From cocktails to Kansai cooking, there's a lot happening on Hong Kong's dining scene this month. These are the best new Hong Kong restaurants in May
Jimmy’s Kitchen
Old classics are back on the menu at Jimmy's Kitchen
Grabbing most of the dining headlines this month is one of Hong Kong’s most storied restaurants, Jimmy’s Kitchen.
Jimmy’s shut up shop in 2020 after 92 years of serving ‘colonial classics’ to Hong Kong’s great and good. It’s now back in a new space and with a new-look menu. The old classics - chicken kiev, curry madras, baked alaska - continue to make an appearance, along with lighter, modern favourites such as fish, seafood and crudo options.
The new gaff on Pedder Street is sleek and sophisticated and comes with a welcome champagne cocktail bar, neatly naped and draped tables and an open kitchen. Jimmy’s Kitchen cooked up a storm through much of the 20th century, let’s hope it continues to do so in the 21st.
Jimmy’s Kitchen, M/F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2526 5293. Read our review here.
Sukiyaki Nakagawa
Sukiyaki-style dining at Sukiyaki Nakagawa
Japanese dining spot Sukiyaki Nakagawa has opened in Causeway Bay, blending Kansai-style cooking with sukiyaki dishes and showcasing premium wagyu beef from Matsusaka, Oita and Jinnai.
The restaurant is helmed by the talented Chef Kazuyuki Itagaki, recently arrived in Hong Kong from Japan’s Akita Prefecture.
Sukiyaki is a dining practice that traces its roots back to Tokyo in the nineteenth century and consists of meat and vegetable dishes cooked or simmered at the table in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy, sugar and mirin. The restaurant is omakase in style, with chefs offering three menus including six-course, nine-course or ten-course options.
The open kitchen and convivial dining vibe makes for a fun, informative and delicious evening.
Sukiyaki Nakagawa, 3/F Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, +852 5394 3688. Read our review here.
Sophia Loren House
The Italian dolce vita comes to Woo Cheong Pawn Shop in Wan Chai
Wan Chai’s historic Woo Cheong Pawn Shop has gone through many iterations over the last few years, the latest tenant to set-up shop being Sophia Loren House.
The four-storey, verandah-style tong lau shophouse opened on Johnston Road as a pawnshop in 1888; the pawnshop is long-gone and in 2007 the Hong Kong government poured HK$15million into revitalising the building.
From this month, it will be housing a one-stop dining destination, Sophia Loren House, including Sophia Loren Pizzeria at street-level, Casa Sophia Loren, an Italian seafood restaurant channelling ‘la dolce vita’ on level one, a dance floor on the second level and Pellicola Rooftop, a cocktail spot overlooking the trams and bustling Johnston Road on the top floor.
Hong Kong’s Sophia Loren House is the first international footprint for this brand that already operates four Sophia Loren restaurants in Italy.
Sophia Loren House, Woo Cheong Pawn Shop, G/F 60-66 Johnstone Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 3594 6192.
Lips Cocktail & Theatre
Enjoy live theatre and cocktails at Lips
Step into the weekend with pizazz at Lips Cocktail & Theatre, a cocktail and entertainment venue that has opened on the second floor of the Grand Hyatt Steakhouse.
This part cocktail bar, part theatre, part late-night venue features a dramatic circular cocktail bar, atmospheric lighting, a main stage and low-seated velvet lounge chairs.
Along with the insta-friendly cocktail menu, there’s an ever-changing entertainment line-up, including magicians, comedians, dancers, singers, live bands, DJs and more.
The fun and eye-catching cocktail menu is designed around the concept of interactive cocktails - try and catch the bubble when ordering ‘Catch Me If You Can’ - by French mixology specialist Max Traverse.
And there’s no need to drink on an empty stomach; Lips Cocktail & Theatre offers a more-ish supper menu of bite-size snacks designed by Grand Hyatt Hong Kong’s executive chef and Grand Hyatt Steakhouse’s head chef, with orders taken past midnight.
Lips Cocktails & Theatre, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 9532 0300.
Servo at Moxie
Stop for a brew at Servo
Servo is the new takeaway and coffee counter offering from existing all-day dining restaurant Moxie in Hong Kong’s Alexandra House.
‘Servo’ is slang for ‘service station’ in Australia, pit-stops renowned for convenient grab-and-go goodies.
Servo serves tea and coffee throughout the day, along with takeaway options such as home-baked pastries, salad and savoury items. Highlights include a crispy bacon butty with HP sauce, toasted ciabatta sandwiches and Moxie’s speciality caneles cakes.
And Moxie, previously a plant and seafood-based eatery, is adding meat to its menu this month, using responsibly sourced meat from small farms and regional suppliers. Additional dishes include wagyu burgers, crispy chicken schnitzel and marbled 7+ Mayura wagyu bavette with sides.
Servo/Moxie, Shop 203, 2/F Alexandra House, Landmark, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2718 8211.
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