Finally got to try out The Chairman in Hong Kong and it was a phenomenal meal. There are plenty of restaurants that are more experiential, philosophical, immersive, etc., but it’s great that there are still fantastic restaurants that are laser-focused on taste and food, and The Chairman is one of them.
The cuisine is pretty traditional Cantonese food with slight twists that make it a little bit more creative/unique. They also are extremely proud of their connections and ability to get the best ingredients, they get the first pick of seafood from the markets, the rarest dried ingredients, etc.
Some food highlights:
* Their cha siu was genuinely one of the best bites of food I’ve ever had. They glaze it with a rose sugar which gives it this delicate sweetness and the tenderness/fattiness of the pork is to die for
* The mud crab with pork, pickled lemon, and mandarin peel was super unique because the sweetness of the crab and saltiness of the pork was cut through by the citrus really beautifully
* One of the most surprising dishes was their gelatinous meatball that also had mandarin peel in it, it looks unassuming but it was packed full of rich flavor from the meat and a clean finish with the broth
Another unique thing about the restaurant is that the average age of workers there is over 50, with many of them having worked there 15+ years. It’s a more old school style restaurant that really cares about their diners, makes relationships, and provides one of the tastiest meals you’ll ever have. I’d recommend you go with 4+ people in order to try many of the bigger dishes!
by Ligiers
3 Comments
Any tips on a reservation?
Chairman is great and serves some very delicious dishes! That beef meatball is the best new dishes I have had there for some time.
Not sure why you think of it as traditional though since their ethos is the opposite. While the dishes don’t look “innovative”, you won’t find any of these dishes at other restaurants aside from the BBQ Pork. Whole point of Chairman is to depart from tradition. No premium Cantonese ingredients like dried abalone, no MSG, no Chinese soup stock, …
Food looks awesome. The only thing I don’t understand about Chinese restaurants is how they serve stuff like bok choy (last photo), whole, on a plate, with just chopsticks. How are you supposed to eat that.