Magistracy Dining Room opens in Tai Kwun
In one of the most highly anticipated openings this year, Black Sheep Restaurants has breathed new life into the former Central Magistracy, a declared monument that has lain dormant since being decommissioned some forty years ago.
Phase one of the renovation and revamp sees the Magistracy Dining Room assume residency on the first floor of the historic building, alongside the Botanical Garden, where gin and tonics are served on the verdant terrace. Taking inspiration from the grandiose colonial architecture, the restaurant pays tributes to the bastions of old-world London restaurants. Ornate, vaulted ceilings, beautifully carved wooden panels, and generously proportioned seating in a palette of deep, rich colors provide a grand setting for everything from power lunches to special occasion dinners.
Overseeing the culinary direction are Executive Chef Matthew Kirkley of one-MICHELIN-starred Belon and Head Chef Karl Emsen. The menu is replete with timeless classic starters including oysters on the half shell, pastry-topped French onion soup with shaved gruyere, and double-baked Lincolnshire poacher souffle. Guests have a choice in how their seafood mains are prepared. And the aged prime rib is carved tableside and served with Yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream, and au jus.
Address: 1 Arbuthnot Rd, Central, Hong Kong
The Chairman relocates to The Wellington
For fans of fine Cantonese cuisine, the twenty-three days in September following The Chairman’s closing of their original Kau U Fong location couldn’t pass by quickly enough. But with much fanfare on the 30th of September, “The Chairman 2.0” as it has been affectionately dubbed, welcomed guests to their new home on the third floor of The Wellington building.
The interior exudes an inviting, homey warmth, from the colors and textures of the walls and furnishings to the cheery abundance of potted plants and book-lined shelves. Although the seating capacity in the new dining room has been reduced by twenty percent, the kitchen now is larger and better equipped. This means the front-of-house team has the time to pay closer personal attention and provide higher quality service to the guests, while the back-of-house team has the space and bandwidth to work with greater efficiency, consistency, and creativity.
What hasn’t changed at all is owner Danny Yip and Head Chef Kwok Keung Tung’s emphasis on sourcing fresh, local ingredients and skillfully applying a light touch that brings out their natural flavors. The updated menu features a refined selection of new dishes, including a platter of marinated whole pig’s head which originated from a four-hands collaboration with Hansik Goo and a beautifully executed, Cantonese-style sugar cane braised pork belly with sea snails and cuttlefish. And while they have bid a fond adieu to some classic dishes from their old menu, fan-favorite signatures remain, like their steamed fresh flowery crab with aged XiaoXing wine and their camphor wood-smoked black foot goose.
Address: 3rd Floor, The Wellington, 198 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong
Noi opens at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
With the September launch of Noi, a new contemporary Italian seafood restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, award-winning chef Paulo Airaudo has expanded his culinary footprint in the city, adding to a roster which already includes the Harbour City, TST outpost of his two-Michelin-starred San Sebastián restaurant, Amelia.By naming this new Asian flagship restaurant “Noi,” which means “we” or “us” in Italian, the Italian-Argentinian chef implicitly invites guests to partake in a shared experience of his star-studded culinary journey, both in celebrating the best of what he has already learned and in exploring new possibilities in contemporary Italian cuisine.
Airaudo’s culinary philosophy remains unchanged from that which first earned him a Michelin star at La Bottega in Geneva, two Michelin stars at Amelia, and another Michelin star at Da Terra in London. His is a cuisine that is based on flavors and memories and that retains a strong connection with tradition, even as it is expressed through a creative, modern style.
He also remains committed to working with small producers and artisans, local where possible, who share his passion for high quality, seasonal ingredients. At Noi, this grants him the ability to serve up dishes featuring Hokkaido scallops and uni, fresh Japanese hamachi, and Kagoshima A5 wagyu.
Airaudo’s personal touch is ubiquitous, felt everywhere from the food, of course, to his hand-selected wine pairings to complement the tasting menu, to a playlist of 80s and 90s tunes, to the decor (and even the occasional petit four) filled with pop culture references.
Address: 5th Floor, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Hong Kong
Andō x Gaggan collaboration on 8th November
After patiently waiting over two years for a lifting of stringent travel restrictions, chef-owner Agustin Balbi is finally hosting his first overseas guest chef at his one-MICHELIN-starred, Andō. He has invited good friend and legendary chef Gaggan Anand over from Bangkok to join forces in putting forth a menu that blends their uniquely progressive cuisines.Balbi draws both from his experience working in one- and two-Michelin-starred kitchens in Japan and from the Argentinian flavors of his childhood home to create an innovative cuisine that eludes categorization, while Anand turns the foods and flavors of his Indian roots to reimagine a style that he often describes as a “progressive Indian cuisine” and sometimes succinctly designates as a “Gaggan Anand” cuisine.
Together, their Andō x Gaggan tasting menu presents classics like Anand’s iconic yogurt explosion and Balbi’s delicate work with Kristal caviar, and treats guests to singular combinations like the Andō edition of Anand’s infamous “Lick Me Up” dish and a curry-spiked take on Balbi’s signature arroz caldoso.
This 7-course collaborative menu is priced at HK$2,588 + 10% service charge per guest and will only be available for lunch and dinner on 8th November 2022.
Address: 1/F, Somptueux Central, 52 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong
