Forty-Five at Landmark
Artist's impression of The Merchants Shanghainese restaurant at Forty-Five at Landmark.
An exciting new rooftop dining destination is set to open in stages over the course of this year at the top of Gloucester Tower in Landmark on Queen’s Road Central. The space offers sweeping views over the city and Victoria harbour.
Forty-Five at Landmark will open in phases between now and the summer and will include restaurants and a private members’ club.
The Merchants, which soft-opened this month, is a Shanghainese dining specialist, serving classic dishes from Shanghai and the surrounding provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The interior decor pays homage to Belle Epoque Shanghai, with cherrywood banquettes, jade onyx detailing and hand embroidered wallpaper made by artisans in WuXi.
Cardinal Point restaurant bar and Sky Terrace opens later next month with an indoor and outdoor bar, resident DJ and dishes from around the world. Both indoor and outdoor dining are available in a space that can host up to 350 guests.
Kaen Teppanyaki, a Japanese steakhouse, is slated to open in late April and will feature teppan and binchotan cooking in an open setting overlooking the Hong Kong skyline. The menu will feature a wide selection of wagyu, traceable directly back to the farm. Seafood and vegetables will be flown in from Japan and Europe, depending on the season.
The Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic is a French fine dining restaurant that will open in the summer. Pic is the most decorated female chef in the world and this will be her first restaurant in Hong Kong.
Gloucester Arts Club also opens in the summer. It will be a private, members-only social club “for creatives and entrepreneurs to come together and exchange ideas”.
Forty-Five at Landmark, 45/F Gloucester Tower, Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.
Francis west, Soho
Dishes from The Maghreb are on the menu at Francis west.
Middle Eastern specialist Francis is moving to Soho with Francis west.
The original Francis will remain in Wan Chai, tempting diners with its take on northern African Maghreb and Mediterranean cuisine. Meanwhile, new-launch Francis west will be located on Peel Street in Hong Kong’s Central district. And Francis east expected to launch later in the year with dishes based around the The Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean.
The Maghreb is made up of the northern African countries of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco and takes its name from the Arabic term, ‘place where the sun sets’ or ‘the land farthest west’. Its culinary heritage has emerged over centuries of exchange between countries throughout the region.
The interiors at Francis west are inspired by Moroccan courtyards and tapas bars of southern Spain. There is seating for 38, including four at the bar counter.
The original Francis was co-founded by friends James Ward, Asher Goldstein and Simone Sammuri six years ago.
“Francis west is all about the simple, honest pleasures of good food and fine wine enjoyed with great friends,” said Ward of the new opening. “It’s an exciting year all round for the Francis family.”
Francis west, Felicity Building, 42 & 44 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong.
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Plantation Tea Bar, Sai Ying Pun
Plantation Tea Bar showcases the rich and varied world of tea.
A tea bar is set to open in Hong Kong’s trendy Sai Ying Pun district next month. Plantation Tea Bar is the brainchild of tea enthusiast Nana Chan, formerly of popular local tea cafe Teakha which closed its doors in 2021.
Her new project hopes to offer diners the opportunity to discover the “rich and varied world of tea in all its forms”.
Centre stage in Plantation Tea Bar is a 12-seat stone counter where a monthly-changing tea menu takes diners on four-course tasting menus led by tea masters who explain the beverages, their flavours and advise on snack pairings.
The inaugural tasting menu, ‘Coming Home’, uncovers three Taiwanese oolongs, first as cold-brew shots, then as a traditional hot-brewed Alishan High Mountain oolong paired with almond cookies, as a sparkling cold-brew poured over Taiwanese aiyu jelly with osmanthus honey and salted pear, and as a hot-brewed red oolong infused with cacao and paired with Taiwanese Fuwan chocolate.
There’s a separate seating area for relaxed perusing of the 20 teas on the a lacarte menu which can be ordered by the pot. A selection of Chinese snacks, such as walnut pastilles and seaweed crackers, are available.
There’s also a retail counter with speciality teas and new-to-market teas available for the first time in Hong Kong. Plantation Tea Bar sources its teas from small farms, using loose-leaf in recyclable packets. Used teas from the Plantation Tea Bar are donated to the local ISF Academy composting scheme.
Plantation Tea Bar, 18 Po Tuck Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, +852 5596 6254.
Cafe Bau, Wan Chai
Cafe Bau champions a farm-to-table concept.
Cafe Bau has opened in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district under the helm of chef Alvin Leung, formerly of two-Michelin-starred Bo Innovation. The new restaurant also takes over Bo Innovation’s former space on Johnston Road.
The farm-to-table concept restaurant hopes to champion local agriculture in Hong Kong while minimising its carbon footprint. Veggies, fruit, fish and meat are sourced from Hong Kong farms.
The tasting menus showcase Leung’s interpretation of local cuisine with highlights such as roast Ping Yuen Yellow chicken with wild mushrooms and homegrown Yi O rice, grilled squid with spicy Shatian pomelo jam, catch of the day with bok choy and Yangjiang black bean vinaigrette and slow-cooked oxen brisket.
Sweet dishes run from sugarcane juice jelly with seasonal fruit to signature custard tart with Calamansi creme fraiche.
The dining space struts a contemporary vibe but with photographs of old Hong Kong reflecting the roots of the dishes. A semi-open kitchen means diners get a taste of the behind-the-scenes action as the chefs get to work.
During this soft-opening phase Cafe Bau will be serving dinner only, adding a lunch menu in early summer.
Cafe Bau, Shop 8, Podium 1/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 2126 7212.
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