Review / What will Hong Kong locals think of the city’s first ‘British Chinese’ restaurant? 1908BC brings deliberately inauthentic cuisine to Sheung Wan’s expat-friendly neighbourhood

Jul 27 , 2021

The house special at Hong Kong’s new “British Chinese” restaurant 1908BC is a curry served with both rice and chip. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The Search for General Tso described how American Chinese cooking was taught in New York’s Chinatown, but British Chinese claims a more nuanced heritage

1908BC in Sheung Wan serves Brit-friendly takeaway staples like crispy shredded duck, fried chicken balls, barbecued honey pork ribs and ‘chip shop curry’

What is British Chinese cuisine? Thanks to the spread of American popular culture, many people recognise aspects of American Chinese cuisine – fortune cookies, oyster pail folded takeaway boxes – if not specific dishes.

Today, many decades on from the introduction of China’s culinary traditions to the states, American-style Chinese food looks and tastes quite different to the dishes found in China itself.

As revealed in the food documentary The Search for General Tso, American-style Chinese cuisine was systematically taught to new immigrants arriving in New York’s Chinatown. Apprentice chefs were all trained the same way, with the same recipes, and then dispersed throughout the country to find gainful employment.

Suzanna Ho, owner of 1908BC – a new restaurant in Hong Kong’s historical Sheung Wan neighbourhood consciously serving “British Chinese” fare – says the UK’s particular style of Chinese cooking developed more organically. “When my mother started her first restaurant more than 20 years ago, she had to be creative when she wanted to recreate Cantonese dishes because a lot of ingredients weren’t available,” Ho recalls.

Douglas Parkes, education editor, Good Eating drinks editor and Londoner. Photo: SCMP

As an Australian-Chinese with none of the nostalgia nor cultural context to appreciate British Chinese fare, I enlisted the help of fellow South China Morning Post editor, Good Eating drinks editor and London native Douglas Parkes to help evaluate Ho’s endeavour.

Located on the fifth floor of The Pemberton on Bonham Strand, the sit-down restaurant emanates an air of casual chic with teal and black marble tones offset by driftwood colours and panelling. It’s certainly more upscale than your average UK takeaway, though Douglas wonders whether 1908 might do better playing up to certain clichés to, somewhat paradoxically, make itself more distinct here in Hong Kong.

Crispy aromatic shredded duck from 1908BC, a “British Chinese” restaurant at The Pemberton in Sheung Wan. Photo: Jonathan Wong

We start our meal with crispy aromatic shredded duck (HK$140, or US$18), served just like you would Peking duck, but instead of just slices of roasted skin, the bird is deboned, shredded and deep fried. It’s definitely a more satisfying version of the classic dish and a lot more wallet friendly. Douglas concurs, appreciating the appropriately crispy nature of the duck skin.

Next to arrive are the fried chicken balls (HK$90), a Chinese cousin to the UK’s battered cod, where bite-sized chicken breasts are covered in batter and deep-fried, served in a sweet and sour sauce. The chicken is tender, but we feel the batter is somewhat thick and serves only as a vehicle for the tangy sauce.