Restaurants in Hong Kong
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A
R66
R66 - it's on the 62nd, not the 66th floor - obeys the unwritten code of revolving restaurants by playing cheesy music and serving average buffets at reasonable prices, but you can't beat the view. To access the lipstick tube-like Hopewell Centre's outfacing bubble lifts, change at the 17th floor (lifts are in the alcove opposite lift 6) and again on the 56th floor.
reviewed
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B
Kin’s Kitchen
Opened by art critic-turned-restaurateur Lau Kin-wai, this understated restaurant touts its Cantonese classics with a modern spin. The owner, looking quite the bon vivant with silver hair and rosy cheeks, is sometimes seen discussing the delicious smoked chicken with customers. Lunch sets available from $88.
reviewed
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C
Bo Innovation
Innovative Bo takes classic Chinese dishes apart and reassembles them in surprising ways, using molecular gastronomy. The pork dumpling is a wobbly blob of ginger-infused pork soup encased in a transparent wrapper that explodes in the mouth. The Chinese sausage and rice ice cream is nothing like you’d ever imagine. Worth a try if you’ve never had molecular cuisine.
reviewed
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D
O Sip Hah
You’d never guess by the modern baroque setting that this tiny restaurant serves delectable Thai fusion dishes under its black chandeliers. The signature crab ($218) bursts with melty crab butter. Flavour heaven or cholesterol hell? Whatever the verdict, you’ll love it, just like you’ll love the grilled ribs ($258) and the fusion desserts.
reviewed
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E
Amber
This elegant Michelin-starred restaurant with dusklike lighting and hanging organ pipes may feel a tad formal, but once you’ve sampled Chef Ekkebus’ interpretations of traditional French cuisine, such as the Mieral Bresse pigeon, you will warm to Amber. It’s food thoughtfully cooked with a lot of heart.
reviewed
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Veda
We've heard talk that this uberstylish and pricey eatery is not measuring up to the same standards as when it first opened its doors and introduced Hong Kong to 'innovative Indian' (eg chicken in coriander and cashew-nut paste, fish steamed with mint). Sunday brunch (around HK$200) still seems to pack in the punters, though. The weekday lunch buffet is HK$98.
reviewed
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G
Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant
The larger of two floating restaurants moored in Aberdeen Harbour, the Jumbo has interiors that look like Běijīng’s Imperial Palace crossbred with Macau’s Casino Lisboa – a flamboyant spectacle so kitsch it’s fun. Eschew the overpriced Dragon Court on the 2nd floor and head to the 3rd floor for dim sum. There’s free transport for diners from the pier on Aberdeen Promenade.
reviewed
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Ser Wong Fun
In the cooler months diners flock here for the snake soup, which is eaten with lemon leaves and fritters. Non-snake eaters come for the duck’s liver sausage and chicken claypot rice, and a plethora of simple and tasty dishes.
reviewed
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I
Mido Café
Opened in 1950, this vintage cha chaan tang is arguably the most famous tea cafe in Hong Kong. With its mosaic tiles and metal latticework, it stands astride a street corner that comes to life at sundown. Ascend to the spacious upper floor and take a seat next to a wall of iron-framed windows overlooking Tin Hau Temple. The food is passable; the retro 1950s tiles more noteworthy – take a photo of them to use as a novel wallpaper for your mobile phone or computer, or to send to your hipster friends back home.
reviewed
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Thai Shing
If you want the best Thai food on Hong Kong Island and you couldn't care less about eating off a Formica tabletop and being assaulted by cheesy Thai pop, this is where you should be. The folks here won't give you top-notch service either, but once that delicious tom kha gai, padthai and kaeng hit the table, nothing else matters.
reviewed
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K
Taj Mahal Club
Chungking Mansions, a building known for its backpacker hostels, is home to the largest concentration of cheap Indian and Pakistani eateries in Hong Kong. Taj Mahal Club whips up a mean rogan josh ($60). This place can also do you raan mussalam ($275), a leg of lamb cooked in the tandoor and feeding six to eight people, if given advance warning.
reviewed
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Qing
Time seems to stand still at this place, which resembles a street-side bistro in Hanoi. Blocked out from traffic, the outdoor tables offer an ambience increasingly hard to come by in hyperactive Hong Kong. Go light with the Vietnamese-style rice paper rolls or indulge in a steak smothered with Roquefort - it's all up to you, and the wine is always fab.
reviewed
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Veggie Palace
The 10-course meals that Buddhist owner and chef Mrs Fung whips up here are as fabulously funky as her well-coiffed, bespectacled self. With creations like sea coconut and papaya soup, mixed mushroom tart, seaweed and pomelo salad with peanut sauce, who needs meat? It’s packed at the weekends, so book a few days in advance. Extra helpings free.
reviewed
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Tin Heung Lau
Filmmaker Stephen Chow and former chief executive Tung Chee Hwa are regulars at this tired-looking establishment considered by some to be the best Hangzhou restaurant in China. It’s famous for its crab dishes during hairy crab season (October to February), and the fragrance of its smoked yellow croaker (over $700) is the stuff of urban legend.
reviewed
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Yellow Door Kitchen
This homely eatery that is recommended by the Michelin inspectors lets you enjoy variety even when you’re dining solo. Dishes are served in taster-sized portions that add up to a lip-smacking whole. Gracing a wall is the calligraphic graffiti of Tsang Tsou-choi (1921–2007) aka the ‘King of Kowloon’. Reservations a must.
reviewed
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P
Hyang Chon Korean Restaurant
This somewhat expensive Korean restaurant attracts Korean expats and their friends with its authentic ginseng chicken and bibimbab, rice served in a sizzling pot topped with thinly sliced beef and cooked and preserved vegetables, which is then bound by a raw egg and flavoured with chilli-laced soy bean paste. Service is friendly and helpful.
reviewed
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Q
Pearl on the Peak
Be in no doubt that this is a tourist restaurant, so the food is merely good, the prices are high but the views are great. It’s just a shame it doesn’t aim higher than the pasta to curry, with twists of Oz, menu. The signature pearl meat (air-freighted) flash fried with shiitake, chives, ginger and soy is an un-ecofriendly exception.
reviewed
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International Curry House
For 30 years, curry junkies have been tripping out on curries in all colours of the rainbow (red, green, yellow…) at this humble restaurant. Authentic, you ask? Well, when the oyster curry ($100) and the dry crab curry (from $200) are this mind-blowing, especially when eaten with paratha, authenticity should take a chill pill.
reviewed
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S
Panda Café
You might be in the neighbourhood exploring its indigenous culture and charm, but if the foreignness gets a little much, the Panda Cafe is a decent choice for some reasonable international cuisine, including pasta and steaks. Or dive into the buffet (lunch from around HK$130, dinner from around HK$250) for everything from sushi to curries.
reviewed
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Man Fung Seafood Restaurant
You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly judge a seafood restaurant by its tanks. The live seafood is displayed outside, all seemingly having a good life in what looks like pristine water, until you end it by sending it to the kitchen. Don't be surprised to see your fellow diners diving into basketball-size spider crabs.
reviewed
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Hutong
Entering Hutong, which has one Michelin star, is like walking onto a Zhang Yimou film set. It’s ancient China recreated for the modern Western imagination replete with red lanterns and Buddha’s busts. Mind you, it’s all quite stylish, the service is great, the views stunning and the food is actually quite impressive.
reviewed
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V
Golden Valley
The Cantonese-Sichuanese restaurant at this hotel owned by controversial entertainment mogul Albert Yeung whips up the best spicy Sichuanese hotpot in town (soup base $120, dishes from $30). The standard of the dim sum is also high. Canto-pop fans may even catch a glimpse of Mr Yeung’s protégés – we certainly did.
reviewed
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W
Olé Spanish Restaurant & Wine Bar
Any Spaniard living in Hong Kong would point to this charismatic place as the best Spanish restaurant in town. The paella is just one dish showcasing the culinary authenticity here. All meals are elevated with a glass of rioja, ribera or other delicate vino from the extensive list.
reviewed
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Le Marron
This could have been Madame Bovary’s boudoir-turned-brasserie had she come to Hong Kong. Gold-framed mirrors, lacy partitions, sunset lighting, a piano even – a cosy place, albeit a little cluttered. The food is good and portions are quite generous. But the noise – Madame would have thought that most unglamorous!
reviewed
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Y
Tai Pak
Diners who come here are being squashed on the narrow pedestrian walkway while waiting for a table, and they are being squashed when having to share the small tables with strangers. But they are not gluttons for punishment; they are simply food lovers who enjoy a good daam daam min (around HK$24) and drunken chicken (HK$48).
reviewed