Hotels
For five-star pampering, the Mandarin Oriental hotel reopened last year after
an elegant refurb, but the style police like to lay their heads at its young
boutique-style sister, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel in
Central (00800 2828 3838, www.mandarinoriental.com;
rooms from £195, including breakfast). Rooms and bathrooms are chic. The MO
Bar, with its catwalk-like bar and huge red-lit circle on the back wall, is
drop-dead sexy.
Jia in Causeway Bay (00 852 3196 9000, www.jiahongkong.com;
rooms from £70) means “home” in Mandarin and you would have pretty hip taste
if your house had this minimalist white decor and furniture, sexy objets
d’art and cool teak.
It was Philippe Starck’s first boutique hotel project in Asia, and while the
studio rooms are small, they are well formed. The fare at its restaurant,
Opia, is more Melbourne than Hong Kong – modern Australian with a Thai
twist.
If you prefer your hotel room to have colour, try the Luxe Manor in
Tsim Sha Tsui (3763 8888, www.theluxemanor.com;
rooms from £79). The new boutique property in Kowloon features rich red and
orange hues and clubby furnishings with a surrealist twist. There’s a fine
Italian dining room, Aspasia.
Eating
Visitors’ top choice for a Chinese meal must be the China Club
(13/F, Old Bank of China Building, Bank Street, Central; 2521 8888), if only
to view the old-Shanghai interiors and contemporary Chinese art that packs
the walls. All were assembled by the club’s founder, David Tang (see
page11); check with your hotel concierge for admittance.
Yung Kee (32-40 Wellington Street, Central; 2522 1624, www.yungkee.com.hk),
in operation for more than 60 years, is more accessible. Roasted meats,
particularly goose, and braised grouper tail are specialities, and
thousand-year-old eggs are served as (noncomplimentary) amuse-bouche.
Another Central staple, Tsui Hang Village (2/F, New World Tower, 16-18
Queen’s Road Central; 2524 2012, or G/F, Miramar Shopping Centre, 132-134
Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui; 2376 2882), is especially good for chicken,
beloved by the Cantonese.
Deep-fried crispy chicken with spring onion and beggar’s chicken (wrapped in
clay and lotus leaf and baked) are outstanding. For lunchtime dim sum, Maxim’s
Palace (City Hall Low Block, Edinburgh Place, Central; 2521 1303) is a
local favourite and one of the few restaurants where the steamed and
deep-fried morsels are still wheeled around the tables in trolleys.
Finds (2/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central; 2522 9318, www.finds.com.hk)
has Scandinavian dishes such as veal burger and salmon with creamed wild
morels, in a cool icy-white environment. Fuel up with “scapas” (Scandinavian
tapas).
Nightlife
The rapidly gentrifying Central neighbourhood of SoHo (an acronym for South of
Hollywood Road) rivals Lan Kwai Fong as the city’s top nightlife enclave.
Live music is not one of Hong Kong’s strengths, but the club scene has picked
up lately. Now in its fifth year, Dragon-i (UG/F, The Centrium, 60
Wyndham Street, Central; 3110 1222, www.dragon-i.com.hk)
remains the top drop-in for visiting international celebs (and star DJs). A
design team fused Chinese and Japanese traditions (the two cuisines served
before the grooving begins at 11.30pm) with modern minimalism – there are
red lanterns and sofas, and a giant birdcage on the spacious terrace.
For a more loungey ambiance, Halo (LG/F, 10-12 Stanley Street, Central,
852 2810 1274, www.halo.hk) is a sexy
subterranean space. The illuminated circular bar is a focal point for
various themed rooms, such as a château-style living room and library.
The club is members only (there’s a face-recognition device at the door), but
visitors staying at Hong Kong’s top hotels can arrange entry through their
concierge. Sip a restorative cocktail at Aqua Spirit (29/F, One
Peking, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 3427 2288, www.aqua.com.hk).
Try Aqua Queen, a heady mix of fresh apple and lychee, vodka, peach schnapps
and lychee liqueur, and, as the sun sets, watch the lights of Hong Kong come
out to play.
I would certainly recommend the Le Meridien Cyberport hotel. Its an amazing place to stay.
Its futuristic design is something really worth experiencing and the breakfast is really nice.
Vivek, London,