What was it like leaving Hong Kong as a child?
I can't say I remember much of that first big journey to Britain when I was 12, emigrating from Hong Kong to join my father who had gone on ahead, but I'm sure I felt the same sense of excitement I still feel whenever I step on a plane. Back then, it was probably in anticipation of a better life: unfortunately, the harsh reality of rural Norfolk in the Seventies couldn't have come as a bigger shock.
These days, I travel so much - I'd say that I'm away from London six months of the year. Any distinction between travel for business and pleasure has pretty much disappeared. I rarely take a holiday in the conventional sense, but I always find the time when I'm on the move to relax, whether it's a session in a spa or winding down in a local restaurant with friends.
How often do you go back to Hong Kong and China?
On average, I travel to Asia once a month, mainly to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. Shanghai is amazing: it offers a sense of perspective on the new China. Whenever I visit, I try to eat at one of my favourite restaurants called Yin, run by a Shanghainese restaurateur with his Japanese wife. Their roasted duck with sticky rice is refreshingly different.
You left Hong Kong when you were quite young - what does the city mean to you now?
Although I still regard Hong Kong as my home city, my visits there in recent years have been fleeting. However, this is set to change as I embark on my most important project to date: to establish Hakkasan [his hip London restaurant] in Hong Kong, scheduled to open in the Central district in 2007. Like many people born in Hong Kong but raised elsewhere, achieving success 'back home' is the Holy Grail.
For me, China today is all about energy and entrepreneurship. Prior to the handover, these were qualities synonymous with Hong Kong whose ambitions were invariably realised with a relentless eagerness to absorb new influences. But visiting Shanghai and Beijing, you sense that such ambitions are set to reach new heights.
What are your favourite parts of Hong Kong? What are the hidden delights?
In the 'Soho' area on the Hong Kong island side, next to the Lan Kwai Fong district, there's an amazing selection of restaurants, late-night cafes and antique shops, not forgetting the famous elevated escalator link for that 'Chungking Express' experience.
Hong Kong has many hidden delights: I particularly like the Man Mo Temple in Hollywood Road, an incredibly spiritual place for such an urban location. For eating out, I always recommend the tried and tested places: the roast goose at Yung Kee in Central is still incredible after all these years; the wonton at Mak Noodles is undoubtedly the best in the city; and the fried rice with shredded fish and ginger at Tai Woo in Causeway Bay remains a firm favourite.
The next hot location is going to be the Landmark development in Central. I recently stayed at the new Landmark Mandarin Oriental, which opened this summer, and I believe this hotel, with its incredibly well designed rooms and sumptuous bathrooms, will set a new benchmark for the city.
Do you enjoy travelling or is it simply a means to an end?
As a restaurateur, eating out is an essential part of my job, which makes it sound like the best job in the world, but for every gem of a dish you have to work your way through an inordinate amount of rubbish. Travelling for me now is a way of life, so it's fortunate that I enjoy it. I especially get a buzz from being at the airport: it's the sense of romanticism, the endless possibilities of far-flung destinations coming within reach and the new opportunities they may generate. I love the feeling of the global village that travel brings, making it addictive to the point where it is far more than just a means to an end.
