Your Hong Kong weekend food guide for January 9-11

Indulge in a culinary journey this weekend, from limited-time yakitori to a Nordic-inspired afternoon tea, and a brand new weekend Mediterranean brunch

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This weekend’s dining highlights include a grill master’s offerings at Yakitori Yamato. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:08pm, 7 Jan 2026

The second weekend of 2026 is setting an indulgent tone, with dining experiences spanning charcoal and caviar, Nordic prints and Neapolitan comfort. Friday centres on smoke and precision yakitori as a Japanese grill master lands in Wan Chai; Saturday slows the pace with a design-led afternoon tea dressed in Marimekko’s joyful florals in Admiralty; and Sunday closes with a long, Mediterranean-style brunch on Ship Street, complete with antipasti, pasta and free-flow pours – three distinct ways to ease into the new year at the table.

Be sure to read our 2025 100 Top Tables Guide too, before the 2026 list is announced soon.

Friday, January 9

Yakitori master Shin Kawaguchi is famed for his patented chicken-ageing technique. Photo: Handout

Yakitori aficionados can kick off the weekend with a rare five-day guest chef experience as yakitori master Shin Kawaguchi, founder of Osaka’s Yakitori Yamato, takes over the grill at Yakitori Yamato Hong Kong in Wan Chai from January 7 to 11.

Known for his patented chicken-ageing technique that intensifies umami and helped land his original restaurant on Tabelog’s Top 100 Yakitori list, Kawaguchi will serve an omakase-style menu at both lunch and dinner, showcasing skewers that blend meticulous butchery with charcoal-fired precision. Set within a wabi-sabi-inspired, Zen-like space overseen day to day by long-time protégé chef Ogura Tadashi, the pop-up promises a focused poultry experience built around exclusive jidori chickens imported from Japan.

Where: Shop No 3-8, The Oakhill, 28 Wood Road, Wan Chai

When: January 7–11; lunch 12pm-2.30pm, dinner 5.30pm-8pm and 8.30pm till late

Price: HK$1,380

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Your Hong Kong weekend food guide for January 9-11

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Indulge in a culinary journey this weekend, from limited-time yakitori to a Nordic-inspired afternoon tea, and a brand new weekend Mediterranean brunch

Friday, January 9

Indulge in a culinary journey this weekend, from limited-time yakitori to a Nordic-inspired afternoon tea, and a brand new weekend Mediterranean brunch