With the first typhoon of the season come and gone, there’s nothing to stop us from going out and eating our way through Hong Kong. Here's eight great new restaurants, bars and cocktails well worth a test run.
1. New opening: Tell Camellia
Tucked away in bustling Central is Tell Camellia, a newly opened tea-inspired cocktail bar. Dreamed up by co-founders Sandeep Hathiramani and Gagan Gurung, the name of the bar is inspired by Camellia sinensis, a type of evergreen shrub used to make tea. The newest watering hole for Central’s well-heeled will present carefully curated drinks made using experimental techniques.
Opened: late July
Address: LG/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central
2. New opening: ZEST by Konishi
The latest dining concept opening under the Lai Sun Dining group is ZEST by Konishi, helmed by Japanese chef, Mitsuru Konishi. The new French-Japanese restaurant spans across two floors, with the dining room on the lower floor and lounge on the upper floor. The dining room will feature an haute cuisine lunch and dinner option, including degustation menus. The lounge offers express set menus, bento boxes and Japan-inspired cocktails.
Opens: mid-August
Address: 28-29/F, 18 On Lan Street, Central
ZEST by Konishi brings French Japanese culinary style to Hong Kong
3. New opening: Kikanbo
If you thought there couldn’t possibly be any more space for another ramen shop, you would be wrong. The Kikanbo is due to open in Causeway Bay this month. The first Kikanbo opened in Tokyo in 2009 and is famous for its Karashibi miso ramen.
The made-to-order spicy miso soup is made using a broth of pork bone, chicken bone and seafood that is stewed for more than 10 hours and served with a variety of toppings – including a star anise-flavoured sweet braised pork belly. Kikanbo offers five levels of spiciness created using a variety of red chillies and Wakayama grape sansho pepper oil.
Opens: in August
Address: G/F, 535 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay
4. The Pansodan extends its pop-up
The Pansodan is extending its pop-up run for another three months after its successful three-month collaboration run with JIA Group. The Burmese brasserie in Yangon, created by Ivan Pun’s Pun + Projects, was first brought over to Hong Kong in late April and has since been a hit with the local crowd. Highlights of their menu include crab biryani, rakhine fish curry, and coconut panna cotta.
Dates: until late October
Address: 100 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun
Tel: 2361 2966
5. Hennessy celebrates the summer
Celebrate the summer with five Hennessy V.S.O.P Sunset cocktails available in select bars and outlets. The five cocktails, available for only this month, include: Hennessy Sunset Lime, Hennessy Sunset Tea Ceremony, Hennessy Sunset Lychee Fizz and Game Changer. The fifth, dubbed Paint the Sky, is crafted by award-winning mixologist Shelley Tai of Quinary – and is only available at the same bar. Paint the Sky, a purplish-pink coloured cocktail, is made by mixing Hennessy V.S.O.P with sweet and sour roselle syrup, lemon juice and jasmine tea.
Dates: Aug 1 – 31
Price: HK$160 for Paint the Sky, exclusively at Quinary; cocktail prices may differ according to venue
Address: on the menu at selected bars and restaurants including Quinary, Aqua, Hutong, W Hotel, Epure and others
6. Caudalie x InterContinental antioxidant afternoon
The InterContinental is collaborating with Caudalie with an afternoon tea set that looks to the luxury French skincare brand’s hero ingredient: grapes. Highlights of the tea set, which is heavily inspired by the ‘fruit of the vine’, include duck foie gras and red grape jam on mini brioche, blue crab and Kaluga caviar with grape leaf and red wine reduction, and red grape savarin with vanilla whipped cream. Diners leave with a Resveratrol trail kit from Caudalie, as well as a gift card that can be exchanged for a five-day Vinexpert dietary supplement kit at a designated store.
Dates: Aug 1 – Sep 30
Price: HK$688 for two people
Address: Lobby Lounge, lobby level, 18 Salisury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2721 1211
7. Farm to Table menu at Test Kitchen
A Farm to Table menu will be offered at Test Kitchen for three nights only at the start of August. The dishes, created by chef Devon Hou who comes with 15 years of experience working at Michelin-star restaurants including L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Cafe Grey Deluxe and Tate Dining Room, are focused on showcasing fresh local organic produce sourced from Zen Organic Farm. Highlights of the eight-course dinner menu include 12-hour local slow-cooked abalone presented with citrus oil, lemongrass foam and spring onion; and local fan scallop which is cooked with cauliflower, brown butter onion and salted egg yolk.
Dates: Aug 1 – 3
Price: HK$880 per person, additional HK$480 for wine pairing
Address: Shop 3, Kwan Yick Building Phase 3, 158A Connaught Road W, Sai Ying Pun
Tel: 9032 7628
8. Haku x Gert De Mangeleer
Later this month, Haku welcomes three Michelin-starred chef Gert De Mangeleer for a four-hands collaboration for two nights. Mangeleer, the chef-owner of three Michelin-starred Hertog Jan restaurant in Belgium, is set to present some of his signature dishes alongside a few experimental creations created specially for the collaboration. The restaurant closed in late 2018.
Highlights of the menu include the Tomato Collection 2019, a signature dish of Mangeleer’s, which showcases a variety of home-grown tomatoes, each with its own unique taste. Another highlight is chef Augustin of Haku’s own version of arroz caldoso made with abalone, chicken and rice.
Dates: Aug 22 – 23
Price: HK$2,480 per person; additional HK$800 for cocktail pairing
Address: Shop OTG04, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2115 9965
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter