Silas Li (Hong Kong Cuisine 1983)

From the outside, Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 looks like an unremarkable restaurant in a nondescript building. And for years it was, until chef Silas Li took over the kitchen last year. British-born Li trained in French gastronomy but taught himself how to cook Chinese food while working for 20 years as a private chef for a Hong Kong tycoon. He creates technically impressive, visually appealing and assuredly delicious dishes that reflect his East-meets-West background.

In addition to reinterpreting Chinese food, Li is on a mission to recruit a new generation of chefs who can preserve old recipes that are at risk of disappearing. In an industry already known for its difficult conditions, working in a Chinese kitchen is seen as especially tough – making it hard to attract young talent. What’s more, senior chefs are notorious for keeping recipes secret. Li is hoping to change that by sharing all his recipes with his team, “so they have the skills they need to innovate and further evolve Hong Kong’s culinary culture.”

Hong Kong Cuisine 1983, 1/F, Elegance Court, 2-4 Tsoi Tak Street, Happy Valley

Must-order

The steamed egg white, layered with fresh crab meat in Huadiao wine, then lily flower root foam and topped with roast crab oil, makes for a standout course. Another signature is the braised deboned goose web stuffed into chicken wings and braised again, a complex creation that riffs on not one but two traditional dishes.