Classic seafood noodles and dim sum in Hong Kong, the best coffee and croissant in London: a carbs lover’s favourite places to eat

Janet Lam, founder of Hong Kong lipstick retailer Out of Colours, recommends Sanka for teppanyaki, and Xin Rong Ji for the quality of its seafood

Carbone is her go-to Italian restaurant for the meatballs and spicy rigatoni vodka, and she misses the contemporary American food at Borough Market in London

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Braised tofu with preserved pork and black fungus from Xin Rong Ji. Janet Lam appreciates the quality of the Chinese restaurant’s seafood in particular. Photo: Xin Rong Ji

Published: 3:15pm, 28 Jul 2021Updated: 2:13pm, 30 Jul 2021

Corrected [2:11pm, 30 Jul, 2021]

[2:11pm, 30 Jul, 2021]
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Born in Hong Kong but schooled in the UK and Singapore, beauty enthusiast Janet Lam is the founder of colour lipstick retailer Out of Colours. She spoke to Andrew Sun.

I am very adventurous with all sorts of cuisine and love trying new restaurants. Generally, I prefer Asian food. I am a spice, coffee and carbs lover. Sometimes I still crave comfort dishes like fishball noodles.

I don’t have one favourite, as I constantly try out new restaurants. I get bored going back to the same places. But I would recommend Sanka (1/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 3460 2285) for teppanyaki. It’s excellent for corporate dinners or family gatherings and they’ve kept up the standards for so many years.

Xin Rong Ji (China Overseas Building, 138 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 3462 3516) serves the highest quality seafood dishes, and you can choose your preferred cooking style. Its star dish is braised sea anemone with sweet potato noodles, with concentrated and balanced flavours of sweet, salty and sour.

Lam enjoys all sorts of cuisine and trying out new restaurants. Photo: Courtesy of Janet Lam

I also like the Black Sheep group’s restaurants. They pay attention to every detail, bringing out the authenticity of the cuisine, from interior to music, service and the food. Carbone (9/F, Lan Kwai Fong Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2593 2593) is my all-time favourite for Italian. The meatballs and signature spicy rigatoni vodka are indulgent.

For a new visitor, I would bring them somewhere with a modern Chinese interior such as dim sum at China Tang (Shop 411-413, 4/F Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 2522 2148) or Luk Yu Tea House (24 Stanley Street, Central, tel: 2523 5464). If they love somewhere more local and authentic, Lin Heung Lau (160-164 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2544 4556) is it.