A chef’s guide to making a traditional Christmas meal in Hong Kong
Cary Docherty of Island Shangri-La’s Lobster Bar and Grill on the festive dishes he loves – and how to pull them off in a small kitchen
I start in the kitchen three days before Christmas, thawing the turkey and prepping all the citruses and herbs I’ll need for the days ahead. That’s also when I begin the tarts, mixing the filling so it can rest. The following day is for brining the turkey, chopping vegetables and drying bread for the stuffing, plus making the Marie Rose sauce for the prawn cocktail.
On Christmas Eve, I take the turkey out of its brine to dry, then make the stuffing, poach the prawns, assemble the butter tarts and get any remaining sides ready for the next day.
Christmas Day itself starts at 8am with prepping and stuffing the turkey, which goes into the oven at 10am. In the afternoon, I assemble the prawn cocktails and we bake the butter tarts.
Every year, when Jennifer pulls those tarts from our tiny Hong Kong oven, I’m taken straight back to snowy Canadian Christmases and my mum’s kitchen. That, ultimately, is what festive cooking is meant to do: anchor us in memories, carry traditions forward and make the day feel special – no matter the size of the kitchen.