New restaurants to try in Hong Kong this May

Serving contemporary takes on traditional Indian cuisine, this 68-seater restaurant is one of the latest additions on Wyndham Street. If you’re looking for hearty meals to share with friends and family, book a table for lunch or dinner and enjoy plates of traditional Indian dishes presented with a contemporary twist. Must-tries include tandoori cauliflower ($168) with buttermilk and cream dressing, the crispy and flavourful Mughlai jheenga ($188) fried shrimp served with spiced beetroot and guava chutney, whole Mediterranean tandoori seabass ($480), and Chutney's mix tandoori platter ($628) with barramundi, Australian lamb chops, and two types of chicken tikka. Wash it all down with glasses of cocktails like the smoky sour mezcal-based Hera Pheri ($120) or g&t's from their gin trolley. 

Mosu Hong Kong is the offshoot of two-Michelin-starred Mosu Seoul, an innovative fine dining restaurant created by Korean chef-founder Sung Anh, who bases his imaginative cuisine on his experiences growing up in the US and working in famed restaurants, including The French Laundry and Benu. Mosu Hong Kong will debut with signatures from the flagship, such as abalone taco, sesame tofu (the restaurant in Seoul uses white sesame while the Hong Kong restaurant will use black), and acorn noodles, but it will also bring new dishes that embrace local seasonality and produce. Led by another Korean chef, Shim Jung Taek, the Hong Kong team looks to include more Cantonese elements as they go, adding a unique Hong Kong inflection to chef Sung Anh’s inventive cuisine. The restaurant, which is located in M+ on the third floor adjacent to the Roof Garden, benefits from the museum’s epic skyline views and reflects the artistic visual culture that can be explored within.

Taking the old Gough’s on Gough spot on Gough Street (that’s fun to read) is a new Mexican cantina Chicano. Warm and cosy, Chicano is the creation of Latino founders Gabe Pérez and chef Edgar Vigo who aim to bring LA-influenced Mexican food driven by the traditional recipes from Perez’s grandmother. From tacos and tamales to sharing plates of Birria with braised beef cheek and spiced consommé or a fiery Camarones a la Diabla, which is a tiger prawn and devil sauce combination that just makes our mouths water in anticipation.

Swiss pastry chef Gérard Dubois, a name you’ve probably heard of if you’ve been to bakery-cafe Passion, has opened a new artisan deli called Sour Dough in Wan Chai. The ground-floor pet-friendly venue has a bakery counter offering all sorts of bread, pastries and other baked goods made using one of three varieties of sourdough starters (rye, white, and dark rye) that are over 30 years old. They also have a selection of dessert jars and cakes, deli-style sandwiches, including a very flavourful Cubano and pastrami sauerkraut sandwich, hot plates of food including Mediterranean Hot Breakfast, and a rotating range of vegan-based salads to try. Plus, with several tables and chairs, some of which are by the semi-open windows, you can sit down and enjoy it all with a cup of coffee and watch Wan Chai walk by.

Sitting on the first floor of the Green House, a revitalised heritage building in Wan Chai, Maison Meiji offers not one, but three Meiji-era inspired experiences. This includes a fusion by day and refined French-Japanese by night dining concept in The Bistro, specialist teas and coffees with Japanese wagashi in The Coffee & Tea Room, and vinyl music with handcrafted shochu and awamori cocktails to enjoy in the Kuromaru lounge. The Bistro will serve food crafted by executive chef Tatsuo Haruta who will be introducing refined iterations of Western-Japanese kissaten classics which includes his signature omurice and hamburg steak. 

Created by the same cool and creative team of Quality Goods Club, Juicy is a new joint in Kennedy Town that opened as a temporary pop-up and a way to ensure QGC staff would still be employed. It has since blown up in K-town, and everyone is going mad for their fresh fruit juices, slushies, sandwiches, coffee, and cocktails. Try the truffle cheese toastie or the Hero sub with Mortadella, spicy salami, roast ham, provolone, pepperoncini, roasted bell pepper, romaine, and tomato in ciabatta. Plus, they play old school bangers and wicked tunes, what’s not to love?

After five years in their humble digs at Kau U Fong, Cô Thành has relocated to Pacific Place, bringing their signature bún dishes to the swanky mall. Whether it’s the heartwarming beef broth with four cuts of beef in the Bún Bò Huế ($128) or the refreshing tamarind, lemongrass and galangal of  Bún Thái ($128) that gets you going, you can get it all in Admiralty now. Plus, the Vietnamese street gumbo dish Bún Mắm ($128) is back on the menu. There’s also a bunch of Bánh Mì (from $98) available on the menu made with fresh baguettes, pork charcuterie, pate and fresh herbs. 

The new 2,100sq ft space seats up to 100 diners, a fair bit more than their old venue, with different dining areas and a seated bar. The new Cô Thành also offers a selection of cocktails including the Calamansi Sour made with local Two Moons gin distilled with locally-grown calamansi and the Vietnamese Maria which features a spicy blend of garlic, coriander, Vietnamese chilli, and fish sauce. The restaurant also offers non-alcoholic beverages such as Cà Phê Sữa Bánh Flan Trân Châu which is filled with boba pearls and coffee pudding.

Opening its second location in Tsim Sha Tsui, Vietnamese restaurant Xuân is now also in the Gateway Arcade with bright interiors and ocean views. Crowd favourites including the signature beef pho ($158) with add-ons like roasted bone marrow ($50) or egg ($20) are still on the menu as well as mini savoury pancakes made with sea urchin, quail egg, coconut milk and scallion oil in the form of  Banh Khot ($168). Other highlights include crispy suckling pig ($268), Xuân prawn noodles ($198) and, a personal favourite, the Com Ga Hoi An chicken rice ($168) with three yellow chicken, fried egg, turmeric-infused garlic chicken rice, and pickled papaya and carrot. You can also opt for the lunch set (starts from $178) which is available from 11am to 3pm on weekdays. 

Popular pizza joint Dough Bros expands again by opening another branch, it’ll be their seventh location, in Hong Kong. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Dough Bros has also introduced new pizzas: The Texas Hot ($148) and The Maui Deluxe ($158). The Texas Hot is flavoured with smoked Texas sausage, chilli flakes and jalapeños, and The Maui Deluxe has smoked ham, pepperoni, Hawaiian sausage and pineapple. Meanwhile, new desserts come in the form of doughnuts filled with cappuccino cream and caramel twist cream (both $38).