/ the best of 2017 /
EAT
fr o m to p : c o u rt esy o f h a ku ; c o u rt esy o f n e w p u n ja b c lu b ; c o u rt esy o f k e rry h ot e l . i n s e t : c o u rt esy o f e m p loy e es o n ly
Happy Paradise Her Chinese-style “burgers” at first restaurant, Little Bao, were a big hit, and many have been hoping for a larger restaurant for May Chow, named Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2017, to really spread her creative culinary wings. The answer to those prayers is Happy Paradise, a modern Chinese bistro with spectacular takes on Cantonese classics, such as slow-cooked chicken with Shaoxing wine, and braised pomelo skin with black sesame. Don’t miss the cocktails either—they’re all inspired by Hong Kong flavors like soy sauce, jasmine tea and hung yen cha, an almond dessert soup. happyparadise.hk; dinner for two from HK$600.
from top:
hong kong
Haku’s tuna and beef tartare; the gin trolley at New Punjab Club; Kerry Hotel’s Red Sugar bar. Inset: A Manhattan at Employees Only.
Haku Hong Kongers are no stranger to sushi restaurants, but are less familiar with another style of Japanese fine-dining: kappo. Both cuisines feature chefs cooking in front of the customer, but kappo offers a broader range of dishes, including cooked ones. Offering this style of cuisine, Haku is a collaboration between locally acclaimed chef Agustin Balbi and Hideaki Matsuo, of three–Michelin starred Kashiwaya in Osaka. While definitely Japanese in style, Balbi’s French-Japanese training comes into play in dishes like chutoro tuna and Polmard beef tartare topped with caviar. haku.com.hk; dinner for two from HK$1,000. New Punjab Club Despite its significant Indian population, Hong Kong doesn’t represent Indian cuisine very well, but changing that is New Punjab Club, a restaurant focused on its namesake state. The nostalgic interiors—colonial touches with distinctly Indian art—pay tribute to The Punjab Club, a social club
in Lahore where co-founder Syed Asim Hussain has fond memories. Hussain has restored tandoors from his father’s former restaurant, and chef Palash Mitra, once head chef at London’s Michelin-starred Gymkhana, puts them to good use with dishes like juicy tandoori machili: spiced cobia with tomato chutney. newpunjabclub. com; dinner for two from HK$450.
DRINK
Employees Only Once a hidden speakeasy for those in the know, Employees Only now boasts three global outlets: the New York original, Singapore and now Hong Kong. Nestled in the middle of Lan Kwai Fong, ground zero for lessthan-savory bars, getting to EO is part of the fun. It’s living up to the hype of being a must-visit on the late-night circuit, and is already known for its dangerously generous pours. Thankfully, they can all be washed down with a substantial food menu—think bone marrow poppers and hot smoked salmon. employeesonlyhk.com; drinks for two from HK$300. The Old Man Ernest Hemingway is known for his fondness for the bottle, but at The Old Man, a diminutive basement bar in SoHo, you won’t find any mojitos, his alleged favorite drink. The bar’s owners, including mixologist Agung Prabowo, who has managed the bars at two of Hong Kong’s top hotels, say Hemingway didn’t like drinks with sugar. Instead, Prabowo serves the classic sugar-free Hemingway daiquiri, as well as cocktails based on Hemingway’s writings. The love letters to his first wife are the inspiration behind Little Wax Puppy, a drink made with beeswax-infused bourbon. theoldmanhk. com; drinks for two from HK$180.
STAY
Kerry Hotel Hong Kong’s postcardperfect harbor is best viewed from Kowloon side, and Kerry Hotel is perched right on the waterfront in Hung Hom, an otherwise quiet district. Designed by local starchitect André Fu, rooms are spacious and more than half feature ocean views. The jewel of the hotel’s crown is undoubtedly the bar, Red Sugar, which offers an alfresco terrace surrounded by water, with a 270-degree panorama of the harbor. shangri-la.com; doubles from HK$2,090. — janice leung hayes
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