Hunger PANG

LAUREN TAYLOR chats to TV chef Jeremy Pang about going back to his Hong Kong roots and its mouth-watering recipes

- LAUREN TAYLOR

BRITISH-BORN Chinese TV chef Jeremy Pang says the food of Hong Kong was a "massive influence" in his household growing up.

His parents both grew up in the special administrative region of China which was under British rule for 156 years until 1997.

"My mum and dad lived in the UK from the Sixties, but when it came to them cooking Western food, they were terrible at it," reveals Jeremy.

"They cooked the food of their culture and where they grew up, so we grew up eating Cantonese cooking, food from Hong Kong."

It is known for being the fourth most densely populated region on the planet and home to some of the world's tallest buildings with sky-high restaurants and rich casual dining and street food scenes.

Jeremy and his sister would travel back to Hong Kong for a month or two at a time.

"It was like a second home to us, and whenever we were there we were constantly out with friends and family, eating our way around the city," he says.

"My dad [who died in 2009] was the type of person who wasn't keen on really high-end restaurants - he liked local."

A new six-part ITV show, Hong Kong Kitchen, sees Jeremy travelling through the city and discovering food with some famous faces including Mel Giedroyc and Simon Rimmer.