Biggest dining trends for 2023, according to Hong Kong chefs

Global cuisines will continue to take off in 2023. Based on the most recent list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which features notable establishments such as Pujol, Mexico City (number five) and A Casa do Porco, Sao Paulo (number seven), Theign Phan, head chef of Grand Majestic Sichuan, anticipates that “South American restaurants will have a big boom next year and continue to gain more recognition around the world”. 

Closer to home, Asian cuisines will be put under the spotlight. Chef Edward Voon of Auor foresees a rise in “Peranakan restaurants that feature Nyonya traditions from Malaysia and Singapore” and “smaller F&B outlets that showcase cultural cuisines with a modern presentation”. ArChan Chan, head chef of Ho Lee Fook, looks forward to seeing more refined Korean restaurants emerging in 2023. “There is more to Korean food than KBBQ. I’m excited to see the fine-quality products that will come out of it,” Chan says. 

With international travel back on the agenda, not only do we get to enjoy the global cuisines available here in Hong Kong, there will be an influx of overseas chefs who will bring along with them exciting new collaboration opportunities.

"I am hoping to see more collaboration with international chefs. Them coming to Hong Kong and us outside of Hong Kong," says Edward Voon of Auor." The culinary world is vast; through these opportunities, chefs can exchange ideas, and it will bring a lot of exciting creations onto their menus," he adds.  

Many restaurants have already made plans to welcome international guest chefs to their home kitchens in 2023. Chef Peter Find of Heimat hopes to host a full range of "German wine events such as Riesling tasting, wine appreciation master classes, interactive wine dinners, as well as bring in overseas winemakers and guest chefs in the later half of the year".

Others have gone ahead and recently invited overseas chefs to their restaurants for collaborative dinners. "We partnered with Fuchsia Dunlop in November, which was our first collaboration since opening Grand Majestic Sichuan. Getting to work with her in person was an eye-opening experience," says Theign Phan of Grand Majestic Sichuan.

Aside from international chefs coming to Hong Kong, chefs here are prepared to go on overseas trips too. Among the first to fly out in the new year, Edwin Guzman, chef de cuisine of Zoku, will be visiting Kyushu, Japan in January to meet with local suppliers and producers. “I will visit Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki to learn more about their culture and food. These regions have been producing a lot of high-quality produce at relatively low costs. I’m excited to go on more trips where I get to explore new flavours,” he says.

Peter Find of Heimat anticipates that “restaurants will struggle a bit since many customers are keen to travel again and spend money elsewhere”. Leonard Cheung of Cultivate agrees, “After the New Year’s, Hongkongers will continue to save up on their money – not spending it on restaurants, bars, hotels, or spas in Hong Kong – so that they can fly out at the end of January during the Chinese New Year break.”

Although “we will have to work harder to keep diners interested in the local Hong Kong food scene as they will be able to expand their choices overseas,” Theign Phan of Grand Majestic Sichuan remains hopeful that “as inbound travellers return to the city, they will bring back with them a refreshing and vibrant atmosphere to Hong Kong’s dining scene”.

Given the challenging circumstances that the F&B industry has experienced in the last three years, there’s a lot to be said about how restaurants were able to stay resilient to constant changes and unknowns. 

“During the pandemic, the F&B world truly divided and conquered, coming up with all these ideas for survival,” proclaims Edward Voon of Auor. For instance, collaborations between chefs and bartenders massively took off in Hong Kong during this time. “As restaurants, chefs, and bars navigated their way through the many restrictions and difficulties just to stay in business, I believe our eyes were really opened to how exciting, and interesting collaborative opportunities could be,” says Edwin Guzman of Zoku.

Or as ArChan Chan of Ho Lee Fook puts it, “F&B will never die, despite the fact that it is an extremely difficult industry.”