The new dining room at Aqua in H Zentre, Tsim Sha Tsui
The bars are back in town, and so is Aqua.
Hong Kong has loosened its Covid restrictions further still this week, meaning restaurants are permitted to open until midnight and bars can reopen until the heady hour of 2am, following months of closure.
And after 21 years at One Peking, Aqua has moved to its new home and is raring to go. Its new spot is at the recently opened H Zentre on Middle Road, also in Tsim Sha Tsui; the high-rise building is centrally located next to The Peninsula and The Sheraton hotels.
If there was one thing Aqua was renowned for, it was its spectacular city views over Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island. The new location doesn’t disappoint, with an equally breathtaking panorama of the cityscape and water. And what’s more, the new venue boasts not one, but two outdoor terraces.
The interior design of the new dining space has been painstakingly executed. As you step out of the lift and sashay along the instagram-friendly mirrored ‘water world’ catwalk into the dining room, your path is illuminated by more than 100 lights showcasing tiny water droplets embedded in the glass.
Continuing the water theme (Aqua, after all, of course means water) Aqua Restaurant Group founder David Yeo has repurposed wall panels sourced in an antique shop in Paris into ‘sea shell’ panels. Handmade brass ‘ripple lights’ are positioned throughout the space to create a moving light effect, mimicking sunlight dancing on waves.
Aqua is famous for its Italian and Japanese menus and chef Iwahashi Tatsuya continues to preside over the Japanese kitchen. The Italian side now falls under the lead of chef Andrea Mura, recently arrived from London. King crab salad, lobster and king crab tortellini, bisque mousse, duck ragu tagliatelle and confit suckling pig are among the highlights of the new menu. On the Japanese menu, expect meticulously prepared dishes such as stone-grilled wagyu sirloin, chilli teriyaki lamb with yuzu, garlic and miso, and charcoal-grilled black cod marinated with Saikyo miso.
There’s a three- and four-course lunch menu for midweek and on weekends, the Aqua brunch is back. The ‘non-stop brunch’ costs HK$988 per person and includes three-and-a-half hours of free-flow champagne. The ‘early brunch’ with free-flow costs HK$688.
Once you’ve feasted, head outside to the terraces and enjoy a cocktail overlooking the harbour.
Aqua, 17/F H Zentre, 15 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; +852 3427 2288.
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