Curry, dumplings, roast chicken: a Chinese medicine practitioner’s best Hong Kong eats

A Chinese medicine practitioner reveals the Hong Kong restaurant she is happy to splurge money on, where to find ‘superb’ dumplings and more

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Roasted Hong Kong yellow chicken, Niigata rice en cocotte, salad at Louise in Central, a favourite of Chinese medicine practiitioner Ruth Lee. She tells us her other go-to places to eat in Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 12:45pm, 19 Jun 2024Updated: 7:53am, 20 Jun 2024

Hongkonger Ruth Lee, a registered Chinese medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, is the founder of Master Ruth TCM Clinic in Central, on Hong Kong Island. She spoke to Andrew Sun.

I am a food lover and I enjoy everything that different cuisines have to offer. However, Chinese is my preference for the great varieties of cooking inherited from thousands of years.

As a Chinese medicine practitioner, I also love that the philosophy of balance is well infused into the cooking.

For lunch, I like something simple and quick. Wai Kee (Shop 5, Bowrington Road Cooked Food Centre, 1/F, 21 Bowrington Road, Wan Chai. Tel: 2574 1131) is a halal shop run by Muslim Chinese. This is a hidden find that only locals would go to.

The signature dish is curry mutton. The flavours are spot on, nothing fancy, not too spicy, and they are so cheap – every dish is around HK$50 (US$6.40). I also love the potent anti-inflammatory properties of the curry with turmeric, chilli peppers and coriander.

Pickled mustard cabbage and stewed fish at San Xi Lou. Photo: Edmond So

My all-season favourite dinner is the Sichuan boiled fish at San Xi Lou (Shop B, 17/F, Lee Theatre Plaza, 99 Percival Street, Causeway Bay. Tel: 3795 8522), which uses a whole fish with very little bones.