It's all about no-holds-barred creativity in Hong Kong's bars and restaurants, discovers Cloe Willetts.
I'd never had a cocktail named after me until I visited the cosmopolitan wonderland that is Hong Kong's dining district. In fact, I'd never eaten in Hong Kong until I marked my lips with a fresh hue of autumn lipstick, braved the busy crowds and sticky evening heat, and spent four days and nights testing some of its top drinking and dining hot spots. The results confirmed why Hong Kong has dug in its affluent heels as one of the world's top social and cultural locations. The city is awash with upmarket restaurants and architecturally stylish bars.
SOCIAL PLACE
If there's anything better than nice food, it's food that also entertains. There were plenty of surprises during my lunchtime experience at the Queen's Rd Central hot spot, recognised as a trendy dining spot for hungry business workers on their breaks and elderly couples enjoying traditional dim sum with a contemporary twist. As well as its award-winning signature dish — roasted white king pigeon — Social Place stirred my curiosity with spicy 1000-year-old duck eggs (actually around four months old) and the flamin-ple, a flame-lit pineapple yielding steaming beef. Recognised for its healthy approach to dining, Social Place's set menu included selections of pickled radish florets, braised rice in black truffles, aged balsamic chicken wings and steamed rose floret buns, delightfully decorated as pink blossoms. socialplace.hk
For an authentic Hong Kong dining experience with a simpler yet equally flavoursome menu, Mido Cafe is an ideal midday retreat to refuel in a cosy 1960s-style decor. Family-owned and with a motherly touch, the culinary experience is located in Kowloon. As a regular for locals, Mido Cafe offers a range of hot lunch options including deep-fried seafood, curries and noodles, and french toast drenched in maple syrup. 63 Temple St, Yau Ma Tei
SING KEE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
If you love seafood and a good old Michelin star, Sing Kee is nestled in the warm fishing village of Sai Kung, along the alley from stalls selling freshly caught seafood in glass tanks. Sai Kung is deemed the city's seafood street, and Sing Kee is dedicated to using fresh produce. The seafood lover's dream offers deep-fried king prawns and abalone, baked lobster and sauteed clams, with stir-fried seasoned greens, golden crispy chicken and Tsingtao beer. singkee.ecomm.hk
With a combined atmosphere of food and wine, vehicle presentation, and information and digital interaction, Mercedes Me is noted for its blend of industrialism and luxury. Decorated with furnishings of wood and leather, glistening metals and smoothed concrete, the Queens Rd Central restaurant and bar provides a Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid eye view of diners. They can get close to the silver racing car while enjoying the Spanish, Peruvian and Japanese influenced menu. mercedes-benz.com
POTATO HEAD
One of Hong Kong's most popular new cosmopolitan restaurant-bars, Potato Head is classier than its name suggests: a little romantic with its dim lighting and sophisticated decor. It offers a bustling open kitchen and bar that leads into a dining area designed by Tokyo-based architect Sou Fujimoto. If you like generous cocktails and a little heat to your food, with exotic spices and immaculately cooked produce, and you don't mind a party-ready crowd, Potato Head's Indonesian menu and ambience will definitely impress. ptthead.com
Potato Head, Hong Kong.
ZUMA
Everything about the fun and sophisticated setting of Zuma had me ticking the boxes, especially its new executive chef, Kiwi Samuel Wilkes, who has almost two decades of experience cheffing across Australia, Asia and the Middle East. Twisting the traditional Japanese izakaya style, Zuma has claimed a spot as one of Asia's Best Bars for its upper level where delicious cocktails are produced and served by waiters. As well as a mind-blowing fruit platter, Zuma's chefs produced my own vegetarian menu, alive with Kiwi elements including fresh and flavoursome watercress and spinach salads and soft, handcrafted sushi rolls. Located in Hong Kong's prestigious The Landmark, in the heart of Central, Zuma was a 10/10 culinary experience. zumarestaurant.com
PING PONG 129
Luckily I like gin. Formerly a ping pong hall, the space is now a Spanish gintoneria in the less established Sai Ying Pun Western district. Known for its array of gins from Spain and around the world, Ping Pong doesn't do it by halves, serving gin in bowl-like glasses with varieties of light fruity and floral over-layers. pingpong129.com
THE IRON FAIRIES
This bar is one you have to see to appreciate. It features a captivating low ceiling holding hundreds of bottles of glittery fairy dust, a roof garden with more than 10,000 preserved butterflies and bowls of rustic iron fairy ornaments on its tables. The enchanting Hollywood Rd den was created by award-winning Australian designer Ashley Sutton, who drew on his experience in the iron ore mines of Western Australia. The bar's creatively lit setting was brought to life by Dining Concepts, which also opened cocktail space J.Boroski. theironfairies.com/
If ever I felt I was important, it was having my own cocktail crafted for me. Opened by master "mix-sultant" Joseph Boroski, the VIP cocktail space is hidden away and known for its concierge service which, according to Boroski, offers an intimacy rarely experienced in Asia. Roof panels adorned with preserved scarab beetles reflect the owner's passion for entomology and bartenders hail from seven countries. diningconcepts.com
CHECKLIST
Getting there Hong Kong Airlines flies daily from Auckland to Hong Kong.
