delicate, beautifully presented dishes such as onsen tamago (slow-cooked eggs) with uni (sea urchin) and ikura (roe), chilled cod shirako (the squeamish might want to avoid this – it's cod sperm), chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) with uni, and both raw and lightly torched sushi, all conjured up by executive chef Satoru Mukogawa – a samurai descendent with film star looks. Lunch is busy, but a lot quieter in terms of atmosphere, with people ordering sushi and sashimi sets, chirashi rice and grilled fish or beef.
• Sushi Kuu, 1F Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, +852 2971 0180, no website. Lunch about £10, dinner from £40. Open daily noon-3pm, 6.30pm-11pm
