Laila Harilela is public relations director of the Harilela Hotels group, which includes The Hari and the Holiday Inn Golden Mile.
I’m a real foodie who eats everything. I guess it comes from my father, really. When all my sisters went off to study and moved out after marrying, I was left and he would recreate dishes from restaurants. Plus, my Chinese nanny was also a really good cook.
I used to steam salted fish in my flat in the Harilela house and the whole floor would scold me. “What’s the matter with you, Laila! The house stinks now.” I would think, “Hey, that’s my lunch.”
I really like The Satay Inn in The Fullerton (2/F, The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, 3 Ocean Drive, Wong Chuk Hang. Tel: 2166 7455). My friends and I like to go for a delicious chicken curry and some veggies with salted fish. I can’t wait to go back and try more dishes. The view also just takes your breath away. The sea is so calm.
Dishes from The Satay Inn. Photo: Instagram/@fullertonoceanpark
I love Sichuan, and the food is amazing in Grand Majestic Sichuan (Shop 301, Alexandra House, 16-18 Chater Road, Central. Tel: 2151 1299). The atmosphere is pretty good too, although I found the music is a little too loud to talk.
For Cantonese, I do like Loong Yuen (Basement 1, Holiday Inn Golden Mile, 50 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2315 1006). I’ve tried so many places but the food is usually the same. It’s got to the point if I’m just getting the usual dishes I don’t need to go elsewhere. I love the Chinese fried chicken with the prawn crackers. They also just started serving Peking duck with different condiments and presentation and it’s really good.
Loong Yuen at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile serves Peking duck with a wide range of condiments. Photo: Loong Yuen
I also love a good wonton noodle. In Tsim Sha Tsui, I would go to Mak’s Noodle (19 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2301 3233). It’s quite famous. I love the broth, I love the bite-sized wontons. Everything is perfect for me. It’s my place to go to for a quick meal with wontons and a plate of vegetables.
In Kowloon Tong, we order things like salted fish diced chicken fried rice and stir-fried noodles from Kam Kee Cafe (Shop 5-8, 13-15, Franki Centre, 320 Junction Road, Kowloon Tong. Tel: 2207 0488), which is also a bar.
I love Thai food too. We go to Namo Avant Thai Restaurant (Shop G18, Empire Centre, 68 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2739 1133). Their basil chicken is one of our favourites.
Signature shrimp wonton noodles at Mak’s Noodle. Photo: Mak’s Noodle
There is always a breeze at The Bayside. Photo: Instagram/@thebayside.hk
There’s another beautiful place to go on a late afternoon called The Bayside (Shop G1, G/F, Whampoa Garden, 18 Tak Fung Street, Hung Hom. Tel: 2123 2177). Even on a hot day, there’s always a breeze. They do really good baby-sized pizzas called pizzettes that are so crispy and are great with a glass of champagne or a margarita. It feels like being in the Mediterranean.
Overseas, one of my favourite places is in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s called Pateo (Rua Nova da Trindade 18, Lisbon. Tel: +351 21 583 0290). Really beautiful – I want to go back. It’s part of a big place incorporating three different restaurants inside. If you go up, there’s a big bar and you look over all the diners on the balcony.
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