Time Out Hong Kong Dining Awards 2009: Best New Restaurant
Winner
Sha Tin 18
We tossed and turned over this one. The last thing we wanted to do was award a hotel restaurant, but the truth is hotel restaurants have more room to experiment because high rental costs can be counter-balanced with other aspects of the hotel, they have more responsibility to deliver a certain level of service, the chefs have access to the best suppliers, and with global hotel chains they have an internal network of talent to choose from. Also, no hotel restaurant these days can open without a braggable designer putting his rubber stamp on a project. Here, all those elements come together. They don’t have one superstar in the kitchen, but four, each manning his own kitchen and representing a different region of Chinese cuisine: Dongguan, Xian, Beijing, and Shanghai. What won us over is their new-style Peking Duck with a coat of waffle-thin crispy skin that broke upon the bite, then melted on the tongue. And it’s been drawing people from all corners of Hong Kong to Sha Tin by the busload. 4/F, Hyatt Regency, 18 Chak Cheung St, Sha Tin, 3723 1234.
Almost famous
Wagyu Kaiseki Den for bringing Japanese greatness to the table. Café Gray for stealing Gray Kunz from New York. 49/F, Upper House, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, 2918 1838.
Reader’s choice
This one caught us totally off-guard: Tapeo. The public has spoken, and they love tapas. 19 Hollywood Rd, Soho, 3171 1989.
Check out our other Dining Award 2009 categories:
Best New Restaurant
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My Best New Restaurant of the year is the new sushi joint a block away from my flat in Sham Shui Po. You can get $9 sushi after 9pm and cheap hot sake served in ceramic jugs. Strangely, you can also get jello shots...
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