Dim sum, hotpot, pizza: favourite Hong Kong restaurants of Tuber Umberto Bombana chef

I was a terrible student, so at 16, I told my mom I didn’t want to study any more – I wanted to go out and work.

I had two relatives who were chefs. One was in a Chinese restaurant, the other in a Western restaurant. A day in a Chinese kitchen started earlier, seemed like harder work and conditions seemed dirtier, so I chose to work in Western cuisine.

I didn’t know a word of English when I started, but in the kitchen I was very curious, wanting to know the names of ingredients.

For dinner in Hong Kong, and also where I would bring visitors, I really like Man Ho (3/F, JW Marriott Hotel, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty. Tel: 2810 8366). Chef Jayson Tang, who I worked with briefly at the old Ritz-Carlton hotel [in Central], is very detailed, with such high standards. He incorporates some contemporary Western techniques in his dishes and they are very good.