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Hong Kong dining & recommendations
LifestyleFood & Drink

Vegetarian dim sum, pizza and wonton soup in Hong Kong: an Italian’s picks

  • Stefano Fossati, director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong, has been vegetarian for more than 30 years
  • He also suggests where to find a great paneer tikka in India, as well as top-level restaurants in Turin and where he goes for soba in Japan

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When Stefano Fossati, the director of Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong, wants Italian food in Hong Kong, he goes to Divino Patio.
Andrew Sun

Stefano Fossati, a native of Turin in northern Italy, is the director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong.

I’ve been vegetarian for more than 30 years. I have lived in India, Japan, Australia and – since September 2019 – Hong Kong. My wife is Japanese and my seven-year-old son, who was born in Rome, loves pizza, udon and hamburgers.

When I go out with my family, we persuade our son to go for restaurants that have a good vegetarian selection. We recently tried Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Restaurant (10/F, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2881 9966). They have a rich variety of dim sum. I like the vegetarian wonton soup, buns and stir-fried lotus root with pickled mustard.

When I want Italian, I go to Divino Patio (Shop 11, 1/F, Brim 28, 28 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2877 3552). Non-vegetarians can enjoy a real Italian-style lasagne. I like also the Grand Café (Lobby, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2584 7722) for its recently introduced falafel pita sandwich – a mild introduction to Middle Eastern cuisine.

Deep-fried spring rolls from Summer Palace in the Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong. Photo: Stefano Fossati
Deep-fried spring rolls from Summer Palace in the Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong. Photo: Stefano Fossati

When I have special guests, I take them to Summer Palace (5/F, Island Shangri-La, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, tel: 2820 8552). What I like is the great vegetarian wonton soup and vegetarian brown fried rice. You can also order just one single portion of brown rice.

For my work, I have to host formal events so for celebrations I prefer to forgo the formalities. In this sense, I find Mickey B Pizza Co. (two branches including Shop 13, 1/F, Brim 28, 28 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 3100 0478) a treat. It has good pizza, decent wine and low prices.

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