#WhatGeorgeEats: 2020 Year in Review

Intro

What can I say about 2020? A year of no travel. A year of work from home. A year of social distancing. My doctor jokes that everyone must have gained some weight. Well, I shall call it “happy weight”. If you are safe and well, and you still have good appetite for food, it’s already a blessing for you in the unprecedented year of 2020, isn’t it?

This post serves as a year in review for some food places I tried in 2020. I pick the ten most memorable ones, from Hong Kong’s only “Boeing 747 theme restaurant” (since we can’t travel this year) to a vintage hot pot spot (if you do miss the old Hong Kong).

Bon appetit. Life is good because of good taste.

Boston Restaurant

This is one of Hong Kong’s very first teppanyaki steak restaurants since 1966. Once upon a time, it was very popular among ladies and gentlemen for dating in this restaurant in the 1960-70s. Some critics say the restaurant has changed a lot (i.e. getting worse) from its original flavor and quality. To be fair, its pricing remains pretty reasonable. So does its food portion. If you want to try the old-fashioned Hong Kong-style Western food (港式西餐), this is still a good place to try.

The restaurant doesn’t take any booking. First come, first served. Avoid the peak hours unless you want to be stuck in a long queue for at least 30 minutes.

Cova Pasticceria & Confetteria

Cova is one of Italy's oldest pasticceria, established in 1817. It has several branches all over Hong Kong and quite popular among the local. Many eaters’ favorite at Cova is its Tiramisu or you can just go for its “three levels” afternoon tea set, which is considered quite a trend for the local middle-class. I personally find its lobster linguine also tastes pretty good, especially in fresh tomato sauce. The key to Italian cuisine is fresh ingredients. Cova can prove that.

The Galley by Cafe Proud Wings

Frankly speaking, if it was not because of 2020 and how much I miss flying, I probably would not find this restaurant in Hong Kong.

Let me Introduce you Hong Kong’s only “Boeing 747 theme restaurant”. You can choose “Economic Class”, “Economic Premium”, “Business”, and “First Class” set dinners. The differences are mainly about seafood, steak, and some wine. If you pick the “First Class” set, you will also have a tailor-made “flight ticket” with your name printed on it. How fun!

I won’t bother to write too much about its food, which is pretty average but this is all about experience, right? So, please fasten your belt, enjoy your dinner, and pretend you can still have a good flight in 2020. And don’t forget to make more selfies in the restaurant.

Royal Garden Fine Foods

Royal Garden is not a luxury hotel. It’s located in the centre of Tsim Sha Tsui and the hotel is getting quite old. What makes the hotel special in Hong Kong is actually its bakery. The locals will tell you Royal Garden probably has the best “butterfly cookies” (蝴蝶酥) in Hong Kong. Known for their caramelized exterior and multitude of flaky layers within, these French treats call for just two ingredients: puff pastry and sugar. But it’s all about how to make a balance. Not too sweet. Not too greasy. Royal Garden can prove it.

Butterfly cookies used to be a reflection of middle-class life in the old Shanghai in 1920-30s when Shanghai was heavily influenced by French and British culture and traditions. The Park Hotel (國際飯店) near the People’s Park in the city centre of Shanghai still makes its popular butterfly cookies to this day. If you can’t travel to Shanghai (or Paris), try Royal Garden’s butterfly cookies in Hong Kong.

Nepal Restaurant

This is the first Nepalese restaurant in Hong Kong, established in 1995 when Hong Kong was still British Hong Kong. The restaurant, owned and run by the Nepalese in Hong Kong, survived the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and then 2003 SARS, 2008 global financial crisis, and now it is trying to survive and revive amid the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s a great example of resilience.

My favorite is its grilled prawns. I may be biased because I generally prefer seafood to meat.

Dacha Restaurant & Bar

This Russian and Eastern European cuisine-focused restaurant is located on Hollywood Road in Soho area. It’s widely known among the expats in Hong Kong as the most authentic (and diverse too) Eastern European restaurant in Hong Kong. Don’t miss the traditional Polish salad as starter, which reminds of my last holiday in Warsaw. It’s also a very Instagram-friendly starter.

I picked “chicken roll” as my main course, which the restaurant staff said is a typical Ukraine cuisine. I checked with my Russian friends and they said the “chicken roll” looked much longer than those you can find in Ukraine. How did I find out this restaurant? Long story short. The restaurant owner is a very senior pilot for Cathay Pacific, as one of the airline’s few training pilot managers.

Btw, in archaic Russian, the word dacha means something given. By the end of the 19th century, the dacha became a favorite summer retreat for the upper and middle classes of Russian society. In simple language, it means “country house”.

Lei Yue Mun

Lei Yue Mun (鯉魚門) is like Hong Kong’s answer to the Fishermen’s Wharf in San Fransisco. It’s known as a “seafood village” for decades, and Lei Yue Mun is also one of the 101 reasons why we all love Hong Kong. Lei Yue Mun is not just one restaurant but a whole village of seafood restaurants. The locals all have their favorite ones so I don’t want to argue here which one is the best.

One thing you cannot miss is the Hong Kong-style cheesy lobster spaghetti in cheese (芝士龍蝦伊麵). Some will also go for pepper and salt mantis shrimp (椒鹽攋尿蝦). Those are the two seafood food items you probably can only find and enjoy in Hong Kong.

Mandarin Grill + Bar

What can I say? I’m a fan.

This one needs no introduction actually. If you live in Central and don’t know what to eat today, MO (aka “Mandarin Oriental”) will never disappoint you. Its grill is a hidden gem in Central, for both business dinners or several friends who want to get together privately. In comparison, I find MO grill does much better job than its competitor Grand Hyatt, which is also quite well known for its steakhouse.

My favorite is New Zealand’s M9 class wagyu ribeye. M9 is rare in Hong Kong.

Co Thanh Restaurant

I found this restaurant completely by chance. One day my friend, Hong Kong’s well-respected former legislator Charles Mok and I met for some drinks. After two bottles of beer, we decided to go for some real food. Charles introduced me this new Vietnamese restaurant, which is actually in my neighborhood in Central. Everything here tasted surprisingly good, especially the bun, with all delicious foodstuff roasted inside, including a well fried egg!

It’s also worth to introduce the Kau U Fong (九如坊) area where you may find many other popular food places, for example, The Chairman, which is best known for its fried crabs with vermicell and you have to get on its wait list for at least a month to book. I didn’t get that luck this year.

SUPPA

Last but not the least, how can I forget hot pot? Friends who know me will say George is such a big fan of hot pot. I can eat hot pot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as “midnight snack”.

SUPPA, or 十下 (which means “ten times” literally in Chinese), is a Hong Kong old-fashioned style hot pot restaurant in Causeway Bay. Why “old fashioned”? Because many of us just like the “old Hong Kong”. How about having hot pot with a bunch of friends around a large wood table? And the background music is all those classic Cantopop songs from the “Four Heavenly Kings” (四大天王). Fantastic, right?

You can order a “two in one” pot, half spicy and the other half at your wish, like drunken chicken soup or traditional Chinese medicine flavor (which is supposed to be good for your health). The restaurant is very Instagram-friendly too, making you feel almost in a typical TVB home setting of some old Cantonese TV dramas.

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