Central Asian Food Specialist (中環海逸美食新概念) offers Cantonese and Southeast Asian cuisine. The restaurant's Cantonese fare emphasizes Chaozhou cuisine, which is known for using seafood, light tastes, and healthy, tasty soups.

Chef Andrew Mok has been dubbed the Curry Prince in Hong Kong. A member of the Hong Kong Professional Chefs General Union, Mok has traveled to Southeast Asia and Canada for his work.

Mok has come up with a new menu for the restaurant, comprising new ways to make traditional Chaozhou and Southeast Asian dishes. The dishes here are generally combinations of international ways of preparation and presentation.

For example, the steamed trout dish here (above) uses lime, instead of soy sauce, which gives the fish a refreshing taste. Imported lemongrass, fish sauce, and Thai basil are also used generously in the offerings. Mok makes his own curry, with up to 38 ingredients from South China and Thailand.

Dishes are served individually, western style. Plenty of dishes can be prepared and served on the spot, such as salmon, lobster, abalone, beef fillet, goose liver and rice noodles.

Recommended dishes include spicy steamed scallop (辣椒蒸元貝), French style braised oyster (法式焗生蠔), Chaozhou ginger chicken (川姜雞), beef rib (牛肋骨), Thai four treasures platter (泰國四寶拼盤), and Thai pineapple rice (泰式菠蘿焗飯).

Average spending is 80 yuan ($11.50) per person.

11:30am-2pm, 5-10pm. 3/F Haige International Hotel, 20 Xuanwumenwai Dajie, Xuanwu District. 6317-7088. 宣武區宣武門外大街20號海格國際酒店三層

Story by Ye Jun, photo by Guo Yingguang

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2008)