burlview

My son and wife are spending thier honeymoon in Hong Kong, beginning May 4. We'd like to treat them to a special dinner. They are Cornell Hotel School graduates so love food and hospitality spots. Any ideas for something off the beaten track? Something new and not discovered yet?

rkkwan

I read about this place on the WSJ a few months ago. It recently got 2 Michelin Stars. See if they can get a table:

http://www.boinnovation.com/

It has definitely been discovered, so it may not be what they're looking for.

hobbes

I think they'd enjoy local food in a private kitchen for both cuisine and a very HK experience. Take a look at Xiyan, Gong-guan or my least favourite Da Ping Huo. They all need to be booked in advance.

indianapearl

I spent a day at Martha Sherpa's cooking School in Mong Kok (right off the subway in Kowloon). It was not only the best food I had in HK, but I learned how to prepare it for my friends and family when I returned.

Cicerone

I have responded separately to your e-mail to me, including my views on Bo Innovation, which has been around for some years. Your message above includes some information that was not in your e-mail and I also want to give some brief comments on some of the restaurants suggested above. As I said in my e-mail, if you can let us know a cuisne preference (and if Chinese, which region) that would help to narrow choices.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Cornell alums here, so your son/daughter-in-law may want to contact them for some restaurant ideas generally or to meet up with alums. (I have many friends here who are in the Cornell Society and they have a pretty active social calendar, they may even publish a restaurant list).

With regard to Restaurant One-ThirtyOne, that is one of my favourite places and I have often recommended it (and include it in my list of reccos), however it is not really, IMO, a good place for dinner in that you cannot appreciate its lovely water setting and views in the dark. As sunset is at about 6:30 pm and it is dark by 7 virtually every day all year here, unless they want to have quite an early dinner this restaurant is much better for lunch for a first-time visitor. Also, it is a bit out of the way without a car. Although taking public transport is possible, it will take something over an hour each way, and would require a taxi really at the end as they would IMO have a lot of trouble using the bus in terms of finding the correct stop and also walking to the restaurant, which is at the end of a series of country lanes. If you were going to do this as a gift, you seriously might want to consider giving them limo transport at least one way. (The Intercon could arrange this or try Park Lane at http://www.hongkonglimo.com. The drive is about 25 minutes, have the driver use the eastern harbour tunnel as it has far less traffic although the toll is a little bit more than the cross-harbour tunnel.) Finally, to go all the way out to this beautiful part of the New Territories and then not see other areas (or better yet do a walk) would be a bit of a waste, IMO. That is another reason to have a car and driver, he could take them on a drive to the Hebe Haven/Clear Water Bay area, and/or they could do part of the easy flat walk out by the High Island Resevoir which has some marvelous views, or they could go to Sai Kung and hire a little wooden boat to take them out for a tour of the harbour and get some great views of Ma On Shan mountain. They could also consider doing a morning kayak trip with http://www.kayak-and-hike.com and then having lunch (a change of clothes would be a good idea, the restaurant is not formal but swimwear and T-shirts would not really be appropriate). The restaurant’s website is at http://www.one-thirtyone.com/

My comments about darkness would apply to the Verandah, which has a pretty setting but at night you really could not appreciate it. IMO the restaurant is really best for lunch (Sunday brunch realty is what it is known for). Also while the food is perfectly fine, I would not rate it as one of the top restaurants in Hong Kong.

I love Yellow Door Kitchen, but don’t think it has a lot of atmosphere. Also, if they are crowded, they will seat you downstairs in the jazz bar area which has <i>no</i> ambience at all. Food is very good, but if you want to give your son and daughter-in-law an elegant or even somewhat nice private dining experience, then Yellow Door may not fit the bill. They can go there on their own of course, but for something you are paying for as a special treat, you may want to think a bit more upscale.

burlview

Thanks to all that gave us tips! Cicerone - we never got your email..sorry! But they are there - having a great time! We ended up treating them to a day at the cooking school.

Thanks again to everyone who sent along ideas!

Cicerone

Wow! I am so sorry you never received my message! I don't know what happened. I sent it from an airport lounge but I don't think that should have made any difference. The sent message is also in my saved messages file. My apologies, but glad it worked out.