Where to have a British, French or Italian Christmas dinner in Hong Kong – three top expat chefs presenting seasonal specials
Head to Roganic Hong Kong for roast turkey with all the trimmings, while PMQ’s French restaurant Louise is serving seasonal game pâté en croûte and Gradini Ristorante E Bar Italiano will present a special chocolate dessert ball
Enjoying an indulgent meal with family and friends is a highlight of the festive season for many. Chefs are busier than ever creating seasonal specials at this time. We took time out with three of Hong Kong’s top chefs to share some of their favourite culinary Christmas memories, and provide a sneak peek into what they are serving at their respective restaurants this holiday season.
Franck-Elie Laloum at Louise
Franck-Elie Laloum, executive chef of French restaurant Louise, at PMQ in Central, Hong Kong, says in France, Christmas and food go hand in hand. “I think Christmas is automatically related to food in France.
“Fond Christmas memories, for me, are not so much focused on one specific day but more on the way we celebrate it in our family,” he says. “We spend Christmas Eve cooking, including roasting a large capon, and eating foie gras and oysters the entire night.”
One of his most cherished food memories stems from his childhood in Provence. “There they have a Christmas tradition of consuming 13 different dessert foods over several days. In our family, we made or prepared them all, which included biscuits, nougat, calissons and bugnes, and, as you can imagine, as a young child this was so good.”
Family also influences the Christmas tasting menu that Laloum will be serving at Louise, which begins with a game pâté en croûte as the appetiser. “It reminds me of my childhood when we would prepare pâté with my father, who is also a chef.”
The dish, which is technically challenging to prepare, is a signature of the restaurant, and has been given an upgrade for Christmas – with Laloum’s special festive take featuring wild duck, pork, foie gras and black truffle, served with a leaf and pickled vegetable salad.
Other options on the four or five course menu, all featuring premium seasonal ingredients, include Normandy scallop cooked in the shell in seaweed butter served with a champagne sauce, and Brittany Dover sole cooked with black truffle, served with a pumpkin and hazelnut ravioli, finished with a vin jaune sauce.