For two nights, the young chef will share her family recipes in a series of tapas-sized dishes that tell a story
This season, Tatler Dining Kitchen is asking young chefs in Hong Kong to take a look at their ancestral roots as a source of inspiration for Remixed Origins, a series of dinners exploring culinary traditions through a contemporary lens. Following Stephanie Wong of Roots, who presented a modern Chiuchow and French feast earlier this month, the next talent on the line-up is Devon Hou of Cobo House, who will be cooking for the public over two nights on 22 and 23 October.
At Cobo House in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hou (along with co-chef Ray Choi) presents a frequently changing menu anchored by thematic ingredients. At her Tatler Dining Kitchen debut however, she will be tapping into the tapas format to showcase her Hakka roots through a series of bite-sized dishes. The menu is a tribute to her family, as both her paternal grandparents as well as her maternal grandmother hail from the same region of Meizhou in eastern Guangdong, and she grew up tasting the unique food traditions passed down from generation to generation.
Hou, having worked in London at Spanish restaurant Camino, decided to use tapas as a base to create her tasting menu, presenting the rich and diverse flavours of Hakka cuisine in a new format. She highlights the gua bao dish as one of her signature creations, where the classic Hakka dish of slow-braised pork belly with preserved vegetables (one of her favourite dishes to eat growing up) is given an extra punch with pickled jalapeño and served in a handheld fluffy bun.
Another Hakka food tradition given a new interpretation is the tender radish ball, typically served during the new year as an auspicious dish. To kick off the meal, Hou takes the radish and presents it three-ways: braised with miso and elevated with dried tangerine; steamed and topped with bottarga and pickled radish; and deep-fried with iberico ham and topped with caviar, much like a Hakka croqueta.
