Taking Flight: TheSpectacular Chickens of Hong Kong

Once you’ve tried a fresh local chicken, it’s hard having anything less—and the city’s famed birds are now making the leap from home kitchens to Michelin-starred menus

By Janice Leung Hayes.

In Hong Kong’s folk religion, to which most of the city’s temples are dedicated, whole chickens are presented as a gift to the gods, especially on special occasions such as the beginning and end of the lunar year. After they’re used in ceremonies, they’re eaten—it’s traditions like these that cement the chicken’s key role on dinner tables, especially festive ones. Hong Kong diners prefer live birds, says David Lai, chef and owner of Neighborhood restaurant, known for using local chicken for their whole-bird sharing dishes such as salt-baked chicken. “The chicken we get are freshly slaughtered each morning and delivered to our restaurant in the afternoon,” he says. Hongkongers’ preference for live chicken likely stems from the fact that poultry were often kept as domestic animals and easy to come by, as…

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Tatler Hong Kong (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2020

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