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Recipes for special occasions

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Recipes for special occasions
Whether it’s cooking for festivals such as Christmas, Lunar New Year and Hanukkah, or preparing that special meal for your nearest and dearest, senior food and wine editor Susan Jung has the recipes to inspire and impress.
highlights from
100 Top Tables 2025 Restaurant Directory
100 Top Tables 2025 Restaurant Directory
At Mesa by José Avillez, the restaurant’s namesake chef (left) works closely with head chef Herlander Fernandes to craft a menu that reinterprets Portuguese cuisine for international diners in Macau.

Mesa by José Avillez celebrates artistry of Portuguese cuisine in Macau

In partnership with:SJM Resorts
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Enjoy a classic Christmas turkey at Regent Hong Kong this festive season. Photo: Handout

Where to enjoy Christmas dinner in Hong Kong this festive season

Hot Wine at The Aubrey, Hong Kong, one of the many seasonal drinks on offer in the city this year. Photo: Handout

Your 2025 guide to the best Christmas cocktails in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s hospitality sector faces staffing shortages, but start-up Shift Happens is offering a recruitment solution. Photo: Jelly Tse

Need restaurant staff? Shift Happens is here to help

Beloved Hong Kong bar The Daily Tot, one day after its closure this month. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Looking back on a bruising year for Hong Kong’s bar industry

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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Paprika is often used in Hungarian cuisine, but can be used to add a slight kick to a range of dishes from potato croquettes to fried chicken. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

How to use paprika to give fried chicken, stews and potato dishes a kick

Paprika, used in goulash and other Eastern European stews, also goes great in potato croquettes and can add colour to your holiday turkey.

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6 signature egg dishes worth celebrating with in Hong Kong this Easter

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Royalty

The story of coronation chicken served to Queen Elizabeth and guests in 1953

Poulet Reine Elizabeth – coronation chicken – was served at the coronation lunch in 1953 to mark Queen Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne a year earlier. You can make it at home - it’s easy and versatile.

Poulet Reine Elizabeth (coronation chicken) as served in 1953 at the lunch following Queen Elizabeth’s coronation ceremony, which came a year afer she ascended to the British throne. PhotoL English Heritage
Lunar New Year

How to make Chinese sizzling vegetable pot, a simple, flavourful dish

This sizzling dish is made with shrimp paste and Chinese lettuce, although the sturdy Chinese broccoli or kale is more forgiving.

Lunar New Year

How to make Buddha’s delight, a vegetarian Lunar New Year dish

This Lunar New Year dish, meant to bring prosperity, is a mix of fresh and dried ingredients, and many alternatives can be substituted if you can’t find them in the shops.

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Susan Jung's recipes

How to make bread pudding with whisky sauce and home-made custard

Three custards and whisky make this a rich, indulgent adult-only dessert. Cooking custard takes patience, a low heat and plenty of stirring.

Bread pudding with whisky sauce and home-made crème anglaise is an indulgent adult-only dessert. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Food and Drinks

How to make five-spice roast pork rack with crispy crackling

Perfect roast pork must not be dry and the crackling has to be crispy – this recipe will ensure your rack of pork is cooked to absolute perfection.

Asian recipes

How to make pork pie with chestnuts and Chinese sausage, a holiday treat

This is nothing like your English pork pie – it’s pretty, delicate and light. Serve it as a starter at a holiday meal or add it to your holiday buffet.

Mid-Autumn Festival

How to make traditional mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival

Making traditional mooncakes with a filling of lotus seed paste and egg yolks takes time and effort, as the Post discovers in a lesson with Hong Kong dim sum chef Tse Sun-fuk.

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Mid-Autumn Festival is mooncake time. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Dessert recipes

How to make brown sugar pavlova, the dessert from Down Under

In a twist on the Aussie and Kiwi favourite, this pavlova dials down the sweetness with brown sugar meringue, piled with whipped cream and fresh fruit, just as it should be.

Brown sugar pavlova is less sweet than regular pavlova and the meringue has a hint of molasses. Photo: Koji Studio
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How to make a NSFM chocolate rum-raisin cake

To the untrained eye, this cake might not be much of a looker, but it packs a boozy punch.

Lunar New Year

How to make vegan san choi bao for a Lunar New Year feast

Festive feasts feature foods that are said to bring wealth, luck and happiness, but all too often those who don’t eat meat are overlooked.

Dessert recipes

How to make chocolate and salted caramel tarts

With its chocolate pastry, gooey caramel filling and rich glaze, this dessert recipe is worth its (pinch of) salt.

Susan Jung’s chocolate and salted caramel tart. Photography: Koji Studio. Styling: Vivian Herijanto
Dessert recipes

A recipe for churros: easy to make, dangerously easy to eat

If the only churros you’ve tried are the stick-straight frozen type, you’re in for a treat with the delicious home-made variety.

Susan Jung’s churros. Photo: Koji Studio. Styling: Rachael Macchiesi
Susan Jung's recipes

How to make aebleskivers, the perfect New Year’s Day breakfast

While it takes a little time to perfect the technique behind these spherical Danish pancakes, there’s no denying that they are fun to make and eat.

Susan Jung's recipes

Tired of turkey? Try Korean pork belly bossam, instead

Not every holiday feast requires turkey – why not try pork belly bossam with radish and oyster kimchi as a flavourful alternative.

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Origins series

Are Scotch eggs actually Indian, not British?

Mughal curry or Whitby fish dish? The origins of Scotch eggs is the subject of heated debate for Brits and Indians alike

Are Scotch eggs really Indian Scottish? Photo: @westwilli/Instagram
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A three-layer chocolate cake recipe for people you love – or need to impress

This labour-intensive chocolate cake with salted caramel, praline and caramelised hazelnuts is worth the effort.

Food and Drinks

4 delicious and easy recipes to make while self-isolating

We asked chefs and mixologists to give us their favourite cocktail and main dish recipes that you can easily make at home during the coronavirus outbreak

Lunar New Year

How to make Grandma’s Chinese New Year sugar rings

A Chinese New Year snack, sugar rings are crispy addictive, and pastry chef Ringo Chan learned how to make them from his grandmother. He shows us how to make perfect sugar rings.

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Sugar rings Ringo Chan made at the Four Seasons Hong Kong hotel. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Susan Jung's recipes

How to make Cantonese lobster with ginger and spring onions

Spoil yourself with this luxurious lobster dish, and serve it with champagne for a celebratory meal.

Susan Jung’s lobster with ginger and spring onions. Photography: Jonathan Wong. Styling: Nellie Ning Lee
Susan Jung's recipes

How to make fried wontons with sweet-and-sour sauce

This finger food is the perfect way to kick off the party season, suitable for all but the most formal occasions.

Susan Jung's recipes

How to make quails with Chinese sausage stuffing

This is not your regular quail dish. Although a little fiddly to prepare, the surprise inside makes this a great dish for a dinner party.

Susan Jung's recipes

Fancy finger foods: how to make fried quail and globe artichoke

Delicious dishes do not dictate that you use utensils – sometimes it’s just as satisfying to eat with your hands.

Susan Jung’s fried quais with shichimi togarashi and orange zest makes an excellent finger food. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Asian recipes

Five favourite Chinese New Year dishes and how to make them

From roast duck in lettuce wraps to clams with black bean sauce, here are some classic dishes for the festival. We have included recipes for each dish so you can try them at home.

Roast duck lettuce wraps. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Susan Jung's recipes

Get lucky: how to make roast duck lettuce wraps for Chinese New Year

Usher in the Year of the Pig with a delicious, and auspicious, lettuce wrap. It's often made with pigeon, which is an expensive ingredient, and minced roast duck is just as delicious

Susan Jung's recipes

How to make glazed duck with kumquat, ginger and five-spice

Cooking a turkey is easier, but this duck recipe will serve as a magnificent centrepiece for any festive feast

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