Food entrepreneur Gerry Ma is executive director of Urban Dining F&B and an adviser for the Gourmet Zone at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Food Expo. He spoke to Andrew Sun.
I love to eat, but I never learned to cook. I cannot even make noodles. I was the smallest in a big family, so all my sisters and elders took care of me. But from everyone, I learned a lot about food. My four big sisters and older brother all married people from different places – Shanghai, Suzhou, Chiu Chow and others – and I learned to differentiate different Chinese cuisines from an early age.
As for Cantonese food, my ultimate preference is Kowloon’s Fook Lam Moon (2/F, Kingston International Centre, 19 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay. Tel: 2366 0286). The food remains close to the founder’s style [who was known for high-end, labour-intensive Cantonese dishes], while its chef, Law On, is nearly 90 years old. I have known him since the 1980s.
Another favourite place is IFC’s Cuisine Cuisine (3101, Podium Level 3, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central. Tel: 2393 3933) with master chef Lee Yuk-lam, who is almost 80 now. I like his luxurious private-kitchen menu items, such as the crystal shrimp ball and stir-fried pig’s tripe. His menu repertoire is not huge, but he does each item very well.
Cuisine Cuisine’s fish maw and conch soup. Photo: Cuisine Cuisine
A younger chef I enjoy is Hung Chi-kwong at Rùn (2/F, The St. Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wan Chai. Tel: 2138 6808). I have followed his career and seen him mature now to get two Michelin stars for the restaurant. He started with the Lei Garden group and Nanhai No 1. He has great technique and does not just rely on using expensive ingredients.
