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Header image courtesy of Carver
Our regularly updated guide to the newest restaurant openings will cut through the noise and help you find the best places to eat and drink in Hong Kong this month.
Ever tried coffee-infused meats? Well, now you can, at Carver, a new steakhouse concept in Causeway Bay’s Crowne Plaza Hong Kong. Premium cuts from Japan, Australia, and the US undergo the dry-ageing treatment in-house for at least 20 days in a bespoke cabinet made of limestone and marble, after which they will make their way to grill and to your plate.
Highlights of the menu include the 20-day house dry-aged US striploin with coffee grounds, rubbed with Arabica beans and served with garlic confit and cherry tomatoes. Similarly, the 45-day house dry-aged US porterhouse is a tender indulgence for the palate. Steaks aside, guests can also tuck into Kurobuta bone-in pork chop, Boston lobster, baked free-range chicken, and Patagonian toothfish with brown butter.
Carver, 1/F, Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Causeway Bay, 8 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Bo Innovation’s Alvin Leung returns with a new restaurant concept, supported by Lubuds. Emphasising a farm-to-table dining experience, Café Bau—named in homage to Hong Kong’s national flower, the Bauhinia × blakeana—is a celebration of local flavours.
Between a three-course set menu and eight-course tasting menu, guests can look forward to creative spins with familiar ingredients, such as the salt-roasted beetroot with Pat Chun vinaigrette, candied walnuts, and charred corn; grilled squid with spicy Shatian pomelo jam, smoked flounder barley, and squid ink chips; roasted Ping Yuen yellow chicken with wild mushrooms and homegrown Yi O rice; and slow-cooked oxen brisket, sourced from Hong Kong farms. Evoking memories of childhood, the nostalgic sugarcane juice jelly with seasonal fruit serves as the perfect finisher to the meal.
Café Bau, Shop 8, Podium, 1/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
Comfort, chicness, and a little otherworldliness meet in this new Tseung Kwan O opening. La Rosabelle is an eclectic space full of English, French, and pink flamingo influences, so while the interiors and concept are difficult to pinpoint, what’s certain is that there’s something for everyone on a menu that spans global cuisines. Look to the German pork knuckle, charcoal-grilled New Zealand lamb rack, and Japanese uni toast as perfect examples. Hong Kong makes an appearance as well in the typhoon shelter crab linguine.
La Rosabelle, Shop 4, G/F, Alto Residence, 29 Tong Yin Street, Tseung Kwan O
Five years after first opening in Wan Chai, Middle Eastern restaurant Francis has made moves to expand, and the first new location to be added to its growing portfolio is on the trendy food and drinks lane of Peel Street. While Francis classics are to be expected, chef Asher Goldstein has also crafted new dishes to celebrate the occasion, such as the stone-baked frena (Moroccan flatbread) and lamb merguez, a homemade lamb sausage.
Continuing the Francis tradition, wines are sourced from around the Mediterranean, while the interiors, designed by Haig Studio, give off warm and earthy vibes. Wide-open windows blur the boundaries between indoor and outdoor so the liveliness of the Peel Street neighbourhood can spill into the restaurant for an even more convivial atmosphere.
Francis West, Felicity Building, 42 & 44 Peel Street, Central
F&B group Lubuds is keeping busy with a second opening. Kontrasto is helmed by chef Fabiano Palombini, who hails from Abruzzo and trained in Michelin-starred establishments across Europe, Asia, and the US. As chef-owner for the first time, his new Italian restaurant is the culmination of 35 years of culinary effort, encapsulating his personal philosophies.
Kontrasto offers multi-course tasting menus of various lengths, taking diners on a gastronomic journey through Italy. Osciètre caviar and cured egg yolks form the Caviale starter for a taste from the coast, while Chef Fabiano’s signature dish, Virtù, is a medley of pasta shapes inspired by a nostalgic hometown tradition, and served alongside fresh seafood instead of grains and beans in his modern iteration. Artisanal spaghetti from Naples takes the spotlight in the Spaghettone, dressed with bell peppers, tuna belly, and capers. Dishes are complemented by curated wines from Italy, Germany, and Austria.
Kontrasto, G/F, Chinachem Hollywood Centre, 1–13 Hollywood Road, Central
Residents and weekend visitors to Tuen Mun can now enjoy even more dining choices with the opening of Bistro Hoi An. Bringing the flavours of Vietnam to Gold Coast, you can expect much more than the usual phở or bánh mì at this new restaurant. Nước chấm, the famous fish sauce ubiquitous in Vietnamese cuisine, is made in-house and added to dishes like the shrimp ceviche, aubergine and crab meat salad, and sautéed frog legs. Meanwhile, the Hoi An suckling pig and roasted lemongrass chicken rice make for filling mains. For a meat plate to remember, try the chargrilled M9 Wagyu bavette, marinated for 12 hours.
Bistro Hoi An, Shop 1A, Gold Coast Piazza, 1 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun
Born in Hong Kong, raised in Germany, and educated in the US, Jen is an award-winning creative with a background in illustration, communication design, art direction, and content creation. When she’s not getting lost in a good book, you’ll find her doing crosswords, eating dim sum, covering all sides of a “Hamilton” number, and taking naps.
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