Something new: Let them eat brunch!
No expense is spared as Hutong launches Hong Kong's first Chinese free flow champagne brunch, writes Jenni Marsh
If a champagne brunch culture had swept Peking during the dying days of the Qing dynasty, this is how the Empress Dowager Cixi - who liked to be served 150 courses per banquet and eat with gold chopsticks - would have wanted it.
Banished would be eggs benedict (how basic) and oysters (too European). The empress and her entourage would have feasted on endless pork dumplings, hand-picked whole abalone, chilli grouper and jade green bamboo shoots, while sipping Veuve Clicquot and enjoying panoramic views.
As Hutong, in Tsim Sha Tsui, celebrates its 10th birthday, the restaurant is channelling the Oriental excesses of Cixi's court with Hong Kong's first Chinese free-flow brunch, Feng Wei - literally "abundant flavours". Diners can indulge in a buffet of fiery northern cuisine before ordering main courses (succulent pork belly, crispy boneless duck) to their tables on the 28th floor of 1 Peking Road.
Guests sit in carved wooden chairs, as bird cages hang and billowing red curtains sway in the courtyard-themed surroundings. But don't get too comfortable; every 20 minutes a gong sounds and the entire court - sorry, we mean restaurant - assembles around the buffet to watch demonstrations of traditional Chinese arts.
The face-changing magic of Sichuan opera, the kung fu tea pouring routine and the making of hand-pulled noodles all add to the theatre of this Chinese brunch.