How does one add refinement to something that’s essentially comfort food? That’s the question that chef Sanjeev Kapoor tries to answer through a limited-period menu at Gaylord Indian Restaurant. Kapoor—a household name in India thanks to his cooking show—has flown in especially to create a 12-course tasting menu which is part of the restaurant’s 50th-anniversary celebrations. Those acquainted with Indian cuisine will find a few familiar dishes on the menu. Still, Kapoor manages to add his signature touch, incorporating lesser-known ingredients like kokum (a fruit from India’s west coast) and yellow chilli (from Kashmir and Punjab). 

The menu begins with pani puri stuffed with prawns in Goan spices before a trio of appetisers representing cuisines of North and South India—stuffed crab from the south as well as lemongrass chicken kebab and minced lamb kebab from the north—come to the table. The main courses and desserts continue to showcase delicacies from several corners of India—prawns in young coconut from Bengal, butter chicken from Punjab, stone-cooked lamb biryani from Hyderabad, and a mix of jalebi and rabdi from Benares. For those interested in sampling this veritable food trip across India, the menu will be available for the next six months only.

Gaylord Indian Restaurant, 5/F, Prince Tower, 12A Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, +852 2376 1001

Candour's popular ladies’ night, dubbed Planet Her, is getting a refresh with three new cocktails created in collaboration with plant-based skincare brand Native Essentials. The new cocktails are named after their products: Naã, Līlā, and Mamão (HK$108 each) which will incorporate natural ingredients and plants, and will be available every Wednesday from April 12 to June 7. 

The cocktail Naã will take elements from their water-based serum, combining Ezra Brooks rye whiskey with pine liqueur, lychee liqueur, passion fruit, lime, and grapefruit soda. Meanwhile, Līlā, the cocktail counterpart to their refreshing face mist, mingles SelvaRey white rum with banana liqueur and fresh lime juice; and Mamão takes inspiration from the fruity powder-to-foam cleanser and blends tequila with ginger syrup, pineapple juice and lime juice with umami bitters. Guests that order any one of these drinks will receive a complimentary sample of a Native Essentials product. 

There are many reasons for chefs to collaborate, other than connecting with someone who shares the same passion for food and cooking, there is a rather delicious outcome to consider.

At New Punjab Club (one of Tatler Dining Hong Kong’s top 20 restaurants of 2023), this results in a lunch or dinner experience that sees chef Mariano Ramón of Gran Dabbang in Buenos Aires (#48 on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list), known for its mashup of Latin American and South Asian flavours, join hands with chef Palash Mitra. From an online friendship, the two chefs will now work together on a menu that blends Ramón and Mitra's cuisines and flavours. Think cancha naan with fermented chillies, black beans and tomato, and tandoori anda, made with Taiyouran eggs, and langoustine. The menu is available for lunch on April 1 and 2 from 11am at HK$1088 per person, and for dinner from 6pm on April 3 for HK$1,488 per person or HK$2,488 per person which includes a wine pairing with five glasses. 

Over at Belon, another chef collaboration will see chef Jongwon Son of Eatanic Garden in Seoul (#68 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant 2023 and a recipient of one Michelin star) and L’Amant Secret (also awarded one Michelin star) partner with chef Matthew Kirkley. Having worked together at the now-closed Californian-French restaurant Coi in San Francisco, the two chefs will team up for two evenings on April 4 and 5, offering an eight-course menu for HK$2,288 per person that features some dishes from the chefs' time at Coi and some from Son's menu in South Korea, with an optional wine pairing for HK$1,788.