‘Best fish and chips’ in Hong Kong, ‘real comfort food’ dumplings, dim sum: a gourmet food importer’s restaurant picks
- Stefan Gross, managing director of Blue Danube Gourmet – which imports food and wine from Austria to Hong Kong – reveals his favourite places to eat in the city
- He gets the ‘crispiest’ Vietnamese bread in town, enjoys ‘the city’s best fish and chips’ before drinking and has ‘real comfort food’ in one spot in particular
Austrian Stefan Gross is the managing director of Blue Danube Gourmet, which imports food and wine from his homeland. He spoke to Andrew Sun.
I’m lucky to have grown up in Austria, a country with a lot of local agricultural produce, so we don’t really depend on imports. We always had quality comfort food.
One of my favourite dishes is schinkenfleckerl, made with ham, small bow-tie pasta and a cream sauce – you can say it’s Austrian macaroni and cheese. It’s just as good if you bake the leftovers with cheese the next day, gratin-style.
I went to hotel school and worked in Vienna and Switzerland. I got bored with Europe and decided to go to New York. I’ve also lived in Malta, Edinburgh, the Caribbean and eventually settled in Hong Kong.
I eat at Chef’s Cuts (Shop G01-G03, Central Market, 93 Queen’s Road, Central. Tel: 9574 4254) about two or three times a week. I love the vibe. There are people from all walks of life. I would eat here even if I wasn’t a supplier. It’s casual, a good place to meet people. The seafood and the bone marrow are good. The pork knuckle is also authentically made.
You might also see me at Soho Banh Mi (Shop 2D, 1/F, The Center, 99 Queen’s Road Central. Tel: 5498 4236). This is another favourite. To me, it’s like a kaiser roll banh mi. The bread is the crispiest in town. I love the pâté made from locally sourced pork liver and they do everything themselves. The bun (rice noodle) salad is great in summer.