New restaurants to try in Hong Kong this October

This perennial favourite, which is best known for its roast goose and Cantonese cuisine delights, has returned after major renovation across two of its four floors. We're talking about booth seating updated with comfortable cushions on the ground floor, and In the Mood for Love inspired settings on the first floor in pink and green tones with embroidered peonies on the walls. They've also gotten rid of the tablecloths and removed most of the carpet to reveal the original Italian floor tiles that were underneath. Meanwhile, the second floor now enjoys a 'Grand Dining' concept which features Yung Kee’s dragon and phoenix stage, preserved artefacts, majestic wood carvings and more to set the scene for your meal.

The menu still honours Cantonese culinary traditions with dishes such as Signature charcoal roasted goose, smoked pork belly with pine nuts, and roasted pigeon legs with stir-fried pigeon fillet, among others that bring back their legions of loyal fans. Yung Kee has also revamped some more traditional recipes including their sea cucumber stuffed with diced garoupa, salted fish and minced pork which aims to please modern palates, and crispy toast with mixed shrimps and lobster tail which elevates the classic prawn toast.

New Korean-Italian restaurant and bar Ppalli Ppalli, which means ‘hurry hurry’ and sounds a bit like the numbers ‘82 82’ in Korean, looks like a stainless steel spaceship in the middle of Sham Shui Po. Neon signs hoping to let the ‘good times roll’ meet concrete walls, glass bricks and an ever-changing programmatic light installation for that sci-fi time travel effect. The menu is full of creative fusion dishes inspired by Korean food with a base of traditional Italian recipes, including things such as Ssam Bouquet ($58 for one or $118 for sharing) with slow-cooked pork belly with Korean perilla leaves, lettuce and Korean hot sauce; Yukhoe Toast ($158) with Korean style raw beef tartare, pears, mullet roe, British horseradish and cucumber; and Samsaek Perdu ($58) with homemade pains au lait topped with seasonal fruits, lemon sauce and white chocolate mousse, among others. Drinks-wise, Ppalli Ppalli are also bringing a select number of Korean makgeolli and craft beer to Hong Kong for the first time.

Opened by the same team behind Nepalese dumpling house Momoz, Sicilian is an Italian restaurant where comfort is the name of the game. The new 58-seat eatery is located on Hollywood Road in Central and will focus on dishes made from fresh Sicilian produce, taking diners from breakfast to dinner and cocktail hour with their own unique take on Italian cuisine. Highlights from the menu include seared scallop served with a sauce of cauliflower and coffee ($158); handmade pasta with crab, cherry tomato and pine nuts ($148); Mezze Maniche marsala masala lamb ($208) which is pasta with stewed lamb, red curry and marsala wine, and much more. Not forgetting desserts, there’s also Sicilian-style cannoli ($98), traditional Sicilian almond and marzipan cake ($118), and something they call Chocolate Therapy ($158) to tempt us all. 

As one of Chongqing’s cultural symbols, spicy hot pot is one of the most popular culinary traditions of the region. This month, Liu’s Chong Qing Hot Pot opens in Festival Walk shopping mall, bringing that signature Chongqing flavour to Kowloon Tong. They are also offering a new and improved recipe for the restaurant’s signature Liu’s Mala Spicy Soup ($168/full pot; $98/half pot) with clarified beef tallow, spicy fermented bean paste, salted black bean, peppers and local Chongqing chillies, Chinese herbs and spices. You can even choose your preferred spice level so you don’t have to take the burn if you don’t want to! Signature dishes include Liu’s trio beef platter ($638) made up of Kagoshima A4 Wagyu chuck rib, USA prime short rib and Kagoshima pork belly; ma la beef ($198); a platter with Chongqing imported beef tripe, goose intestine, duck’s blood, pig’s kidney and liver ($158); and fresh seafood such as Australian lobsters, geoduck, or shellfish.

Named after the Japanese ideology that gives an individual sense of purpose and a reason for living, Ikigai Concepts is a new multifaceted Japanese dining and lifestyle hub that takes up a whopping 12,000sq ft space in Nina Mall II in Tsuen Wan West. The new space has five zones including an omakase counter, kushiyaki grill, washoku kitchen, teppanyaki bar, sake tasting lounge and bar, and two private dining rooms. So, whether you’re in the mood for sushi and sashimi, which for omakase lunch ($380 per person) or dinner ($780 per person) is really quite affordable, grilled skewers, teppanyaki or other Japanese culinary delights, it seems Ikigai Concepts has you covered. The sake bar even has an interactive vending dispensary in which you can scan menu QR codes for instant information on flavour, food pairing, popularity and sommelier’s choice.

Another food hall to grace our city is 70s Food Dining by Vintage House which hosts a total of six dining concepts covering both local and international cuisine as well as a dine-in Italian Japanese fusion restaurant called Earth on the first floor. Situated in Tsim Tsa Tsui, the new two-floor dining destination offers everything from Southeast Asian dishes at House of Asian Flavours (亞洲香味屋); skewers, satay, pad thai and more at Thai Grill; vegan and veggie delights from A Taste of Victory (凱之味); Chongqing and Sichuan flavours at Ma Spicy Cuisine (馬麻辣); and premium fast food at Treasures Burger. For a sit-down meal, Earth offers a tasting menu featuring Italian dishes made using fresh Japanese ingredients such as slow-cooked honey-roasted Barbarie duck breast with lemon and green soybean sauce, tuna tartare served with a homemade wasabi dressing, Bostonian lobster with Hokkaido scallop linguine and more. The Vintage House part of the concept can be seen with the arched Victorian style double doors, retro ceiling fans, vintage green chairs and bamboo lamps. The plan is, once social distancing restrictions lift, to open 24 hours a day.

It’s all about traditional Sichuan cuisine at Chuan, which has opened at Time Square in Causeway Bay to offer regional delicacies, hot pot, and handmade dim sum to Hongkongers. Fiery dish highlights on the menu include sautéed diced chicken with spicy red chilli (large $428; regular $318), steamed grilled green chilli with geoduck ($158), prawns with white pepper from Hainan Island in a casserole ($468), and much more. There’s also spicy Sichuan hot pot options with soup bases such as spicy Sichuan ($188), beef offal ($388), chicken and pork tripe with white pepper and pickles pot ($428). As for Sichuan style dim sum, think spicy crispy bun stuffed with roasted goose ($68), steamed rice rolls with beef and meat floss in Sichuan spicy sauce ($68) and steamed Shanghainese dumplings with spicy soup ($58), among other hot bites.

Located on the basement level of The Peninsula hotel, new Japanese restaurant Kushiro gives the omakase experience at other Hong Kong luxury hotels a run for their money. Using fresh seafood direct from Japanese fish markets, Kushiro’s expert team of talented Japanese chefs create an enticing omakase meal (lunch $880 for 19 dishes; dinner $1,980-$2,780 for 21 to 24 dishes) including appetisers, main dishes, sushi, soup and dessert. The water used to cook the sushi rice is said to have been sourced from the top of Mount Fuji in Japan to pair with the world-class ingredients including golden sturgeon caviar from Germany, French blue lobster, abalone from Mie Prefecture, Hokkaido sea urchin, and A4 Wagyu beef from Miyazaki Prefecture, to name a few. Inside, the interior is based on a moon-themed Japanese garden that flows from the entrance to the main dining area, whereby each section of the restaurant is inspired by different phases of the moon.