Conversion of a Chinese food-hater

I’m not a big fan of Chinese food, even the more palatable ‘Indianised’ version of it. So as I sat on a flight to Hong Kong, I was concerned about what I’d eat there. I needn’t have fretted. A British colony till 1997, Hong Kong cuisine is infused with more global influences than that of any other place. So you get authentic Cantonese food at a local eatery, and the place right next door will serve an Italian risotto and broth made with local Chinese ingredients.

Secure in the knowledge that there were so many options available, it was easier to slide into the booth of a traditional ‘fast-food’ joint in Central HK. Tsui Wah, which has branches all over the city, much like a McDonald’s. It’s anything but a fast-food place in the way we understand it. The main fare consisted of Cantonese-style rice-with-meat-and-vegetable dishes.

It’s packed with office-goers, all suited up. A Chinese woman comes up to our table to take our order. She seems to be in a terrible rush. I look at the 16-page menu, and decide to order one of the ‘specials’ — a Cantonese chicken curry with rice. Would I like tea, she asks. It’s 1pm. I’m not accustomed to having tea with lunch. But I say yes. Within five minutes, the owner-cum-server brings a cup of tea. To my surprise, it’s not unlike the masala chai I’m so used to in Mumbai. Before I can pick up the cup, she returns with my lunch — a big bowl of rice, a bowl of chicken stew, and vegetables at the side. It’s spicy and tangy, and I can’t help enjoying it.

Melting pot
Dinner is at Mido Cafe, not far from the Central area. This time it’s pork and rice, with gravy like a Thai curry. “It’s evolved over time, our food,” says Ricky Wu, Chinese executive chef at the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. The Pearl Delta, where Hong Kong is situated, is a melting pot of cultures. “Food here is influenced by other neighbouring cuisines such as Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese. Yet, Hong Kong’s cuisine is different from, say, Thailand’s: Thai people like their curries spicy, but in HK, the curry is much milder. Besides, we use ingredients that are available locally, and the ginger, garlic and spring onions grown in this region have a distinct taste and flavour,” he adds.

The European influence can’t be missed either. There are a number of French, Italian and Spanish restaurants that are doing well in the city. For dinner on our second night, we go to an Italian place. There, on the menu, is seafood pasta made in a Chinese wine sauce.

Back in Mumbai, when I try and pinpoint the distinguishing characteristic of Hong Kong cuisine, I realise I can’t come up with any one thing. What struck me, I realise, is that after three days there I never felt I had eaten too much Chinese food, and that’s not something I can say after a visit to a Chinese restaurant in Mumbai.