The Grand Buffet, Hawker 18, Double D Burger, New Chefs at Spoon

A Grand Scheme

Yes, it’s called The Grand Buffet (62/F, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Rd. East, Wan Chai, 2506-0888)—because Hongkongers can never get enough of all-you-can-eat. The Lisboa-Group-owned restaurant is where View 62 used to be, at the massive revolving structure on top of Hopewell Centre. TGB is divided into numerous cooking stations, with chefs on hand to prepare the food as diners demand it, to keep things fresh and sizzling. There are carving stations for roast meats, tempura stations for deep-frying prawns and other creatures, dessert stations piled high with ice-cream, puddings, chocolate fountains and whatever else fits… the list goes on. Prices start at $218 per adult for lunch and $598 for dinner.

When It Rains, It S’pores

Hawker 18 (Shop 410-412, 4/F, Metroplaza, 223 Hing Fong Rd., Kwai Fong, 2156-2228) by Drawing Room Concepts is channeling the energies of Singapore’s super-popular food stalls into a 170-seater in the middle of Kwai Chung. (Don’t ask.) Diners will be getting upscale versions of hawker dishes, like seafood laksa, fish head curry, and Hainan chicken rice—a specialty that can also be found at the group’s other Southeast Asian establishment, Hainan Shaoye. The layout is definitely more tame (Scandinavian aesthetics with Peranakan highlights) than grunge, but if the restaurant is anything like what it aspires to be then the food should be the only thing that matters here.

Show Some Crass

Double D Burger (22 Wellington St., Central) by Maximal Concepts might just beat nearby Street Meat for Concept of the Year—if the year was 1962 and the judges were all characters from “Mad Men.” If you haven’t already caught the bigger-than-life poster at the about-to-open shop on Wellington Street, just consider this FB comment from one of its future clients: “I cannot wait to get some big, juicy Double Ds into my mouth!” That’s all you need to know. (Confused about Street Meat? Look at the logo.)