Top 5 Openings in 2011

A new year, for some, may mean new year’s resolutions. Here at Asia Tatler Dining, a new year only means one thing – new restaurants to look forward to. Restaurants are notoriously cagey when it comes to revealing details about openings, but through our extensive research (trawling on Twitter, eavesdropping at press lunches, etc.), Asia Tatler Dining has put together our top five list of restaurant openings we are most excited about in 2011.
Cantopop

This collaboration between Margaret Xu and the guys behind Posto Pubblico and Commune (Todd Darling and Robert Spina) has long been buzzed about and the most concrete details to emerge so far is that this ‘cha-chan-teng’ will open in April and the restaurant will use organic produce, most likely from Xu’s farm out in the New Territories and other organic producers that Posto Pubblico and Commune already use. The location has been confirmed to be at L Place, the building that houses Shore in Sheung Wan.
Ritz-Carlton

When the Ritz-Carlton opens its doors at ICC in March, it will be home to six dining outlets including a pastry shop called Pastry Gems and a chocolate haven called The Chocolate Library. What we’re most excited about, however, are the two fine dining outlets: Tosca and Tin Lung Heen. Both situated on the 102th floor, Tosca will offer Southern Italian cuisine in a modern setting with an open kitchen and dramatically high ceilings, while Tin Lung Heen will present refined Cantonese cuisine with traditional dim sum and a premium selection of tea. While the executive chefs of both restaurants have been appointed, neither will be on board until January and therefore cannot be named. What we do know, however, is that the executive chef of the entire hotel will be Peter Find (read more about Find here).
Alan Yau

Ever since Alan Yau of Wagamama and Hakkasan fame visited Hong Kong back in June this year, foodies have been extremely curious what the Hong Kong-born but London-tested restaurateur will open here. Although he had stated in interviews that whatever restaurant he plans to open here will not be in Central, Twitter is afire with rumours that the first Alan Yau restaurant in Hong Kong will in fact be in the IFC Mall, with a working title of Betty’s. That may seem unlikely, until further search reveals an interview Yau did with the London Evening Standard back in April when he muses about how he’d love to open an English teahouse in Hong Kong like Betty’s in Harrogate, a chain of successful tea rooms in Yorkshire. Will we all be sipping our teas and eating mince pies at Alan Yau’s tearoom in IFC next Christmas? Only time will tell.
Grand Hyatt Steakhouse

A few months ago, the Thai & Grill restaurant on the ground floor of the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai closed its doors. Long-time fans of chef Siriluck Lekkwan’s curries and other Thai classics may have been disappointed, but carnivores rejoiced as the Grand Hyatt confirmed that a steakhouse will open in its place. So far, little else has been revealed other than that it will open in the first quarter of 2011 and the new steak restaurant will feature not only an impressive meat menu, but also a raw oyster bar and a cigar room.
Robuchon a Galera

The old-fashioned opulence of Robuchon a Galera in the Hotel Lisboa in Macau is unlike any other French restaurant in the region, so we’ll be sad to see it close its doors in March 2011. Thankfully, it is not moving far, only across to the domed space at the Grand Lisboa next door. We’ve heard that when the new restaurant moves, all the old-school touches that make Robuchon a Galera such a quintessential fine dining experience will be taken down a notch, as the restaurant gears itself towards a market that prefers the faster dining experience more similar to the one at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon here in Hong Kong. While we certainly hope that is not true, again, only time will tell.