Hong Kong’s Best New Restaurants, Shops, and Bars

  • Yardbird dinning room looking from outside.

    Yardbird dinning room looking from outside.

  • Shelly Hayashi at her vintage shop General Store.

    Shelly Hayashi at her vintage shop General Store.

  • Preparing for the lunch-time rush at Lupa, Mario Batali’s newest outpost.

    Preparing for the lunch-time rush at Lupa, Mario Batali’s newest outpost.

  • Vintage posters at Museum Context.

    Vintage posters at Museum Context.

  • Indonesian restaurant 1968.

    Indonesian restaurant 1968.

  • Tung Street in Sheung Wan is home to several chic boutiques, including ceramics shop Loveramics.

    Tung Street in Sheung Wan is home to several chic boutiques, including ceramics shop Loveramics.

  • Konzepp Space’s hard-to-miss storefront on Tung Street.

    Konzepp Space’s hard-to-miss storefront on Tung Street.

  • Se Sa Me’s signature Dragon’s Breath is a Sichuan-inspired bowl of dried red chilies served with a choice of ingredients, from soft-shell crab to lamb chops.

    Se Sa Me’s signature Dragon’s Breath is a Sichuan-inspired bowl of dried red chilies served with a choice of ingredients, from soft-shell crab to lamb chops.

  • The dining room at Se Sa Me, which presents a menu created by U.S. celebrity chef Rodelio Aglibot.

    The dining room at Se Sa Me, which presents a menu created by U.S. celebrity chef Rodelio Aglibot.

  • Doppio Zero’s chef Jake Addeo with one of his kitchen crew.

    Doppio Zero’s chef Jake Addeo with one of his kitchen crew.

  • Wan Chai shop Wudai Shiguo specializes in top-quality reproduction Americana and hipster duds.

    Wan Chai shop Wudai Shiguo specializes in top-quality reproduction Americana and hipster duds.

  • Outside L. Place, an ever-expanding dining complex in Central where both Indonesian restarant 1968 and “Japanasian” eatery Se Sa Me are located.

    Outside L. Place, an ever-expanding dining complex in Central where both Indonesian restarant 1968 and “Japanasian” eatery Se Sa Me are located.

  • A tasting session at the Nose Wine School.

    A tasting session at the Nose Wine School.

  • Looking in on Sheung Wan’s Yardbird.

    Looking in on Sheung Wan’s Yardbird.

  • Batter-fried shallots and toasted brioche accompany the chicken-liver mousse at Yardbird in Sheung Wan.

    Batter-fried shallots and toasted brioche accompany the chicken-liver mousse at Yardbird in Sheung Wan.

  • The same neighborhood is home to a Lomography Gallery Store, which makes an ideal stop for hipster shutterbugs.

    The same neighborhood is home to a Lomography Gallery Store, which makes an ideal stop for hipster shutterbugs.

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With all due respect to Kowloon, it’s on Hong Kong Island that you’ll find the city’s most exciting and dynamic milieu. Read on to discover our picks of the best new restaurants, shops, and watering holes that the south side of Victoria Harbour has to offer, one ever-changing neighborhood at a time.

By Nicholas Walton
Photographs by Galilea Nin

Similar to the scenes in London, Tokyo, and New York, finding Hong Kong’s latest fusion eatery, martini joint, eclectic boutique, or must-try café is all part of the adventure. The island’s high rents and tiny spaces are working to its advantage, ensuring a kaleidoscopic dining scene, a bevy of new, hidden speakeasies, and more than its share of chic shops catering to the city’s well-shod, if not intrepid, shopper. In a city that constantly jostles for elbow room and competes with gravity, the best finds are far from the high price tags of the harborfront; Hong Kong’s most happening scenes are now found among the innocuous towers of Causeway Bay, tucked into the backstreets of Central, and hidden away in the eclectic neighborhood of Sheung Wan. “The offerings on the island are better than they’ve ever been in my time in Hong Kong,” confirms Henning Voss, a six-year island resident and cofounder of NecesCity.com, a modish men’s guide to the city’s top venues for dining, drinking, and entertainment. So, what are you waiting for?

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