What’s your favourite festive dish? Hong Kong’s top chefs share theirs

For most chefs, the holiday season typically involves long hours in a busy restaurant kitchen. But that doesn’t mean they don’t make time to enjoy their own festive meal with family and friends. 

We speak to some of Hong Kong’s leading chefs about their favourite December dishes and festive food traditions, whether eaten at Christmas or during the winter solstice. 

Loïc Portalier

Executive chef at Louise 

Christmas is a humble yet meaningful affair in the Portalier household. “We share a table filled with food that we don’t typically eat throughout the year – nothing extravagant, just a heartfelt effort to create something special: smoked salmon, pie, escargots, homemade foie gras terrine and scallops.”

Last year, Portalier was able to spend Christmas at home in France after nearly a decade away. To mark the occasion, he made pithivier for his family, a French puff-pastry pie typically filled with poultry.

“[Making pithiviers] requires a considerable amount of patience, skill, and savoir-faire, making it a true labour of love,” he says. 

Although the dish took almost a week to prepare, the work was part of the shared holiday experience for Portalier. He now plans to introduce a caramelised onion tart to the menu at Louise, inspired by his family meal last year.

Tiff Lo

Chef-owner of Jean May 

In Lo’s family home, festive feasts are taken very seriously. 

“When I was younger, my mother would start preparing four days in advance. I’d always try to help but usually ended up creating big mishaps and being shouted out of the kitchen,” she recalls, laughing.

Her mother, who has roots in Shanghai, usually cooks up a mix of Western and Chinese dishes, from onion soup with homemade beef broth to Shanghainese braised pork knuckle “as big as one’s head”.

“The pork knuckle is always the star of a show,” says Lo. “It’s cooked in a big clay pot for at least three hours, resulting in a glossy dark soy sauce hue. My mother is very particular about removing all grease from the sauce, making it very rich yet clear.”

Working as a chef means that these days Lo doesn’t get to sit down for a Christmas meal at home with her family. Instead, they visit her at her restaurant, French bistro Jean May , to celebrate together.

Silas Li

Executive chef at Hong Kong Cuisine 1983

Having grown up in Britain in a Hakka household, chef Li associates December with both poon choi (a traditional Cantonese dish) and Christmas pudding.

Li recalls how his family celebrated in the UK: “Every Christmas Eve, after our Chinese takeaway closed, all close family members would gather to spend Christmas Eve together and welcome Christmas Day. We decorated the tree, exchanged gifts, and cooked together.”  

Today, Li makes his own Sichuan-inspired poon choi for his family in Hong Kong. “The spicy and numbing Ma La poon choi came about because my wife and kids really enjoy spicy food,” he explains. “After a festival, we had some leftovers in the kitchen, so I made a Sichuan-style broth base, and ended up creating my own version of poon choi.

“I also make Christmas pudding every year, experimenting with different versions” says Li.

The chef welcomes curious diners visiting Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 in Happy Valley to request these dishes when making their reservations.

Antonio Oviedo

Executive chef at 22 Ships 

For Spanish chef Oviedo, no seasonal dish beats cordero lechal (suckling lamb).

“It’s solely fed on milk without any hay or grains, yielding meat that is tender and boasts a uniquely sweet flavour,” Oviedo explains. “The most prized suckling lamb typically hails from Burgos and Extremadura, the regions of Spain where my family has its roots.”

At Oviedo’s childhood home, his mother would roast half a lamb in a wood oven every Christmas. 

“The lamb is slow-cooked in its own juices until the meat becomes tender. Then, the oven temperature is raised high to achieve a crispy, caramelised crust,” he says. The dish is now available at 22 Ships , newly relocated to PMQ in Hong Kong’s Central district.

As for Oviedo’s favourite holiday tradition? That of “las uvas” on New Year’s Eve. As the clock strikes midnight, family members must each eat 12 grapes – one for each chime of the clock. “It's a joyful and amusing experience. We embrace and kiss each other once the campanadas [bell tolls] are complete, symbolising good luck for the new year.” 

Chan Yau Leung

Executive chef at Duddell’s

Despite his hectic work schedule at the Michelin-starred Duddell’s, Chan is not one to take a backseat during family celebrations. “Winter solstice is an important festival in Chinese culture,” says the veteran chef. “I draft the menu and prepare the dishes in advance. My wife is in charge of reheating them for the family to enjoy that night.”

For Chan, no feast is complete without a perfectly juicy gui fei chicken – poached chicken. He starts by creating a stock using ginger, shallots, dried scallops and spices, then blanching the chicken in water before letting it simmer in the stock for 20 minutes. “The stock should stay at around 70°C,” notes Chan.

Next, he brings the stock to a boil and lets the chicken sit for five minutes before dunking it in ice water to achieve the desired texture and flavour. More stock is drizzled over the chicken before serving.

Adam Catterall

Head chef at Roganic

For Catterall, Christmas is synonymous with mince pies. “It’s a once-a-year thing for me; I always know the festive period has begun once I’ve eaten my first mince pie,” says the British chef.

Catterall’s family recipe, passed down to him from his mother, features quality mincemeat and a homemade shortcrust pastry “with a little orange zest”.

The classic treat is being reinvented at Roganic , Hong Kong’s first Michelin Green-starred restaurant. 

Catterall says, “For Christmas we adapt our truffle pudding snack into a sweet dish. We swap the truffle for layers of sweet mincemeat, white chocolate and orange infused custard.”

Marco Xodo

Head chef at Testina

When Christmastime rolls around, cakes are a fixture around the world – from marzipan-topped British bakes to charred bibingka (rice cake) in the Philippines. For chef Xodo of Testina, this comes in the form of a panettone. “I’m from Milan,” he says, “hence this traditional Christmas cake means home to me.”

Cylindrical in shape and loaded with dried fruit and candied orange rind, it pairs perfectly with a cup of tea or cheeky glass of wine.

Barry Quek

Head chef at Whey  

For Singaporean chef Barry Quek of Whey, his favourite festive dish is one that transports him to another country entirely. Sticky toffee pudding, a British classic, is his port of call. “It’s something I used to have when I was in London,” he recalls wistfully.

“It’s a hearty and comforting dessert I really enjoyed – especially in the cold weather.”