Charlene Hua runs Africa Coffee & Tea (ACT) cafe in Wong Chuk Hang, which recently expanded to include an event space. She has also opened a new ground-floor mini cafe called Single Origin. She spoke to Andrew Sun.
I was born in China but moved to Chicago when I was 10. That was in 1984, and the first thing I tasted was a peanut butter jelly sandwich – I was in heaven.
But I still remember my hometown, Panyu in Guangzhou, China. It is famous for fish skin dumplings.
We grew up on a farm and my grandma would make those dumplings fresh and I loved it.
I was in the corporate world until 2009. Then I met Angola’s consul-general (in Hong Kong) and explored what Africa had to offer. That created a lot of curiosity for me.
The concept of ACT started in 2015, with a friend giving me 50 pounds of roasted coffee and saying, “let’s try to do something”.
Originally the idea was to distribute roasted beans. I don’t have any (food and beverage industry) experience. We just celebrated ACT’s six years in Wong Chuk Hang.
My stomach can be quite sensitive, so I like to explore clean vegetarian options or sashimi. I like Tenzen (12/F, Jardine Centre, 50 Jardine’s Bazaar, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2882 2107) for a simple lunch. It has specials and the omakase is nice too.
I also like dai pai dong. Occasionally, I will have pad Thai at Green Curry House (Shop 5, 1/F, Nam Long Shan Road Cooked Food Market, 1 Nam Long Shan Road, Wong Chuk Hang. Tel: 6273 2861).
I’m not into big commercial restaurants. I don’t like going where everybody else goes. I like smaller places like the Italian restaurant Da Domenico (Guardian House, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai. Tel: 2882 8013). It’s nice, if expensive.
I’m a whisky lady. I love single malt and exotic drinks. I like b.a.r. Executive Bar (27/F, Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2893 2080).
The owner is Japanese – he’s been there for years and is passionate about making his drinks and chopping the ice. It’s an experience.
I also like Quinary (G/F, 56-58 Hollywood Road, SoHo. Tel: 2851 3223) and the rum bar next to it, The Daily Tot (Shop E, G/F, Felicity Building, 54-58 Hollywood Road, SoHo. Tel: 2366 6836).
The new bar in Landmark, Cardinal Point (Forty-Five, 43-45/F, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark, Central. Tel: 3501 8560) has a really good view and is a good place to go for drinks.
I’ve been travelling to Africa a lot. In Ethiopia, I would suggest The Four Sisters Restaurant (JF7F+842, by the soccer field behind the public library, Gondar. Tel: +251 91 873 6510). It does delicious local food and has dancers performing. It also does a coffee ceremony.