HONG KONG, SEPT 1 — The eclectic mix of shopping and eating opportunities in Hong Kong is why the city remains one of the hottest destinations in the region among Singaporeans.

Adding to this attractive invitation to dine are food trucks. The city recently launched its Food Truck Pilot Scheme, with the aim to add fun and vibrancy to its tourist attractions.

The programme received 192 applications from interested parties proffering a good balance of Chinese and Western cuisines. The line-up was shortlisted to 16 food trucks that won the cook-off challenge in July, and they are slated to hit the streets by the end of the year or early next year.

Of course, if you are looking to make a trip there this month, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a big celebration. There is still a chance to get your hands on some new creations, such as the mini egg custard mooncakes with durian from The Peninsula; or the Trio Whisky Chocolate Mooncakes from InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong.

If not, there are always traditional activities, such as the grandest of all lantern displays on Sept 15, located in Victoria Park, the city’s largest public park.

That said, Hong Kong’s food scene is also going through a unique change, where new concepts are bringing new life to old neighbourhoods. This is exactly what Singapore chef Janice Wong is hoping to take advantage of with her Hong Kong venture, Cobo House by 2am:dessertbar, a fully fledged restaurant located on South Lane in the increasingly trendy borough that is Shek Tong Tsui.

Opened in March, the concept reflects her passion for what has been famously referred to as edible art, which is not only represented on the plate but also on the walls. Artworks currently on display include Stefan Nikolaev’s Cry Me A River — a 24-carat gold-plated copper sculpture of an ATM; as well as Geng Yi oil on a canvas painting entitled Auntie Cooked Dinner.

Food-wise, the 82-seat space boasts a progressive dessert bar and restaurant, putting the spotlight on the little-known fact that the dessert maestro is also a seasoned hand at savoury cooking.

"For sure, it is different from dessert making … But I still focus on my long-held philosophy, which is to create dishes that deliver a balance of flavour, texture, temperature and aesthetics, with flavour always taking precedence,” she said.

A lunch menu featuring the season’s best is also available, and it includes the use of herbs and greens grown in its rooftop garden, harvested using Okinawa sea sand, natural fertilisers and chemical-free water.

"Cobo House by 2am:dessertbar continues the legacy of intimacy and upscale entertainment that Shek Tong Tsui neighbourhood is known for; the restaurant serves to project upcoming trends, foresee the next big ideas and act as a future cultural hub for the art and culturally savvy,” shared Wong, who added that diners here are quite diverse, ranging from families to dessert lovers looking to experience its latest three-course dessert degustation menu during lunch on the weekends.

"I will say 50 per cent are local, 40 per cent are expats and 10 per cent are tourists.”

Old towns, new eats 

Hong Kong island’s western districts, such as Sai Ying Pun and neighbouring Sai Wan area (where Cobo House is located), have become a hotbed for new food and beverage businesses. Old shops and garages are now hip bars and cafes.

Craft Brew & Co., for example, is where the owner of stalwart Russian restaurant, Czarina, likes to grab a cold one from time to time. Located a few units away from it, Czarina first opened in 1964 on Bonham Road proffering classics such as shaslik and borscht. There is also chicken kiev to be had, but the off-the-menu item must be ordered in advance.

This contrast of old and new offerings can also be seen in new speciality cake shops and coffee places. Eat My Cakes on Western Street is not far from traditional bakery Chi Loi Heung Egg Rolls, which has been making its famous snacks at its store on Third Street for more than 40 years.

Next door is Yu Kwen Yick Chilli Sauce, whose chilli sauce and chilli oil are the choices of connoisseurs and restaurants. The brand was established in 1922 followed by the shop in 1950, which is now run by third-generation owner Anthony Yu. And if by then you are craving a well-pulled cuppa, The Hideout Cafe on Third Street, and Winston’s Coffee on Queen’s Road West are new additions that sprouted early this year. The latter is known for serving coffee by day and cocktails at night.

Over at Sai Wan, just up the hill from the Shek Tong Tsui food centre and market, are a few other popular cafes and restaurants. They include Teekha Cafe, located next to a garage (motor company), specialising in organic, single-origin teas sourced by its sister company Plantation directly from small tea plantations, served alongside simple pastries and brunch fare, such as tea-smoked egg and a kimchi, tofu and Thai sausage quiche.

Across the quiet Po Tuck Street is another speciality coffee place, Artisan Garden Cafe, where you can have poached egg open sandwiches and buttermilk fried chicken with waffles. If you are looking at possibly the next big thing in pastry in Hong Kong, there is a must-order-in-advance watermelon cake at the tiny but cosy "Australian-style” Lifetastic cafe, which opened in February.

City-centre dining 

This uniquely Asian love for dining out is clearly not lost on Hong Kong’s new additions to its fine-dining restaurant scene as well, which has attracted big names such as Aussie chef Shane Osborn. Leaving his London two-Michelin-starred restaurant Pied a Terre, he arrived in Hong Kong four years ago, and eventually opened up one-and-a-half-year-old Arcane Restaurant in Central, on On Lan Street.

"In the UK and Europe, people socialise in the pub, but in Hong Kong, and I suppose Singapore as well, people socialise at restaurants,” Osborn noted.

"People eat out like five to six times a week, and I’m amazed when you go around Hong Kong at three or four in the afternoon, people are having another lunch or an early dinner. It’s incredible to watch, people are eating and eating, and everybody’s skinny as well; it must be all the walking up the hills.”

Here at Arcane, he gets a lot of regulars who come two to three times a week for his take on modern European fare with a strong focus on great produce; the majority, he said, are from Japan.

"We have a very small kitchen so it suits us to get daily deliveries — we get two deliveries a day from Japan, one from Tokyo and one from Fukuoka,” he explained, adding that he has even opted to skip long-drawn tasting menus.

This approach, boosted by its central location, has worked well for the restaurant, which is why Osborn has no plans to venture into more hip neighbourhoods.

"Anyway, I can’t go over to the hipster side because I would look terrible with a beard and a checked shirt, and tattoos down my arm; I don’t think my wife would like it either,” he quipped.

Of course, given the compact design of the city, dining on its prized staples should be savoured with a lofty view of the harbour where possible. A recent vantage point is at the world’s tallest hotel, where a Michelin-starred meal can be had at 490m above sea level.

Tin Lung Heen boasts refined Cantonese fare against the backdrop of the Victoria Harbour. There is even the option to have a hands-on dim-sum-making class before lunch if you book in advance.

A slightly different but no less privileged panorama can be enjoyed over a meal of some of the freshest catch at the aptly named Seafood Room, which also opened this year at the top of newly constructed Tower 535 in Causeway Bay.

Headed by executive chef James Cornwall, previously the head chef at London’s J Sheekey, the menu here straddles Cantonese and typically Western flavours with the ocean’s bounty at its heart — from hot dishes such as a hearty serving of warm octopus with potato, to sashimi and seafood platters, to steamed Wangyau crab with fried garlic and sticky rice and king crab tempura, served with a sweet chilli dip.

But, honestly, the highlights here are the stylishly decadent decor and a sunset view to enjoy over long drinks.

It may take repeated trips to Hong Kong to get a clear assessment of its ever-changing food scene, but views like these make perfect snapshots. — TODAY