The best new Hong Kong restaurants in August 2022: Thai, Japanese, fine dining – new concepts headed by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon chefs and more
- Dining options continue to expand in Hong Kong, including a seafood-centric Thai restaurant headed by a chef who was at Bangkok’s L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
- An old city fave, Yucca de Lac, is reopening on The Peak; Parisian food can be found at Terroirs by LQV and caviar-and-champagne-themed Huso is in Central
The weather is heating up – and so is Hong Kong’s dining scene, with a slew of new openings to tempt you into the summer sun.
K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui, in Kowloon, is home to new restaurants such as Oomaki and Crust Amalfi, and there have been openings at other locations such as the Hong Kong Palace Museum in West Kowloon and AKI Hong Kong – MGallery in Wan Chai.
Read on to see which new openings – listed in no particular order – might pique your interest this August.
1. Plaa
Soft opening from August 5 is a seafood-centric Thai restaurant, launched by ZS Hospitality in collaboration with two mega chefs: Richie Lin of Taipei’s Mume and Ian Kittichai of Bangkok’s Issaya Siamese Club.
Best new Hong Kong restaurants: big-name chefs and fresh concepts
Head chef Santipap Tonkanya, previously of Bangkok’s L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, leads the kitchen to execute dishes such as grilled threadfin with local clams, tom kha sauce and nam prik paste, and tuna tart with palm sugar, fish sauce and toasted coconut chips.
2/F, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
2. Yucca de Lac
Opened in 1961 in premises that overlooked Tolo Harbour, it was loved for its alfresco seating and fusion menu.
Having closed in Sha Tin in 2005, Yucca de Lac is officially back – this time with a sweeter view over Victoria Harbour thanks to its new location on The Peak.
Shop 201-202C, 2/F, The Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road, Central
3. A Lux
A quaint fine-dining restaurant has taken up the mezzanine level of Baskerville House on Duddell Street.
Fine Italian-French fare graces the menu, with dishes like classic Carabineros prawn with Kristal caviar and pesto; beef broth, foie gras and truffle; as well as spinosini (a thin pasta), abalone and bottarga (cured roe sac) to tantalise the taste buds.
Shop M2, M/F, Baskerville House, 13 Duddell Street, Central
4. Glasshouse and Dining Room
Two restaurant “extensions” have launched at Rosewood Hong Kong’s dining outlets, with Glasshouse at Asaya Kitchen and The Dining Room at Bluhouse.
From angel hair to vermicelli, pasta shapes and their colourful names
At the latter, a smartly turned out dining room set towards the rear of the casual Bluhouse is where chef Giovanni Galeota serves a refined menu of seasonal Italian specialities, Tuesday to Sunday for dinner.
Rosewood Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
5. Town 93
Lionel Bodros, former executive pastry chef of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Hong Kong, and Frederic Despres, former executive pastry chef of the three-Michelin-star Epicure in Paris, have opened a cute cafe on Wellington Street in Central.
Diners can expect fine financiers, madeleines and creamy mont blancs, and exquisite savoury items such as foie gras with sweetcorn and truffle croque-monsieur.
1/F Hong Kong House, 17-19 Wellington Street, Central
6. Cha Cha Cha
A new shabu-shabu and sukiyaki specialist has opened up in Causeway Bay featuring, of course, rare cuts of melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu beef. The set menus are quite wallet-friendly, with a seven-course shabu-shabu meal starting at HK$588 (US$75).
Shop A, Fashion Walk, 66-72 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay
7. Terroirs by LQV
If you miss good Parisian food and wine, you will not be able to resist Terroirs by LQV.
The French wine bar and retailer has taken up a 2,000 sq ft plus (185 square metres-plus) space at 1 Lyndhurst Terrace and is serving classic fare such as pissaladière – the famous anchovy and onion tart from Nice – and pâté en croute (a meat pie), alongside a great selection of biodynamic, organic and natural wines.
3/F, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
8. Chi Yawaragu
A quaint kushiyaki restaurant has opened its doors on Upper Lascar Row in Sheung Wan. Exotic cuts on the menu include turkey gizzards and cuttlefish paste and shiso leaf wrap, but conventional grilled skewers such as prawn and beef tongue are also available.
The chefs are still experimenting with the menu, so look forward to more interesting menu items to come.
28 Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan
9. Huso
The Pottinger Hotel, 74 Queen’s Road Central, Central
10. Crepes & Bakes
Customers can anticipate classic sweet and savoury buckwheat crêpes as well as various types of breads, croissants and baguette sandwiches, tartines, salads, tarts and eclairs, as well as home-made cookies that are prepared with premium Valrhona chocolate.
Museum Cafe 3, LG/F, Hong Kong Palace Museum, West Kowloon
11. Oomaki and G Bar
Oomaki and G Bar are Gaia Group’s two new concepts at K11 Musea’s Food Playground. Oomaki’s menu features a wide range of classic and innovative hand rolls, in addition to other grab-and-go items such as sushi boxes, dons, ramen and more.
On the other hand, G Bar offers a range of seafood items as well as comfort food ranging from pastas, soups and salads to enticing meat dishes such as roast chicken and baked Buffalo wings.
Oomaki, Shop 203A, B2/F, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
G Bar, Shop O, B2/F, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
12. Tangram
In the newly minted AKI Hong Kong in the MGallery building in Wan Chai is the serene Tangram. Specialising in novel “Japas”, or Japanese tapas, the restaurant presents dishes such as sous vide Wagyu beef with ponzu sauce, truffle toast with prosciutto ham and quail egg, arancini, rice balls with duck liver pâté and spicy tomato relish, and Wagyu beef sliders with chef’s signature bacon jam.
2/F, AKI Hong Kong, MGallery, 239 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai
13. Crust Amalfi
Crust will join a slew of new restaurants in K11 Musea in Victoria Dockside and will offer cakes as well as the handmade ceramics that have delighted patrons at the original restaurant in Wan Chai.
Drop by and grab any one of your favourites, from Mama’s babà, Neapolitan babà, millefoglie (the Italian version of a mille-feuille) or Bronte pistachio cheesecake.
B201, Basement, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside
14. Gyumai
The yakiniku and shabu-shabu Wagyu restaurant opens its third location in Causeway Bay. Fine seafood also features on the menu, with an all-you-can-eat buffet table where diners can dig in to scallops and an array of sashimi to complete their meal.
Shop A, 8/F Lee Theatre, 99 Percival Street, Causeway Bay
15. Hong Kong Cuisine
1/F, Elegance Court, 2-4 Tsoi Tak Street, Happy Valley
16. Breeze Bistro
On the Kennedy Town waterfront promenade, Breeze specialises in the flavours of the Mediterranean, with an all-day menu featuring the likes of lobster linguine, whole grilled sea bass and Sicilian caponata (a ratatouille-like dish).
7-8 New Praya, Kennedy Town
17. Basin
Another restaurant inspired by the Mediterranean is a new venture by chef Antoni Bernabeu and Erik Kirakozov, previously of Pirata group. The menu is rooted in the culinary traditions of France, Italy and Spain, with dishes such as smoked sardines with ajoblanco (a Spanish cold soup), and zucchini flowers stuffed with goats’ cheese, walnuts, truffle and acacia honey. Basin soft opens mid-August.
3/F, Foco, 46-48 Cochrane Street, Central
