The Art of Eating in Hong Kong According to KC Koo

Photo by Wilson Fok

His stats would make any blogger swoon with jealousy -- 2.3 million pageviews and counting, and more than 6200 posted reviews to date. His organized eat-outs are one of the most talked-about events in the Hong Kong foodie blogosphere, and his first book Hong Kong & Kowloon Food Attack was launched to crowds of admiring fans at the recent Hong Kong Book Fair. Meet my friend and gourmet extraordinaire, KC Koo.

KC – as he’s called – has plied highways and byways the world over in search of the finest food and drink for more than 10 years, armed with little more than an insatiable appetite and curiosity for all things culinary…and, oh yeah, a laptop and what seems like nuclear energy in his veins.

This 40-something writes, blogs, tweets, tastes, plans and coordinates, nonstop 24 hours. He’s perpetually online, on phone, on road, or on the dining chair. He’s a walking food encyclopedia when it comes to his hometown, HK. Ask for an eating recommendation, and you’ll get the where, when, how, why, how come, how much, if not, and where else, with maybe a recipe or two thrown in! (And did I forget to say that KC’s also a marathoner?)

With fellow gourmet, Isaac Lau, KC puts together his foodie meet-up dinners nearly every night in HK. These have become highly anticipated sellouts; seating may range from an intimate table of ten, to dinners for 100 or more. The selected restaurant for the night would be asked – in fact, challenged – to whip up a special menu tailored to excite the sophisticated taste buds of the attendees, many of who are diehard regulars. An outburst of frenetic debate on the merits of the dinner always follows on the Net the very same night.

The food when I’ve attended has never failed to blow me away; and I’ve made great friends among the many kindred spirits I’ve met. These dinners, and diners, have opened my eyes to the mysteries of Chinese cooking, and helped me fathom its amazing intricacies and depths.

Aside from his blog, much of KC’s prolific output appears on OpenRice.com, a leading HK-based food website, and in magazines. In his new 280-page book, KC eats his way across the geographic and budget spectrum of HK, covering the whole territory (not including Macau) and its fine dining and roadside offerings, and everything in between. Each of the 250-plus establishments featured was visited and critiqued by the author himself. The focus is on their individual specialties, and the work is solo, thus guaranteeing the consistency of view and standard often missing from the teamwork approach of other food guides. These are selections culled from a lifetime of informed gastronomy and deep understanding of food.

Priced at HK$78, the book is available at most bookstores in HK. You can get to know KC and his latest eating escapades at http://gourmetkc.blogspot.com.

Happy reading and eating!