Amigo, A Happy Valley Legend

To celebrate my “relocation” to Happy Valley from Mid-levels for the very first month, we revisited the most chic and classic restaurant in the Happy Valley neighbourhood, and that must be Amigo (雅谷餐廳).

Before Hong Kong got top-tier restaurants inside Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental, there was already the Amigo. A Hong Kong institution, Amigo has remained unchanged since opening in its current location in 1976.

Most of the restaurant staff here have served for more than three decades. As you can imagine, they are the witness of many important people and events — from celebrity datings to secretive political meetings.

The restaurant is renovated in classic European style and well known for its traditional French and Italian dishes. The lobster bisque is one of the most popular choices for starter, and many loyal diners also love the lamb chops with mint jelly that have been consistently good. The highlights of your culinary journey to Amigo can continue after your main courses — all guests will get complimentary chocolate ice cream sticks, my favourite.

Please make sure you book one month in advance at least and there is strict dress code for all guests to follow. Happy Valley and Amigo feel almost like in a mutually indispensable relationship for decades, and I’m sure it’s a lovely relationship too.

Address: Amigo, 79A Wong Nai Chung Rd, Happy Valley

Yum Cha in Happy Valley

Happy Saturday! This is probably the most famous yum cha (飲茶) and dim sum place in Happy Valley. The restaurant is named 壹玖捌叁, or 1983, which is the year of birth of the founder and boss, Mr. Cheng.

It’s a popular place for family gatherings on weekends and its signature dim sum include the “colorful xiaolongbao dumplings”, “roasted pork pastry”, and “fried taro pastry”. Prices may be above the average in this (already expensive) neighbourhood but the food portion is reasonably big too.

At dinner time, the restaurant focuses on Canton and Shanghainese cuisine, apart from its passion for creative “Hong Kong fusion” cuisine, led by Chef Tang, who has more than 50 years experience in culinary business.

Boss Cheng also has a wide collection of wine, which he has imported from all over the world and shares one thing in common: the year of production, 1983 of course.

Address: Hong Kong Cuisine (壹玖捌叁 1983), Elegance Court, Tsoi Tak St, Happy Valley

The Most Popular Pizza in Happy Valley

Located not far off the Happy Valley Racecourse, Dough Bros may be a tiny take-out pizza shop with just a few stools, but their artisanal sourdough pizza and freshly-filled doughnuts (heads up, nutella fanatics!) are certainly worth the wait.

Well, if you don’t like to wait, definitely try to avoid peak hours for lunch and dinner.

Known by the local as “the most famous pizza shop in Happy Valley”, Dough Bros has expanded beyond Happy Valley to set up new branches in Kennedy Town, Soho/Central, Wan Chai, and Quarry Bay.

Dough Bros is also well known for its wide range of choices for beer, including some difficult to find ones imported from all over the world to Hong Kong. For June, Spicy Pizza is the “pizza of the month” if you are a fan of Mexican spicy flavour.

Address: Dough Bros, G, 38-42 Yik Yam St, Happy Valley

Shanghai Wonton in Causeway Bay

My friends often ask me where to eat good Shanghainese food. The answer is … the Shanghai Hongkong Noodle Restaurant in Causeway Bay. It’s been here for more than half a century and the first-generation founder/boss is a poor migrant to Hong Kong from Shanghai after the war time.

My favourite here is the Shanghai-style “little wonton”, and I will also order fried dumplings if I’m a bit more hungry. Soy milk is the popular drink here, brewed by the restaurant on its own everyday. Of course, the best takeaway is always the Shanghai-style “rice wrap” (秶飯), which has two flavors, sweet (pork) or salty (vegetables).

This restaurant is one of the unspoken secrets for the local and it’s open for 7/24/365. It was once featured in American newspaper USA Today, which described the hardworking entrepreneurial spirit as the “Spirit of Hong Kong”.

Ice Cream, A US-China Story

This is the most classic ice cream with a very long history in China since the early 1900s, also related to American influence, culture, and technology at that time.

American politicians and businessmen came to Shanghai for their “adventures” in the early days and they had homesick, including missing Western-style ice cream in the summertime. In 1913, an American dairy factory was established in Shanghai and it quickly entered ice cream business to primarily serve the foreign and local elite communities in Shanghai.

At the very beginning, the original brand of its ice cream was called “Beauty” (美女), and the brand was renamed as “Brightness” (光明) in 1950 following the Communist Party’s victory of the Civil War. Make sense? A bright new era just started for China. That’s the new meaning.

The late famous Chinese writer Eileen Chang (張愛玲) was one of many fans for “Beauty” ice cream, quite a luxury for the local in the old era of Shanghai. Today the new “Brightness” brand is already a household name in Shanghai and occupies a dominating share in the domestic ice cream market in China.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) was a factory manager for Yiming Foodstuff (益民食品), parent company of “Brightness” dairy and ice cream products before Jiang started his political career and became the Mayor of Shanghai.

You can now order “Brightness” ice cream online, directly shipped from Shanghai to Hong Kong, thanks to highly efficient logistics and e-commerce technology nowadays of course.