Vibrant and comforting, Peruvian food is hard to come by in Hong Kong. In fact, Chef Abel Ortiz Alvarez is one of the only Peruvian chefs in the city. In 2018, the chef-founder opened the first Chillschick location, sharing the Peruvian flavours he knew so well. The restaurant’s name encompasses its warmth and hospitality. ‘Chick’ represents their signature rotisserie chicken, while ‘chull’ means amigo or friend in Peruvian slang. Chef Abel’s passion for his country and cuisine is undeniable— it courses through his eager explanations of traditional dishes and his heartfelt hopes of promoting Peruvian culture in Asia. After 4 years of hard work, Chef Abel opened a second location on Moon Street in Wanchai in 2022. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see Hong Kong foodies embrace the flavours we grew up with,” Chef Abel says. 

“In Peruvian culture, the empanada is the ultimate comfort food,” Chef Abel gushes about the dish chosen for this Feature. He shares that these stuffed pastries are usually enjoyed as a mid-morning pick-me-up to bridge the gap before lunch, or they are the star of their traditional afternoon ‘lonche‘, meaning tea time when families and friends gather over coffee and pastries between 5- 7 PM. “A true Peruvian will never just bite straight into a dry empanada,” Chef Abel says. Instead, empanadas are eaten by first taking a small bite in the corner to create an opening. Then, they squeeze fresh lime directly onto the savoury filling inside—warm minced beef sautéed with aromatic spices and creamy hard-boiled egg. The beef filling, known as pino, is slowly braised with onions and ají peppers until the juices are concentrated, creating a pocket of savoury and hearty goodness. At Chullschick, this is served with chalaquita—a traditional Peruvian salsa made of finely diced red onions, cilantro, and fresh lime juice—and tangy chimichurri. This promises a contrast of hot, flaky pastry and rich beef, balanced by the chilled, sharp acidity of the lime and salsa, which wakes up the palate. 

Shop D, E, F, 2-12 Moon St, Wan Chai; @chullschickhk

MONO

Transforming the mundane into the extraordinary, Chef Ricardo Chaneton views the occupation of being a fine dining chef as the transformative act of properly understanding the treasures that have been “overlooked”. That includes the “small miracles of the earth”, history, ancestry, and connection. “In our philosophy, we actualise a remembering of the very essence of life, of what it is to be a human having a human experience.” His exquisite cuisine has been shaped by his own journey in life: Venezuelan roots, raised under Michelin-starred French instruction, and today draws on myriad influences from across Latin America, Europe, and Asia. As Chef Ricardo evolves, so does MONO. 

The Monkbread is a micro-expression of MONO’s overarching concept of connection. Metaphorically, it’s a dish that connects multiple eras of Chef Ricardo’s life: his childhood, his time in France, his time in Petrus, where he first created it, and its development over the past six years in MONO. The dish combines two proteins that are close to the Chef’s heart: mollejas, or sweetbread, and monkfish. Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, sweetbread, being an innard, was usually enjoyed as a street food, deep-fried and dipped into a creamy and tangy sauce called wasakaka. But, years later, during his tenure at the three-Michelin-star French restaurant Mirazur, he was introduced to the ingredient as something of a luxury within French gastronomy. From then on, the monkbread conception took root. During his time in France, Chef Ricardo became infatuated with monkfish, which is “as ugly as it is delicious”. When he took the helm at Petrus years later, it dawned on him that the monkfish’s firmness would pair with the delicate nature of sweetbread. This particular iteration of the monkbread is steamed, then charcoal-grilled for smokiness, served alongside roasted Peruvian Oca—a tuber and cousin to the potato, native to the higher altitudes of the Andes mountains. To pair, a scattering of smoked trout roe, confit onion, parsley crackers, and purée. This is finished off with a fermented pineapple sauce that takes its inspiration from tepache, a drink made from pineapple rind with a rich history in Central America. 

5/F, 18 On Lan St, Central; @monorestaurant

Photography: Samantha Sin 
Styling: Ella Wong