HOU MEI = DELICIOUS

Hou Mei 好味 means delicious in Cantonese. What is the most delicious and unforgettable food? It is homemade food. Still remember the taste of food that parents cooked in your childhood? That is the homemade flavour, food cooked with love. This is the spirit of Hou Mei that we hope to deliver.

Hou Mei Homemade began during the pandemic lockdown in year 2020, but the story started much earlier…

Inspirations

Born in Hong Kong, our chef Carmen grew up with Cantonese and Asian food and became a home cook inspired from her parents and grandmother.

With a passion and career in art and design, she was doing bespoke gift design using pastry and confectionery.

Moving to Melbourne and encouraged by its culinary vibe, Carmen got professional training and joined the event catering industry.

homemade business

The pandemic lockdown in 2020 led to the idea of setting up a small business selling cakes and pastries. Char Siu puff is a pastry that was created then. It is an innovation of the popular Cantonese barbecued pork crossing over with French puff pastry made to perfection by hand.  It has received wide approval from people of different culinary backgrounds and was highlighted in an article of The Age.

Soon, Carmen realized that private chef service is really her passion. It takes all the prior inspirations and experiences: art, design, creativity, food, culinary skills, and culture. Menu tailoring to individual clients’ circumstances, food presented as artwork, culinary experience remembered for life: these are the most satisfying rewards for a chef.

Signature Dishes

A dish that makes Carmen proud is deconstructed wonton. Wonton, a kind of dumpling, is a signature dish in Cantonese cuisine. With the core ingredients, different cooking and presentation techniques do the job of 'deconstruction'. It is in the Autumn 2022 menu receiving critical acclaims in a tasting session attended by the media. It went into the cover of the Westside Living Magazine.

Mandarin and citrus pork scotch or chicken is inspired by the popular Cantonese dish sweet and sour pork. The traditional Cantonese ingredient of dehydrated mandarin peel is used to enhance the flavour. Seasonal strawberry may be used instead of mandarin in spring and summer.