Ho Lee Fook review: cheekily named Hong Kong restaurant channels kook, kitsch and Chinatown clichés with classic banquet-style Cantonese cuisine
- Head chef Archan Chan trained in the Chinatowns of Australia, so brings a cosmopolitan take and knowing nod-wink flair to this lively take on Cantonese classics
- With wait staff in yellow tuxedos, traditionalists might find the kitsch suffocating – but this Elgin Street hang suits a second or third date who enjoys fun, honest food
FARE A reinterpretation of robust, banquet-style Chinese cuisine.
AMBIENCE With ceramic mahjong tiles and a huge golden ingot at the front door, this establishment plays on being kitsch and on interpretations of Chinatown in the mass media.
COST Starters and appetisers are under HK$200 but there are quite a few market price items, so be prepared to spend over HK$800 per person, or more if you’re drinking.
WHO TO BRING A second or third date who enjoys fun, honest food.
TURN-ONS Aligned with the theme of the interiors of Ho Lee Fook, head chef Archan Chan trained in the Chinatowns of Australia. Her culinary style is ingredient focused and robust, returning to the roots of banquet-style Chinese cuisine.
The evening kick-started with salt-and-pepper tofu with crispy garlic and kurobuta pork char siu, honey-glazed and charcoal-grilled, which are well executed but we were looking for a surprise.
This came in the form of steamed live razor clams with glass noodles, fried and aged garlic in premium soy sauce. The different types of garlic were a symphony of aromatic ingredients, while the unmistakable wok hei in the glass noodles reinvigorates one’s love for old-school Cantonese cuisine.
