Hong Kong’s new Victoria Dockside waterfront development is groaning with fabulous family eateries. Carolynne Dear tucks in at Hue.
Dining with a view at Hue.
After years of tedious construction and blocked access, the new Victoria Dockside waterfront development in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district is now open and fabulously accessible.
Wide, pedestrian walkways wind alongside the glistening harbour and with a brand new Rosewood Hotel, the glitzy K11 Musea ‘cultural and retail destination’ shopping mall and the revamped Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) lining the path, the glam factor has been ramped right up.
Strolling distance from Star Ferry is Hue a stunning, level one space boasts floor-to-ceiling windows with stellar views of Victoria Harbour from every table in the house.
The ‘modern Australian’ menu features top quality produce from ‘down under’ and influences from around the world. Hits for me included the grass-fed Wagyu beef from South Australia, the smoked English duck with quince and black garlic, and the dreamy dessert trolley (the baked cheesecake is a knock-out).
And if you’ve got littlies in tow, the restaurant also offers a children’s menu.
Hue had only been open a week when I visited, but Woodyard and Cheung were already looking forward to the Year of the Rat, with a Taittinger Sunday brunch and a sparkling afternoon tea on the cards.
Overcoming stiff competition, Australian expats Chris Woodyard and Bronwyn Cheung, founders of hospitality group Woolly Pig Hong Kong, won the coveted contract to launch the fine dining space which is part of the new-look HKMoA, as well a more casual dining space below, which has become Ink. The level one dining room opened as Hue (pronounced Huw) at the tail-end of last year.
So how difficult was it for them to score a rock-star location like this?
“Obviously the location has always been here,” says Woodyard when we caught up for coffee. “But it was the good intentions of the HKMoA team and the Hong Kong government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department (the museum is a government-owned building) to open up the building and make the space really attractive to people passing by. The HKMoA team has been working on this development for the last seven years, we came in two years ago.”
The museum was closed for four years in total, while it underwent a multi-million dollar expansion. Like other museums around the world, it wanted to open with a signature restaurant. Woolly Pig’s turned out to be the successful tender.
Ink is the rather brilliant add-on, an Aussie-style casual coffee shop and bakery, slap-bang on the harbour’s edge and directly below the more up-market Hue.
“Ink has to appeal to a wide range of visitors, from locals and families to tourists from all over the world, as well as many different age groups,” says Woodyard.
“We have tried to bring our ethos of ‘made locally’ to the cafe, so all of our food is made on the premises or by local Hong Kong artisan producers. We wanted a seafood vibe but with an Asian-style fusion.”
‘Build-your-own plate’ combinations come with a protein (fish or chicken or soft-shell crab), a base, such as udon noodles, black fried rice or a tortilla, and an add-on, including kimchi, coleslaw or Sichuan vegetables. Or there are serves of prawns, oysters, seafood platters, poke bowls and chowders.
“HKMoA is a community space, so we’ve picked menu items that are popular all over southeast Asia and Hong Kong,” says Woodyard.
This article first appeared in the Winter 2019/20 edition of Asia Family Traveller. Never miss an issue by subscribing here.
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