Another year over, a new one just begun – and while the process of swapping calendars is merely symbolic, we can’t help but feel a frisson of excitement when it comes to reviewing the year’s culinary prospects.

The openings

After 2012 brought a flurry of big-name chef projects – notably, Paco Roncero’s View 62; Mario Batali’s duo of restaurants, Lupa and Carnevino; Jason Atherton’s 22 Ships; and Yoshitake Masahiro’s eponymous sushi bar in Sheung Wan– this year’s theme looks like a toss-up between gastronomic juggernauts and independent local heroes. Late last year, the Mandarin Oriental announced the arrival of a pop-up Eleven Madison Park from New York City; head chef Daniel Humm (above, pictured with EMP's general manager and co-owner Will Guidara) and a brigade of staff will be cooking lunch and dinner at the hotel during March, for a princely sum. The hotel has an additional two celebrity chef residencies coming up after, with details to be announced. Meanwhile, David Lai of On Lot 10 has hinted at presenting a new project this coming year, a combination of high-end private kitchen-slash-butchery; similarly, Esther Sham of Ta Pantry – after staying a bit under the radar – will also be launching a new venture in March.



Harlan Goldstein has also announced two new dining projects – Italian restaurant Ee Da Le at the newly renovated California Tower in Lan Kwai Fong, and Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein in Causeway Bay's new Soundwill Plaza II - Midtown development. Both restaurants will open in 2013, with dates yet to be announced.

We’re also pleased to hear of local independents revving up the game, too, and there’s no higher concentration of them than in the Sheung Wan area – one of the most highly-anticipated among style-hunters will be Ronin, the upcoming bar project by Lindsay Jang and Matt Abergel of Yardbird situated on 8 On Wo Lane (8 OWL), which focuses on izakaya-style food and artisan whiskies. Follow the progress via the #8owl or #roninhk hashtag on Instagram.


A little bird also tells us that Yardbird associate May Chow may hope to expand her Little Bao steamed bun business (which proved a hit at both Island East Markets, above, and Clockenflap last year) – we hope this works out. And, nearly a year after the opening of Teakha in Tai Ping Shan Street, creator Nana Chan is planning on unveiling her next project – a spin-off creative café space that expands on the zakka concept. Lately, we’ve also been keeping tabs on Common Ground, another independent venue in Sheung Wan managed by local entrepreneurs Joshua and Caleb Ng (aka Twins Kitchen) in collaboration with creative agency Protest Design.

Fresh off the heels of Ladurée’s debut in December, word has it that Pierre Hermé is finally sourcing a location in Hong Kong. The former disciple of the famed Parisian macaron house is perhaps the brand’s strongest competitor. While the location for this newcomer's flagship store is yet to be announced, we're placing our own bets on somewhere in Hong Kong island (preferably near Hong Kong Tatler Dining headquarters!). 

Watch our exclusive video interview with David Holder of Ladurée

The trends

The obvious: Every year there will be a call for more locally-sourced, seasonal produce, and 2013 is no different. There is one thing upping the game though, this year – Island East Markets, which debuted last autumn to promote Hong Kong’s local organic farmers and homegrown produce, is turning into a permanent fixture in Quarry Bay, starting January 27. Hopefully, this will mean that awareness of our city’s own bounties will increase, creating a bigger demand for truly local produce. Stay tuned for more on the topic from Janice Leung, the market’s co-founder and our newest guest blogger, this year.

Artisan bread and croissant wars: Po’s Atelier, Boulangerie Bistronomique, Eric Kayser – all point towards the trend for high-end breads and pastries, and Gregoire Michaud, pastry chef at Four Seasons (and winner of our Best Pastry Chef award), believes that the movement towards high-quality breads in restaurants is also on the rise – pun intended. “I dislike getting bad bread for free and I dislike paying for bad bread, “ he says. “Either way, the answer is easy – quality! It's definitely time for a ‘less is more’ approach in the bread world. When we look globally at all other food capitals of the world, we can find amazing bakeries just about everywhere, and restaurants are serving superb artisan breads. That edge is missing in Hong Kong and although it is on the rise indeed, it's far from being fully proofed, if I may say!” 2012 may have seen some debating who has the best macarons, but we wager that in 2013, turf wars will be over who creates the best croissant in town, with newcomers Le Salon, Urban Bakery and Eric Kayser just some of many vying for the crown.

Read our feature on the top 5 bread services in town

Big on small Burgundy producers: Hong Kong Tatler wine editor James Suckling predicts that 2013 will be a huge year for Burgundy in Asia, particularly bottles from lesser-known producers. "Asia's love for Burgundy is going to continue to grow with more smaller, lesser known wineries coming into the limelight as well as some of the lesser ranked vineyards," he says. "The 2010, 2009 and 2008 vintages are mostly available and most wines are very good to extraordinary in quality. Expect to see more fine Italian wines bought and consumed, especially in all the red hot Italian restaurants in cool cities such as Hong Kong."

More casual wine bars, more craft beers: “I truly believe that casual wine bars will be more and more present in Hong Kong,” says the Grand Hyatt's Nicolas Deneux, our Best Sommelier award recipient this year. “They will be less formal, and more enjoyable.” Perhaps going hand in hand with the slow inclination towards French bistros and wines by the glass, the city should see a proliferation of high-quality but down-to-earth wine bars this year. On the other hand, the proletariat’s pint will be going upscale with a larger influx of artisan breweries making an impact in 2013. It’s a logical progression following the launch of Beertopia last spring, which was the first festival celebrating craft beer in Hong Kong, and indie bottles cropping up in high-end hotels as well as restaurants and bars – Belgian-brewed and Japanese owned Kagua beer is a prime example, having just launched in the city at the end of December.