The last time I visited Hong Kong, I was a young girl. Coming from a farm in country Australia, the city overwhelmed me: neon signs stacked on buildings, junk boats with red sails in the harbour, laundry swaying from apartment windows and the smell of street food everywhere.
So much has changed. The skyscrapers are taller, the malls are glossier and the old airport, with its white-knuckle descent between high-rises, is long gone. What has not changed is the food. If anything, it has only got better.
As the late Anthony Bourdain once said, no one can say you’re wrong if you name Hong Kong the greatest food city in the world. After five days of eating my way through Hong Kong and Guangdong, I understand why. Here is what the trip taught me.
Lesson 1: Chinese food is far more varied than we think
Many of us grew up on lemon chicken, honey prawns and Mongolian lamb. In five days I tried eight different regional cuisines, and the variety was a revelation, from banquet-style meals spinning on a Lazy Susan to do-it-yourself hot pot.
Lesson 2: Fresh is everything
At Tai Po Hui Market, stalls overflowed with fresh produce, seafood, spices and dried goods. Shopping daily for what is fresh is still a way of life, and you can taste it in every dish.
Lesson 3: Gentle cooking keeps flavour (and nutrients)
At the Chinese Culinary Institute, chef Leung Ho Yin showed us how to steam white fish, create fragrant salads and carve carrots to decorate the plate. Steaming is quick, light and lets quality ingredients shine.
Lesson 4: Fermentation is an art
We crossed the 55-kilometre Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to visit Lee Kum Kee’s production base in Xinhui. The family business, now in its sixth generation, began with the accidental creation of oyster sauce in 1888, when Lee Kum Sheung left a pot of oyster soup simmering too long. Today, rows of giant soy sauce fermentation tanks stretch as far as the eye can see.
I learned there are many kinds of soy sauce, from light and dark to reduced-salt and gluten-free. A little goes a long way, so choosing well matters if you are watching your salt.
Lesson 5: Food is about sharing
From a lively dai pai dong (one of only a handful of these traditional food stalls left in Hong Kong) to a hot pot dinner in Causeway Bay and a banquet at Lee Kum Kee’s headquarters, every meal was shared. At Mott 32, chef Franco Yuen served his famous apple wood roasted Peking duck. In Foshan, Master Chef Tan Guohui showed us a kitchen that feeds 2,000 guests a day.
Eating together, slowly, with lots of small dishes is a lovely way to enjoy food and naturally keeps portions in check.
Lesson 6: Slow down and look around
Between meals we visited the Ancestral Temple of Foshan, the Kungfu Culture Museum and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, then cruised Victoria Harbour on the wooden sailing boat Aqua Luna while enjoying dim sum. Foshan, with its electric cars and bicycles, was the quietest city I have ever visited.
Bringing it home
I came home with a new appreciation for Chinese cuisine and a few habits worth keeping: shop fresh, steam more, share plates and use sauces wisely. Thank you to our generous hosts at Lee Kum Kee, Dodie Hung, Wilson Lam, Alice Zhong, Lydia and Ro.
And my last meal before the flight home? Roast goose at the airport. Bourdain was right. It is the best thing ever.
Robyn Foyster travelled to Hong Kong and China as a guest of Lee Kum Kee.
For more on eating well, explore our Nutrition Guide and Healthy Dinner Recipes.
