Page 31 - Sphere No.20 (Nov 2007)

SPHERE 29
through innovative menus
with new food varieties and
ingredients, star chefs, inter-
esting concepts for younger
generations and chic décor.”
The competition is intense
and an army of hotel chefs
compete on the culinary bat-
tlefields of a city that takes its
food very, very seriously. The
challenge is to take the gour-
met experience to unprec-
edented heights.
While most hotels in other
cities cater to tourists, many
Hong Kong establishments must meet the high standards de-
manded by the local population. This is a clientele with gour-
met palates and a see-and-be-seen attitude.
And let’s not forget the tourists; an extraordinary 11 million
visitors stayed in Hong Kong in the first five months of the year,
so it is not surprising that hotels have learnt to place their food
and beverage department on a pedestal. According to the Hong
Kong Tourism Board, tourists spend the largest part of their
holiday budgets on hotel food and refreshment, so hotel chefs
need to balance the demands of both local and overseas diners.
And, of course, Hutchison Whampoa Limited is there to help.
In Hong Kong, the Hutchison property division operates the
Harbour Plaza Hong Kong, The Kowloon Hotel, Harbour Plaza
Metropolis, Harbour Plaza North Point, Harbour Plaza Resort
City, Rambler Garden Hotel and Rambler Oasis Hotel. The be-
hind-the-scenes expertise is second to none. Many of the chefs,
pastry makers and even ice carvers have decades of experience,
are winners of international awards and display a passion for
their work that goes way above and beyond the call of duty.
We spoke to seven people on Hutchison’s front line about
how they plan their culinary campaigns and the special dishes
that have customers coming back time and time again. Here
are their stories.
Lau Chi-kit
Chinese Executive Chef, Harbour Plaza North Point
Chef Lau has worked at a variety of restaurants in Hong Kong
as well as a five-star hotel in Shanghai, but the place he feels at
home is the Harbour Plaza North Point.
He was cooking by the time he was nine and he has gone on
to master the regional cuisines of Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and
Zhejiang. Yet it was a simple train journey that inspired the dish for
which he is best known – Stewed Beef Rib Wrapped with Straw.
“Four years ago, on a train ride from Shenzhen to Guangzhou,
I saw someone working in a farm cutting wheat,” he says in ani-
mated Cantonese. “They would take the wheat and throw away
the straw. I remembered that people used to put that straw un-
der steamed dumplings in Shanghai. When I got back to Hong
“About 30-35 per cent of
our clients dine at hotels in
Hong Kong as the five-star
hotel restaurants are of very
high quality and people like
to go for the fine food,” says
Emma Sherrard, Managing
Director (Asia) of Quintessentially, the private members’ club
with more than 7,000 members worldwide.
“One can expect consistent and high quality food and ser-
vice. Dining concepts at hotels are becoming more interesting
Chefs’ special: The men on
a mission to please Hong
Kong’s gourmets palates
(from left to right) Roger Luk,
Alex Brand, Giancarlo
Zoccoletto, Cesare Romani
and Lau Chi-kit.
PHOTO: HONG