Hong Kong’s Best Mall Restaurants to Refuel After a Shopping Session
Andrea Lo
Need a bit of sustenance after a whirlwind shopping trip in Hong Kong? Instead of trying to track down a good place to eat with all your bags in tow, why not look to the restaurants inside the malls themselves? Just because it’s in a shopping centre doesn’t mean it has to be boring: we’ve picked a list of everything from all-day casual eateries to high-end fine-dines. They make for the perfect end to a shopping trip – or refuelling session before you continue!
The Fat Pig, Times Square
If you need a break after flexing your credit card in and around Times Square in the shopping district of Causeway Bay, this is the place for you – and we hope you come hungry. All-day dining eatery The Fat Pig is run by UK chef Tom Aikens, who’s also behind modern British restaurant The Pawn in Wan Chai. Here pork reigns supreme: you can expect to be filled up on British favourite Cumberland sausages and modern classics like liver pate, plus yet more adventurous offerings like deep-fried pig’s ears. What’s more, the pigs are sourced from a local farm in the New Territories: a rarity in Hong Kong where so many ingredients are flown in from abroad.
The Night Market, Elements
Look beyond the cookie-cutter coffee shops and ramen joints of Elements mall and make a beeline for The Night Market, a Taiwanese joint that serves the best street-food dishes from the “City of Azaleas” and beyond. Named for the lively night markets of Taiwan, the restaurant is all about comfort dishes in sharing portions. Tuck into slow-cooked pork sauce over rice, stewed brisket and tomatoes, and the holy grail of Taiwanese cuisine: traditional beef noodle soup. Wash it all down with a bubble tea – another one of Taiwan’s great exports. And take one with you to go while you browse the shops!
Tsui Hang Village, Miramar Shopping Centre
Ah, good ol’ dim sum – nothing quite fills you up like this Cantonese daytime classic. So after dropping your cash in Tsim Sha Tsui, head to Tsui Hang Village, which specialises in dim sum as well as other cuisines from the Guangdong region, Shunde and Hakka. Alongside favourites like siu mai and har gow, honey-glazed barbecued pork (char siu) and shredded boneless chicken are particularly famous here. There are also dishes made using seasonal ingredients that focus on nourishment and health: a perfect pit-stop during an exhausting day of shopping, wouldn’t you say?
Nanhai No.1, iSquare
With its confusing elevators that don’t stop on every level and escalators that seem to lead nowhere, TST’s iSquare might feel like a bit of a maze – but there’s light at the end of the tunnel (or at the top, rather). Nanhai No. 1 is all about jet-fresh seafood ingredients cooked using modern Chinese cooking techniques, with Southeast Asian influences thrown in, too. Rather than a dine-and-dash experience, though, this is the kind of place where you’ll want to spare a few hours to enjoy the beautiful harbour views and exquisite spread: think baked lobster in white wine sauce, stir-fried scallops with black truffles and smoked chicken with jasmine tea, just to name a few.
Dim Sum Library, Pacific Place
Beyond hotel restaurants and cafes, Admiralty doesn’t have too many dining options to choose from – so thankfully for baller shoppers at Pacific Place, there’s newcomer Dim Sum Library. The traditional dim sum experience is given a modern spin here, which is decked out like a 1920s bolthole. The Chinoiserie-inspired space has a spacious cocktail bar and even a dim sum parlour out the back – but what really stands out is its contemporary Chinese dishes. Dim sum is taken to the next level: har gow, for example, comes with black truffle on top; xiaolongbao comes with Sichuan-style dan dan spicy flavours; and the spring rolls even have premium ingredient sea urchin on top.
Epure, Harbour City
You might not expect super-hectic Harbour City to have much to offer in terms of fine-dining – but here’s where you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Epure is a stylish French restaurant that offers a luxurious dining experience that’s perfect for lunch a deux – and an escape from the hellish crowds in the uber-mall. Signatures include le champignon de Paris, a French mushroom soup, and le pigeon. If you’re worried about spending a pretty penny after already dropping a ton at your shopping trip, be assured that Epure won’t necessarily cost an arm and a leg: a two-course lunch is $368 per person while three courses will set you back $438 per person.
Andrea Lo is a freelance journalist and translator based in Hong Kong. After cutting her teeth in the industry as a staff writer at a lifestyle magazine, she embraced the freelance life in 2015 and hasn’t looked back. She spends her time exploring the best of Hong Kong’s dining and nightlife scene, trialling new fitness trends, and travelling to exotic locales – all in the name of “research”.