Netflix series Restaurants on the Edge visits funky Tai O outlet in Hong Kong to give it a revamp
- Tai O Banyan Tree is the only Asian outlet in the series where restaurants around the world are given a helping hand by three professionals
- The restaurants have to have great views and be in need of some assistance, say the show’s presenters
What do you get when you combine new menu items, an interior design makeover, tips on running a restaurant, and travel? A new series on Netflix called Restaurants on the Edge, which began streaming on February 28 and features 13 episodes filmed in far-flung destinations around the globe, including Hong Kong – the only Asian location.
The show’s title has two meanings: it features restaurants that are on the edge of nowhere and have a stunning view; while they could also crumble financially if they are not revamped any time soon.
That’s where three experts – a restaurateur, chef and an interior designer – come in to assess the situation and spend a week trying to fix it up.
The concept was dreamed up by executive producer Courtney Hazlett. “I live on the beach in Los Angeles and was actually at Nick’s restaurant [Nick Liberato, the show’s restaurant expert], right on the beach right at Venice Pier, a pretty iconic spot, and I thought, ‘Wow this place is good’. It made me realise there are so many places around the world where you have restaurants that really rely on the view and don’t always deliver on the food and the experience. So let’s make a show out of that,” she explains.
Liberato, who has 25 years’ food and beverage industry experience, including working as a chef, believes any place that relies on its view is unlikely to be performing to its best of its potential.