Summer is the season to go out and about. The city’s booming restaurant scene shows no signs of slowing down. The latest openings will take you to Central, the heart of Hong Kong. Here are the latest ventures from the brains behind MICHELIN restaurants.
Plaa by Richie Lin and Ian Kittichai opens in Central
Plaa, a sumptuous venture between Richie Lin, master chef of MUME, a Michelin recommended restaurant in Taiwan, renowned chef Ian Kittichai from Bangkok and ZS Hospitality Group, opens in Central. This contemporary seafood centric restaurant with Thai influences is helmed by the up-and-coming Head Chef Santipap Tonkanya (Tor) from Thailand, as well as Ray Choi from Hong Kong. Tor has worked at one MICHELIN Star L’Atelier Joël Robuchon in Bangkok for a decade; while Ray born and raised in Hong Kong has worked at TATE Dining Room and Arbor.
The tasting menu begins with 2 deftly crafted bits: Miang Kham (tuna tart) originated from the Thai royal family means “a bite with bonito, shallots, galangal, shredded chili and coconut chips wrapped up in a leaf”. “Kanom Krok (coconut pancake)” is another bite-sized heaven with melt-in-your-mouth coconut soufflé topped with sautéed wild mushroom, and 24-month aged, fragrant Comté cheese. One of the starter courses “Tom Kha” encapsulates the ocean on a plate in which fresh Gillardeau oyster from France is paired with yellow capsicum sauce and kaffir lime. Main course “Guai Tiao Ruea” takes inspiration from the Thai street food Kuay Tiew Rua (boat noodles). A tender piece of abalone instead of meat is cooked with pungent kuay tiew abalone liver sauce, you won’t miss it.
2/F, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong
Bo Innovation reopens in Central
Michelin two star Bo Innovation relocated from Wanchai to H CODE in Central. Chef Alvin Leung, nicknamed “The Demon Chef”, plays on his own creative Chinese cuisine - “X-treme Cuisine” to “decompose” and “re-embed” traditional Cantonese cuisine. The new menu MASTERPIECE inspired by different works of arts has been infused with Chinese elements. The idea of “Andy’s Canned Soup” comes American visual artist Andy Warhol’s “Campbell's Soup Cans”. “Dogs Playing Mahjong” pays tribute to American artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's work "Dogs Playing Poker" by blending in local elements. The image of dogs playing mahjong is printed on a specially made plate, presenting a new masterpiece with mahjong-shaped geoduck, smoked abalone, celtuce with green bean puree, basil sauce and horseradish.
1F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Hong Kong
The Demon Celebrity opens in Central
Chef Alvin Leung is also opening another restaurant in Central, The Demon Celebrity - a partnership with Michelin two star chef Cheng Kam-fu who helmed Celebrity Cuisine. Chef Cheng’s Celebrity Cuisine has earned the Michelin star for 12 consecutive years. The restaurant was forced to shutter 2 years ago with its location at a designated hotel for quarantine. When looking for an opportunity to restart, he met his old friend. The two chefs decided to work on the duet at the old site of Jimmy’s Kitchen. The menu focuses on Chef Chen’s signature dishes such as Bird’s nest stuffed chicken wing, Pipa tofu, Crispy fried chicken and Huadiao chicken. Chef Leung designed a creative version of “Stuffed three treasures”: tomato stuffed with crab meat and caviar, Hokkaido scallop in Japanese shishito pepper, and crispy fried lotus root with foie gras. Great minds think alike, Chef Leung brings creative cooking techniques and inspiration on presentation to the partnership. Chef Cheng with his profound knowledge of Cantonese cuisine consolidates the foundation of the restaurant. The Demon Celebrity will introduce a new era of haute Hong Kong cuisine.
B/F, South China Building, 1 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Celebrity Cuisine’s chef Cheng Kam Fu has been earning the Michelin star for consecutive years. With his low profile, he was granted the "Best Reclusive Chef Award".
TATE Dining Room celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new lunch menu
Michelin two star TATE Dining Room celebrates its 10th anniversary. Chef Vicky Lau and her team created their 10th single ingredient menu themed with “Ode to Sauce”. The seven courses combining familiar Asian flavours with sophisticated French cooking techniques beautifully reinterpret different sauces. Each chapter of the menu presents a new sauce, from the 5 mother sauce Cuisine française created by Auguste Escoffier to various modern variations.
210 Hollywood Road, Hong Kong
READ MORE：Food For Thought: The Art Of Vicky Lau's Cuisine At One Michelin-starred Tate
Hero image: Tuna tart and Kanom Krok (coconut pancake) from Plaa. (Photo: Plaa)
This article is written by Gloria Chung and translated by Artemis Lam.
