In The Know with Jowett Yu

I’m the Executive Chef at Ho Lee Fook in Hong Kong.  I was born in Taiwan, grew up in Canada and emegrated to Australia. I arrived in Hong Kong almost two years ago to set up Ho Lee Fook with Black Sheep Restaurants. I studied history back in uni and originally trained to be a French chef. In the end I wanted to cook Chinese food instead, so I taught myself how to do it.

For cheap eats, I love the brisket noodle soup from Sister Wah in Tin Hau or the wonton noodle soup at Mak’s Noodles on Wing Kut Street.

For a nice dinner and night out, I recommend Carbone, it serves great New-York Italian food and is a pretty fun place to take a date. Or if you just want a glass of wine, I would suggest La Cabane – it’s a small wine bar with a good selection of natural wines on the menu.

On weekends, I like to go biking in the New Territories near Tung Chung or from Tai Po to Plover Clove Reservoir in Tai Mei Tuk. At the end of the ride is a great view of the river inlet. Occasionally, I fly to Taipei for the weekend and visit my hometown Tamsui, a seaside district near Taipei city.

I usually go to a sneaker shop in Mong Kok called In Search located within the Pak Po Lee building as they have a lot of collectable sneakers.  I also like the WOAW store on Gough street where you can get cool gadgets and enjoy a coffee on the terrace.

When I have time, I like to make music playlists for to mark certain periods of my life. I like to watch art house films and Broadway Cinematheque in Yau Ma Tei is one of the only places that show them.

The best souvenir you can get in Hong Kong is probably the weight gained from all the memorable meals you had here.

Act local by hopping onto a tram – get on and off as you wish. It may be the slowest form of transportation in Hong Kong, but if you are on a holiday, what’s the hurry? Just get on the top deck and enjoy the ride.

Discover the songs that make Jowett tick with his playlist on our Tribute Hotels Spotify Channel.