Cover Inside Chesa at The Peninsula Hong Kong, where Swiss nostalgia meets timeless elegance (Photo: The Peninsula Hong Kong)
Inside Chesa at The Peninsula Hong Kong, where Swiss nostalgia meets timeless elegance (Photo: The Peninsula Hong Kong)
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From molten fondue to Ticinese stews and handcrafted chocolate, Swiss flavours are finding new life in Hong Kong
Swiss food isn’t one to shout. It doesn’t jostle for attention, doesn’t arrive covered in vapour or plated like an abstract expressionist painting. And yet, in Hong Kong—land of omakase anything, lab-grown cocktails and new menus that arrive faster than the next MTR train—it’s carved out a space for itself all the same. A quiet Alpine thread, stitched into the city’s dining scene with care, confidence and good cheese.
You feel it most deeply at Chesa, a charming outpost of Switzerland and a gathering place that’s remained beloved across three generations of Hong Kong diners. Tucked inside The Peninsula since 1965, it was designed to evoke a cosy Alpine chalet. Chesa, meaning “inn” in the Swiss Romansch dialect, still offers the same warm, wood-panelled welcome it did six decades ago: a painted wedding chest from 1723 sits behind glass in the corner, made by a farmer and shipped across time and continents to this exact spot. It’s not there to prove anything; it simply belongs.
Above The signature fondue montagnarde, a molten blend of Emmental, Appenzeller, Gruyère and Parmesan (Photo: The Peninsula Hong Kong)
The signature fondue montagnarde, a molten blend of Emmental, Appenzeller, Gruyère and Parmesan (Photo: The Peninsula Hong Kong)
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So does the fondue. Whether it’s the classic or the fondue montagnarde, a robust blend of Emmental, Appenzeller, Gruyère, Parmesan and smoked mountain bacon, served with macaroni and boiled potatoes, rich enough to slow the most hectic day; or the Raclette du Valais, bubbling and golden, scraped hot onto new potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions in legitimate Swiss fashion. To mark its 60th anniversary, Chesa also revived a few dishes from its archives: Balik salmon with Baerii caviar on melba toast; beef medallions topped with escargot, air-dried beef and rösti; and the Chesa Balloon, flambéed tableside, layered with raspberry sorbet, strawberry ice cream and liqueurs.
Above Malakoff, deep-fried Gruyère spheres spiked with Swiss kirsch (Photo: Nocino Hong Kong)
Above Chef Matthew Ziemski brings the rustic warmth of Ticino to Central (Photo: Nocino Hong Kong)
Malakoff, deep-fried Gruyère spheres spiked with Swiss kirsch (Photo: Nocino Hong Kong)
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Elsewhere in the city, Swiss food is evolving. Over in Central, Nocino has opened its fourth location, this one on Hollywood Road, where the rustic warmth of the Ticino region is rendered with modern clarity. Here, chef Matthew Ziemski draws on family roots from Switzerland’s Italian-speaking south to serve the kind of dishes that feel born of season, soil and slow cooking. There’s Malakoff, or Gruyère and Swiss kirsch deep-fried into golden spheres; venison salmi (casserole) with buckwheat polenta; ossobuco Milanese with a saffron risotto so vivid it could be lit from within. The pastas are made fresh daily, including pappardelle tangled with preserved walnut ragù and crab bucatini tossed in a glossy cacio e pepe. The dining room is candlelit and wood-lined like a grotto, finished with a mural by Swiss-Thai artist Cath Love that features motifs from scherenschnitte, traditional Swiss paper-cutting, to depict Ticinese scenery.
See also: Hong Kong’s newest restaurants to visit in October 2025
Above Läderach’s gleaming slabs of FrischSchoggi showcase Swiss precision in every caramelised nut and candied citrus curl (Photo: Läderach)
Läderach’s gleaming slabs of FrischSchoggi showcase Swiss precision in every caramelised nut and candied citrus curl (Photo: Läderach)
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And for those whose idea of comfort leans towards the sweeter end of the spectrum, Läderach brings another facet of Swiss precision to Hong Kong, this time in the form of chocolate. At its boutique in K11 Musea, Swiss indulgence is rendered with almost architectural precision: slabs of FrischSchoggi, a Swiss German term meaning “fresh chocolate”, broken at the counter, gleam with caramelised hazelnuts, curls of candied citrus and silky streaks of strawberry curd. Truffles are arranged like objets d’art, and pralines filled with pear eau de vie and kirsch are glossy, potent and—much like the Swiss themselves—quietly luxurious.
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A storyteller by day and a first-class food devourer by night, Fontaine is the Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia, overseeing dining content across all regions and shaping the brand’s editorial voice on food, chefs and culinary culture.
She is also Content Lead for Tatler Best and Co-jury Head for Tatler Best Hong Kong and Macau, guiding the awards’ editorial direction and evaluation process. With over a decade in the lifestyle and media industry spanning London and Hong Kong, she brings a cross-regional perspective to the table.
Follow her on Instagram at @fontimes.
