While dozens of imitations have spawned since, Ho Lee Fook remains the OG funky Chinese kitchen. After setting up shop in an unloved Soho basement back in 2014, Black Sheep Restaurants’ always-popular Chinese joint is now celebrating five long years with a week of festivities from August 27 to 31.
All week long, keep an eye out for lucky lai see packets, whose prizes include shots for the table, exclusive merchandise, dinner on the house and an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Shanghai. The celebration ends on the 31st with a late-night hip hop party, promising plenty of vinyl scratching, break-dancing, live graffiti, lion dancers and, of course, free-flow drinks ($388 per person).
To mark the five-year milestone, Ho Lee Fook founder Jowett Yu is inviting some of his nearest and dearest to hit the woks with him. Together, they’re bringing back some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes over the years.
The ho lee cooks series kicks off with chef Louis Tikaram of Ep Lp in Los Angeles, who Yu knows from their time in Sydney battling it out in Guitar Hero riff-offs. Later in the week, Matt Abergel from the always-excellent Yardbird and Daniel Calvert from Michelin-starred Belon are hitting the kitchen. Each of these dinners costs $555. Reservations are recommended. Contact Ho Lee Fook to secure your spot.
The series continues into autumn, when chef Dan Hong of Mr Wong and Ms G’s in Sydney and Victor Liong from Melbourne’s Lee Ho Fook drop by Hong Kong. Stay tuned for more.