Best Dutch food in Hong Kong, plus Japanese, Korean, Thai neighbourhood go-tos of a food pro from the Netherlands
- Qing Ye, a Dutch-Chinese professional working for European food conglomerate Danone, knows at least one place in Hong Kong serving authentic Dutch comfort food
- She also enjoys dim sum, Taiwanese, Thai, Japanese, Korean and even Nordic cuisine, and likes to seek out a different restaurant with local vibes every week
Dutch-Chinese Qing Ye has worked for French food conglomerate Danone for 17 years. Her job title is disruptive innovation director, and she works on a variety of products. She spoke to Andrew Sun.
My parents had a Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands making Dutch Chinese food, and I hardly ever ate at it. We had mostly traditional southern Chinese food at home, like fish and crab, because we were from Guangzhou.
Traditional Dutch food is very functional. It features meaty dishes like sausages, and stodgy foods to keep you warm in the winter. But people in the Netherlands never went out for Dutch food, and instead enjoyed it at home.
Nowadays with my family, I eat mostly Asian cuisine, including lots of rice and Japanese-style raw fish, but I am always on the lookout for any restaurants that serve Dutch dishes because they remind me of home.
There aren’t many places for Dutch food in Hong Kong, but I bumped into an old friend who runs a restaurant in Yuen Long, and it has a whole menu page dedicated to Dutch snacks. The restaurant is called 701 Place (701 Shui Tsiu San Tsuen, Tai Tong Road, Yuen Long. Tel: 2959 3004).
My favourites on the menu include bitterballen fried meatballs and frikandel fried sausage. It’s the kind of thing you eat after a night out – with lots of curry, mayo or ketchup.
I also love Thai food. In the Tai Kok Tsui area where I live, Restoran Saya (Shop G701, Square Mile II, 18 Ka Shin Street, Tai Kok Tsui. Tel: 9555 8452) does a fantastic rendition of khao soi noodles, and its larb moo uses fried pig’s ear instead of the usual mince, so it’s crispier.
It’s a cool place to go because it’s not expensive, and it’s got a modern, funky vibe.
For Japanese food, I like Nomad (32 Poplar Street, Sham Shui Po. Tel 6608 6697). It does a huge charcoal-grilled eel burger that’s nearly as big as my arm. The tonkatsu is also done very well, and comes in huge portions.
My kids love har gow dumplings, so we will head to one of the increasingly rare old-school dim sum places like Ho Choi Seafood Restaurant (1/F, Yat Chau International Plaza, 118 Connaught Road, Sai Ying Pun. Tel: 2517 6660). The har gow there are really big, and not too expensive.
My kids also like Taiwanese noodles. We go to Lao Cuo Bian (92 Ivy Street, Tai Kok Tsui. Tel: 2666 5226), which is also famous for its cheesy rolls and braised pork rice.
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I work in Fortress Hill, and I like Kyukyoku Do (Shop D, G/F, Seabright Plaza, 9-23 Shell Street, North Point. Tel: 3596 7848) for lunch.
It does good donburi lunch sets. You can get three types of donburi in one, to try different flavours.
I just went to a party at Embla (G/F, 11 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan. Tel: 2559 8508), and its Nordic offerings are reminiscent of Dutch cuisine. The bread is good, too. I remember the old menu there offered snail caviar, which had a very unique taste.
I find most posh restaurants are not that special. I’d rather go to a good neighbourhood place. Last week we went to Koreatown, in East Tsim Sha Tsui, for Korean barbecue at Seorae (G/F-1/F, Passkon Court, 79-81 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2723 6692).
It has a really nice atmosphere but, of course, you go home smelling of smoke.
