Chef Will Meyrick brings the flavours of Bali to Hong Kong

Breezy, cosmopolitan Mama San has been seducing diners on Bali with its pan-Asian cuisine since it opened in 2011. Now it's branching out: the restaurant, run by Will Meyrick, is set to open a Hong Kong outlet in the next few weeks.

Scotsman Meyrick, who arrived in Bali after travelling through Asia and spending a few years working in Australia at well-regarded Longrain and Jimmy Liks, and then enjoying a stint in Hong Kong, is the brains behind Sarong, his original Bali restaurant, as well as Mama San and most recently E&O (Eastern & Oriental) in Jakarta.

Meyrick and Thai business partner and chef Palm Amatawet have travelled extensively in the region, especially in Indonesia, winkling out traditional recipes from street-food chefs and discovering the stories behind them before putting their own take on them. They'll be showcasing their discoveries at Mama San Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, negotiations are also under way on opening outlets in Kuala Lumpur and London, and two more restaurants in Bali - one a 1970s-inspired eatery focused on Indonesian food, to be called Maluku, and the other, Mama San Thai.

With Meyrick's restaurant mini-empire growing at such a rate, it's a surprise to find him prepping veggies in his chef's whites when we meet to discuss his Hong Kong venture. The move sees Meyrick's Mama San brand partner with Sandeep Sekhri's Dining Concepts, which will add the restaurant to its dining outlets.

The look of Mama San Hong Kong, Meyrick says, sipping on a Coke as he takes a break, will be similar to the elegant, vintage-looking Mama San Bali, where gleaming marble and dark wooden tables skirt a sprawling brown leather banquette, and Mama San herself demurely glances at diners from her painted perch on a wall. Expect dripping black chandeliers, ottomans on splayed legs, blood red lamps, olive velvet cushions and black-and-white framed retro photos on the other walls.