New restaurants to try in Hong Kong this May

What exactly is a sando and sound bar, I hear you ask? Well, there's sandos, the Japanese-style sandwiches filled with egg and bacon, brisket and a vegetarian option, and then there are the tunes that go with it. You can listen to their Spotify playlist here. The concept comes from the guys behind Twins Kitchen, who are also behind coffee and bar Interval in Central. They also have a selection of natural wines, as well as deep-fried goodies such as manto and parma ham, and soy-marinated squid and pickles among other items.

Adding a little Southeast Asian spice to IFC mall, Can Lah (in reference to the Singlish phrase for ‘yes' and 'I can do it') has opened its doors to offer hungry patrons a fun and casual menu packed with flavourful Singaporean-Malaysian dishes. Helmed by award-winning chef Francis Chong Wui-choong, who has worked at high-end establishments in Singapore for many years, the restaurant’s menu is full of classics with a neat little twist made for Hong Kong palates. From Hainanese chicken, dry laksa with lobster and seafood, crispy charcoal black pie tees, and even chilli crab, the restaurant is full of that Sing-Ma flavour we’ve been missing. Can Lah is also offering a chef’s table ‘Singmakase’ that is a tasting menu of sorts filled with the chef's choice of seasonal dishes.

Tucked away in the backstreet alleyway, where Brickhouse used to be, Roji – named after the Japanese word rojiura, meaning alleyway – is a new restaurant and bar offering Japanese food with a touch of French influence. Dishing out fun casual vibes with light bites and creative cocktails to the beat of old school RnB, soul, and hip hop, Roji has a dining room with table seating and high countertops, a slick bar, and a semi-outdoor space with benches to perch on. Food-wise, the menu offers a range of dishes with small bites, starters, hot plates, mains, desserts and rice boxes. Highlights include plump cuts of scallop, a hamachi dish topped with salmon roe, grated bottarga and crispy garlic chip, and a crunchy deep-fried chicken katsu. The menu also offers loaded mini-sized rice pots filled with wagyu or seafood. Wash it all down with a classic highball, saketini, or fruity Kinome cocktail.

From the same people behind Pak Loh Chiu Chow, sister brand Moon Lok Chiu Chow is now expanding from Tung Chung to Tsim Sha Tsui’s Mira Place shopping mall, replacing their previous Chiu Chow brand Chateh. To celebrate the opening/rebranding, Moon Lok Chiu Chow will be offering new specialty dishes and three eight-course set menus (ranging from $498 to $688) designed for sharing. Specialities include the nutritious double-boiled bird’s nest in papaya and a delicate rendition of crispy-skin sea cucumber with crabmeat and pomelo peel. Other dish highlights such as Chiu Chow fried crab with glutinous rice, stir-fried pork ribs in fresh orange sauce, hand-shredded chicken with sesame sauce, Chiu Chow deep-fried sugar-coated taro chips and homemade fish balls with Chinese cabbage are also worth trying.

Cali-Mex has launched a new venue called Studio City by Cali-Mex, opening its doors on Causeway Bay's Food Street at Fashion Walk. The new restaurant continues its fusion of Californian cuisine and traditional Mexican cooking but adds a more creative and upscale touch. Studio City will offer a range of Mexican grilled dishes and sharing plates such as braised beef short rib, tequila marinated tomahawk steaks and tableside guacamole; Mexican street food including tacos, nachos and Mexican Corn on the Cob; and drinks from the 100 percent agave, tequila, and mezcal cocktail bar. Meanwhile, the restaurant, designed by JJ Acuna Bespoke Studio, gives off downtown LA vibes in an energetic and stylish space.

French roast chicken joint La Rotisserie, which has branches in Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai and Quarry Bay, has recently opened up a new branch on Staunton street to bring French home-style cooking to the heart of Central. The new venue offers much of the same items including roast chicken with sides, salads and sandwiches, but will also offer a new addition to the menu in the form of roast duck breast. The new shop seats 15 with an outdoor space for alfresco drinks and touch screen panels for quick ordering and payment.

Chef-owner Vicky Cheng of VEA has opened his second venture, Wing, a new Chinese restaurant replacing VEA Lounge, the 29th-floor bar below the restaurant which closed its doors late last year. At Wing, Chinese classics will be reimagined with dishes that cover the eight major regional cuisines while combining Western culinary techniques. Think crispy skin sugarcane glazed pigeon, chopped chilli fish maw, and king crab congee with chicken oil, all of which will focus on local and indigenous produce and ingredients. A tasting menu is available at $1,580 per person.

Dubbed Belon 2.0, the new Belon is officially open on Elgin Street (the signage is discreet, so just look up above Ho Lee Fook) with a new vibe, menu, and chef. The revamp sees Baltimore native and chef Matthew Kirkley, who has worked at a number of Michelin-starred establishments, including Hong Kong's very own Amber, where he worked as chef de cuisine with Richard Ekkebus, as well as L20 and COI restaurant in the US, at the helm. New signature dishes include a colourful turbot with beurre cancalaise; artfully plated salade gourmande with veal tongue, foie gras, black truffle, and haricots vert; and a rich and flavourful sausage wrapped in bread otherwise known as cervelas en brioche, and a reinvigorated version of the pigeon pithivier.

You may have heard of high-speed sushi, but have you tried bullet train yakiniku? Well, now you can, thanks to the new restaurant and Japanese BBQ grill brand Wagyu Yakiniku Ichiro in Jordan. The new dining destination offers unlimited Wagyu set menus (for 120 minutes) with ‘Shinkansen bullet trains’ bringing food to the table, as well as all-you-can-eat or drink (up to $78) at the self-service salad, drink, dessert, and ice cream bars. The contactless service also includes award-winning Odagyu A4 Wagyu from the Oda Chikusan ranch on the remote southwestern tip of Japan, which features rich marbling for all the best melt-in-your-mouth yakiniku moments. Set menus range from $348 to $1,048, with some including other meats such as beef tongue, fresh seafood, beef sashimi, sushi and much more. Meanwhile, the free-flow bars offer a variety of salad, over 40 desserts and ice creams, Japanese rice waters, fresh fruit juices.

When Café Gray Deluxe closed on New Year’s Day this year, we all wondered what would replace the dining destination on the 49th floor of the Upper House. It was revealed last month that this would be Salisterra, the new Mediterranean restaurant named after the Latin words for salt and earth, with a dining concept spearheaded by London-based American born Japanese-British chef Jun Tanaka and a menu highlighting the coastal cuisines of France and Italy. The new boldly coloured restaurant space, much like the rest of the luxury hotel, has also been designed by Hong Kong architect André Fu. The restaurant is set to open its doors in mid-April.

Located in the pavilion of The Murray hotel, Mián is a newly launched restaurant that celebrates the eight major Chinese cuisines with a menu that embraces the heritage and traditions of each region in creative new dishes. Named after the Chinese word for cotton, for their Cotton Tree Drive address, the new restaurant is helmed by Sichuan-born chef Ronald Shao who has created an extensive a la carte menu with dim sum and executive business lunches available during the day. Menu highlights include a Sichuan-style poached tiger grouper with assorted chillies, seafood, egg and local soy sauce, fried rice, and much more. Word has it that a Chinese-inspired afternoon tea will also be introduced in the coming months.

The team behind Sai Ying Pun’s funky Japanese style izakaya Katsumoto has opened its doors to a new outlet with a menu based on their signature sandos. Situated on Hollywood Road, behind Man Hing Lane, the new eatery is offering everything from Wagyu to pork katsu sandos in a fun setting filled with booths and high-top bar chairs, surrounded by similar Japanese-inspired wall art and samurai artefacts.

Opening a second outlet in Soho, after its beachside location in Repulse bay, Amalfitana is now serving their Italian brick oven pizzas in the heart of Central. Hoping to bring a little Amalfi Coast to Wyndham street, the new restaurant is headed by pizzaiolo Michel Delgi Agosti and will offer pizza created with a long rising dough for light bases topped with a variety of Italian toppings, as well as seasonal small plates and refreshing salads. Drinks-wise, the restaurant’s bar also offers Southern Italy inspired drinks such as Hugo Watermelone, featuring salted watermelon, Italicus bergamot liqueur, and bianco vermouth, topped with the fizz of soda and prosecco and Parmesan Sour made up of Rye whiskey, almond wine, fresh citrus, and egg whites, finished grated parmesan, along with bar snacks to go with it all.

DPD, which stands for Dai Pai Dong, is a deluxe version of the open-air food stall we know and love. Offering both Western and Chinese cuisine, DPD Deluxe is a new international-style restaurant in Fortress Hill. The neighbourhood’s AIA Tower welcomes a spacious dining area with floor-to-ceiling windows and marble walls. DPD Deluxe’s menu is bound to please all palates. From Italian inspired spaghetti aglio e olio with Hokkaido scallops and French blue mussels pot with garlic and rosemary cream sauce to sweet and sour pork with spicy sauce, sizzling claypot with Chinese lettuce and shrimp paste, and more.

This new American steakhouse is set up near the waterfront of Tung Chung and hopes to appease hungry carnivores with USDA prime-aged beef. Using dry-aged cuts – ranging from 21 to 30 days – the flavourful beef is in dishes such as USDA Porterhouse and beef tartare, oven-roasted bone marrow, and beef short rib, among others. Non-beef options include barbecue smoked spring chicken, pan-seared seabass, lamb burgers, and much more. The kitchen is headed by Moroccan executive chef Faycal El Moujahid, who you may recognise from Tiki-inspired restaurant and bar, Cabana Breeze. The restaurant also features a cocktail bar with a pool table to enjoy a few games and sip on cocktails while listening to American classics.

Man Wah, the Cantonese restaurant at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, was recently given a huge makeover, and the result is gorgeous. In elegant dark azure tones, the interior is accented with brass elements and Chinese embroidered art panels on the wall, adding a sense of refined elegance to the whole experience. But that's not all. The menu was also given a revamp with dishes that sing the song of Cantonese classics in a refined and understated manner, all the while championing these age-old flavours for a modern palate. Seafood lovers can opt for the seemingly simple sautéed lobster cooked in a rich superior fish broth packed with flavour and umami, while those that enjoy local cuisine can try a Hakka-style braised pork belly with taro which shines a light on village cuisine in the most sophisticated manner.

This new Italian eatery, with its Instagram-friendly pale pink interior and French windows, offers three floors of dining space – private dining floor, large open kitchen, cocktail bar and all – in the heart of Sai Ying Pun. It also happens to be next door to the Time Out Hong Kong office, so we’re more than excited to try out their Cicchetti-inspired menu (small bites style) created by executive chef and Amber alumnus, Anthony Cheung. Think scallop carpaccio with pineapple, yuzu, extra virgin olive oil, and shiso flower; crispy fritto misto with scallop, squid and shrimp; duck leg ragu pappardelle with chicken liver and parmesan; braised oxtail ravioli; rustic tiramisu and loads more. Casa’s menu also features a selection of cocktails and mocktails to enjoy inside or in the semi-al fresco open windows setting. The restaurant is currently only open for happy hour and dinner in April.