By Wenjing Ding
Published Nov 30, 2022, by Gannett | USA Today Network – The Patriot Ledger
QUINCY ‒ Chef Laurence Louie wakes up before dawn to make bao buns, Nutella-filled Hong Kong French toast, congee, and other delicacies at Rubato, his new café in the former Contempo Bakery on Hancock Street.
Louie’s mother, Joyce Chan, ran Contempo for 22 years. He and his wife, Rary Ratsifa, opened the 1,000-square-foot eatery on Aug. 13 with a lion dance blessing. The day’s menu sold out in two hours.
“We want to continue my mom’s business and also want to create a modern Hong Kong café that’s very casual but has some fun to it, that also stays true to my Cantonese and Hong Kong American heritage,” Louie said.
Hong Kong is famous for its food, and Louie is putting his own stamp on the cuisine.
“We want to give a new face to Chinese food and provide exciting new things so that it’s reminiscent of Hong Kong cafés but is also distinctly American and belongs here as well,” Louie said.
Louie cooked at chef Ana Sortun’s Oleana restaurant in Cambridge and trained in London under chef Selin Kiazim.
At 7:30 on a recent morning, the first orders of the day arrive. Aaron Tanaka, of Quincy, orders fried chicken bolo, plain congee, which is a rice pudding, and lava egg yolk. A few minutes later, Rick Telemaco, of Weymouth, grabs Cha siu bao, lava egg yolk bao and Spam bolo to go.
The menu includes a variety of baos, which are stuffed, steamed buns; Chinese doughnuts; steamed rice rolls; and drinks with house-made soy milk. Yuenyeung is a popular coffee-tea combination in Hong Kong.
“Rubato will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s enjoyed snacking on Hong Kong food,” Allen Danuff, a Quincy resident, said.
Chan, Louie’s mom, is originally from Hong Kong. She immigrated to the South Shore more than 48 years ago with her family and she instilled in her son a desire to express the culture and food of Hong Kong in a friendly, authentic way.
Customer favorites include the fluffy, steamed bao buns and bolo bao sandwiches filled with fried chicken, Spam or egg. The HK French toast is doused in condensed milk and covered in cookie crumbs.
“I was surprised and really glad that my son Laurence and his wife, Rary Ratsifa, both agreed to take over my place,” Chan said. “They actually planned to open their first Chinese restaurant in London when the pandemic hit and forced them to change course. … I’m grateful that he will continue my work.”
“I have known Contempo Bakery & Café for more than seven years, and I love HK food,” said Evone Chen, of Winchester, New Hampshire. “I drove two hours to come here to eat my favorite beef brisket bao and milk tea.”
Kettly Chan, a Quincy resident who came from Hong Kong about 20 years ago, said the fried chicken bolo “was really tasty.”
Alex Wilson, a chef for 23 years, works in the kitchen with Louie. He spent three months training and learning how to prepare Hong Kong-style food.
“Everything we are trying to do with food is of the highest quality,” Williams said. “We’re both coming from fine dining and we’re focused really on the best experience for our customers.”
If you go
What: Rubato HK Café
Where: 412 Hancock St., Quincy
When: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday
Info: 617-481-2049, rubato-food.com
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