Higher calling
The Repulse Bay Hotel may have gone, but The Verandah has echoes of its past as a getaway for film stars
Built in 1920, The Repulse Bay Hotel was the beachside resort of choice for Hong Kong's high society and visiting film stars.
The hotel, demolished in 1982,is now a mall topped by the residential complex with the infamous "fung shui hole" through the middle. The only part of the hotel that has survived through the years is the restaurant at the front of the building, The Verandah, which includes The Bamboo Bar.
Major renovations in 2009 expanded the interior spaces, but the colonial/art deco feel remains, as do the stained glass windows and the entrance from the central courtyard. But it's not stuck in the past, says The Verandah's executive chef Franck Studeny.
"We take traditional dishes and apply modern techniques, such as sous vide, but when the guests see the food on display, they don't see that it's been transformed. We don't do the transformation for show, we do it to make the dish taste better," he says.
The menu of classics is based on the style of French cuisine formalised by Auguste Escoffier (the French chef who published Le Guide Culinaire in 1903), says Studeny.
The Verandah's illustrious past seems to attract many to write their own history at the restaurant. "There's a couple who come back every year on Valentine's Day and ask to be seated at the same table, and they remember which dishes they had each year," Studeny says.