- Businessman and street food fan Sanjay Mahtani loves the authentic Indian dishes of Rajasthan Rifles, and dining at bistros such as Bouchon
- For European cuisine, Grissini, Petrus and Osteria Ristorante are his three top tips
Hong Kong-born Sanjay Mahtani is the managing director of toy and premium company the Lokumal Group, which makes the popular Sip'N'Sound straw, a reusable children's product that makes sound effects when someone drinks through them.
I love all sorts of local food from dai pai dong to a char siu pork rice. Actually I enjoy street food more than expensive places. I'm definitely more Asian in taste " Thai, Japanese, Chinese, as well as Indian, of course.
I go out for Indian barbecued meats " lamb, chicken, prawns and fish " from a tandoori because you cannot do that at home. Gaylord (5/F, Prince Tower, 12A Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2376 1001) is a favourite place. It's been around for 40 years. It's authentic and good. It's not the most fancy or expensive place but the quality is consistent. The Goan fish curry is amazing.
The New Punjab Club (World Wide Commercial Building, 34 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2368 1223) has the world's best lamb chops. Rajasthan Rifles (Shop G01, The Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road, The Peak, tel: 2388 8874) has great Indian food that is slightly different to that served anywhere else. It's modern North Indian food but authentic, set in the British Empire era. It's fun because everybody is dressed up in the theme of the restaurant.
I also really love Bistecca Italian Steak House (2/F, Grand Progress Building, 15 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, tel: 2525 1308). The Steak House Winebar + Grill (LG/F, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2313 2323) is even better but I'm not going to spend HK$2,000 every week to eat there. Bistecca is more reasonable.
I love trying new restaurants. Tai Kwun has a nice range of places including The Chinese Library (1/F, Block 1, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2848 3088). I like the bar outside. It's very grand, and has a nice energy and buzz.
For European cuisine, the hotels have that niche. Grissini (2/F, Grand Hyatt, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2584 7722) and Petrus (56/F, Island Shangri-La, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, tel: 2820 8590) are excellent. Osteria Ristorante (Mezzanine, Holiday Inn Golden Mile, 50 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2315 1010) is also fantastic.
But I am a sucker for nice bistros. Bouchon (49 Elgin Street, SoHo, tel: 2525 9300) has great, simple French dishes like escargot, roast chicken, and charcuterie.
I love noodles. New Big Light (Peninsula Centre, 67 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2641 4188) is a hole in the wall in an alley close to my office but it has excellent wonton and the best chicken congee I've ever had. It takes them time to prepare so you know it's fresh. One Dim Sum (209A-209B Tung Choi Street, Prince Edward, tel: 2677 7888) is brilliant, too. I go there a lot.
I love Jimmy's Kitchen (Basement, South China Building, 1-3 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2526 5293). It's been in Hong Kong for about 80 years. They do everything from Malaysian to Western to Chinese, but I go for the chicken madras curry. They do it so well. Hong Kong has so many restaurants, sometimes we forget about these old places.
For visitors, I would take them to The Peak Lookout (121 Peak Road, The Peak, tel: 2849 1000). The setting is beautiful. The food quality is consistent and value for money.
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