Header image: Duck & Waffle
Bakebe (Mira Place)
Joining its location in Wanchai, the 852’s first (and only!) co-baking studio via app, Bakebe, has expanded with a second branch at Mira Place in TST – so baking-mad but ovenless baking fanatics in Kowloon can also get their baking fix whenever the urge strikes. Founder Venus Chi’s app provides a step-by-step guide with graphics and videos to help you to bake up delights the likes of chocolate lava tart, yuzu cupcakes and even mooncakes, with all the ingredients, decorations and equipment provided in-store (plus unlimited cups of coffee and tea to see you through to the end of your project). Online booking recommended.
Shop 170, 1/F, Mira Place Two, 118–130 Nathan Road, TST, 2117 9622
Cafe Deco Pizzeria (ELEMENTS)

The Best of Both Worlds (Oreo and raspberry cheese délice, praline gelato)
Popular local chain Cafe Deco Pizzeria has moved to much more spacious digs next to the cinema at ELEMENTS, perfect for pre- or post-film nosh, with a totally revamped menu spotlighting pizzas from around the world – like Japanese free-range egg with smoked tuna belly – new non-pizza dishes such as steak tartare, roasted octopus and pork cheek cavatelli and, a boon to those with a sweet tooth, hugely expanded dessert offerings. Soufflé pancakes, a gelato counter in partnership with 2/3 Dolci and a build-your-own-dessert option are just a few of the sweet treats that await. Read our review.
Shop 2133, 2/F, ELEMENTS, 1 Austin Road West, TST, 2196 8099
The Chicken Bar
Photo credit: The Chicken Bar
Opened by Louisiana-born chef Max Levy (of Okra fame) and Honbo’s Michael Chan, hip Southern fried chicken specialist The Chicken Bar joins the ranks at H Code in Central. We’re lusting over the okonomiyaki bun – pictured above – a fried boneless thigh on a fluffy Hawaiian bun with dashi mayo, cabbage and BBQ sauce, along with sides of yuzu pickled daikon and fried sweet potato moons with hijiki and ginger. Open until 3am Thursday–Saturday, this one’s got a whole lotta New Orleans soul.
Shop 3, G/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central
Chris’ Common Room
Formerly upscale Trattoria del Pescatore, the Sheung Wan space has completely changed tack and is now home to Chris’ Common Room, a cool-casual all-day diner with a globally influenced comfort-food menu, from red prawn spaghetti (pictured above), to braised Wagyu beef cheek, to roasted whole Australian free-range chicken. Be sure to check out the teatime specials and all-you-can-drink happy hour offering. We need more neighbourhood spots like this to bolster us! Open Tuesday–Sunday, 12–10pm.
11 Po Yan Street, Sheung Wan, 2559 3339
Duck & Waffle
Duck & Waffle from London has finally made its way to HK (yay!) and will be serving up its signature duck leg confit waffle with fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup (and lots more) at ifc mall in Central – get the full deets here. Bookings open mid-month.
Shop 1081, 1/F, ifc mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, 2267 6338, book online
Gunpowder Indian RestoBar
The folk behind Indian restaurant stalwart Gaylord in TST – winner of our inaugural Foodie Lifetime Achievement Award this year – are moving HK Island side with the opening of modern eatery Gunpowder on 8 September, steering away from classic Indian eats by featuring what they call call IndiSum – Indian faves in dim sum portion sizes. This means we can eat a whole host of goodies such as the signature gunpowder chicken, pictured above, as well as prawn rum bomb (chargrilled prawns flambéed with Indian rum) and Nizam’s tacos (roti “tacos” filled with with a mix of paneer, truffle and cardamom). We want us some of that IndiSum! And, to wash it all down, we’ll need to knock back a few of Gunpowder’s spice-infused cocktails.
G/F, J Residence, 18 Ship Street, Wanchai, 2827 7777
Infiniti C by October
New gluten-free haven Infiniti C by October (the chef’s name) in Sai Ying Pun serves up gorgeous gluten-free, vegan and keto sweet treats and savoury dishes. Watch our video.
38 Western Street, Sai Ying Pun, 2468 2848
JALAN
Meraki Hospitality Group (the folk behind Foodie faves Uma Nota and BEDU) are moving towards Malaysian street food with the opening of their bar and restaurant JALAN in SoHo in late September – just a few doors down from Brazilian-Japanese Uma Nota. Expect modernised takes on the cross-cultural hawker-style dishes for which Malaysia is beloved in a laid-back, vibey setting inspired by 1970s Borneo, with vintage Malay pop tunes as the soundtrack. We’re excited to dig into the beef rendang samosas, laksa fried chicken, coconut roasted prawn curry and pandan custard doughnuts, and we’re curious about the private Disco Fever Room… Sign up online for a chance to get 20% of the bill during soft opening.
42 Peel Street, SoHo, Central
Jasmine (Citygate)
Another contemporary Chinese newcomer to Tung Chung’s Citygate (like SIXA – see below), Maxim’s latest Jasmine outlet offers innovative Cantonese dishes that are uniquely and beautiful presented – à-la-carte offerings such as seared Kurobuta pork belly with truffle sauce (pictured above) and fried Canadian lobster with milk as well as dim sum delicacies including molten custard buns with salted egg yolk and adorable deep-fried pumpkin dumplings with corn and water chestnut.
Shop 255 and 301, 2–3/F, Citygate Outlets, 20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung, 2162 8018
K11 MUSEA
The eagerly anticipated art and retail complex K11 MUSEA at Victoria Dockside in TST – right next to the new Rosewood Hong Kong – has made its debut with a slew of stunning F&B eats. We can’t keep up! They include (read our more comprehensive K11 MUSEA guide here):
Artisan Lounge
Located in the grand atrium, elegant dining spot Artisan Lounge offers all-day afternoon tea sets – a first for HK – containing luxurious delights such as Challans duck bao and flower bavarois, plus a bar and a retail area, where premium teas and confectionery can be purchased.
Avobar
Sure to be a massive hit with the IG crowd, Cali-cool Avobar is all about millennials’ fave superfood: the humble avocado. An outpost of the original London eatery, HK’s all-day-dining Avobar presents healthy comfort food,
each dish with its own avo twist. The ultimate avo toast has arrived! Soft opening on 16 September.
Chatterbox Café
Award-winning Hainanese chicken rice from Chatterbox in Singapore (called Mandarin chicken rice because Chatterbox can be found at the Mandarin Orchard hotel) clucks its way into HK this month. Other Singaporean eats we can look forward to include jumbo scallop laksa and coconut ice cream in young coconut shell.
KiKi Noodle Bar (KiKi Tea)
Hot on the heels of its opening at ifc mall, Taiwan’s KiKi Noodle Bar (KiKi Tea) has opened across the harbour, a boutique eatery featuring the brand’s signature noodles and tea-based drinks, with a few K11 MUSEA exclusives like deep-fried bean curd noodle in tomato soup with red and white fish balls and winter melon milk tea with brown sugar pearls. Get slurping!
Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, TST, 3892 3890
Koji Charcoal Grill
Things are heating up in North Point with charcoal-grilling specialist Koji opening on 9 September. Using binchotan charcoal, whose high temperatures give a beautifully caramelised crust while retaining the juiciness of the meat within, three Japanese expert grill chefs will meticulously craft a variety of dishes the likes of grilled chicken skin, gizzard and thighs as well as offering izakaya-loving diners Japanese wild eel clay pot rice with alfonsino and tuna cheek, soft-boiled egg wrapped in pork belly and deep-fried shrimp kadaifu roll.
Shop 6, G/F, China United Centre, 28 Marble Road, North Point, 2885 8830, book@koji.hk
Micasadeco & Café
Things are heating up in the soufflé pancake world with the opening of Osaka import Micasecdo & Café at Langham Place later this month – the shop’s first overseas outlet. Ricotta cheese soufflé pancakes are the USP, but the café also offers a fluffly matcha hotcake and globally inspired savouries such as smoked salmon and spinach eggs Benedict and tandoori chicken sandwich. Like all things Japanese, expect cosiness to the max and queues to match.
Shop B2 26–27, B2/F, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mongkok
My Meat Run Laboratory
A boon for sustainability and plant-based eating, My Meat Run Laboratory will feature HK-style dishes made with Impossible Foods’ products like its famed Impossible Burger. The design concept of the casual, counter-service eatery is pretty cool too; it’s designed like a classroom, using the chemical symbol for serotonin to represent the happiness we can all share – even dedicated carnivores – in eating a more plant-based diet. We’ll soon be digging into that breaded Impossible Burger with Japanese curry and rice, pictured above. Stay tuned for opening details.
D2 Place ONE, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok
pho.dle.bar
Another newcomer to ELEMENTS – if you find yourself meandering the halls of this particular mall, you may be excited about new Vietnamese restaurant pho.dle.bar, which is going for a modern vibe yet serving up affordable authentic eats. The portmanteau moniker describes it all – there’s pho, there’s noodles and it’s a bar. It’s also right next to the cinema, so you can carb up before you settle in for a show (and then, afterwards, head to Cafe Deco Pizzeria next door for a spot of gelato – see above).
Shop 2132, 2/F, ELEMENTS, 1 Austin Road West, TST, 2196 8175
Shake Up!
Shake Up! is literally shaking things up in Tsim Sha Tsui with the opening of its supremely ‘grammable NYC–style milkshake bar mid-month. Made with Mövenpick ice cream, these milkshakes come topped with pillows of
whipped cream and the accoutrements of your choice, from Oreos to Cheerios.
Shop D, G/F, Kimbry Court, 58–60A Kimberley Road, TST
SIXA
If you find yourself doing some outlet shopping at Citygate, there’s a great new dining option there in the form of contemporary Cantonese restaurant SIXA, a modern tribute to the 1960s, HK’s iconic dining-out decade. Chef Frankie Yang (formerly of Prince Court and West Villa restaurants) puts his own twist on nostalgic dim sum and Canto dishes the likes of charcoal-grilled pork belly sandwiched with chicken and goose liver, drunken beef shank with bean curd sheet and poached grouper fillet with vermicelli in supreme broth.
Shop 601, 6/F, Citygate Outlets, 18 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung, 2382 8633
SKYE GastroBar
To celebrate the hotel’s 45th anniversary, The Park Lane Hong Kong has launched SKYE GastroBar by Chef Lee Adams. With some pretty great views up on the 27th floor overlooking the harbour, this new lounge is a British farm-to-table and sustainable seafood (yay!) concept going for simple, rustic flavours made with locally grown produce. Watch out for the organic heirloom tomatoes with smoked burrata (pictured above). This part of Causeway Bay is becoming a right hotbed of good eating spots! Read our review.
27/F, The Park Lane Hong Kong, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, 2839 3327, book online
A Smoking Affair
Seemingly yet another purveyor of hotpot in Causeway Bay, PONG Group’s A Smoking Affair is way cooler than most hotpot joints and comes with a breezy outdoor terrace that’s pretty smoking itself. You can even gather your hotpot squad for a late-night private room with karaoke and private balcony. Just one floor above is glam PONG Midtown, where top-shelf tipples, DJs and the world’s first digital beer pong system is the draw. Is (hot)pot + pong where it’s at now, millennials?
27/F, Midtown Soundwill Plaza II, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, 2543 8222, book online
Soho House
Situated on the 28th floor overlooking Sheung Wan, London-based Soho House has expanded its private members’ club to the Kong, the first location in East Asia. Set over several floors, the exclusive club aims to create a community within, with opulent yet comfortable surroundings that include a drawing room, pool room, gym, brasserie, entertaining spaces and private dining rooms. There will also be nine floors of workspaces available for members. Local artwork will be a main feature of Soho House, focused entirely on artists born or based in Hong Kong, as will locally inspired cuisine with a touch of SH’s signature dishes like brick chicken and the Dirty Burger. For details on what it takes to get in on all this, membership info can be found here.
33 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, 6018 3507
Sound of Veggie
Replacing vegetarian stalwart Pure Veggie House (which has moved to M88 in Central) at Mid-Levels’ Coda Plaza, Sound of Veggie is another Chinese vegetarian eatery specialising in plant-based dim sum. Open from
10:30am and offering a 20% discount during its soft-opening phase.
3/F, Coda Plaza, 51 Garden Road, Mid-Levels, 2806 3111/2838 9918
ThinkWine
Hong Kong’s first sommelier-led wine bar, ThinkWine, will open in SoHo just off the escalator by the end of the
month. The French co-founders, Romain Loriot and Jean-Benoit Issele, know their grapes – Loriot was the
former head sommelier at both Rech by Alain Ducasse in Hong Kong and Paris, while Issele was the former
head sommelier at BELON and the restaurant manager at Frantzén’s Kitchen. The duo will be hand-picking the
more than 500 wines for sipping, including “chateau to table” direct imports from France.
2/F, LL Tower, 2 Shelley Street, SoHo, Central, 2886 3121
TREEHOUSE
If you are at all veggie curious, you’ll have been a fan of HOME – Eat to Live, which once existed along the thoroughfare of Des Voeux Road, and you’ll have wept when it closed two years ago. The founder, Christian Mongendre, is back on the scene on 10 September with an evolution of his beloved fast-casual, high-quality cuisine that centres around plant-based dishes sourced from local farms. The restaurant is called TREEHOUSE, and we’re going to go out on a limb here and say we’re very excited to head on up. Read more about it.
Shop 1, G/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central, 3971 2277
Closures (boy, there are a bunch of ‘em…)
Akrame
This one comes as quite a shock – we recently walked by Chef Akrame Benallal’s creative, Michelin-recommended French eatery and witnessed it being torn down… no comment from the restaurant as yet.
Bindaas Bar + Kitchen
This modern Indian was a chic little spot with cool cocktails and inspired flavours (we’ll miss the naanza!) that is sadly no longer. The sign on the door reads, “…closed for service from 29th July and onwards”.
Classified (Sai Ying Pun and Sai Kung)
Our favourite place to pop in for boiled eggs and soldiers and a cuppa is closing up shop in two of its locations. Sai Ying Pun and Sai Kung are the two on the chopping block, both closing their doors for good in mid-August. We imagine that Sai Kungians will be particularly dismayed about this loss.
Daarukhana
We say a fond farewell to another modern Indian restaurant, this time Daarukhana in Wanchai, which was only open for less than a year. We’ll miss its sophisticated global take on Indian cuisine.
Fang Fang
Less than two years old, Fang Fang went through several menu revamps and chef changes that perhaps were indicative of a struggling concept. We wonder how the other places in LKF Tower are faring…
Mrs Pound
A mixture of reasons, like the end of the lease, contributed to this hidden Asian restaurant behind a chop shop shuttering. Fear not – Mrs Pound will be reopening in another location soon. We’ll keep you posted.
Slide on 79
If you’ve ever walked down Wyndham Street, you’ll have seen this vibey bar sliding down the Pottinger Street steps, with punters spilling out onto the pavement. Wonder what will take over this well-placed spot?
Tai Tai Pie Pies – The Pie & Beer Shack
We mourned the closing of his Wanchai pie shop and were elated when he opened a new pie shack down in Causeway Bay this past April. But Tai Tai Pie Pies founder RJ Asher knew the alley location would be a tricky one going in, and timing wasn’t on his side with the enduring protests, meaning that people just haven’t been out eating pies these past few months. We’re hoping that RJ will open another physical location soon so that we can get a dose of his vibrant personality along with our pies. Until then, we’ll have to do our ordering online.
*Update: The Pie & Beer Shack will now stay open until April 2020!*
Tea Saloon by AnotherFineDay
This charming Mid-Levels tea room is shutting shop in the next month or two after seven years in the biz.
UWE
Chef Uwe Opocensky of this eponymous, exclusive fine-dining restaurant is returning to work in hotels (he’s also departed the Beef & Liberty empire). *Sob* from all of us who hadn’t even had the chance to eat there yet.
RELATED: New Restaurants: August 2019
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