Cantonese cuisine is bringing innovation while maintaining tradition. It remains the dominant culinary influence in Hong Kong despite the city's cosmopolitan culture. While high-end hotels now offer Cantonese food in luxurious settings, traditional restaurants like Fook Lam Moon have adapted to changing times by upgrading their decor and sourcing ingredients globally, yet their dishes have remained consistent for decades. Cantonese cuisine continues to evolve through incorporating new ingredients while emphasizing seasonal local produce.

1. Cantonese cuisine is bringing
something new to the table.
But it hasn’t lost the traditional
touch that has delighted diners
for generations
廣東菜不斷創新，卻仍保留了
最美妙的傳統精髓
Modern歷久「嚐」新
by Reggie Ho
photos William Furniss
classıcs
30 discovery august 2009
discover Hong Kong
發現香港

2. H
ong Kong has a range of restaurants that
covers all corners of the globe but, despite its
cosmopolitanoutlook,thecity’sculturalidentity
remains staunchly Cantonese. Ask the locals
what their comfort foods are and you are more likely to
hear “fried rice” and “wonton noodles” than “pasta” or
“burgers”. Chinese soup – made by boiling or double-
boiling fresh vegetables or herbs with pork and chicken
– is seen by locals as a daily imperative.
Also known as the Yue cuisine, Cantonese food is
named after the former name of Guangzhou (Canton)
and is one of the eight main regional cooking styles
in China. It’s the dominant influence of the country’s
southern coast, characterised by the masterful han-
dling of seasonal ingredients that are always abundant
because of the region’s favourable climate, fertile
Pearl River Delta and long shoreline.
香
港的餐廳選擇繁多，雲集世界各地美
食，但廣東文化在這個國際大都會，
仍穩佔主導地位。如果你問本地人哪
些食物最令他們窩心，他們多數會選
「炒飯」或「雲吞麵」而非「意粉」或「漢堡包」。
以蔬菜或藥材、豬肉及雞肉烹煮或燉製的中式老
火湯，更滋潤無數香港人的身心；喝碗「靚湯」
是每天不可或缺的要事。
廣東菜又名粵菜，是中國八大菜系之一，
對華南沿岸 地區的飲食文化影 響深遠。由
於 區 內 氣候 溫 和，加 上 珠 江 三 角 洲 肥 沃
的土壤及 豐富的海產資源，物產 豐裕，
廣東菜因此而特別講究選用時令食材。
Winter melon with
crab claw from the
Michelin-starred
Tim’s Kitchen
米芝蓮星級食肆
桃花源小廚的
冬瓜蒸蟹箝
august 2009 discovery 31

3. Before the 1970s, the best
Cantonese food was served at
home. While there were tea
houses for men to talk business
and daipaidong (street stalls)
for everyone, going out for
dinner was not common.
“Because of the political
changes on the mainland
in the 1950s, many wealthy
families moved to Hong Kong and brought with
them their family chefs, and every one of these
families had their own banquet room,” says Lai
Yau-tim, owner and proprietor of Tim’s Kitchen.
His unassuming restaurant in Sheung Wan was
recently awarded one Michelin star.
With no commercial considerations, he says,
these chefs were given a lot of freedom to refine
their craft and many Cantonese dishes evolved and
new ones developed during this period.
Prior to opening Tim’s Kitchen in 2000, Lai
had a 33-year career working at the private club-
house of the Hang Seng Bank. He was a protégé
of Lee Choi, a legendary sifu (master) of Cantonese
cuisine who worked as a chef for an influential
Hong Kong family. The snake soup served at
Tim’s Kitchen is Lee’s legacy.
Most historical restaurants in Hong Kong are
Cantonese and some started as cater-
ers. The 61-year-old Fook Lam Moon
is the most well-known example.
While half a century ago the rich
and famous had their own kitchen
staff, the less wealthy relied on cater-
ers to help them prepare banquets
at home – or, if there wasn’t space,
on the rooftop.
“I started helping out with my
father’sbusinesswhenIwas13,”says
Chui Wai-kwan, Managing Director
ofFookLamMoon.“Therewerevery
few lifts then and carrying all the
gear up the stairs was a killer.”
Chui’s establishment specialises
in preserved abalone, braised to
perfection with “glutinous cores”.
Traditionally,abalonewasair-driedto
preserve it and soaked in water
overnight before it was cooked to
在1970年代之前，最美味的廣東菜，都在平民百姓家
中找到。雖然當時的男士們會上茶樓談生意，一般人也
會到大牌檔吃飯，但上館子用餐卻是甚罕見的事。
桃花源小廚店主黎有甜說：「中國內地於1950年代歷
經重大變革，很多大家族紛紛南遷香港，許多家廚便跟
隨僱主南下，有些家族甚至會在家中設置宴會廳。」他
位於上環的街坊式菜館最近獲米芝蓮指南一星評級。
他續說，由於這些廚師毋須顧及商業考量，有很大的
空間去發揮廚藝及改良烹調技巧，不少著名的廣東菜式
便是在這個時期改良或創新。
黎有甜於2000年開辦桃花源小廚之前，曾在恒生銀
行的會所下廚長達33年。他拜藝於著名廣東菜大師傅、
廣州江太史的家廚李才，而桃花源小廚的「太史五蛇
羹」就是他從李師傅承傳下來的名菜。
香港大部分歷史悠久的餐廳都是粵菜館，當中部分更
以承辦到會服務起家。有61年歷史的福臨門就是為人
熟知的例子之一。在半個世紀以前，大戶人家都擁有自
己的家廚，小康人家舉辦宴會時便會聘用廚師到家中到
會，如果家中不夠寬敞，更會遷至天台宴客。
福臨門的董事總經理徐維均憶述：「我從13歲開始便
幫助爸爸做生意，當年電梯尚未普及，我們要將煮食用
具搬上樓，是頗要命的事。」
福臨門以擅長烹調乾鮑而遠近馳名，其頂級溏心鮑備
受讚譽。傳統乾鮑是風乾保存的鮑魚，在烹煮前必須先
以凍水泡浸一天，才能炮製出鮮美可口的鮑魚菜式。除
了鮑魚之外，福臨門的其他海鮮菜式均受到不少讚揚。
福臨門提供的菜餚數十年如一日，然而餐廳本身卻經
歷了不少變化，主要原因是要應對高級酒店餐廳所帶來
的競爭。
Lai Yau-tim (above)
brings his vast
experience to
Tim’s Kitchen in
Sheung Wan. Fook
Lam Moon’s Chui
Wai-kwan (right)
inspects abalone
for the restaurant’s
speciality dish.
桃花源小廚店主
黎有甜（上圖）下廚
經驗豐富。福臨門的
徐維均（右圖）為酒家
挑選優質鮑魚
Crystal king prawn
(below) at
Tim’s Kitchen
桃花源小廚的
玻璃蝦球（下圖）
32 discovery august 2009
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發現香港

4. Braised abalone with
fish maw and goose feet
at Fook Lam Moon
福臨門的花膠鵝掌
伴原隻吉品鮑
august 2009 discovery 33

5. intensifytheflavour.FookLamMoonalsowinspraise
foritsrangeofotherseafooddishes.
Thefoodtherehasn’tchangedmuchovertheyears,
buttherestauranthas.Thisispartlyaresponsetothe
competition coming from lavish hotel restaurants.
“Hotels are about the entire experience, includ-
ing the environment and the service,” says Chui.
“We have recently done up the restaurant’s interior
and our staff have been going through retrain-
ing. My children have also helped me clean up
the English on the menu.”
Cantonese restaurants in hotels are flour-
ishing. Last year, Lung King Heen at the Four
Seasons became the world’s only Chinese restau-
rant to receive the top three-star honour from the
Michelin Guide. Executive Chef Chan Yan-tak
admits that the hotel’s lavish décor plays a part
in the restaurant’s appeal, although its signature
lobster and seafood fried rice proves that it is the
food that puts it on the map.
Changing times aren’t only about décor
and service. “Eat by the season” has long been
the motto of Cantonese cuisine but, with the
rapid industrialisation of the Pearl River Delta,
local ingredients are increasingly scarce. New
ingredients are being incorporated, a hangover
from Guangzhou’s background as the first city in
China to open up to overseas trade.
Fook Lam Moon now sources lobsters from
Australia and foie gras has made its way to the
menus of many Cantonese restaurants. In Lung
King Heen, it’s prepared with the classic Cantonese
recipe of pepper and salt crust.
“The most important thing is whether or not the
chef understands the ingredients and knows how
to handle them,” says Willie Mark, veteran food
critic and restaurant consultant. “The so-called
fusion has actually been taking place for hundreds
of years. Like Macanese cuisine, that’s fusion, and
[in Hong Kong] we have Chinese-style beef fillet
and Western-inspired sautéed prawn balls.”
對此，徐維均的看法是：「酒店不論在環境和服務上，
都能為食客提供完善的用餐體驗。我們的因應之道，是
在最近翻新了餐廳的裝潢，並讓員工接受再培訓課程。
此外，我的子女還把餐廳的英文菜單修改得更好。」
來自酒店的競爭確實十分激烈。香港四季酒店的龍景
軒便於去年年底，成為全世界唯一獲米芝蓮指南三星榮
譽的中餐館。龍景軒的行政主廚陳恩德認同酒店的舒適
環境，確是餐廳獲得米芝蓮指南青睞的要素之一，但餐
廳食物的水準絕對無愧其三星評級，其招牌菜龍景軒炒
飯（龍蝦及其他海鮮）便令食客讚不絕口。
粵菜餐館要趕上潮流，與時並進，並不只反映在裝潢
與服務上，選用的食材亦趨向多元化。「不時不食」一向
是廣東菜的精髓，但隨著珠江三角洲的急速工業化，本
地出產的食材已變得愈來愈少。因此，粵菜也不斷引入
新的食材，正好承傳了廣州作為中國內地首個開放外貿
城市的開明傳統。
正因如此，當今的饕客可以在福臨門大啖來自澳洲的
龍蝦，在很多中餐廳亦可品嚐到鵝肝，而龍景軒的廚師
便以粵菜烹調手法炮製椒鹽鵝肝。
著名資深食評人及餐廳顧問唯靈認為：「最重要是廚
師要清楚了解食材的特質，並以最佳方式烹調；而所謂
fusion（混合菜），其實早在數百年前便已經出現，葡
式澳門菜就是名副其實的fusion；在香港，受西方烹調
手法影響的中式牛柳及炒蝦球等常見菜式，亦都稱得上
是fusion。」
Enjoy traditional dishes
at Fook Lam Moon (top)
and a lavish setting in
Lung King Heen (above)
at the Four Seasons
在福臨門享用傳統粵菜
（最上圖）；四季酒店的
龍景軒環境優雅（上圖）
Cantonese food is about
bringing out the natural
flavours of ingredients
廣東菜的精髓
就是要將食物的鮮味帶出來
34 discovery august 2009
discover Hong Kong
發現香港

6. Lau Kin-wai, food critic and owner of Kin’s
Kitchen, agrees. One of his favourite dishes
is yin yang prawn, with the crustacean’s body
stir-fried and the head cooked in “Portuguese
sauce”. This is made from curry and coconut milk
and is believed to have been invented in Macau
during the territory’s colonial era. Many of Hong
Kong’s Cantonese restaurants use it in dishes.
Fans of Kin’s Kitchen appreciate that it serves
MSG-free Cantonese fare. Monosodium glutamate,
once liberally used by Chinese chefs, is shunned
by modern and health-conscious Chinese diners,
as is lard, which was loved by the older generations
for the “fragrant nose” it gave food.
At Kin’s Kitchen, morels have been incorporated
into steamed egg, a homely Cantonese dish that
involves mixing water with beaten egg, steaming
it and garnishing with hot oil, soy sauce and some-
times chopped scallion and coriander. “Cantonese
cuisine is about bringing out the natural flavour
著名食評人兼留家廚房店東劉健威亦認同以上說法。鴛
鴦蝦是他最喜愛的菜式之一，這道菜的作法是先將鮮蝦
去頭，然後以猛火炒熟，並以葡汁烹煮蝦頭。「葡汁」是以
咖喱混合椰奶煮成的醬汁，相信是由前身為葡萄牙殖民地
的澳門發明，而以葡汁烹調的菜式在香港也十分常見。
喜歡留家廚房的顧客都欣賞老闆堅持不加味精的承
諾。味精曾經是中菜廚師常用的調味料，但現代人日益
注重健康，大都抗拒在菜餚中加入味精；老一輩愛用豬
油烹調，喜歡其濃郁的香氣令食物的美味倍增，但今天
的顧客對豬油也同樣不再青睞。
留家廚房的一道創新菜式，是以羊肚菌蒸水蛋；蒸水
蛋是廣東人的家常菜，煮法是把蛋打成蛋漿後加上適量
的水，在上桌前淋上熱油及豉油，再灑上葱絲或芫茜。
劉健威說：「廣東菜的精髓就是要將食物本身的鮮味帶
出來，因此我們喜歡用蒸和炒的煮法；炒出來的菜餚夠
不夠『鑊氣』，亦十分重要。」
鑊氣指的是廚師以極佳的火侯炒出新鮮熱辣的菜餚，
端上桌時依然熱氣騰騰、香氣四溢。一般餐廳的廚房爐
火強勁猛烈，搭配廚師純熟的拋鑊技巧，能令菜餚受熱
均勻卻不燒焦，煮出一道道鑊氣十足的美味菜餚。
WHERE TO eat
餐廳推介
Tim’s Kitchen 桃花源小廚
93 Jervois Street, Sheung
Wan, +852 2543 5919
上環蘇杭街93號
+852 2543 5919
Fook Lam Moon 福臨門
35-45 Johnston Road,
Wan Chai, +852 2866 0663
www.fooklammoon-grp.com
灣仔莊士敦道35-45號
+852 2866 0663
www.fooklammoon-grp.com
Lung King Heen 龍景軒
Four Seasons Hotel,
8 Finance Street, Central
+852 3196 8888
www.fourseasons.com
中環金融街8號四季酒店
+852 3196 8880
www.fourseasons.com
Kin’s Kitchen 留家廚房
G/F, 9 Tsing Fung Street,
North Point
+852 2571 0913
北角清風街9號地下
+852 2571 0913
House of Jasmine 八月居
Shop 401, Ocean Centre,
Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui
+852 2992 0232
尖沙咀海港城海洋中心
401號舖，+852 2992 0232
The Square 翠玉軒
Exchange Square 2,
Central, +852 2525 1163
中環交易廣場二期
+852 2525 1163
Chef Chan Yan-tak’s
lobster and seafood
fried rice (above and
left) is a favourite
at Lung King Heen
restaurant
龍景軒行政主廚陳恩德
的龍景軒炒飯（上及左
圖）極受顧客歡迎
august 2009 discovery 35

7. hungry for more 都市美食遊記
Cantonese cuisine is well known for its
adaptability. New dishes can spring out of
a newly discovered ingredient or genuine
passion for food.
Spring Moon
In the 1980s “XO” sauce surfaced in up-
market Cantonese restaurants. It consists of
roughly chopped dried fish and shrimp, as
well as conpoy (dried scallop) – a delicacy
in its own right, cooked with chilli, onion,
garlic and oil. There is no cognac, but it
is considered to be the XO of sauces. It
has since become a common condiment.
It’s rumoured that a consultant hired by
The Peninsula Hong Kong invented it for
the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant Spring
Moon. It is an omnipresent element in
the restaurant today and the Peninsula
boutique sells bottles of what some regard
as the best XO sauce.
1/F, The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury
Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, +852 2315 3160
Farm House
When a waiter asked a regular what he
wanted to eat, he was told: “Whatever…”
The man wanted the staff to decide for
him. The owner threw together a medley
of seafood and dried scallop on top of
steamed egg. When asked what it was, he
replied: “Whatever”. The word “whatever”
in Cantonese sounds like si dan, a
combination of “soy sauce” and “egg”
– two of the dish᾽s main ingredients.
“Whatever” is now a regular on the menu.
1/F, Phase 1, Ming An Plaza, 8 Sunning
Road, Causeway Bay, +852 2881 1331
Super Star Seafood Restaurant
In Hong Kong’s prosperous early 1990s
the appetite for expensive and exotic
fish was insatiable. When Super Star
introduced stone fish as “ugly but tasty”,
it soon became the talk of the town. The
thorny and venomous fish takes skill to
prepare and it’s not cheap. But loyalists
swear that when used in Chinese soup or
of ingredients, which is why it uses stir-frying and
steaming as two main techniques,” says Lau. “And
of course, there’s also the wok qi.”
Wok qi literally means “breath of the wok”
and refers to the radiating aroma of a dish when
it’s served piping hot. Commercial kitchens are
renowned for it because their stoves have stronger
flames and there is more room for tossing the wok
– an important technique that ensures the food is
evenly heated, but not scorched.
Lau also puts a lot of effort into making the
dishes attractive. “Unlike in Japanese food where
there’s a culture of aesthetics, Cantonese cuisine
traditionally focuses on just the food. Sourcing
well-designed crockery for Chinese food has been
a challenge,” he says.
At the restaurants of Maxim’s Caterers, one of
Hong Kong’s largest restaurant groups, the answer
is to look West. At one of the group’s contemporary
Cantonese restaurants, House of Jasmine, food
is individually portioned, as opposed to the tradi-
tional communal style where diners share dishes.
Spring rolls are presented like breadsticks, and
glazed sautéed prawns are served on a thin layer
of steamed egg that looks like beurre blanc.
“It’s about the experience,” says Nelson Chen, a
former chef and Maxim’s General Manager. “Our
restaurants need to keep the experience fresh in
order to stay in the leading position.”
One of Maxim’s Cantonese restaurants, The
Square, has been awarded one star by the Michelin
Guide, which recommends its braised white fairy
mushrooms and wok-seared beef and onion ring.
Wine-matching is another new element of
36 discovery august 2009
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發現香港

8. stir-fried as a fillet, the fish is as aromatic,
smooth and sweet as heaven.
1/F Tsimshatsui Mansion, 83-97 Nathan
Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, +852 2628 0339
廣東菜一向以百變多樣而聞名於天下，除了引
進新食材之外，人們對美食的熱忱，亦令菜式
不斷推陳出新。
嘉麟樓
在1980年代，「XO醬」一詞開始見於頂級的
粵菜館。「XO醬」其實是用切碎的魚乾和蝦
乾，混合乾瑤柱和辣椒、洋葱、蒜頭和油一起
炒成。「XO醬」裡並沒有干邑白蘭地酒，叫
「XO醬」只因為這是醬中的極品，就如干邑
一樣珍貴。時至今日，「XO醬」已成為十分
普遍的調味料。不少人相信「XO醬」是由
半島酒店中餐廳嘉麟樓聘請的一名顧問研發
出來的。雖然沒有任何證據去證明此說法的
真實性，不過「XO醬」已成為嘉麟樓烹調食
物常用的調味料，而半島酒店出售的樽裝
「XO醬」更被坊間認為是美味佳品。
九龍尖沙咀梳士巴利道香港半島酒店1樓
+852 2315 3160
農圃飯店
有一天，一位侍應問常客想點甚麼菜吃，那
位客人答道：「是但……」（即廣東話隨便的
意思），示意想要侍應替他決定菜式。店主
於是將乾瑤柱及不同的海鮮鋪在嫩滑的蒸蛋
上。客人問：「那個菜叫甚麼名字？」店主就
回答：「是但……」其實，廣東話「是但」一詞
和「豉蛋」同音，而「豉蛋」則是豉油加蛋的
意思。於是「是但」便成了這家菜館餐牌上的
固定菜式之一。
香港銅鑼灣新寧道8號民安廣場一期一樓
+852 2881 1331
鴻星海鮮酒家
香港於1990年代初經濟繁榮昌盛，人們對
昂貴及稀有海產的需求殷切。當年鴻星引入
外貌奇醜但味道一流的石頭魚，成了全城熱
話。石頭魚全身長滿毒刺，價錢昂貴而且很
考廚師工夫。但老饕就認為，以石頭魚煮湯
或炮製小炒菜式，均可享受魚的鮮味及順滑
質感，令人讚嘆「此味只應天上有」。
九龍尖沙咀彌敦道83-97號華源大廈一樓
+852 2628 0339
Cantonese dining. Today’s diners are well travelled
and may ask for a Burgundy or a New World pinot
noir with braised abalone, or a crisp sauvignon
blanc with stir-fried seafood. A decent wine list
can make all the difference.
Whatever the changes in ingredients and pre-
sentation, the spirit of Cantonese food doesn’t
alter. Wok qi and serving temperate and natural
flavours remain the soul of the cuisine, but diners
can happily expect a few surprises – and a good
glass of wine.
劉健威對菜式的賣相亦十分講究，他說：「傳統廣東
菜沒有日本菜那種講求美學的文化，比較偏重講究食物
的味道。因此，要為中式菜餚搜羅設計獨特的器皿並不
容易。」
美心集團是全港最大型的餐廳集團之一，以西式手法
包裝中菜是集團的經營方式。集團旗下的八月居是一家
新式粵菜館，侍應先將食物分好才為客人奉上，有別於
客人在上菜時一同起筷的傳統方式。另外，這裡的鬼唔
搭八春卷造形與西式麵包條酷似，而墊著薄薄一層蒸蛋
的太雕玻璃蝦球，蒸蛋看起來就像法式白奶油醬。
美心集團中菜部總經理陳宜龍是大廚出身，他表示：
「用餐體驗非常重要，我們的餐廳必須帶給顧客源源不
絕的新鮮感，這樣才能在市場中穩操勝券。」
翠玉軒是美心集團的另一家中餐館，最近亦獲米芝蓮
指南評選為一星食肆。他們的蠔汁百靈菰翡翠和皇室貴
族牛柳，也是備受推介的菜式。
許多粵菜餐廳也加入了美酒搭配美食的新元素。現代
人大都有豐富的旅遊經驗，有些人愛一邊品嚐紅燒鮑
魚，一邊呷著Burgundy或者新世界pinot noir紅酒；
又或者是在品嚐海鮮小炒時來一杯清爽的sauvignon
blanc，因此一張羅列高級佳釀的酒單不可或缺。
隨著時化變遷，廣東菜的食材和賣相推陳出新，但鑊
氣及食物的原味仍是它的精髓。饕客品嚐粵菜，除了可
期待新菜式帶來的驚喜，還能以美酒相伴。
Farm House’s si dan
(above) is a mixture of
seafood, dried scallop
and steamed egg.
Jasmine Place (left)
serves diced beef with
crispy garlic (far left)
農圃飯店的「是但」
（上圖）材料包括海鮮、
乾瑤柱和蒸蛋。怡翠軒
（左圖）的蒜片一口牛柳
（最左圖）
august 2009 discovery 37