Hong Kong restaurant reviews

Hong Kong has a complicated relationship with tacos. They’re often soggy and insipid or tiny and overpriced. Taqueria Super Macho, however, hopes to hit the sweet spot between high- and lowbrow, serving tacos inspired by Mexico’s coastal cuisine in a lively but casual atmosphere. ‘Lively but casual’ might be an understatement, though. Every time the door opens, the floor and bar staff shout ‘¡Bienvenidos!’ And, frequently, the corrido music pumping through the speakers is broken by the unmistakable saxophone riff of Tequila Song by The Champs and the room erupts in a chorus of ‘¡tequila!’ The margarita pitchers are novelty-sized sharing glasses. Sombreros appear on strangers’ heads. It is, in short, a fiesta. And the drinks keep partygoers well-lubricated. The margaritas – classic, passion fruit or mango, on the rocks or frozen ($88) – are potent and delicious. Five house cocktails, including a riff on the Michelada called Viva México ($88), provide an alternative to margaritas and run-of-the-mill Mexican lagers like Pacífico, Dos Equis, Corona and Modelo Negra ($58 each, or $298 for a bucket of six).  While the vibe may be more Señor Frog’s than Frontera Grill, when it comes to food expect more than you would get from your standard cantina. Black Sheep Restaurants founder Christopher Mark and development chef Billy Otis spent months scouring the Mexican coast, sampling taco after taco in search of culinary inspiration. They returned to Hong Kong with recipes that seem sim

Inside many of us there exists a burning desire to connect with our roots. Most people will never fulfil that desire. Chef Que Vinh Dang, however, is not most people. Born in Vietnam and raised in New York, where he learned classical French cooking and cut his teeth under culinary icons Geoffrey Zakarian and Rocco DiSpirito, the chef has returned to his roots with his latest restaurant, Nhau. Dang, for the uninitiated, was behind two popular but now defunct Hong Kong restaurants showcasing French techniques and contemporary American cooking: TBLS and Quest by Que. After closing Quest, the chef took a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from the dining scene before opening Nhau in 2019. Rather than reverting to the broad spectrum of Western flavours again, the chef looked to the country of his birth for a fresh angle. If that wasn’t obvious in the name – Nhau translates to ‘together’, as in to eat and drink together – it should become clear as soon as you step foot in the dining room. From the rattan chairs and hand-painted ceramic tiles to the pastel yellow walls, a colour favoured by French colonialists, the design screams ‘Southeast Asia’. The beautiful aesthetics, as well as the tucked-away location just off Upper Lascar Row, are pure bait for well-heeled socialites. Never mind the décor and crowds, though. The food transcends them all. Nhau packs a lot of punch into a one-page menu. Sour, spicy, salty, funky, fresh – every dish captures that distinct blend of disparate flavours

There was nothing quiet about the opening of Silencio. One of the city’s most talked about new tables generated tons of hype this spring. Perhaps with good reason. The restaurant, billed as a sort of contemporary izakaya and jazz bar rolled into one, is part of the Le Comptoir group. And that group recently got the city’s ears perked up when one of its projects, Ecriture, earned two Michelin stars in an unusually short amount of time. As in, less than a year after opening. But one restaurant can only ride the coattails of another so far. Though backed by a red-hot restaurant group, Silencio too often falls flat when it has to speak for itself. Silencio occupies what used to be the second floor of Lily & Bloom in LKF Tower. Oddball artwork by Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita decorates the walls, including a provocative portrait of two topless gaijin in the entryway. Gokita’s greyscale aesthetic works like a foil to the restaurant’s gold accents — gold fabrics, gold chopsticks, black paint oozing down gold walls, all of which work together to set a swank tone. In the back of the dining space stands a band that belts out smooth jazz. If you’re into the music, get a seat at the bar, where you can watch the band without having to crane your neck or lean your body across the table.  While it's certainly chic, the setting might be a bit too polished for its own good, the very idea of an izakaya spit-shined to a treacly sheen. But the design isn’t what you’re after anyway. You're here

The latest venue from the 298HK group (298 Nikuya, Porker) shifts the focus from yakiniku to yakitori. Based on name alone, it should be obvious what you're getting yourself into: lots of grilled chicken, from livers and hearts to smoky, crispy skin, thighs and wings. Apart from the bird, the restaurant offers a few succulent cuts of pork belly and Japanese beef as well. And there's a decent selection of sake, shochu and highballs to wash it all down.

Authentic Taiwanese is the unicorn of the HK foodie scene – it’s rumoured to exist, but difficult to substantiate. But with the opening of Yuan is Here, on the slopes of Sai Ying Pun, this could change. This successful street-food chain has a huge following in Taiwan. The exterior is true to its roots (even its address plate is designed to look like a street sign in Taipei) and looks exactly like what you might encounter in the night markets of Taiwan. At 2pm, there’s still a sizeable lineup outside, so we hurriedly order the recommended dishes and wait with anticipation. The first to arrive is the signature fatty minced pork on rice ($27), which comes in a decent sized bowl. The fat ratio here is key – too much and the oil overwhelms, too little and the rice is dry. This bowl manages to stay in the golden zone effortlessly, which earns our trust for the rest of the meal. Next, we try the oyster omelette ($35), which eschews the marble-sized oysters popular in Taiwan in favour of larger, plumper ones that are surprisingly juicy. The one dish that needs some fine-tuning is the salt and pepper chicken ($30), which is on the dry side. Mostly though, the prices are positively dirt-cheap for the quality provided. The simplicity of the whole setup is part of its appeal – there’s nothing fancy here, just a traditional style of home cooking, designed to take odds and ends and turn them into a mouth watering meal. It’s no wonder this place is already attracting the crowds. Jessica L

The quiet stretch of Oi Kwan Road has lit up recently with the arrival of a neon sign showing two monkeys. Depicted in chef uniforms and wielding strands of noodle and slabs of beef, these novel creatures are the mascots of Mashi No Mashi, the first wagyu tsukemen restaurant in town. This new spot boasts serious street cred, being co-opened by the same team behind neighbouring Wagyumafia (aka the creators of the world’s most expensive beef sandwich) as well as La Rambla and Elephant Grounds. Much like its slightly older sister restaurant next door, Mashi No Mashi is cool and minimalistic, with counter seating that only runs 12 chairs deep. The service is equally simple, with an automated ticket machine near the entrance from which guests place their orders. There are only three noodles to choose from – the regular tsukemen ($80), wagyu tsukemen ($130) and the tokusei wagyu tsukemen ($160). We go for the most expensive option, which comes with around 150g of noodles topped with a slice of Kobe beef, bamboo shoots, cabbage, nori and half a soft-boiled egg. The main attraction, of course, is the meat, which is the same Ozaki beef used at Wagyumafia. The brisket is used here, chosen especially for its balanced fat-to-meat ratio. It’s served as a large, thin sheet and, torched to our requested medium, melts like warm butter on the tongue. Tokusei wagyu tsukemen If wagyu is the star though, then the dipping sauce is the soul. At Mashi No Mashi, the complex and layered base is

Pierre Gaganaire's protege Philippe Orrico takes over at the Hullett House's modern European restaurant. The dishes are grounded by classic French technique but infused with chef Orrico's own creative flair. Shopping, eating and fucking seem to be the major preoccupations of Hong Kong’s wealthy elite, if the just-opened 1881 Heritage development is anything to judge by. You can idle your time in the Mont Blanc or Piaget stores, eat in the cafés and restaurants of the fabulous Hullett House, which overlooks this upmarket shopping development, or even slip upstairs to one of the hotel’s 11 bedrooms for some afternoon delight if you’re able to afford its shamelessly high prices. There’s nothing else in Hong Kong quite like Hullett House, the new name for the old Marine Police Headquarters at the tip of Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s one of the best examples of restored British colonial architecture in this former colony. Restaurateur David Yeo and his team at the Aqua Group are behind the sympathetic decor which enhances the Victorian building’s grandeur. Among the several options are a cocktail bar kitted out in chinoiserie, a British-style pub, a café with terrace, a top-whack Chinese restaurant, and a tapestry-lined restaurant serving Modern European food curiously called St. George, which is where we planted ourselves for the evening. Starters at St. George range from $120 up to $240; main courses from $190 up to $680 (for wagyu beef); desserts all $140. This is a lot of money by any

Transforming the old Marine Police Headquarters into Hullett House, an 11-room boutique hotel complete with five wining-and-dining outlets, was no mean feat. The project is a testament to what can be achieved when we decide to preserve our historical buildings. Occupying prime Tsim Sha Tsui real estate, the colonial gem has being painstakingly restored and converted by David Yeo and his team from Aqua Group. First to open is stunning tea room/all-day restaurant The Parlour. The early-colonial-Hong Kong-themed bar and dining rooms (there are three in total) open to a grand outdoor balcony complete with replica Qing Dynasty chairs and a view of our windowless Cultural Centre. The interior design is beautifully done, with meticulous attention to Old World details. But that is what Yeo is known for, with past projects including Hutong, Aqua Tokyo/Roma, and Yun Fu. All are fanciful, design-heavy restaurants offering solid if unspectacular food, and it’s a track record the team may well be able to improve upon with The Parlour. The environment alone – the aged wall murals of Hong Kong’s harbour in the early 1900s, the black-lacquered bar, the elevated views of Heritage 1881’s promenade – provides ample illustration of the lengths to which the team has gone to provide a wonderful dining experience. The staff seem genuinely happy to see you, and are enthusiastic about introducing the restaurant’s features. The wait staff get a nod for their knowledge of the brand new menu. We asked

We’ve been saying for a long time that culinary excellence is to be found at the far end of Hollywood Road, now here’s the evidence.  Wagyu Kaiseki Den quietly opened up for a select few on Valentine’s Day. Since then, the restaurant has quickly filled with the devoted posse of Peter Lam, who has also invested in The China Club, Island Tang, and China Tang in London. You can expect to find as much flashness and exclusivity here as in his other hotspots, but this time simplified to a shiny black box where the kitchen takes centre stage. At time of press, they would not allow interior photos to be taken (hence the external shot that accompanies this review), and there are no walk-ins – you will be turned away if you try. Behind an unassuming entrance at the Central Park Hotel, a sliding door leads to a split-level black-on-black dining room and sake bar. Flintstones-sized Kobe ribs are encased in individual glass refrigerators lining the wall – like some kind of bovine coroner facility – hand carried from Japan due to their high value. There are only eight seats at the bar, lining what must be the gold standard of open kitchens. While there are two oversized private rooms that can each seat ten diners comfortably, all the fun is to be had at the counter, where you can watch the masters at work. Each operating day, just enough ingredients are bought to feed the exact number of reservations. By that, we mean exactly three cuts of chu-toro, two shrimps, and one goose liver per

Hot on the heels of earning a Michelin star barely a year into the opening of his first solo project, Upper Modern Bistro, chef Philippe Orrico has teamed up with three long-time mates to open a more ambitious project in the heart of Central. Perched on the top floors of a snazzy new building on 18 On Lan Street, On boasts quite the star lineup. The general manager is Jeremy Evrard, former director of restaurants at the Four Seasons, and the sommelier and operations manager is Nicolas Deneux of Grand Hyatt and Alain Ducasse fame. At the helm in the bar is head barman Giancarlo Mancino who consulted for Il Milione and the three Michelin-starred Otto e Mezzo Bombana. This congregation of greats seems a sure-fire recipe for success and as the elevator winches us up ahead of our meal on the 29th floor we have high hopes, to say the least. We enter on to a plush lounge area with velvet blue chairs and a small terrace for outdoor dining. Downstairs is the main dining room where an open kitchen bounded by white marble walls emits a classy 50s feel, alongside accents of red curtaining opposite. The formal menu features starters, mains and desserts – and, following the success of the cheese room at Caprice in the Four Seasons, we are pleased to learn that On is also equipped with a cheese bar and a comprehensive complementing list of dessert wines. We launch into our meal with a spicy beef and tuna tartare ($168). Though we’ve seen something familiar on chef Orrico’s menu before, th

Inside many of us there exists a burning desire to connect with our roots. Most people will never fulfil that desire. Chef Que Vinh Dang, however, is not most people. Born in Vietnam and raised in New York, where he learned classical French cooking and cut his teeth under culinary icons Geoffrey Zakarian and Rocco DiSpirito, the chef has returned to his roots with his latest restaurant, Nhau. Dang, for the uninitiated, was behind two popular but now defunct Hong Kong restaurants showcasing French techniques and contemporary American cooking: TBLS and Quest by Que. After closing Quest, the chef took a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from the dining scene before opening Nhau in 2019. Rather than reverting to the broad spectrum of Western flavours again, the chef looked to the country of his birth for a fresh angle. If that wasn’t obvious in the name – Nhau translates to ‘together’, as in to eat and drink together – it should become clear as soon as you step foot in the dining room. From the rattan chairs and hand-painted ceramic tiles to the pastel yellow walls, a colour favoured by French colonialists, the design screams ‘Southeast Asia’. The beautiful aesthetics, as well as the tucked-away location just off Upper Lascar Row, are pure bait for well-heeled socialites. Never mind the décor and crowds, though. The food transcends them all. Nhau packs a lot of punch into a one-page menu. Sour, spicy, salty, funky, fresh – every dish captures that distinct blend of disparate flavours

The latest venue from the 298HK group (298 Nikuya, Porker) shifts the focus from yakiniku to yakitori. Based on name alone, it should be obvious what you're getting yourself into: lots of grilled chicken, from livers and hearts to smoky, crispy skin, thighs and wings. Apart from the bird, the restaurant offers a few succulent cuts of pork belly and Japanese beef as well. And there's a decent selection of sake, shochu and highballs to wash it all down.

Authentic Taiwanese is the unicorn of the HK foodie scene – it’s rumoured to exist, but difficult to substantiate. But with the opening of Yuan is Here, on the slopes of Sai Ying Pun, this could change. This successful street-food chain has a huge following in Taiwan. The exterior is true to its roots (even its address plate is designed to look like a street sign in Taipei) and looks exactly like what you might encounter in the night markets of Taiwan. At 2pm, there’s still a sizeable lineup outside, so we hurriedly order the recommended dishes and wait with anticipation. The first to arrive is the signature fatty minced pork on rice ($27), which comes in a decent sized bowl. The fat ratio here is key – too much and the oil overwhelms, too little and the rice is dry. This bowl manages to stay in the golden zone effortlessly, which earns our trust for the rest of the meal. Next, we try the oyster omelette ($35), which eschews the marble-sized oysters popular in Taiwan in favour of larger, plumper ones that are surprisingly juicy. The one dish that needs some fine-tuning is the salt and pepper chicken ($30), which is on the dry side. Mostly though, the prices are positively dirt-cheap for the quality provided. The simplicity of the whole setup is part of its appeal – there’s nothing fancy here, just a traditional style of home cooking, designed to take odds and ends and turn them into a mouth watering meal. It’s no wonder this place is already attracting the crowds. Jessica L

The quiet stretch of Oi Kwan Road has lit up recently with the arrival of a neon sign showing two monkeys. Depicted in chef uniforms and wielding strands of noodle and slabs of beef, these novel creatures are the mascots of Mashi No Mashi, the first wagyu tsukemen restaurant in town. This new spot boasts serious street cred, being co-opened by the same team behind neighbouring Wagyumafia (aka the creators of the world’s most expensive beef sandwich) as well as La Rambla and Elephant Grounds. Much like its slightly older sister restaurant next door, Mashi No Mashi is cool and minimalistic, with counter seating that only runs 12 chairs deep. The service is equally simple, with an automated ticket machine near the entrance from which guests place their orders. There are only three noodles to choose from – the regular tsukemen ($80), wagyu tsukemen ($130) and the tokusei wagyu tsukemen ($160). We go for the most expensive option, which comes with around 150g of noodles topped with a slice of Kobe beef, bamboo shoots, cabbage, nori and half a soft-boiled egg. The main attraction, of course, is the meat, which is the same Ozaki beef used at Wagyumafia. The brisket is used here, chosen especially for its balanced fat-to-meat ratio. It’s served as a large, thin sheet and, torched to our requested medium, melts like warm butter on the tongue. Tokusei wagyu tsukemen If wagyu is the star though, then the dipping sauce is the soul. At Mashi No Mashi, the complex and layered base is

Transforming the old Marine Police Headquarters into Hullett House, an 11-room boutique hotel complete with five wining-and-dining outlets, was no mean feat. The project is a testament to what can be achieved when we decide to preserve our historical buildings. Occupying prime Tsim Sha Tsui real estate, the colonial gem has being painstakingly restored and converted by David Yeo and his team from Aqua Group. First to open is stunning tea room/all-day restaurant The Parlour. The early-colonial-Hong Kong-themed bar and dining rooms (there are three in total) open to a grand outdoor balcony complete with replica Qing Dynasty chairs and a view of our windowless Cultural Centre. The interior design is beautifully done, with meticulous attention to Old World details. But that is what Yeo is known for, with past projects including Hutong, Aqua Tokyo/Roma, and Yun Fu. All are fanciful, design-heavy restaurants offering solid if unspectacular food, and it’s a track record the team may well be able to improve upon with The Parlour. The environment alone – the aged wall murals of Hong Kong’s harbour in the early 1900s, the black-lacquered bar, the elevated views of Heritage 1881’s promenade – provides ample illustration of the lengths to which the team has gone to provide a wonderful dining experience. The staff seem genuinely happy to see you, and are enthusiastic about introducing the restaurant’s features. The wait staff get a nod for their knowledge of the brand new menu. We asked

We’ve been saying for a long time that culinary excellence is to be found at the far end of Hollywood Road, now here’s the evidence.  Wagyu Kaiseki Den quietly opened up for a select few on Valentine’s Day. Since then, the restaurant has quickly filled with the devoted posse of Peter Lam, who has also invested in The China Club, Island Tang, and China Tang in London. You can expect to find as much flashness and exclusivity here as in his other hotspots, but this time simplified to a shiny black box where the kitchen takes centre stage. At time of press, they would not allow interior photos to be taken (hence the external shot that accompanies this review), and there are no walk-ins – you will be turned away if you try. Behind an unassuming entrance at the Central Park Hotel, a sliding door leads to a split-level black-on-black dining room and sake bar. Flintstones-sized Kobe ribs are encased in individual glass refrigerators lining the wall – like some kind of bovine coroner facility – hand carried from Japan due to their high value. There are only eight seats at the bar, lining what must be the gold standard of open kitchens. While there are two oversized private rooms that can each seat ten diners comfortably, all the fun is to be had at the counter, where you can watch the masters at work. Each operating day, just enough ingredients are bought to feed the exact number of reservations. By that, we mean exactly three cuts of chu-toro, two shrimps, and one goose liver per

Hot on the heels of earning a Michelin star barely a year into the opening of his first solo project, Upper Modern Bistro, chef Philippe Orrico has teamed up with three long-time mates to open a more ambitious project in the heart of Central. Perched on the top floors of a snazzy new building on 18 On Lan Street, On boasts quite the star lineup. The general manager is Jeremy Evrard, former director of restaurants at the Four Seasons, and the sommelier and operations manager is Nicolas Deneux of Grand Hyatt and Alain Ducasse fame. At the helm in the bar is head barman Giancarlo Mancino who consulted for Il Milione and the three Michelin-starred Otto e Mezzo Bombana. This congregation of greats seems a sure-fire recipe for success and as the elevator winches us up ahead of our meal on the 29th floor we have high hopes, to say the least. We enter on to a plush lounge area with velvet blue chairs and a small terrace for outdoor dining. Downstairs is the main dining room where an open kitchen bounded by white marble walls emits a classy 50s feel, alongside accents of red curtaining opposite. The formal menu features starters, mains and desserts – and, following the success of the cheese room at Caprice in the Four Seasons, we are pleased to learn that On is also equipped with a cheese bar and a comprehensive complementing list of dessert wines. We launch into our meal with a spicy beef and tuna tartare ($168). Though we’ve seen something familiar on chef Orrico’s menu before, th

It seems nowadays, to become a Hong Kong legend, a restaurant needs to shut down once it has become stale and reopen years later for a grand comeback. This is the case for Hugo’s, which went away for a two-year hiatus when the old Hyatt Regency was torn down to become the new iSquare. The old boys’ club was a place for business deals over whisky and marriage proposals over chocolate bonbons.   The menu, prepared by chef Richard Sawyer from The Wolseley and Mon Plaisir in London, is filled with the oldies but goodies such as prawn cocktail, steak tartare prepared tableside and lobster bisque flamed in front of diners. And that’s the whole shtick here: table performances. Many of the dishes from pea soup to cherry jubilee to Irish coffee are theatre here. A team of chefs and servers make your dish in front of your very eyes, and that is what you pay for.   The Caesar salad is pretty much the same salad you can get in their all-day diner right next door for slightly less. But here, a chef makes fresh dressing and flips romaine leaves in the air for extra thrills and dollars. The salad was just fine, lightly dressed, and included aged lardons, and happily can be tailored made to diners’ individual dietary needs.   The lobster bisque is a revival from the old, legendary menu. Tableside, minced onions are sautéed, a pre-cooked lobster base added to the pot along with pieces of lobster meat. Foamed cream and cognac finish the dish. The presentation was stellar, though the soup

There are two breeds of envelope-pushing restaurants. One is the enfant terrible type that brashly rebels against white-tablecloth norms by way of powders, smokes and multisensory menus. The other is the quiet, introspective kind – the type that alters your notion of dining without you even realising it. Aulis, Simon Rogan’s first foray into the Hong Kong dining scene, sits in the latter category. The concept already exists in the UK, where it acts as a testing ground for dishes at the British chef’s Michelin-starred establishments in Cartmel and London. It’s the same idea in Hong Kong, where ideas are hatched, plated and served to no more than 12 guests at a time. Whatever dishes prove successful make it past a large sliding door and onto the menu of Aulis’ more conventional sister restaurant, Roganic. Image: Adrian So In essence, diners at Aulis are guinea pigs for Roganic. It’s fitting then that the space exudes a sort of lab-like aesthetic. It’s stark and smooth with Miele equipment built seamlessly into wide grey countertops. The only feature that juts out is the hibachi grill, which is used to char some of the tastiest local vegetables we’ve had in a while (more on that later). In this arena, the chefs move through an ever-changing, multi-course menu ($1,480) with the agility of an athlete and the precision of a surgeon (be prepared for a lot of tweezer action). On the night of our visit, our dinner turns out to be 20 dishes deep and starts with a host of delicate

Highly anticipated new eateries pop up in Central like daffodils in the springtime. However, when we first heard Motorino was setting up shop in the district, we expected it to be best in show this season. After all, it brings one awesome reputation with it, being one of New York’s most popular pizzeria chains. And this is its first Asian outing to boot. The Motorino restaurants in New York focus on chef Mathieu Palombino’s signature Neopolitan-style pizzas, which are comprised of fresh, seasonal ingredients. These pies are hugely popular in the Big Apple and they’ve even been coined ‘the city’s best pizzas’ by New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton. High praise indeed. So our new Motorino has had big shoes to fill. On Soho’s busy, hilly Shelley Street, Motorino is decked out with green-striped walls and a silver ceiling. The eye-catching restaurant shouts home comforts and makes good use of its space. We especially adore a corner area which has been made out to look like it’s in a romantic back alley, lined with small tables for parties of two to four. We start the evening off with meatballs ($98), roasted mortadella ($98) and a beet salad ($88). The appetisers are gorgeous to look at – a medley of colours and shapes. And, on first taste, it becomes apparent that Motorino does meat extremely well. The balls, for example, are gently packed, taste superb and are excellently seasoned. They’re braised in a thick and fresh tomato sauce, and, thankfully, that dried breadcr