The Central pop-up restaurant explores the many possibilities of regional Chinese food
For two months this autumn, a new kind of Chinese restaurant will pop-up at Central’s Exchange Square. For two months from October 15 to December 5, an event space within Central’s famed skyscraper will be transformed into an exclusive restaurant where guests can share dishes inspired by the myriad cuisines of China.
Named after the auspicious number eight and the Cantonese word ‘fat’, both sounds that are homonyms for “wealth”. The inspiration for 888 Fatfatfat’s dining concept comes from Mount Penglai, a mythical realm of abundance where gods gather for a ceremonial feast. To recreate the feeling of communal dining (without breaking social distancing rules), the pop-up restaurant has a large dining table that snakes around the room, where guests can unite to share most of the dishes.
The series of Chinese dishes are created and crafted by Wong Hon-Keung, head chef of The Square. The team behind the pop-up concept also enlisted Peggy Chan to develop plant-based dishes for the main menu—half of the menu, so around 14 dishes, are vegan. Regional highlights on the menu include sour and spicy pickles (Guizhou); giant razor clams with black garlic and vermicelli (Guangdong); Henan 8 Immortal’s chicken (Henan); lamb skewers (Xinjiang) and plant-based Peking ‘duck’ wraps where cured jackfruit and crispy tofu sheets replace shredded duck meat enrobed within thin pancakes (Beijing).
