The Verdict
HO LEE FOOK opened in 2014 in a SoHo basement and established a category that Hong Kong's dining scene had previously lacked: a restaurant serious enough about its Chinese cooking to appear on the Asia's 50 Best list while operating at a volume level that made the evening feel like a party. Chef Jowett Yu built the menu around Cantonese classics re-examined through the lens of a chef trained in both Hong Kong and Australia, and the result is food that is simultaneously recognisable and surprising.
The roast meats — siu yuk (roast pork) with crackling that the kitchen produces in-house rather than sourcing from a roast meat specialist — are the preparation that best demonstrates the kitchen's ambition. The mapo tofu is made with Sichuan peppercorns and a heat level calibrated above the standard Hong Kong version. The karaage chicken — Japanese in form, Chinese in the marinade composition — has become the late-night order that the restaurant's regulars request regardless of what else they have ordered. The cocktail programme is as well-considered as the food.
The basement location on Elgin Street places Ho Lee Fook within walking distance of Hong Kong's most active SoHo bar scene, which means the evening naturally extends in both directions — drinks before at one of the street's bars, the karaage at midnight when the kitchen's late service is in full swing. The restaurant operates until 1 AM, making it the rare serious kitchen in Hong Kong that accommodates genuine late-night dining. The Asia's 50 Best listing reflects that the food operates at a level that the volume and the hours do not compromise.
Why It Works for Solo Dining
The basement counter at Ho Lee Fook — facing the open kitchen, watching the roast meat programme in operation — is the late-night solo dining position for guests who want food of genuine quality at an hour when Hong Kong's Michelin-starred rooms have long since closed. The karaage and a glass of something cold constitute a meal that no restaurant in the SoHo district can match at midnight. The cocktail programme sustains the evening into its natural conclusion.
Also in Hong Kong
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