Header image: Au Soleil: A Summer Soirée pool parties at Le Méridien Cyberport

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy… Make your summertime livin’ even easier with these fab wining and dining options – keep checking back as more will continually be added:

MAY/JUNE

The 1st HK pizza-eating competition at Mother of Pizzas

Mother of Pizzas Hong Kong

Mother of Pizzas in Causeway Bay is our new-found fave pizzeria in Hong Kong, so we’re super stoked about this pizza-eating contest that those over at the mother of all pizzas have got planned for us. The grand prize is an astounding 10,000 buckeroos! To compete, head to MoP by the 15th of the month to compete in a pre-final round by devouring an 18-inch half Summer of Love 1967 (mozzarella, tomato, capicola, Italian sausage, pineapple, chilli-infused honey) and half Pepperoni Super Saiyan (mozzarella, tomato, basil, pepperoni, bocconcini, garlic) pizza as fast as you can at a 50% discount of $199. The top-six fastest feasters will be sent to the final on Saturday the 22nd, with one winner crowned the quickest pizza eater in the 852. We can’t wait!

Dates: 17 May–15 June 2019 (pre-final rounds); 22 June (final)

*UPDATE: final has been rescheduled to Saturday, 13 July 2019*

Time: 12–9:30pm (pre-final rounds); 3pm (final)

Location: Mother of Pizzas, 13–19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay

Grand prize: HK$10,000 cash

Absolut Vodka’s Swedish Midsummer Festival


Absolut Vodka’s Swedish Midsummer Festival
 Hong Kong

Joining forces with the Swedish Consulate, Sweden’s favourite vodka brand, Absolut, is bringing 14 Swedish brands, Swedish folk music, a traditional flower-decorated maypole and sustainable “closed-loop” Absolut cocktails to PMQ to celebrate Nordic culture in all its glory.

Date: Friday, 31 May 2019

Time: 3–10pm (afterparty at Behind Bars, Tai Kwun, featuring Absolut midsummer cocktails and a DJ)

Location: Courtyard, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central

Price: $60/cocktail

La Riviera d’Alain Ducasse menu at Rech

 La Riviera d’Alain Ducasse menu at Rech by Alain Ducasse at InterContinental Hong Kong

Get a taste of a South of France summer with Rech by Alain Ducasse’s five-course menu honouring the best of French seafood, from sweet, succulent oysters to plump sardines accented with olives and cheese. The menu is inspired by the produce of the French Riviera, with the likes of artichokes barigoule, bouillabaisse and raw goat’s cheese making appearances on the very seasonal menu. Guests will finish their meal with Brigitte Bardot’s favourite dessert, which she named tropézienne after the fashionable Saint-Tropez town that stole her heart while filming a movie there. We’ve heard tell it’s a soft brioche soaked in Grand Marnier and filled with orange-scented cream – yum!

Dates: 1 June–31 July 2019

Time: dinner service, 6–11pm

Location: Rech by Alain Ducasse, Lobby, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, TST

Price: $1,288/person (5-course tasting menu)

To book: phone 2313 2323 or book online

Chinese tea-pairing menu at Man Wah

Chinese tea-pairing menu at Man Wah, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

Learn about the intricacies of Chinese tea while dining on refined Cantonese cuisine at Mandarin Oriental’s Chinese restaurant, Man Wah. Three genres of Chinese tea, ranging from black tea from a centuries-old tea tree in Guizhou, to green tea from Huizhou, to floral chrysanthemum tea from Jiangxi, are prepared tableside using different methods best adapted to bringing out the prime essence of each brew. Watch as the restaurant’s tea sommelier carefully washes the tea leaves with water at just the right temperature and then taste how each infusion differs. A luxurious menu of suckling pig, baked half-lobster, Wagyu with matsutake mushroom, winter melon with crabmeat and ginger panna cotta with bird’s nest accompany the tea-journey menu.

Dates: 1–28 June 2019

Time: dinner service, 6:30–10pm

Location: Man Wah, 25/F, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central

Price: $1,588/person; +$300 for 3 premium Chinese teas

To book: phone 2825 4003 or book online

Au Soleil: A Summer Soirée pool parties at Le Méridien Cyberport

Au Soleil: A Summer Soirée pool parties at Le Méridien Cyberport Hong Kong

Dive into these chic afternoon pool parties this summer, with Le Méridien Cyberport’s luxe outdoor pool open to the public the first Saturday of each month from now till October. There are three ticket options – the ultimate being free-flow standard drinks, Prosecco and rosé + a brunch buffet from 12pm at hotel restaurant Prompt. A DJ and soundtrack by French new wave band Nouvelle Vague complete the sizzling scene.

Dates: 1 June, 6 July, 3 August, 7 September and 5 October 2019

Time: 2pm–8pm

Location: 4/F, Le Méridien Cyberport, 100 Cyberport Road, Cyberport

Price: from $300/person for 2 drinks at the pool (see ticketing link below for all ticket options)

To book: click here

Midsummer Brunch at The Flying Elk


To mark the one-year anniversary of Swedish gastropub The Flying Elk – which coincides with the Swedish festival of Midsommar – Chef Jim Lӧfdahl has devised a special semi-buffet brunch menu to get us in the midsummer mood, available on the first four weekends of June. Feast on starters like gravlax and Västerbotten cheese pie, rib-eye and salmon for mains and, for dessert, summery strawberry and raspberry cardamom mousse with wood basil. Go full-on Swede with The Swedish Pro bevvy package as an add-on, which includes shots of house-made snaps flavoured with cloudberry, lingonberry, sea buckthorn and spruce shoot.

Dates: 1/2, 8/9, 15/16 and 22/23 June 2019

Time: 12–3pm on Saturdays and 11:30am–5pm on Sundays

Location: The Flying Elk, 2/F, Wyndham Mansion, 32 Wyndham Street, Central (enter on Glenealy)

Price: $648/person (starters buffet + all-you-can-eat main courses + dessert); $888/person (free-flow food + drink); +$75–240 for beverage packages

To book: phone 2898 3788 or book online

Top Chef France winner Stéphanie Le Quellec guests at Restaurant Petrus

Chef Stéphanie Le Quellec

Chef Le Quellec has quite a pedigree – she took home the top prize in season two of Top Chef in 2011 and was the former executive chef of two-Michelin-starred La Scène at the Prince de Galles hotel in Paris. She’ll be making a four-day appearance at Restaurant Petrus at Island Shangri-La this month, offering diners a taste of her innovative ingredient-driven dishes such as raw marinated fatty tuna with smoked aubergine and fresh herb sorbet, half-roasted Brittany langoustine with vanilla and buckwheat dressing and langoustine blancmange and roasted veal sweetbread with harissa and cauliflower.

Dates: 3–6 June 2019

Time: lunch (12–2:30pm) and dinner (6:30–10:30pm) services

Location: Restaurant Petrus, 56/F, Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

Price: $880/person (3-course lunch menu); $980/person (4-course lunch menu); $1,880/person (6-course dinner menu); $1,980/person (7-course dinner menu)

To book: phone 2820 8590 or book online

Simon Rogan returns to Aulis and Roganic Hong Kong

The Michelin-starred British chef behind beloved restaurants Aulis and Roganic will be making a week-long guest appearance at both eateries, unveiling new seasonal dishes – like Hong Kong pea, fermented watermelon and beetroot with smoked eel, oyster with cauliflower and pike perch roe and a dessert of Tunworth Camembert-style cheese with cranberry and hazelnut – and cooking up a storm in the process.

Dates: 4–10 June 2019

Time: Aulis – dinner service from 7pm; Roganic – lunch (12–2:30pm) and dinner (6:30–10:30pm) services

Location: Aulis and Roganic Hong Kong, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay

Price: Aulis – $1,480/person (10-course chef’s table tasting menu); Roganic – $280/person (3-course lunch menu), $680/person (short tasting menu), $980/person (full tasting menu)

To book: phone 2817 8383, email reservations@aulis.com.hk or book online

Vive Cake Boutique x Barbie

 Vive Cake Boutique x Barbie Hong Kong

This summer, already gorgeous Vive Cake Boutique in Central will be transformed into a Barbie wonderland, the Mattel doll beloved by big and little girls around the world, who is celebrating her 60th birthday this year. In addition to the decor change-up (think pink-and-white candy-striped wallpaper and Barbie portraits galore), there will be a fun Live Laugh Love Afternoon Tea Set (Barbie coffee foam, anyone?) introduced, as well as two Barbie-inspired cakes.

Dates: 4 June–31 July 2019


Time: boutique open daily, 10am–8pm; afternoon tea, Thursday–Sunday and public holidays, 2:30–6:30pm 
Location: Vive Cake Boutique Central, Shop 3, 1/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central (the cakes can also be purchased at the Vive Cake Boutique Harbour City pop-up – Kiosk 3D, 3/F, Gateway Arcade, TST)


Price: Live Laugh Love Afternoon Tea Set – $218/1 or $398/2; Empower cake – $780/1 lb or $1,500/2 lb; Good Vibes mini cake –$58


To book: contact 9602 2869 for afternoon tea bookings


Tropika Wednesdays at Sugar (Bar.Deck.Lounge)


Tropika Wednesdays at Sugar (Bar.Deck.Lounge)
, EAST, Hong Kong

Chic rooftop bar Sugar at EAST hotel is getting even more sultry on Wednesdays this summer, offering four special tropical cocktails infused with edible fragrance and Moët & Chandon champers on ice jazzed up with dried fruit and edible flowers along with a background of island-esque deep house. 


Dates: Wednesdays, 5 June–28 August 2019


Time: 5:30pm–1am


Location: Sugar (Bar.Deck.Lounge), 32/F, EAST, Hong Kong, 29 Taikoo Shing Road, Taikoo Shing

Price: $98/cocktail; Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial: $220/glass or $1,080/bottle; Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Rosé: $310/glass or $1,550/bottle

To book: phone 3968 3738 or email reservations@sugar-hongkong.com

La Rambla x Michelin-starred BRAT from London

For one night only, Chef Tomos Parry’s award-winning Basque cuisine from BRAT in London, which was awarded a Michelin star just six months after opening, will have a spotlight at La Rambla. BRAT signature dishes like smoked cod roe with fennel butter and toast, grilled leeks with wild garlic, hay butter and fresh cheese and burnt cheesecake with rhubarb will be showcased alongside seasonal Spanish creations by Chef Ferran Tadeo of La Rambla. The menu can only be booked by 24 guests – 12 at the chef’s table and 12 in the main dining room. For those not wanting to commit their belly and/or wallet to the full tasting menu, several à-la-carte dishes by Chef Parry will also be featured.

Date: Wednesday, 5 June 2019

Time: dinner service, 6–10:30pm

Location: La Rambla by Cataluyna, Shop 3071–73, 3/F, ifc mall, 8 Finance Street, Central

Price: $1,480/person (8-course four-hands tasting menu)

To book: phone 2661 1161 or email reservations@larambla.hk

#DinnerInBlue by Kronenbourg 1664 x ÉPURE

#DinnerInBlue by Kronenbourg 1664 x ÉPURE Hong Kong


In partnership with the MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau 2019, French beer brand Kronenbourg 1664 is teaming up with Michelin-starred ÉPURE French restaurant for an inventive beer-pairing menu, #DinnerInBlue. From the starter of Brittany blue lobster, pickled palm heart, Corsican pomelo, yoghurt, vanilla and olive oil paired with Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc to the main of veal cheek with baby artichoke, aubergine, kumquat and caramel reduction braised with Kronenbourg 1664 Lager, diners will be treated to a unique fine-dining experience.


Dates: 5–30 June 2019


Time: dinner service, 6:30–9pm


Location: ÉPURE, Shop 403, 4/F, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, 3–27 Canton Road, TST


Price: $1,616/person (6-course beer-pairing menu)


To book: phone 3185 8338 or book online

Dragon Boat Festival lunch aboard aqualuna II

 Dragon Boat Festival lunch aboard aqualuna II Hong Kong

Set sail in style aboard a traditional Chinese junk and feast on a northern Chinese lunch spread prepared by Hutong’s chefs while watching the world’s best dragon boat racers competing for glory (either onboard or with a complimentary shuttle boat ride to Stanley Beach for the best view of the finishing line).

Date: Friday, 7 June 2019

Time: 11am–6pm (11am pick-up from Central; 11:15am pick-up from TST)

Location: Central Pier 9 or TST Pier 1

Price: $698/adult; $488/child (to include buffet lunch + 2 standard drinks)

To book: book online

Hennessy X.O. The Seven Worlds pop-up at Pacific Place

Cognac producer Hennessy is launching a 10-day pop-up to commemorate The Seven Worlds, a short film directed by Oscar winner Ridley Scott for the brand. This multisensory, interactive experience explores the seven tasting notes of Hennessy X.O. cognac, with tastings and chocolate pairings offered on weekends during the pop-up.

Dates: 7–16 June 2019 (tastings and chocolate pairings, 8/9 and 15/16 June)

Time: 11am–9pm (tastings and chocolate pairings, 4pm, 4:30pm and 5pm – 20-minute sessions)

Location: Garden Court, LG1/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty

Gin Fest 2019 at John Anthony

Calling all gin lovers! Gin Fest is back for the second year at John Anthony, offering guests tastings of more than 30 gins from around the world and gin-based cocktails shaken up by some of HK’s top mixologists including Jay Kahn from COA, Arlene Wong from The Pontiac and Owen Gibler from Employees Only. Dim sum bites by John Anthony will be there to soak up all that liquid goodness. Read more here.

Date: Saturday, 8 June 2019

Time: 12–4pm

Location: John Anthony, Shop B01–B10, B1/F, Lee Garden Three, 1 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay

Price: from $200 for general admission (to include unlimited gin tastings); other food and drink packages available

To book: book online

Test Kitchen x Chef Benjamin Cross

 Test Kitchen x Chef Benjamin Cross Hong Kong

Test Kitchen’s chef of the month is Australian Benjamin Cross, who has called Bali home for the past decade, first working at KU DE TA and Mejekawi and then last year opening both Fishbone Local, which focuses on sustainable seafood, and Mason Bali, a cool and contemporary farm-to-table eatery. Feast on the likes of pickled vegetables from Bali and house-cured salami, Southern fried quail with pickled palm heart and burnt lime and black cod with chilli paste, parsnip purée and lime leaves.

Dates: 12–15 June 2019

Time: 7pm and 8:15pm (2 seatings)

Location: Test Kitchen, Shop 3, 158A Connaught Road West, Sai Ying Pun

Price: $980/person; +$480 (wine pairings); +$180 (corkage)

To book: click here

Hong Kong Food Hackathon 2019: participation opens

Hong Kong Food Hackathon 2019

The second Hong Kong Food Hackathon has been scheduled for late September, a collaboration between businesses, food innovators, futurists and NGOs to innovate and disrupt the food system in a circular economy and open up entrepreneurial and business opportunities on the food-supply chain. During this year’s weekend-long session, multidisciplinary teams will be challenged to create a business pitch and recipe for a new plant-based food based on a popular HK dish.

Sign-up date for participation: opens Saturday, 15 June 2019 (the Hackathon itself will be held from 20–22 September, 6:30pm on Friday until 4:30pm on Sunday)

To sign up and learn more: email hongkongfoodhackathon@gmail.com

ICHU/KEIA’s Poseidon Boat Party

 ICHU/KEIA’s Poseidon Boat Party Hong Kong

We like big boats and we cannot lie… Bulldozer Group’s ICHU and Estiatorio KEIA are joining forces for what’s set to be the biggest and best boat party of the summer, with free-flow food and drink, live entertainment and special guest DJ Ninetoes on deck. If you set sail on one of the luxury yachts, bottomless champers and shisha are also on the cards. The party continues back on dry land at ICHU’s awesome rooftop terrace bar. Grab your junk posse for this doozy.

Date: Sunday, 16 June 2019

Time: 10:30am–5:30pm (arrive at least 30 minutes before departure)

Location: Central Pier 10

Price: $900 (regular ticket on 1 of 12 junks); $2,500 (on 1 of 2 luxury yachts) – all inclusive, all day

To book: click here

Invisible Kitchen x Impossible food truck

 Invisible Kitchen x Impossible food truck Hong Kong

Tom Burney of eco-friendly catering company Invisible Kitchen (and our new Green Kitchen Experiments columnist) has found a green match with plant-based Impossible Foods, and they will be parking their food truck at Taikoo Place for a month, offering plant-based Buddha bowls, subs, snacks and desserts at lunchtime. For every Buddha bowl sold (and the choice ranges from Mexican smoky chilli to Greek Impossible beef kofta), $5 will be donated to charity Feeding Hong Kong, and for every sub (perhaps Impossible meatballs or banh mi grilled Impossible beef), $5 will go towards helping Lantau’s indigenous buffalo population. Bring your own container for a $10 “no disposables” discount!

Dates: 17 June–12 July 2019

Time: Monday–Friday, 11:30am–2:30pm

Location: outside Dorset House, Tong Chong Street, Taikoo Place

Price: $50/Buddha bowl or sub (revolv lunch boxes and sporks can loaned for a small refundable deposit)

Summer Solstice Party at Honi Honi

 Summer Solstice Party at Honi Honi Hong Kong

Get your tiki on and celebrate the longest day of the year at Honi Honi’s Summer Solstice Party with live music, Tahitian dancers, face-painting, complimentary rum shots and free-flow rum punch and tiki cocktails mixed up by Flor de Caña Brand Ambassador Peter Lin.

Date: Thursday, 20 June 2019

Time: from 7pm

Location: Honi Honi, 3/F, Somptueux Central, 52 Wellington Street, Central

To RSVP: phone 2353 0885 or email info@honihonibar.com

Thievery, Butter & Trippa Trattoria Milano pop-ups at Sake Central

Image title

Fried chicken heaven at Sydney’s Butter

Sake Central is bringing some incredible restaurants from around the world to its space in order to spotlight the diversity of sake pairings outside Japanese food. First up is Chef Julian Cincotta, the co-founder of Thievery and Butter restaurants in Sydney. Sake Central will host two nights of Thievery dinners, where modern Middle Eastern dishes like charred lamb cutlets with medjool dates, sheep yoghurt and parsley, Lebanese fried chicken and barbecued broccolini with labne, burnt honey and za’atar will be chowed down. Then its brunch from Butter, where it’s fried chicken meets champagne and hip hop, with cult-fave dishes such as crispy chicken wings, the OG chicken sandwich, miso butter corn and hot cinnamon doughnuts. Finally, Chef Diego Rossi of Milan’s Trippa Trattoria Milano will be in the house for two nights cooking up dinners showing his passion for Italian nose-to-tail cuisine.

Dates: 21–22 June 2019 (Thievery), 23 June (Butter), 28–29 June (Trippa)

Time: 6pm, 8pm and 10pm (3 seatings for Thievery and Trippa dinners); 12–5pm (Butter brunch)

Location: Sake Central, Shop S109–S113, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central

Price: varies

To book: click here (no bookings needed for the Butter brunch)

Negroni Week

 Negroni Week Hong Kong


International Negroni Week is back for the seventh year, placing the classic Italian aperitif made with gin, vermouth and Campari in the spotlight to raise money for charity. Last year, Negroni Week included over 10,000 venues in 87 countries and raised a total of US$585,000 for charitable causes, and this year is extra special, as it’s the cocktail’s incredible 100th anniversary. Top participating Hong Kong bars and restaurants include Employees Only (where the kickoff party will be held), Stockton, The Sea by The Old Man, 208 Duecento Otto (which will serve 208 negronis in 208 minutes on the 25th), Terrible Baby and Fineprint, which will be offering a fun twist on the tipple with its negroni jam on sourdough ricotta toast with Campari cold brew. This year, bars in Kennedy Town will dish out a special Kennedy Town negroni stamp card, so if you visit KT spots like The Wilshire, 11 Westside, To Be Frank, Alvy’s and Winstons Coffee, you can collect stamps to be in for a chance to win prizes.

Dates: 24–30 June 2019

opening party at Employees Only: Saturday, 22 June from 6pm with $50 negronis

closing party at Aaharn: Saturday, 29 June from 12pm with $50 negronis

Locations: click here for participating Hong Kong venues

Truffle dinner at Octavium

 Truffle dinner at Octavium Hong Kong

Michelin-starred chef Umberto Bombana’s Octavium will host an exclusive one-night-only truffle tasting menu, with the black Périgord truffles in question supplied by Western Australia’s The Truffle & Wine Co. The company’s head truffle hunter, Adrian Mielke, will attend the dinner and share all his truffle knowledge with diners. We had a delicious sneak peek – read our review.

Date: Thursday, 27 June 2019

Time: dinner service, 6:30–10:30pm

Location: Octavium, 8/F, One Chinachem Central, 22 Des Voeux Road Central, Central

Price: $1,580/person (5-course tasting menu); +$880 (Italian wine pairings)

To book: phone 2111 9395 or email bookings@octaviumhk.com

TokyoLima’s We Love 80s Brunch

TokyoLima We Love 80s Brunch Party Hong Kong

Do you love the 80s? If you’re looking for a reason to break out that neon scrunchie and leg warmers, check out TokyoLima’s We Love 80s Brunch Party! Part of the restaurant’s vibrant series of monthly themed brunches, this 80s brunch will focus on rock and roll. During brunch, guests will be able to enjoy 80s club music by a house DJ, a themed dessert station and neon test-tube shots. Dress like it’s 1989.

Date: Saturday, 29 June 2019

Time: 12–3pm

Location: TokyoLima, G/F, Car Po Commercial Building, 18–20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central

Price: $398/person; +$180 free-flow

To book: phone 2811 1152 or email info@tokyolima.hk

JULY

Lord Stow’s Bakery pop-up at the Mandarin Oriental

Lord Stow’s Bakery pop-up at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

Macau’s beloved Portuguese egg tarts courtesy of Lord Stow’s Bakery are making a three-month-long guest appearance at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. Read more about the exciting pop-up here.

Dates: 1 July–1 October 2019

Time: daily, 12–5pm

Location: East Lobby, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central

Price: $20/tart

National Ice Cream Month at Emack & Bolio’s

 National Ice Cream Month at Emack & Bolio’s

Hot summer days are made for ice-cream indulgences! For the second year running, fun, quirky Emack & Bolio’s will be celebrating National Ice Cream Month during the entire month of July. The new ice-cream happy hour lets customers enjoy in a second scoop of ice cream for only $12, in flavours like Beantown Buzz, Chocolate Moose, Serious Chocolate Addiction and Peanut Butter Oreo.

Date: 1–31 July 2019

Time: weekdays, 3–6pm

Locations: branches in Central, Tsuen Wan and Wanchai; click here for addresses

Hello Kitty pop-up at Origin

Hello Kitty pop-up at Origin Hong Kong

Antonio Lai’s gin bar Origin meets Hello Kitty – the iconic Japanese Sanrio cartoon character celebrating her 45th anniversary this year – with a series of fun cocktails like the KTB – Kitty Bathtub ($138), pictured, made with red apple, lychee, lemon, gin, cognac and Kyoho grape tea “air”, and PawPaw Milkshake ($148), a libation containing sesame gin, mango papaya milk, cream, egg white and rose, topped with salted cream- cheese foam – served in an adorable milk-carton vessel inspired by Hello Kitty’s House of Happiness.

Dates: 4 July–31 August 2019

Time: Monday–Thursday, 5pm–1am; Friday–Saturday, 5pm–2am

Location: Origin, 48 Wyndham Street, Central

Price: varies

McDonald’s x Lab Made pop-up

Image titleThis behemoth fast-food chain is mixing it up with home-grown ice-cream shop Lab Made to create a one-day event of cray-cray flavours to try on your taste buds. To get a free scoop of made-to-order Lab Made’s nitro ice cream, download the Deliveroo app and then show your phone to the staff at the pop-up. The time you arrive will decide which flavour you’ll receive, so here’s the schedule so that you can be sure to get the one you’re craving:

Time

Flavour

12–2pm

Cheesy Champignon Angus Burger

2–4pm

Cheese Mango

4–6pm

Shogun Burger

6–8pm

McWings

Date: Sunday, 7 July 2019

Time: 12–8pm

Location: G/F, The Forest, 17 Nelson Street, Mongkok

Sip and Savour Hysan Cocktail Week

If you find yourself in Causeway Bay this week, pop into Hysan Place for a tipple or two at at this cocktail promotion in partnership with Moët Hennessy Diageo. Sip away on craft cocktails courtesy of members of Asia’s 50 Best Bars Stockton, Draftland, The Wise King, The Pontiac and COA along with bite pairings by the likes of Belgos, HABITŪ, The Cakery and IRVINS Salted Egg.

Dates: 8–14 July 2019

Time: 12–8pm

Location: 1/F, Atrium, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Price: $300 (5 cocktail vouchers + complimentary canapés)

Free-flow Aperol spritz at ICHU Peru

 Free-flow Aperol spritz at ICHU Peru Hong Kong

Nothing says summer drinking like a light and refreshing Aperol spritz, and ICHU Peru has installed a self-serve Aperol Spritz fountain on its lush terrace for a happy hour to beat all happy hours.

Dates: from 11 July 2019 onwards

Time: daily, 3–7pm

Location: ICHU Peru, 3/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central

Price: $250 for 2 hours free-flow Aperol spritz

To book: phone 2477 7717 or book online

Test Kitchen x LA Chef of the Year Nyesha Arrington

Chef Nyesha Arrington

Named Los Angeles Chef of the Year by Eater in 2015 and a popular culinary cooking show contestant, Chef Nyesha Arrington (formerly of the acclaimed Native and Leona in the City of Angels) will be strutting her stuff at Test Kitchen this month, bringing her Korean and African-American background to the eclectic tasting menu presented, with dishes like her riff on steak and eggs – tataki-style Wagyu over pommes frites, finished with preserved egg yolk and homemade ketchup – and beet (not beef) cheeks.

Dates: 11–14 July 2019

Time: 7pm and 8:15pm (2 seatings)

Location: Test Kitchen, Shop 3, 158A Connaught Road West, Sai Ying Pun

Price: $1,080/person (8-course tasting menu); +$480 (wine pairings); +$180 (corkage)

To book: click here

Shake Shack x The Chairman pop-up

 Shake Shack x The Chairman pop-up Hong Kong

This may be the pop-up of the summer! Shake Shack is teaming up with Cantonese fine diner The Chairman to offer diners a limited-edition Cantonese-inspired burger and milkshake. Read more here.

Date: Saturday, 13 July 2019

Time: from 11am till supplies last

Location: Shake Shack ifc mall, Shop 4018, 4/F, 8 Finance Street, Central

Price: The Chairman Shack ($80); The Chairman Shake ($48)

World’s Best Bar The Dead Rabbit x The Pontiac

The Dead Rabbit from New York City is setting up for a guest shift at The Pontiac in Hong Kong. The Dead Rabbit is renowned for its cool mid-19th-century Irish-New York drinking saloon vibe, which will be channelled into one of Hong Kong’s favourite watering holes for one night. They will be serving up six concoctions from the Big Apple bar’s world-famous cocktail menu, including Irish whisky cocktail Psycho Killer ($128) and the Brute Force ($88), made with greea-tea-infused tequila, overproof rum and absinthe.

Date: Saturday, 13 July 2019

Time: 3pm–1am

Location: The Pontiac, 13 Old Bailey Street, Central

Price: varies

Happy 2nd birthday, Happy Paradise!

Andrew Burt’s Virgin Xtravaganzah

May Chow’s neo-Canto diner Happy Paradise is pulling out all the stops to celebrate its second birthday in style. Reigning London drag queen Virgin Xtravaganzah meets top Shanghai bartender Cross Xu for two nights of cabaret-meets-cocktail paradise, followed by a four-hands dinner collaboration with Chef Thitid (Ton) Tassanakajohn of Le Du in Bangkok, ranked at number 14 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019.

Dates: 18–19 July 2019 (cabaret); 23–24 July (Le Du 4-hands dinner)

Time: 6pm (pre-cabaret dinner + show); 9pm (show); 7pm (Le Du 4-hands dinner)

Location: Happy Paradise, UG/F, 52–56 Staunton Street, SoHo, Central (entrance on Aberdeen Street)

Price: $1,200/person (dinner + 2 drinks + show); $280/person (1 drink + show); $TBC (Le Du 4-hands 8-course dinner + wine pairings)

To book: phone 2816 2118 or email hello@happyparadise.hk for cabaret packages; email info@ledubbk.com for Le Du 4-hands dinner bookings

W Hong Kong’s Drag Me to Late Brunch

W Hong Kong’s Drag Me to Late Brunch: July Edition

W Hong Kong recently hosted its first-ever late drag queen brunch in May. What ensued was a fabulously flamboyant evening of drag performances, DJ music, indulgent buffet-style eats, free-flow champagne and themed cocktails. May’s edition was Game of Thrones (sorry, Drag of Thrones) themed, and we were blown away by the W’s commitment to the theme. Everything – from the evening’s soundtrack, to the costuming, to the personalised chocolate dragon eggs – was on point. We haven’t yet received word as to what July’s theme will be, but we do know that we can look forward to a bespoke gin bar, live cooking stations and a full buffet of the same high quality that KITCHEN at the W is known for. The W and the lovely drag queens are sure to make you feel like a queen yourself.

Date: Sunday, 28 July 2019

Time: 5pm for canapés, live stations, free-flow and performances; 6:30–9pm for full buffet

Location: KITCHEN, 6/F, W Hong Kong, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station, TST

Price: $988/person to include free-flow Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, bespoke gin bar, selected wine, beer and more

To book: phone 3717 2299 or email kitchen.hk@whotels.com

AUGUST

Gin Festival Hong Kong 2019

Celebrating all things gin, explore around 100 different gins from across the world and various G&Ts alongside HK’s leading bartenders and global distillery owners and ambassadors. Complimentary seminars and tasting workshops on the hour.

Date: Saturday, 17 August 2019

Time: 1–9pm

Location: Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai

Price: $190 (includes branded Lucaris RIMS Orient Deco ginglass, festival guide, entry to seminars and tastings); $50/gin cocktail

To book: click here

For more information: visit the Gin Festival website

Test Kitchen x Chef Selassie Atadika

Midunu in Accra, Ghana

Test Kitchen is presenting a very exciting pop-up this month, with the opportunity to sample the cuisine of Chef Selassie Atadika of private dining experience Midunu in Accra, Ghana. It’s not often we get the chance to immerse ourselves in the flavours of Africa, from the North African dish Greens (parsley, coriander, razor clams, chilli, garlic, olive oil, preserved lemon) to the Nuts and Seeds course of Ghana (wrewre seed, sesame seed, mushroom), to the Ethiopian dish of Vegetables (cauliflower, scallop, teff, kolo, butter, papaya). The meal culminates with Chef Atadika’s African-inspired handmade chocolates, named after pioneering women from the continent. Delicious, educational and inspiring.

Dates: 21–24 August 2019

Time: 7pm and 8:15pm (2 seatings)

Location: Test Kitchen, Shop 3, 158A Connaught Road West, Sai Ying Pun

Price: $980/person (8-course tasting menu); +$480 (wine pairings); +$180 (corkage)

To book: click here

Hoegaarden x Think of a Style handicraft market at Central Harbourtfront’s SummerFest

Belgian beer brand Hoegaarden has joined up with local handicraft platform Think of a Style to create the city’s largest eco-friendly handicraft marketplace at Central Harbourfront, featuring more than 300 HK and Asian artisans, Hoegaarden white and rosé beers on tap + Hoegaarden cocktails and alcohol-free beer, handicraft workshops, food courtesy of Foodpanda and Cafe Deco Group and live performances at The Gaarden. This is a plastic- and straw-free event!

Dates: 23–25 August 2019

Time: 3–9pm (happy hour daily, 7–9pm, for buy-1-get-1-free drinks)

Location: Zone C & D, Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central

Price: varies for food and drink; $10 refundable deposit for reusable rented cup

For more information: click here

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