Header photo: Avobar’s avo bun burger
We haven’t been this excited about a mall opening, maybe ever…
There are so many good things to eat at this new art mall that they might as well call it a food mall. We worked our way through to select the best coffee shop, afternoon-tea room, tea takeaway, burger bar and noodle shop (okay, there are two noodle spots on the list – it’s been hard!), dessert place, healthy eatery, grocer and more.
Here’s our pick of the best of the best at K11 MUSEA:
Afternoon Tea TEAROOM
A beloved Japanese brand that brings over its ingredients directly from Japan is Afternoon Tea TEAROOM, open for nearly 30 years. Along with the famed Japanese hospitality, you can sit down for a cuppa, decadent sweets like strawberry scone shortcake and Mont-Blanc and pasta and French toast sarnie savouries for some feasting in the arvo.
Shop B112B, B1/F, 2671 0288
Avobar
It’s not hard to understand the audience they’re after here. Avobar is all about millennials’ fave superfood: the humble avocado. An outpost of the original London eatery, HK’s all-day-dining Avobar presents nutritious comfort food, each dish with its own avo twist. This healthy-eating hotspot has superfood avocado lattes and smoothies along with the usual coffee as well as a grab-and-go corner for those on the move. We tried a sampling of the menu items, and for us, the deconstructed ultimate avo toast (pictured above) – featuring sourdough toast, sliced avocado, guacamole, poached egg with turmeric, a very moreish avocado chilli lime jam and a pot of olive oil for drizzling – was the clear winner. Soft opening on 16 September from 10am–10pm; no bookings.
Shop B201–4, B2/F
Baekmidang
We’ve been fans of luscious Korean milk ice cream brand Baekmidang since it launched at the original K11 in TST two years ago. Today, it’s expanded throughout Hong Kong, with K11 MUSEA its newest – and flagship – branch. There’s a shop offering the ice cream, artisanal desserts, breads and pastries that we all know and love, but equally exciting for us is the debut of Baekmidang Chul Grill, where grilled meat and seafood and sizzlingrice in cast-iron pans take the savoury centre stage.
Shop B111 and Shop B225A, B1/F and B2/F, 5205 1327
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, salted egg yolk chicken wings (pictured above) – which we tried and loved for its sweet-spicy, addictive coating – and coconut ice cream in young coconut shell.
Shop B110, B1/F, 2352 2173
Donut Cafe
These are milkshakes each topped with a full-sized doughnut – crazy, but we like it. Donut Cafe also does an gelato panini that’s begging to be sampled. Plus, it boasts AR games to keep you entertained while filling your face with these sweet treats. Show your receipt at Donut Playhouse next door for a session for your kids at the
awesome three-storey slide!
Shop B247, B2/F, 6114 1771
Five Guys
The second HK location of the smash-success DC-based burger bar Five Guys, which first opened here in Wanchai last year. High-quality burgers on freshly baked buns, hand-cut fries – and have you tried their milkshakes? Mmmmmm.
Shop 301B and 302, 3/F, 3598 9340
Fortnum & Mason
Premium London department store Fortnum & Mason was founded in 1707 and has finally made the leap overseas to our shores with a two-storey space of an all-day restaurant, 181, along with a shop on the ground floor. Celebrated for its teas, jams, hampers, chocolates and much more, this quintessential brand has continued to evolve over the centuries and presents a beautiful face for British products. If it’s good enough for the Queen of England, it’s good enough for us. We’re especially excited about the afternoon tea! Opening in November.
Shop 022 and 122, G/F and 1/F, 3916 8181, book online
Future Bar by Green Common
We’re excited to see one of our favourite groundbreaking home-grown brands expanding its reach. Green Common is making eating what is good for our bodies and the planet cool, and – let’s face it – that goes a long way in helping more people to embrace eating better and more mindfully, even if they don’t admit it. Future Bar by Green Common is a plant-based one-stop concept shop offering Food 2.0 ingredients, superfoods, organic snacks and an innovative plant-based menu, with special kids’ meals to boot (we’re sure kiddos will love Alpha Foods’ Alpha Nuggets, the meatballs made using Omnipork and the mini cartons of Oatly oat milk).
Shop B201–14, B2/F, 2151 0871
George Coffee
Local shop George Coffee, with branches around town, owns one of the highest coffee-growing estates in the world, so we’re pretty keen to try some of that sky-high coffee. Located at 1,900 metres above sea level, Baruffee Estate is located in the Baru volcanic region of Panama, providing fertile soil and a gentle climate for producing excellent-quality coffee beans.
Shop B201, B2/F, 3621 0207/3108 9901
Gontran Cherrier
You’ll be able to follow the heaven-scented aroma wafting out the doors of one of France’s premier bakers, Gontran Cherrier. He imports all his high-quality ingredients from France (ooh, French butter!) and is best known for his impeccable croissants, some topped with fluffy pillows of torched meringue (you can see all these beauties being baked at the glass-fronted open kitchen). There’s an all-day-dining café attached too serving up signatures like French onion soup, tomato and burrata salad and squid-ink risotto.
Shop B205–B207, B2/F, 3468 2430
A Happy Pancake
These Japanese pancakes are beloved by many, and Hong Kong got a first taste last September with A Happy Pancake’s first overseas café at Lee Garden Three in Causeway Bay. Using fermented butter from Hokkaido and eggs from Japan along with manuka honey from New Zealand, the ingredients are all high quality, and it shows in the fluffy discs of deliciousness. There will be some new menu items for the Kowloon-side opening along with the eatery’s signature boba drinks. Bookings taken only online.
Shop 233A, 2/F, 2338 4066
Watch: A Happy Pancake arrives in Hong Kong
HEYTEA Lab
People have been going crazy over cheese tea since it recently spread around the globe like wildfire. But HEYTEA has been going strong since 2012, when it branded the original recipe for Cheezo Tea with a stroke of genius that fully capitalises on the Chinese tea-drinking culture by making it modern and ‘grammable. ThisHEYTEA branch is the biggest in HK, with lots of seating bathed in plenty of natural light, and it also boasts aseparate bar section called The Geek Lab where alcoholic tea-based drinks are whipped up.
Shop 327A and 327C, 3/F, 3621 0742
KiKi Noodle Bar (KiKi Tea)
After opening its first location at ifc mall, Taiwan’s KiKi Noodle Bar has gone ahead and made its moreish noodles available at K11 MUSEA too. Along with its recognisable bowls of goodness, there will be K11 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. As firm fans of the signature strands, we’re so glad that we aren’t restricted to keeping KiKi in our cupboards and can dine out on them on both sides of the harbour now.
Shop 406, 4/F, 3892 3890
Soil to Soul
Soil to Soul is a modern vegetarian Korean restaurant inspired by temple food which showcase the diversity of Korean natural flavours and textures. The menu is designed by Chef Gu Jin Kwang, an expert in eco-friendly and vegan food. The menu is vegetarian and vegan friendly, with only a few dishes containing honey and yoghurt. Almost all the ingredients are found in nature and are served with the purpose of nourishing the body and soul. Adhering to the Buddha-Dharma teachings, Chef Gu avoids five pungent ingredients believed to distract the mind with impure thoughts: garlic, spring onion, leek, chive and onion. Read our review here.
7/F, K11 MUSEA, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, TST, 2389 9588, info@soiltosoul.hk
Takano Ramen
This Michelin-recommended restaurant from Tokyo has won a lot of awards back in Japan, so we’re going to hotfoot it over to get our own taste buds’ take on Takano’s classic shoyu ramen. With noodles made fresh in-store daily and a spicy sesame ramen option added to the mix, we’re always searching for our new favourite ramen joint – could this be it?
Shop 220, 2/F, 2881 8331
K11 MUSEA, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, TST, 3892 3890
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