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Andrew Sun

Christmas might look a little different in a world changed by Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean the holidays can’t be just as magical as they were before. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s chefs are busy preparing this season’s feasts and even the most traditional dishes are being reframed and updated for changing times and cultures.
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Ray Choi and Devon Hou at Cobo House
Cobo House’s dynamic chef duo Ray Choi and Devon Hou are typical modern Hongkongers. Both were born and raised here and grew up with dim sum rather than fine dining, yet they find profound inspiration in contemporary modern cooking.

“My Christmases weren’t traditional,” Choi admits. “We had the same artificial tree for years and we rarely had turkey. Usually, it would be more Chinese, with treats like shrimp or seafood. Honestly, I always thought turkey was dry and bland.”
His co-head chef concurs. “As a chef, we work the holidays. My only real Christmas experience was in England where I worked for a couple of years,” Hou says. “I did not have to work Christmas Eve there because everything was closed. My landlords were a really nice elderly couple and they invited me to have a traditional British Christmas dinner with them.”
These warm sentiments were what the two chefs drew on to craft the contemporary festive menu titled Spices and Aromas with decidedly cross-cultural flavours. Hou’s starter – burrata ice cream with pumpkin, sage brown butter and pumpkin seed praline – is a complete reinterpretation of autumnal flavours.

“In England, I noticed cinnamon was used a lot in holiday dishes, so now I associate that spice with the season. Pumpkin and cinnamon go well together and the burrata cheese has a clean taste and won’t cover other flavours,” comments Hou.
Choi’s appetiser is an equally non-traditional bouillabaisse consisting of Japanese mussels, Boston shrimp, hamachi, saffron jelly, tamarind tomato, galangal and mango powder.
“The concept is more in the presentation,” he says. “It resembles a Christmas wreath with some flowers and petals. Flavour-wise, I’ve added some Indian and east Asian spices. Devon and I both really like laksa, too. It’s more international than traditional. My twist is to make it a foam, adding textural elements and silky cod.”
Cobo House’s Spices and Aromas is available in four (HK$688), six (HK$1,180) or eight courses (HK$1,480), until December 31.
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Armand Sablon at Harbourside Grill
Armand Sablon was born in Britain but his family background is French. The executive chef of Harbourside Grill grew up just outside Brighton with all the traditions of Gallic gastronomy. For him, Noel means one thing and one thing only: a capon feast. If you’re wondering what this is, a capon is a castrated cockerel.

“We had a two-acre [one hectare] piece of land so we always had a capon for Christmas,” Sablon reminisces. “The meat is more tender, more juicy. When the cockerel isn’t castrated there’s a lot more hormones from when they get vicious and fight, so the meat becomes tough. A capon has less testosterone. It’s very traditional in France for Christmas. It’s a big bird, less dry than turkey, with a lot more flavour.”
For Sablon, Christmas has also always meant family. Being in Hong Kong this season will be especially tough. “It will be hard. This will be the second year I cannot celebrate with my family in the UK. I don’t know when I can fly over and see them again.”

Instead, Sablon is redirecting his thoughts to presenting his classic French delicacy for other people’s Christmas celebrations.
“I take the legs off, debone it and stuff it with truffle mousse. The breast is literally just garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, butter under the skin, and I sear it in the pan and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes.
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“At home, it was a family affair and everyone joined in, even when it came to washing up. We’d start about 5pm, have something to eat, then relax. Another course would come an hour later and it would go on the whole night. We had foie gras terrine, turkey, capon, smoked salmon, cheese and always an apple tartin for dessert. It was a five-hour feast. You would be in a food coma by the end of the evening. I am sharing all these ingredients on my Christmas menu this year.”
Harbourside Grill’s festive menu is offered during lunch and dinner service on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Anthony Hammel at Hue

Christmas in Melbourne might be hot and summery, but it’s still a favourite season for Aussie chef Anthony Hammel. The festive gatherings Hue’s head chef enjoyed were not unlike most other families – except for his family’s trifle.
“We would always have a ham or a turkey,” Hammel recalls. “Gramma would do a pumpkin pie. But it’s summer and usually boiling hot so we would have salads and side veggies. Some years we’ll get out the barbecue and put some prawns on.”
But one constant was his father’s traditional British trifle dessert, which Hammel will be replicating for Hue’s festive set menu on Christmas Eve lunch and Boxing Day brunch.
“Christmas was a big deal, and I think it’s true of most Australian families,” Hammel says.
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“My dad was always a better cook than my mum, to be honest. And he was a little more experimental but when it came to the trifle, there were no experiments.
“Basically, it’s port jelly, a little sugar and some Italian biscotti sponge biscuits broken up. Dad would add glazed dark cherries at the bottom, macerate them in alcohol and put the biscuits in, then pour the jelly over the top. The next stage is the custard. Then add some fresh vanilla, a little sugar and Grand Marnier. Let it sit. Last, over the top is fresh cream whipped with Cognac or brandy, with some shaved chocolate and berries.”
Alas, some holiday traditions you simply don’t mess with.
“Last thing – honestly, if it’s not served in a tacky retro bowl, then it doesn’t count, so it has to look like something from your nan’s cupboard.”
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Harbourside Grill’s Armand Sablon always had capon chicken at Christmas and Hue’s Anthony Hammel swears by his father’s trifle, while Cobo House’s Ray Choi and Devon Hou take an innovative approach with Asian flavours
