The Algerian-descent Frenchman services generational recipes for a Hong Kong primed for discovering North African cuisine
Hakim Meddour still remembers the scent of lemon trees and lush vegetation dotted over rolling hills of his parent’s village in northern Algeria.
The Frenchman with Algerian roots found himself on his first visit to Algeria at 17 years old on a summer break in Kendira, a destination often frequented from his home in Paris. For his family, annual pilgrimages to the village they were born in were a ritual.
Armed with only an Internet-less mobile phone for a months-long visit, the then-teenager found happiness and solace in a village where life was minimal, but fruitful.
“The grapes [from Kendira] that I tasted there were so sweet. I have never eaten something like that in my life after that. All the time we had a buffet coming out of our kitchen. The smell of the flowers was incredible,” Hakim remembers.
As a fashion and luxury industry careerist, exploring new pastures for work, Kendira inspired a new calling.
Hakim founded Kendira, a traditional North African catering service, in February 2026 to spark conversation for a region hardly represented and rarely discussed – if ever. It was “a pity,” Hakim says, that as international as a city Hong Kong can be, there was a scarcity of North African cuisine to be enjoyed.
“[Creating Kendira] was a reconsidering of my future,” for his career in Hong Kong, and a preserving of his daughters’ French-Algerian heritage. “I was pushed by my friends to see this gap in the market to serve Maghreb cuisine from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.”
“I want to democratise and modernise this cuisine, whilst staying traditional, and educate Hong Kong of the diversity and richness of this part of Africa.”
Kendira’s menu, and concept at large, centres around couscous, a uniting dish with the same role noodles or rice occupy in Cantonese banqueting culture. The 2,000 year old carbohydrate made with grain of semolina flour soaks up not only sauces, but enriches the community.
“It is really about storytelling with couscous, it expresses the generosity of the cuisine and sharing aspects of our [Maghreb] cultures.” Across North Africa, couscous finds its place in the centre of a family meal, used as a vehicle to cook and enjoy heavily-spiced meats and vegetables.
The full gamut of Africa’s northern couscous recipes are introduced at Kendira: lamb shoulder mechoui (spit-roasted) with saffron couscous, slow-cooked beef with four vegetables and chickpeas, merguez sausages, beef kofta, and a vegetarian options sans meat.
Where tagine is concerned, the bedrock of Algerian and Moroccan meals, Hakim serves fish, chicken with lemon & olives, and kofta (beef meatballs) flavours, with three vegetarian options of beraniya (aubergines), green beans & artichoke, and chakchouka (shakshuka) mixes.
Of course, as a traditionalist, a smattering of kemias (small mezze plates) frame Hakim’s meaty conquest with dips and bites designed for breaking bread with traditional Algerian bread mathlou. An important traditional Algerian dish brought to the menu is mechouia, a mezze made from grilled vegetables and enjoyed with bread and olive oil.
Hummus zitouni made with acacia honey, Tunisian zucchini ajlouk with cooked zucchini, garlic, harissa, and caraway, tuna bourek, and hmiss, a hand-chopped peppers and tomatoes dip welcome a more concrete Maghreb identity to the menu, as opposed to your typical Middle Eastern dips.
Closing off the menu are drinks with Moroccan tea and Algerian lemonade, appetisers citrus salad and chorba (lamb soup), and desserts. Palouza (milk pudding), a Kendira signature, is sweetened with rose water and cinnamon. The besboussa orange cake, a syrup-soaked semolina dessert, and tiramisu amlou praline, using a traditional Moroccan spread of argan oil, almonds and honey, have transportive elements.
At current, Kendira is a cloud kitchen operation. Hakim also caters dinners at a private kitchen in Kwun Tong, events, and corporate gigs. “Our current model is a good way to assess the demand of our cuisine, to build our brand and customer base.”
Hakim’s ultimate goal is to house his North African home comforts in a permanent location in Hong Kong, and carry on a legacy of his chef father in France and avid home-cook sister and mother. “I grew up in that [environment] in the kitchen, so this is a very personal business,” he adds.
“It will take time to educate the market [on what Maghreb cuisine is], before opening a restaurant.” For now, Hong Kongers desiring a sampling of North Africa can enjoy Kendira via Keeta and Foodpanda.
Explore Kendira’s abundant and traditional menu stretching Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan cuisine.
