Why Hong Kong’s gourmet scene excites and intrigues writer Agnes Chee
- Malaysian – passionate about cuisine since her childhood – has spent 15 years as observer of city’s food and drink industry
- Local chefs and experts help her to write book that documents Cantonese dishes that may ‘vanish’
There have been many noteworthy changes to Hong Kong’s gourmet landscape in the past 10 years, says food writer and critic Agnes Chee as she expertly makes her way through a busy wet market in Ap Lei Chau, well-known for offering the city’s freshest selection of seafood.
Chee, 43, a Malaysian who has called Hong Kong home for 15 years, says the city’s chefs and cooks are increasingly opting for local produce as they embrace the farm-to-table dining concept that has been gaining international prominence.
“It’s great that Hong Kong is catching up [with the trend] because now we get to enjoy fresher food,” she says. “Supporting local farmers and producers is also more sustainable for the environment.”
Hong Kong has plenty of local organic produce grown by farms in the New Territories, Chee says. “The great variety of our locally caught seafood is also unimaginable.”
Cantonese cuisine is also starting to show modern twists to recipes as some chefs incorporate imported Western delicacies such as caviar, truffle and foie gras to re-create familiar dishes, she says.
The industry is very competitive here, so every restaurant owner and chef is giving everything to offer customers the best dining experience
