Hot new HK openings: August

Our monthly round up of new restaurant and bar openings include a hidden away Lao eatery, the reopening of the famous Bostonian at the Langham and natural wine pairing and a set lunch at My House.

Bo.Lan pop up at Isono

Culinary couple: Duangporn Songvisava (nicknamed Bo) and Dylan Jones (Lan),

From now until 11 September,  husband and wife chef team, Duangporn Songvisava (nicknamed Bo) and Dylan Jones (Lan), will champion the best of Bangkok’s street food and snacks alongside paired Thai cocktails at PMQ’s Isono restaurant.

Their restaurant, Bo. Lan in Bangok’s Wattaya district is currently aiming to be a zero carbon restaurant by 2018. As well as being an amalgamation of the chefs’ names, Bo.Lan is also a play on the Thai word for vintage or ancient. Bo was also named as Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2013.

Isono, 6/F Block B, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street; 2156 0688

Bostonian at the Langham

Just the thing when it’s getting (ever so slightly) cooler outside: Lobster thermidor

Following a swift two month makeover, the Langham’s charming seafood restaurant, the Bostonian has now reopened with a distinctly nautical theme. Using reclaimed wood from ships throughout its new interior, the Bostonian’s also includes other seafaring excitement on the menu, such as hot and cold oyster selection, two-day cured beetroot salmon, black cod fish and clams and the one-pound lobster thermidor all masterminded by head chef, Pedro Samper.

There’s also a craft beer bar and a 16-seat private dining room featuring the House of Lanson champagne collection and floor to ceiling wine cellar stocking wines hailing from over 70 global regions.

Bostonian, Langham Hotel, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui;  2132 7898

The Continental

Swire Restaurant’s flagship brasserie, the Continental in Hong Kong’s Pacific Place has reopened with a new executive chef on board, Joey Sergentakis, formerly of Café Gray – another eatery in the Swire Group portfolio.

There’s also a new frequently changing six-course tasting menu which will highlight whatever is most in season. This summer’s theme prizes the humble tomato for all nightshade lovers out there.

The Continental,  Unit 406, L4, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty; 2704 5211

The East

Beats and eats at 1563 at The East

The East is Wan Chai’s latest collection of culinary hot spots, spanning over QRE and Hopewell Center on Queen’s Road East. Pick from a diverse range of eateries, including the Thermos Café, serving up traditional Lao dishes seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice, basil and other spices; the Dragon King Restaurant with its signature dishes of veggie dumplings with black truffle, Yunnan suckling pig and steamed rice in lobster soup, and Santorini Greek Taverna run by a Greek couple insistent on bringing a slice of the sunny Mediterranean to urban Wan Chai.

There’s also 1563 at The East which combines live music with comfort food such as Tai O shrimp paste chicken wings with mango lime sauce and BBQ beef rib glazed with ale sauce.

The East, Queens Road East, Wan Chai; 2527 7292

Emporio Antico

Darling, where’s my smoking jacket? The tasting room at Emporio Antico

For those who love the fine things in life, Emporio Antico is just the place where one can gorge on truffles, caviar, meats and cheeses – complete with wine pairings. Emporio Antico has been supplying restaurants in Hong Kong with many a fancy ingredient (think pure cherry juice and Tasmanian hot sauce made with pepperberries) and has now opened its tasting room in Wan Chai serving the very same.

Pick the six-course dinner set (HK$980 for two) with the likes of oysters and blue fine tuna or the truffle tasting set (HK$980 for two) which includes four courses made with winter truffles sourced from Australia.

Emporio Antico Tasting Room, 18/F, 239 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai; 6011 4839

J. Boroski

It’s behind you… Hong Kong’s largest collection of taxidermy scarab beetles

In his first venture outside of Thailand, cocktail legend, Joseph Boroski has opened his ‘no menu’ cocktail bar in Hong Kong….somewhere off Hollywood Road (the exact location is not to be disclosed).

By invitation only – apply via Facebook or phone or email – roll up to Boroski’s cavernous, scarab-beetled bar where the imaginative bar staff will whip anything you like. You have to know what you like though, or leave it to them, because like all of his other places, there are no menus.

J. Boroski, off Hollywood Road, 2603 6020

Mo Bar and Bar High Five 

The man himself, master blender Hidetsugu Ueno

Tokyo’s legendary Bar High Five will open a pop-up bar in MO Bar starting from today until 31 October, with founder and master bartender Hidetsugu Ueno, will heading up the cocktail-making team. In conjunction, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s culinary director, Richard Ekkebus, will present a bespoke menu of gastronomic treats, including charcuterie of Ibérico Bellota Ham and the finest Iberian specialities by Bellota Bellota.

Mo Bar, The Landmark York House, Queen’s, Queen’s Road Central, 2132 0077

My House executive lunch

The stuff dreams are made of, porcini rubbed short rib

In addition to the full a la carte menu, MyHouse is introducing its brand new sharing set lunch (HK$188 for two courses and HK$258 for three courses) including the absolutely divine grilled scamorza wrapped in Serrano ham with Pedro Ximenez Sherry sauce, porcini rubbed short-rib with aged balsamic and rigatoni made with spicy Italian sausages, broccoli, garlic, parmigiano reggiano and fennel pollen.

For those mixing business with wine (and who shouldn’t?), then each executive lunch comes with a glass of red, white or rose natural wine.

My House, QRE Plaza, 26/F, 202 Queen’s Rd East, Wan Chai; 2323 1715

My Tai Tai

Harlan Goldstein’s new Thai restaurant is open on the former site of La Piola on Lyndhurst Terrace. Spearheading the kitchen is executive chef, Amphon Phoomphookieo, who has previously cooked in the kitchens of some of the finest Thai restaurants in the region, including The Balcony in Aberdeen Marina Club and has worked closely side by side with Harlan Goldstein for 10 years. Expect exotic spices, sweet, sour and fiery chilies, and hearty curries.

My Tai Tai, 2F, 8 Lyndhurst Terrace; 2896 6018

Samsen

Calling itself Hong Kong’s first dedicated authentic Thai noodle house, Samsen is right next door to Wan Chai’s iconic Blue House and is headed up by chef Adam Cliff and his partner Bella Kong.

Aside from comfort soup noodles, the menu also offers wok and semi-dry noodles, such as fresh egg noodles tossed with Thai chili jam, coddled egg, house-roasted pork and toasted peanuts or the phat Thai noodles served with prawns.

Samsen, 68 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai; 2234 0001