We’re not trying to be rude, but Hong Kong goes through new restaurants faster than Japan goes through prime ministers. One would think that with the city’s high rent and notorious F&B turnover rates, restaurateurs would put more effort into how good their food tastes rather than into PR gimmicks. But we digress. If you’re bored of your go-to take-out joint or standard lunch fare, here are some of the city’s newest eateries for you to check out and judge for yourself whether they’ll be gone by 2017 or here to stay:
Cull ’N Pistol
Baked Lobster & Brie Dip
If you love lobsters and other fruits of the sea, head over to Cull ‘N Pistol: this Sai Wan Ho restaurant’s menu offerings read like an ode to crustaceans and molluscs. Cull ’N Pistol, which was launched just early last month, bills itself as a “rustic” and “relaxing” venue in the New England seafood tradition, where you can gorge yourself on oysters, king crab legs, lobsters, crayfish and octopus. For sides, highlights include New England Clam Chowder (obviously), Octopus or Ahi Poké and House-Cured Salmon Gravlax that will take you straight to the depths of the ocean. Main course stand-outs are the extravagant Clam Bake, Whole Salt-Baked Fish (depending on the catch of the day), the super cheesy Baked Lobster & Brie Dip and last but not least, the Deep-Fried Oyster BLT.
What: Cull ‘N Pistol
Launch: June 2016
Where: Shop GA 1-3, G/F, Site A, 55 Tai Hong Street, Lei King Wan (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2513 0199
Potato Head Hong Kong
Potato Head is an Indonesian-owned chain that’s launched a new location in Sai Ying Pun, after its original spot in Bali and second one in Singapore. The “multi-purpose” venue features an interesting combo of retail, dining and lifestyle, meaning you can eat, chill and shop all in one Bali-inspired place. The new location’s eatery is “Kaum”, which means “tribe” in Bahasa Indonesia, and it promises to “revive and celebrate” traditional Indonesian food. Potato Head also features an all-day café and bar, where award-winning mixologist Dre Masso brings the exotic flavours of Bali – including the infamous arak, a popular Indonesian distilled spirit. And finally, you can also buy into the Balinese lifestyle completely by purchasing artisanal Indonesian crafts including, linens, ceramics and clothing.
What: Potato Head
Launch: June 2016
Where: G/F, 100 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2858 6066
Mad for Garlic
Garlic Steak: Australian tenderloin with garlic cream sauce
A terrible place for a first date, and an excellent choice if you want to break up with your significant other (especially if he or she happens to be a vampire). Times Square’s Mad for Garlic serves Italian classics with a Korean twist, all sprinkled with a heavy dose of garlic. Perhaps their owners realised that Eurasian fusion food is so 2006, and went for the stinkiest gimmick they could think of? Their signature dish is the Garlic Bread Tower, featuring crisp slices of French bread smothered with garlic purée. Bearing approximately zero resemblance to actual Italian pizza, they also boast a “Garlic Snowing Pizza”, which is a pie topped with prawns, pineapple, crunchy garlic chips and grated Parmesan. And yes, there’s even garlic for dessert, like the Garlic Berry & Ice Cream. Don’t forget your mouthwash!
What: Mad For Garlic
Launch: June 2016
Where: Shop 1104, Food Forum, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 3752 2880
The Parish
American residents of Hong Kong often lament the lack of Southern food, but the number of restaurants serving soul food in the city have been rising as surely as Paula Deen’s cholesterol. The Parish is one of Staunton Street’s newest additions, serving New Orleans cuisine with dishes like Crawfish Pie, Southern Fried Chicken and BBQ Ribs. The menu, which reads like a big “F U” to all your annoying Paleo friends, also includes Baked Oysters, Green Onion Mac ‘n Cheese, and Pecan-Crusted Catfish with Creole Meunière. In a true celebration of American culture, the venue will also host All-You-Can-Enjoy Fried Chicken Mondays and Soul Food Sundays.
What: The Parish
Launch: May 2016
Where: 44 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2803 0050
Rhoda
Rhoda’s intricate interior
The lightning-fast gentrification of Sai Ying Pun continues with the launch of Rhoda, dedicated to “paying homage to family meal times” and bringing back the custom of having an authentic conversation over a good meal. With a communal table in the heart of the restaurant and an open kitchen bar and cocktail bar facing across each other, Rhoda gives guests an intimate and welcoming dining experience, something that is rare given modern Hongkongers’ propensity towards staring at our mobile phones in our laps.
Rhoda’s main dishes,12-hour slow-cooked Hawke’s Bay lamb shoulder, seafood casserole and Brink’s farm free range chicken, are aimed to be shared with a large party as indulgement shouldn’t be done alone. For the sweet lovers out there, their dessert list doesn’t disappoint with their vanilla cheesecake, rhubarb, yamamomo, as well as summer berries, cherry granita and lemon crème fraîche.
What: Rhoda
Launch: June 2016
Where: G/F, Upton, 345 Des Voeux Road West, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2177 5050
Jerry Maguire
Hazelnut Cheesecake Crunch
The interior of Hong Kong’s newest (and perhaps only) “interactive cocktail and dessert bar” takes apparently schizophrenic inspiration from the widely different concepts of “late-night New York lofts”, “English tea houses” and “Japanese zen and outdoor garden elements”. Jerry Maguire, so named because its founders were inspired by the eponymous movie’s line “You complete me”, aims to combine molecular gastronomy, elaborate cocktails and desserts all into one, topped with a theatrical flair, with patrons being encouraged to watch and be dazzled by the mixologists and chefs at work – and sometimes even join in.
In an unusual twist, for an extra HKD50, you can go behind the bar and make your own Deconstructed Cheesecake Crunch Dessert Platter. Another signature treat is the Hazelnut Baileys Cheesecake with a Crunch Biscuit, topped with a dark Baileys chocolate frozen foam. For the non-chocoholics, their cocktails sing a more fruity note – like their Alice the Wonderland which has rum, Midori and elderflower syrup, mixed with mint leaf and pineapple juice. The elaborate concoction takes so long to make that only six are served per day.
What: Jerry Maguire
Launch: May 2016
Where: G/F, 23 Lan Fong Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2881 5008
FireBird
Assorted Chicken Skewers
The term yakitori is a familiar and comforting word in many Hongkongers’ food knowledge bank. Our favourite (and only) way of devouring skewered grilled chicken, yakitori is making another emergence in Hong Kong’s food scene with the opening of FireBird. Dedicated to their “kodawari” – which loosely translates to attention and insistence to quality – FireBird promises to deliver food that is fresh, as the chefs say no to frozen meat and most of their sashimi are imported from Japan. Their signature dish, is of course, assorted chicken skewers. More importantly, to complement the skewers, FireBird swears by their “century-old” tare sauce that is specially brought back from Japan for optimal authenticity. Check out their cocktail menu, which includes Green Sabi, a wasabi-inspired drink, and Mt. Fuji, a cocktail made with lychee liqueur and sake and that resembles the appearance of (well, duh) Mt. Fuji.
What: FireBird
Launch: March 2016
Where: G/F, Coin Organize Centre, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 2386 5218
Bonus: Soul Food
Smoked Duck Larb, with fresh and smoked duck, roasted rice powder and herbs.
We all know the turnover rate in Hong Kong is considered quite high, how about only having a restaurant for five days? Teaming up with Black Sheep Restaurants, Bangkok’s very own hotspot Soul Food will make its appearance in Hong Kong for only five days as a pop-up event. Soul Food’s arrival represents Bangkok’s dining scene as a melting pot of regional Thai cuisine, something that Hong Kong seems to lack. Soul Food focuses on using Hong Kong’s local produce to recreate some favourites including, Gang Hang Lay, a Burmese pork belly curry with pickled ginger and tamarind as well as Smoked Duck Larb, a twist on the traditional Isaan larb.
What: Soul Food Hong Kong
Launch: July 19 to July 23
Where: 28-30 Elgin Street, Hong Kong (Google Maps)
Reservations: 3897 6666
Words: Jeremy Leung/Jasmine Chan
