Hong Kong’s best beef balls, tasty Thai and a special hotpot: recommendations from Octavium’s new chef de cuisine
- Bjoern Alexander reveals his favourite Hong Kong restaurants as well as top picks in Chiang Mai in Thailand and his hometown of Berlin in Germany
- To give a visitor a taste of the ‘real Hong Kong’ the first place he would take them to is Market Hotpot in Mong Kok
Born in Germany, Bjoern Alexander is the new chef de cuisine at Octavium, an Italian restaurant in Hong Kong.
As a chef, I love to try really local foods and restaurants, especially when I travel, to understand a country better.
Currently, one of my local favourites is Samsen (68 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai. Tel: 2234 0001). I love Thai Food and here you can find some of Hong Kong’s most tasty and special Thai. Also, I love their rustic design. What it shows is that a simple concept can be a big success. That is Hong Kong – good food speaks for itself.
Another is Wagyumafia (Shop 1B, G/F, Guardian House, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai. Tel: 2608 0677). The food is awesome and the show of the chefs shouting is a must-try experience.
The first restaurant I would bring a visitor to would be a hotpot restaurant to show them the real Hong Kong. Market Hotpot (2/F, Dundas Square, 43H Dundas Street, Mong Kok. Tel: 2782 2003) serves dinner until 3am (pre-Covid-19). I think the environment is very special. The area is very local and you can get fresh seafood right out of the restaurant’s tank. The price is also so cheap – you would never get this in Europe.
Then for sure we would go for a dim sum breakfast so they can get a better understanding of the culture. I would suggest Nove at the Fringe (1/F, The Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central. Tel: 2130 6546) for tasty dim sum. The location’s design is unique, with cosy seating, delicious Chui Chow goose and I think the best beef balls in town.
My hometown is Berlin. A must-stop in the city is Restaurant Tim Raue (Rudi-Dutschke-Str. 26, 10969 Berlin. Tel: +49 30 25937930). Tim is simply an icon, a real Berliner, born there and one of the first chefs who started with Asian cuisine in Germany and had big success with it. He is also famous for his hard way in the kitchen and he has a strong personality which makes him one of the most famous chefs in Berlin and Germany.
Then, I would suggest Nobelhart & Schmutzig (Friedrichstr. 218 Kreuzberg, 10969 Berlin. Tel: +49 30 25940610) because they show how beautiful and creative Berliner food can be using only local ingredients. Then, Curry 36 (Mehringdamm 36, 10961 Berlin. Tel: +49 30 2517368) is where you can get the town’s best curry sausage.
The Canadian who’s Malaysia’s top YouTube food personality
Other travel destinations I like for food include Chiang Mai in Thailand. I especially like outdoor night markets like Ton Payom Market on Suthep Road. Nearby is local eatery Tong Tem Toh (11 Nimman Haeminda Soi 13, Mueang Chiang Mai. Tel: +66 0 53 894 701). I like going where locals go to eat to try the real Thailand. Must-try dishes include the mixed vegetables with two home-made Chiang Mai sauces and the bitter gourd leaves with oyster sauce.
I lived in Tokyo before. There I recommend Jimbocho Den (2-3-18 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Tel: +81 3 6455 5433) and Florilege (Seizan Gaienmae B1F, 2-5-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Tel: +81 03 6440 0878). Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den is an experience himself. I’ve never seen a funny Japanese chef like him and his food is tasty with funny presentation. His Dentucky fried chicken is special.
Chef Hiroyasu Kawate of Florilege does unique combinations of French and Japanese, with a beautiful restaurant with full kitchen views.
