Hong Kong Precints: A curated guide to the city’s best shops, eateries, bars and other hangouts

Hong Kong’s CBD, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, is one of the world’s most eye-catching. Wedged between the steep jungle slopes of Victoria Peak mountain and the shores of Victoria Harbour, its teetering, shiny, glass-and-metal edifices lend a futuristic air to the city, an effect that’s pronounced at night when the skyline glitters like a galaxy of stars.

At street level, old gardens, churches and heritage buildings survive from British colonial times. Aromatic shrines dot the sloping streets. Market vendors sell live seafood, hundred-year-old eggs and antiquities. Against this backdrop is the modern Hongkonger: well-dressed, hardworking and just as easily won over by a bowl of cheap noodles (see Tsim Chai Kee) as a Gucci bag.

Flapping fish, tubs of tofu and mountains of mushrooms: not far from the city’s flashiest retail district is an open-air food market that has operated since 1841. Despite government attempts to move them indoors, about 130 fixed-pitch hawkers still ply their trade here, contributing to the vibrant street life that Hong Kong is known for. Graham Street’s narrow pathway is covered by awnings and lined with stalls selling fruit and vegetables, homemade noodles and so-called ‘100-year-old’ eggs. Polystyrene boxes brim with fish and crustaceans on neighbouring Gage Street, and on Peel Street rice sellers, traditional medicine stores and repair shops jostle for space next to hip cafes and restaurants.

Forty years ago, Joyce was the first store to showcase international designers – a big step in redefining fashion for the colony. Fast-forward to today and this chic, split-level boutique is still leading the field with fashion collections housed in exquisite surrounds that include art exhibitions and installations. It’s a fine-label-lover’s paradise. Pick up a fitted raincoat by French designer Wanda Nylon, a summer suit by China’s Xander Zhou or a scarf from New York’s Title of Work. Delve into the shelves for expensive beauty products, including Renouve hand lotion, Francis Kurkdjian perfume or, intriguingly, dragon-blood eye-lifting pads by Wei. A doorman at the entrance sets the scene for this lavish experience.

It can be slightly baffling finding a tailor in Hong Kong, given they all look like carbon copies of each other. Reality check – a lot of the clothes are made in the same factory over the border in China. Armed with this information, look no further than Lapel, a friendly mob who will happily measure you up for a stylish classic work shirt or hand-stitched suit and have it back to you almost overnight. Failing that, they’ll ship it home and keep your measurements on file for reordering. If you have a favourite shirt that fits to perfection, take it with you and they’ll replicate it with exactitude times ten or 20. The walls are lined with pinstripes and checks in Italian and English fabrics to keep you looking good nine to five.

Sitting narrowly on Pedder Street, surrounded by modernity, this charming eight-level heritage building with a colonnaded arched facade is one of Hong Kong’s elderly darlings. Once the home of Shanghai Tang, it now hosts Abercrombie & Fitch on the ground level. Upstairs, there are upmarket galleries such as contemporary Gagosian, and Chinese art specialists Pearl Lam and Hanart TZ Gallery. Other truly good finds here include The Lavish Attic, a luxury men’s accessories boutique; Burgundy etc, a cellar devoted to the famed region; and Red Chamber Cigar Divan, a smoking lounge owned by Sir David Tang (founder of Shanghai Tang), with wood-carved furniture, antique artwork and 300 Havana cigars to puff on.

Born and bred in Hong Kong, this global boutique for high-end Chinese-inspired luxury should top your list of retail must-dos. Rents skyrocketed at the original Pedder Street building, so owner Sir David Tang restyled the brand’s flagship store with this newer, more glam, four-storey version. Oodles of space, grand ceilings, immaculate staff and the signature ginger lily scent pervade so that the place oozes wealth and sophistication. If your budget allows a splurge, this is the spot for tasteful gifts and souvenirs, the ones you’ll want to keep forever: colourful cheongsam Chinese-style dresses, tailored suits, horoscope cufflinks, jewellery boxes, silver-plated chopsticks and beautiful pens. Duddell’s is on the top two floors.

The bling is big in Hong Kong. This diamond studio, covering two floors of an old Central building, is the go-to place for anyone looking for diamond engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings and bracelets. Step into the nondescript elevator on a side street and out into a classy black-and-white showroom. There are beautiful pieces on display, but it’s best to take advantage of the bespoke service. With founder Sally Ryder at the helm, Ryder Diamonds does everything by hand, from sketching designs, picking the diamonds and crafting the pieces. It’s a rare craft in the world of mass production and machine-made jewellery.

Faux croc, fake snake, pleather or leather: if it’s cheap, made-to-order shoes you’re after then this everyday shop in a market side street is the place to park your peds. Vickie’s has a great reputation for its ‘interpretation’ of designer styles and ability to fit them to any foot, big or small (up to size 44 in women’s shoes). Choose a style from the shapes and sizes lining the walls, then take a load off while looking through swatch books for colours and materials. Heel heights and trimmings can also be customised. Shoes cost between HK$300 and HK$700 and can be picked up within a couple of weeks, or sent home – a reliable service I’ve taken advantage of (and postage is cheap in Hong Kong).

HOT TIP

About 2 kilometres south-west of Hong Kong Island, Lamma Island is a fun daytrip, with tiny villages, seafood restaurants, beaches and walks. Ferries to Yung Shue Wan, the main settlement on Lamma, depart from Central Ferry Pier 4.

High-school roommates and long-time friends Charlotte Hwang and Jing Zhang opened this devilishly dishy accessories boutique after discovering beautiful and eclectic pieces on their travels. Countries represented include Korea, Cambodia and Namibia. They stock cutting-edge (and reasonably priced) rings and necklaces, vintage bags, funky sunglasses, scarves, elegant stationery and headily aromatic perfumes. You can also pick up unique homewares, such as sugar bowls, hand-printed greeting cards and woven baskets. Many of the designers are relative unknowns, so expect to find one-off items. Keep your eyes peeled as it’s obscurely located in an office block, not a shopping mall, which is part of the fun.

Heartbeat of the Hong Kong banking world, fashionable grand-daddy of shopping malls, go-to place for a good feed: IFC can be all things to all people. This 88-storey building, visible from much of the city (and only pipped in the height stakes by ICC; could be a day’s outing in itself. You can spend a pretty penny here with brands like Chanel, Kate Spade, Jimmy Choo and Claudie Pierlot. Achingly cool Lane Crawford is a very Hong Kong department store. Restaurants include Michelin-starred Lei Garden and office-worker eateries such as Panino Giusto. Fuel Espresso has A1 coffee. Isola, a long-lunch Italian brasserie, has a balcony with cross-harbour Kowloon views. Rooftop Red Bar can kickstart any evening with dance tunes and cocktails.

Far from its hippie origins, organic produce has become the busy Hongkonger’s guarantee of fresh quality food – particularly important in a region where food scandals often make headlines. Organic Mana cafe specialises in ‘flats’, rounds of unleavened bread, freshly baked in a brick oven, sprinkled with Mana’s own zaatar (thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and sea salt) then topped with various ingredients. The delightful Mana Bliss comes with avocado, hummus, cucumber and salad, or go for haloumi burgers, salads and mezze platters. The flats are made from organic flours and there’s a gluten-free option. Other ingredients are sourced from the owners’ local organic farms.

This end of Wellington Street has a reputation for old-school noodle and dumpling joints, all of them cheap and cheerful and with the kind of retro decor we love. While Tsim Chai Kee has opted for clean lines and a more contemporary look, it still serves up kick-butt won tons and has earned itself a Michelin recommendation for its effort. It buzzes at lunchtime. Orders are taken from punters lined up outside who are then ushered onto share tables as stools become available. There’s a basic menu with an English translation, but you can’t go wrong ordering soup with pork dumplings, fish balls and yellow noodles (HK$27). Top it with potent chilli sauce and get a side of garlicky steamed greens. Curiously, it’s BYO napkin.

Secreted away atop Shanghai Tang, this two-level Cantonese restaurant is a shrine to exquisite taste. On the lower level, the hush-hush dining room in yellow and white hues delivers hifalutin meals to an upmarket lunch crowd; dishes include pan-fried crab claw with caviar, and fried beef cube with wasabi and soy sauce. Abalone and bird’s nest dishes also feature, a nod to tradition.

Upstairs it is like stepping into a (very wealthy) friend’s salon and library. There’s a mix of designer chairs and couches, and an art collection curated by artists themselves, including Ai Weiwei. Dim sum can be eaten ever so politely with teas called Joyous Moment and Hearty Pleasure. Outside, a huge garden deck with pot plants and bamboo furniture sits pretty amid the skyscrapers. It’s the perfect place for a margarita made with Chinese five-spice, vanilla tequila, fennel seed, triple sec and grapefruit.

Look for the Gap store, then look up. The little balcony you see is an inner-city secret, one of the few places where you can enjoy Italian nosh the way the Italians like it – alfresco. Lupa is a large restaurant in the Roman osteria style, a smart business-lunch place with a reputation for excellent antipasto – cured hams and salamis, pickled vegetables, tomato and green salads, olives and breads. À la carte specialities include braised oxtail and celery-root ravioli, and veal saltimbocca served with breaded green beans and balsamic vinegar. At the rear of the restaurant La Terrazza is one of the best outdoor bars in the city. It has 40 wines by the glass, covering every region of Italy. On Sundays there’s brunch and jazz (from 12pm to 3pm).

Named after the famed Chinese convenience store on 32 Mott Street in New York, this flash Cantonese restaurant in an old bank vault was extravagantly designed by Joyce Wang. Wang successfully married the industrial elements of New York with echoes of classic Chinese iconography – wall paintings, calligraphy brushes and lampshades. It is one of the few Cantonese restaurants with a farm-to-table philosophy and it shows in the dim sum. Specialities include quail egg and black truffle dumplings (which should be eaten as soon as they come to the table so the quail egg doesn’t overcook) and char sui (barbecued pork). Deviating from Cantonese slightly is the lovely and delicate apple-wood Peking duck. Cocktails have a local touch, none more so than the Milk Tram (vodka, vanilla syrup, almond milk, green tea, egg white and cinnamon).

It was supposed to be pronounced ‘savour’, but the wordplay never caught on. Fortunately, guests at this devil-may-care moneyed establishment are too busy ogling the harbour views to worry. This is where Hongkongers come to show off: expats bring their parents, wealthy Chinese bring their families and cashed-up bankers bring their dates. The rest of us can pull up a pew and marvel at the excess. Couches, throw cushions and amber glowing lights make life comfortable outdoors. Inside scrubs up like a Vogue interior with a green vertical garden, floor-to-ceiling windows, leather poufs and decadent fabrics. The fare is a combination of influences. Order small plates of sushi and sashimi or mini foie-gras burgers. Make sure you heed the dress code: ‘easy glam’.

Restaurant open Mon–Thurs 11.30am–2.30pm & 6–11pm, Fri 11.30am–2.30pm & 6–11.30pm, Sat 11am–1pm, 2–4pm & 6–11.30pm, Sun 11am–1pm, 2–4pm & 6.30–11pm; bar open Mon–Wed 11.30am–1.30am, Thurs–Fri 11.30am–2am, Sat 5pm–2am

Start an evening at Zuma bar with a Tokyo Rose, a rose-infused Tanqueray gin, Campari and Martini Rosso cocktail. Somehow it pairs brilliantly with the nu-disco tunes, leather seating, dark-wood-hued furniture and luminous walls of this popular after-five bar. Accessed via a swanky spiral staircase, the adjoining Japanese restaurant downstairs has a full-length open kitchen where various workstations create authentic modern izakaya, sushi, sashimi and robata (charcoal grill) dishes. Tartare of salmon, yellowtail rolls and spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, red chilli and sweet soy should start you off nicely. The tasting menu paired with hot sake is a trip down the road to culinary excellence. The weekend buffet brunch, where you can try everything, is the best in Hong Kong.

Sally Ryder came to Hong Kong from Australia more than a decade ago. With big support from local industry she founded Ryder Diamonds, a grassroots business that creates bespoke diamond jewellery.

For something upmarket, Gaia is fantastic; I love the ambience of the piazza. For lunch at my desk, Noodlemi and K-Roll, both just down the road from our office, are cheap and cheerful.

I’m a creature of habit, and usually meet the girls on a Friday night at Wagyu. Those guys sure know how to look after their regulars!

I love a Lane Crawford shoe sale and am just a bit excited that J Crew has opened in IFC. I tend to do quite a bit of impulse buying at COS and Massimo Dutti (see map) in Central, too.

I love to get out on the water – sailing, wakeboarding, junk boating. My dog Woods also keeps me busy on weekends. We’ll often go for walkies up on Victoria Peak and meet friends for brunch at the Peak Cafe. It’s got the best burgers in town.