A cozy Dutch treat

Hong Kong

Nestled up by a Central-Mid-levels escalator far from the crowds is a cozy Dutch-inspired European restaurant called the Orange Tree. Here you can pick up Dutch treats including bitterballen (deep fried beef dumplings), garnaaltjes (North Sea shrimps), hutspot (carrot, potato, onion mash) and poffertjes (Dutch coin-size pancakes). During haring (herring) season, they serve the fish fresh (that would be raw) with the traditional chopped raw onions. Not a great date dish, but surprisingly creamy, smooth and delicious.

The Orange Tree isn't a new restaurant. It's been around since September 1997 and has always been at this location. As an independent chef-owned restaurant, the food has to be good to keep customers coming back. Chef/patron Pieter Onderwater is originally from the Netherlands and tells me that about 50 percent of his clientele is local, which in his book is high praise for the taste and quality of the food. Onderwater arrived in Hong Kong in 1991 on a cruise ship where he was working as a chef. When it docked in Yokohama, Japan, after leaving Hong Kong, Onderwater decided to jump ship and return to Hong Kong.