Where a coffee lover in Hong Kong eats breakfast and dim sum and drinks wine and more
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Growing up in a family of food lovers, I was surrounded by delicious Chiu Chow and Shanghai cuisine. Both my grandparents were exceptional home cooks and my dad is my partner in crime in culinary adventures. We always seek out local dining experiences. He taught me to appreciate good Chinese food, regardless of price.
By my twenties, my love for beverages – tea, coffee, cocktails and spirits – opened up my palate to international cuisines. While I genuinely enjoy good food, I also appreciate the atmosphere and interactions that come with restaurants.
Sang Kee Congee Shop (7-9 Burd Street, Sheung Wan. Tel: 2541 1099) is one of my favourites.
For breakfast, fish belly
congee at(7-9 Burd Street, Sheung Wan. Tel: 2541 1099) is one of my favourites.
Pappardelle with chicken offal ragu at Testina. Photo: Instagram/testinahk
Coffee at Artista Perfetto. Photo: Instagram/artistaperfettohk
Testina (3/F, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. Tel: 2798 0668). Everything here, from the taste to the presentation, is outstanding. It is casual dining with great quality.
I really appreciate the
nose-to-tail concept embraced at(3/F, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. Tel: 2798 0668). Everything here, from the taste to the presentation, is outstanding. It is casual dining with great quality.
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As catalogued by the Palace Museum: Doucai 'Three Months of Autumn' Cup, Ming Chenghua period. Height: 3.9 cm; Rim diameter: 6.9 cm; Foot diameter: 2.6 cm. The form features an everted rim, deep body and narrow foot ring. Inside is undecorated; the exterior shows two scenes of floral rocks and fluttering butterflies, painted in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels – red, yellow and the famed chazi purple, a matte hue unique to the Chenghua period. The name refers to the tranquil seasonal imagery, echoing the poetic notion that autumn spans three months. The doucai technique – literally 'contrasting colors' – was pioneered during the Xuande and Chenghua reigns of the Ming dynasty. It involves first outlining the design in cobalt blue underglaze, firing the porcelain and then applying overglaze enamels to bring life to the motifs. The process demanded exceptional precision, and few kilns in history matched the finesse of Chenghua-period works. 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He apprenticed in a furniture shop, then joined two respected antique firms – Tongchun Yong and Baoju Zhai – where he learned the arts of appraisal, accounting and, more importantly, discernment. After over a decade of study, he opened his own store, Dunhua Zhai, on Dongsi South Street, specializing in Ming and Qing porcelains. Though wealthy, Sun remained humble in every aspect of life. His gloves were sewn by his wife from worn socks. His family ate meat only once a week. He adored Hebei bangzi opera but refused to buy proper seats – always opting for the cheapest tickets on the stairs. A theater manager once asked him, half in jest, why a man of such means wouldn't buy a better view. Sun replied, with a smile, 'As long as I can hear the voice, I'm satisfied.' Sometime in the 1930s, Sun was offered a pair of Three Months of Autumn cups in exchange for forty gold bars. At the time, that sum could have purchased five grand courtyard houses in the center of Beijing. 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In 1956, Beijing's then-mayor Peng Zhen, who was asking prominent collectors to support the young republic through cultural donations, personally visited Sun. Sun agreed, again without hesitation. He donated 3,940 relics – 2,700 of them porcelain – including 25 first-tier national treasures. It took the Palace Museum over 45 days to catalogue the collection. Twenty-five trucks were dispatched to transport the trove. It remains one of the most generous private donations in China's modern history. The Qing Dynasty Qianlong Famille-Rose Vase with Lotus and Eight Auspicious Symbols in Branching Design, a national first-class cultural relic donated by Sun Yingzhou to the Palace Museum Beijing. Image courtesy of the Palace Museum Zhang Hongwei, president of the Forbidden City Publishing House, once remarked with emotion that Sun Yingzhou had made the most outstanding contribution in donating porcelain to the Palace Museum. 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His granddaughter, Li Run, now serves in a leadership role within the Computing Power Network Committee of the China Information Association. The Palace Museum is even planning to replicate certain pieces from the Sun Collection to allow students and scholars access to these once-hiddentreasures. Sun Yingzhou lived a philosophy rare in any age: wealth with restraint, collection for the nation, and legacy without vanity. He saw in porcelain not profit but dignity – a reflection of civilization itself. The Three Months of Autumn cups were not ornaments; they were soul. In a world now dominated by spectacle, Sun's life remains a quiet rebuke: no press, no pride, only principle. He recognized something few ever truly grasp: When beauty meets humility, history survives. He deserves not only to be remembered, but to be revered – as a man who, in the gentle twilight of time, held civilization in his hands and gave it back with grace. Jeffrey Sze is chairman of Habsburg Asia (partially owned by the Habsburg family) and general partner of both Archduke United Limited Partnership Fund and Asia Empower LPF. He specializes in high-end art transactions and in real-world asset tokenization transactions using blockchain technology. In 2017, he secured a cryptocurrency exchange license in Switzerland.
