Header image: Christmas taster cakes at Ms B’s CAKERY
CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS & MORE
Lets start with a drink, shall we? This cocktail, called Shakespeare Riot, caught our eye as an especially festive way to start off any holiday celebration with its combination of Gin Mare, port reduction, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, roasted rosemary, lime and egg white. It’s available at The St. Regis Bar, where the atmosphere is all old New York City mixed with classic Hong Kong – a perfect setting for a winter sip.
While you’re at the St. Regis, you can book in for a celebratory eight-course Christmas menu ($2,288/person) of modern Cantonese cuisine by award-winning chef Hung Chi-Kwong on 24-26 December. Rùn’s menu presents sophisticated dim sum, fresh seafood, signature roasts and nourishing soups.
2/F, The St. Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wanchai, 2138 6800, book online
MERRY CHEESE’MAS
If the holiday season just screams indulgence for you, what could be more binge-worthy than sinking yourself into a beautiful cheese coma? PLAYT is here for all your cheese needs that you may not even know you were needing. Over 10 cheeses are celebrated in various forms at a live station that includes scallop cheese chowder in cheesy puff pastry, quattro formaggi and Buffalo wings with blue cheese dip, cheesy lobster noodles, roasted eel cream cheese roll and soft-shell crab hard roll with cheese. The desserts are also cheese filled, of course, with half-baked cheese tart, cheesecake and sea salt raclette cheese gelato alongside regular Christmas favourites. There’s even cheese fondue for those dreaming of the Swiss Alps in this not-so-wintery wonderland of Hong Kong. Click here for the festive buffet prices.
1/F, The Park Lane Hong Kong, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, 2839 3311, book online
SWEET BABY CHEESUS
Yes, we do love cheese! And we’ve always been fans of a good holiday pun. Beef & Liberty have brought back this old chestnut, the Sweet Baby Cheesus ($139) – a burger worthy of the name, with beef topped with blue and Brie cheeses, cranberry sauce, onion jam and house pickles. They’ve also got a veggie cheese & beets ($49) special with deep-fried goat’s cheese, beetroot and watercress, and you can add the perfect ending with a warm skillet cookie & cream ($69), made with Christmas spices, raisins, dark chocolate and cream. Top that all off with a pumpkin vanilla shake ($89) to gift yourself with a truly decadent cuppa this Christmas.
Branches around town; click here for locations
THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR CAKE
The holiday season is all about decadence, and what better way to indulge than with the luxurious and imaginative cakes at Ms B’s CAKERY? A range of delectable goodies is on the menu this festive season, from red velvet marble cake with peppermint cream cheese, to fresh cream elderflower chiffon cake with lychee mousse, to apple cinnamon chiffon cake. There’s even a 2D or 3D Christmas taster set ($65–75/piece) available full of mini versions of the festive treats, decorated with adorable holiday sweater icing. Three-day advance order required; available until 26 December.
Central: Shop 248, 2/F, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, 2530 0203
Wanchai: Shop G26A, G/F, Lee Tung Avenue, 200 Queen’s Road East, 2869 1331
YE OLDE CHRISTMAS
If you’re looking for a super-traditional Christmas feast, Conrad Macao is doing it by the numbers. You’ve got your classic roast turkey, you’ve got all the trimmings, you’ve got Christmas cake, gingerbread, mince pies, you’ve even got little cupcakes iced to look like Christmas trees. You name it – it’s the festive food of your dreams along with a quick escape across the water for a little holiday during the holidays. For the lunch buffet, prices for Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve range from MOP$298–388, and the buffet dinner is $498.
Grand Orbit, 1/F, Conrad Macao, Sands Cotai Central, Estr. do Istmo, Macau, +853 8113 8910, macau.grandorbit.reservation@conradhotels.com
YULE LOG OF YOUR DREAMS
Harbour Grand Kowloon’s Corner Café has perfected the art of the classic Christmas yule log ($248/lb or $48/slice). These beautiful Christmas desserts come in different flavours of chocolate, mango, strawberry, charcoal and egg white and cream. We say, throw another log in our belly!
G/F, Harbour Grand Kowloon, 20 Tak Fung Street, Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom, 2996 8098
A VERY CHILLI CHRISTMAS
This one’s for those chilli chasers with a taste for fiery Sichuan flavours. Chilli Fagara presents its spicy festive menu ($688/person; minimum 2 people) complete with seven courses packed with flavour and spices from 18 December–1 January. Indulge in a different kind of Christmas fire with dishes like pork and vegetable dumplings in black truffle chilli sauce, fried lamb shank with spicy salt and pepper (pictured here), strawberry tanghulu – shaped like a Christmas tree – and more tingly, tangy and fiery delights. All this along with a glass ofHenri Giraud Esprit Nature champagne to wash down all that numbing goodness.
7 Old Bailey Street, Central, 2796 6766/6866, book online
CHEF AT HOME
If you want restaurant-quality food at home but don’t want to deal with the hassle of cooking, phone up the elves at MobiChef to arrange for a party menu that fits any taste and occasion. Offering menus designed for 4–12 guests ($5,500–9,600), the platform has on its roster a variety of chefs from different culinary backgrounds, including Cantonese, Italian, Thai and Western, and can customise to any dietary requirements. MobiChef has also paired up with MyiCellar to make sure your dinner party never runs dry.
WhatsApp 6115 3715 or email concierge@mobichef.com
MALAYSIAN EATS
If you want something totally different from your traditional Christmas feast, we recommend checking out the authentic, spice-filled Malaysian flavours at Café Malacca. Head there on 24 December–1 January for the festive lunch buffet ($380/person), and while you’re chowing down on the likes of all-you-can-eat roti canai, satay, nasi lemak, laksa, char kway teow and more, you’ll also stand the chance to win a return trip for two to Malaysia courtesy of Malaysia Airlines!
2/F, Hotel Jen by Shangri-La, 508 Queen’s Road West, Shek Tong Tsui, 2213 6613, contactus@cafe-malacca.com, book online
JAMES SHARMAN AT THE LEAH
The Brits sure know how to do a good roast dinner, so if that’s what you’re after this festive season, Chef James Sharman’s five-course Christmas set dinner menu ($588/person) at The Leah – available on 24, 25 and 31 December – is where it’s at. Our contributor Stephanie Ko went for a preview and enjoyed the classic
British comfort foods on the menu, from the Caesar salad, to the Scotch egg and soldiers, to the salmon and cod pie, to the beef Wellington, to the sticky toffee pudding. And not only does the set menu come with mouth-watering dishes like these, diners also receive a complimentary Molton Brown Reviving Bathing Travel Collection gift set, while stock lasts. If the HK winter chill doesn’t bother you, the restaurant has a lovely al-freso area too – a little Christmas oasis in the heart of bustling Causeway Bay.
Shop 308 and 311, 3/F, Lee Garden Two, 28 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, 2337 7651
SWEET TREATS
Sweet Fashion House gets even sweeter this holiday season with the boutique’s adorably crafted holiday collection of individual cakes ($68 each) – in particular, this Snow Man (hazelnut pain de gêne biscuit with diced hazelnut, hazenul praline paste, toffee and chocolate and hazelnut mousse) – as well as an assortment of Christmas chocolates, chocolate-coated macarons and oh-so-sweet hampers. What’s Christmas without gilding
the lily?
Buy in-store at The Ritz-Carlton or Lee Garden Three or order online
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