Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan metropolis, a wealthy global financial center, and a culturally-rich historic city filled with modern skyscrapers, high-end shops, phenomenal restaurants, and luxury hotels.
1. Hotels
The Langham Hong Kong
This beautiful European-style hotel is ideally located for shopping fanatics–it’s close to designer stores like Fendi and Louis Vuitton and it’s near the Langham Place Shopping Mall.
8 Peking Road, Hong Kong
The Luxe Manor
The Luxe Manor could have come out of the mind of Salvador Dali. The design of this eclectic boutique hotel is surreal, if a bit busy and over-the-top.
39 Kimberley Road Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon, Hong Kong
W Hong Kong
As expected for the W hotel chain, the W Hong Kong is sleek, trendy, and modern, with funky decor, bright-colored lighting, and buzzy pop art, but this W feels a bit more luxurious than some of its counterparts.
1 Austin Road West, Hong Kong
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
With a great location in Central, the city’s business hub, the gorgeous Landmark hotel is one of the more intimate luxury options in Hong Kong, with only 113 rooms. The design of this boutique property features warm brown and silver tones and Asian-inspired accents (typical of the luxe Mandarin Oriental brand).
15 Queen’s Road Central, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong
Island Shangri-La
Arguably the most luxurious hotel in Hong Kong, the Island Shangri-La features opulent details, like the largest Chinese silk painting in the world, and luxe amenities, like an outdoor pool and high-end spa.
Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central Hong Kong
2. Restaurants
On Lot 10
Small, casual and basic, spread over two floors and decorated in shades of white, On Lot 10 is probably the most unassuming of the top French restaurants in Hong Kong.
34 Gough Street, Central
Above & Beyond
Sir Terence Conran has made the most of this restaurant’s panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, but to come for the views alone would be a pity, as the food is delicate, creative and delicious.
28F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East
Island Tang
While some might consider this a “poor cousin” for those who can’t get into nearby China Club, the food here is better. One of the most stylish Chinese restaurants in the city, the interior features plush chairs and banquettes, dark wood contrasting with bright accents and updated-retro decor reflecting the elegantly presented and beautifully cooked Cantonese classics on the menu.
Shop 222, The Galleria, 9 Queen’s Road Central, Central
The Chairman
Discreet and quiet, the two-storey restaurant has white tablecloths and artwork on the walls, but the star is the food – The Chairman became famous for its tasting menus, usually aimed at tourists and a no-no at Chinese restaurants.
18 Kau U Fong, Central
Tim’s Kitchen
The purple and gold colour scheme at this double Michelin-starred restaurant might seem a bit garish, but Tim’s classic Cantonese dishes more than make up for it, with an entire section of the menu devoted to rare, dried ingredients such as bird’s nest, sea cucumber, fish maw and abalone.
GF and 1F, 84-90 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
3. Shops
Fashion Wall
Fashionistas flock towards this sanctuary of street-side shopping in Causeway Bay. Some of the best of the world’s high-end fashion and Japanese and European mid-priced brands are on offer here across a complex of streets.
CauseBay
Lane Crawford
A Hong Kong leading specialty store, Lane Crawford’s luxurious and innovatively designed stores pull together a large assortment of international women’s wear, men’s wear, shoes and accessories, jewellery, cosmetics, and home and lifestyle collections.
G/F-3/F, The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel & Shop 102, Harbour City
Design Gallery
Selected quality products from Hong Kong designers are now available at the three HKTDC Design Gallery outlets. Established by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in 1991, the HKTDC Design Gallery is a retail venue dedicated solely to the promotion of creativity, innovation and product excellence of local designs.
6T529, East Hall (restricted area), 6/F, Departures Hall, Terminal 1 Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Outlying Islands
The Armoury
Suits are practically the island’s uniform, whether it’s off-the-rack, tailored, or totally bespoke. This boutique in the Pedder Building offers gorgeous natty duds with supreme craftsmanship.
Central, Boutique, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder St., 3rd flr
4. Art & Culture
2P Contemporary Art
Tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac in the eastern district of Sai Ying Pun, 2P is the sole art gallery on a dead-end road otherwise populated by apartments, shops and launderettes
Shop 5, GF Poga Building, 6-20 Po Tuck Street, Sai Ying Pun
10 Chancery Lane
Hong Kong’s ever-soaring rents and downtown space limitations have forced numerous gallerists with small spaces in Central to find exhibition rooms further afield. Seeing potential in the burgeoning artistic hub of Chai Wan early on, 10 Chancery Lane set up 10 Chancery Lane Gallery Art Projects in the heart of the cluster of high-rise industrial buildings that line the waterfront in the eastern district.
GF, 10 Chancery Lane, Soho, Central, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery Art Projects, 6F, Unit 604, Chai Wan Industrial City Phase 1, 60 Wing Tai Road, Chai Wan
Feast Projects
Ap Lei Chau is a small, densely populated island to the south-west of Hong Kong Island, and its high-rise skyline of industrial buildings makes it an unusual place for a gallery.
Unit 307, 3F Harbour Industrial Centre, 10 Lee Hing Street, Ap Lei Chau, Aberdeen
Gagosian
Of all the major international galleries that have been flooding into the city, the Gagosian caught on to Hong Kong’s cash-rich market potential in 2010, opening a luxuriously large, light-filled space in the Pedder Building in Central shopping district.
7F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central
Gallery EXIT
Gallery EXIT was established in 2008, aiming to present artwork that is not afraid to shock – an antidote to the predominantly safe art environment of Hong Kong.
3/F, 25 Hing Wo Street, Tin Wan, Aberdeen
5. Night Life
Eyebar
If you think Hong Kong’s skyline is impressive, wait until you see it from 30 floors up. Recent years have seen a proliferation of rooftop bars with sweeping views over the city. One of the best vantage points is Eyebar, a lofty space decorated in contemporary chinoiserie – check out the turquoise and gold patterned floors – and attached to the Michelin-starred seafood restaurant Nanhai No 1.
30F, iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Club 71
By day, Man Hing Lane is a quiet back alley where old men gather on mismatched furniture to play cards. By night, it’s the terrace of Club 71, favoured watering hole of artists, journalists and activists whose politics veer somewhere to the left of Trotsky.
Basement, 67 Hollywood Road, Central
MO Bar
The plush and bronzy two-storey interior of the MO Bar at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel was designed by interior architect Adam Tihany, who specialises in luxurious spaces for the jet set. The atmosphere is glamorous but not glitzy, with a crowd of bankers, Cantopop celebrities and well-to-do types who enjoy a good cocktail.
Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road, Central
The Globe
As you might expect in a city that was established and ruled by the British for 155 years, Hong Kong has no shortage of Brit-themed pubs. The Globe isn’t one of them. There are no twee signs or wood-panelled walls. Instead, this is a decidedly contemporary gastropub with the friendly atmosphere of a neighbourhood local.
45-53 Graham Street, Central
Tai Lung Funf
You can tell from the pink neon sign casting a glow over a narrow residential street in this quiet part of Wan Chai that this is no ordinary Hong Kong bar. Named after a 1960s-era Cantonese opera troupe, Tai Lung Fung is just around the corner from the historic Blue House cultural centre and downstairs from the Wan Chai Visual Archive, an art and design exhibition space.
Hing Wan Street, Wan Chai
6. Agenda
Hong Kong Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is without a doubt the biggest (and most-adored) festival of the lunar calendar, with 15-days packed full of age-old traditions, cultural festivities and family celebrations!
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival
In Hong Kong, an ancient Chinese festival has become one of the world’s greatest parties – the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival. And every year, boats, beers and cheers draw hundreds of thousands of revellers and spectators to stunning Victoria Harbour.
Art Basel Hong Kong
The show’s six exhibition sectors are designed to present an exceptional selection of works, including museum-quality pieces by proven masters and new artworks by emerging artists. Additional exhibitions and events, timed to coincide with Art Basel’s Hong Kong show, will take place across the city’s thriving gallery scene and in its growing array of cultural institutions.
Art Central Hong Kong
Art Central is Hong Kong’s exciting new art fair, showcasing the next generation of talent alongside some of the most established contemporary galleries and art spaces from across the globe.
Hong Kong Arts Festival
The Hong Kong Arts Festival is an annual extravaganza of arts and culture, one of the biggest in Asia. Since 1973, the festival has brought a wide variety of performance arts to the city, ranging from the classical to the cutting-edge, including opera, theatre and dance.
