Ricardo Chaneton, chef-owner of Michelin-starred fashionable Latin American restaurant Mono, takes a special strategy after hours. “Following a long shift, the last thing I want to do is sit in another restaurant for three hours,” he confesses. “I crave simple things that are fast and straightforward. I don’t want a complicated tasting menu; I just want good food immediately.” His hankerings lean in direction of yakitori at Yardbird in Sheung Wan, the place the taut pores and skin of rooster skewers puckers and crisps, charred to a golden brown. “However, timing is key, as the kitchen closes by 11:30pm.”
For later nights, Chaneton frequents Kozy in Causeway Bay, an Osaka-style okonomiyaki and teppanyaki Japanese izakaya open till 3am. “It’s well known amongst those in the F&B industry. Everyone ends up there after their shifts, so you can always count on running into familiar faces, having a laid-back meal, and decompressing together,” he states, spotlighting the significance of neighborhood amongst chefs. “The vibes are always right.”
An expertise that encapsulates the essence of Hong Kong’s late-night eating tradition, smashing steaming basket after basket of dim sum at Sun Hing Restaurant in Kennedy Town, is the place you’ll discover Chaneton as night time descends into the witching hour. “There’s something special about sitting down for har gow (crystal shrimp dumplings) or siu mai (open top steamed pork and seafood wontons) at midnight that just feels very Hong Kong to me,” he muses.
Chaneton will get a pining for the Italian power at Bar Leone. “Maybe it’s my half-Italian side calling out to the traditions and culture; it just reminds me of home,” he displays. Montana, with its Latin music, daiquiris, and welcoming environment, reconnects him together with his Latin roots. “I also love COA for mezcal and tequila. Mezcal is my preferred spirit, and I’m very proud of the work that Jay Khan and his team are doing there.”
Guillaume Galliot of Caprice: Industry HangoutsCh
