Dining news: Andō hosts charity brunch with More Good, Kinsman partners with Aberdeen’s Lau Kee Boat Noodles, and more
As Hong Kong eases into December, the city is balancing celebration with reflection.
The Tai Po fire has weighed heavily on many of us, and while the road ahead will require care and community, there is also a quiet resilience in the way the city continues to gather, cook and share. This week’s stories follow that spirit: small gestures of warmth, thoughtful new releases and seasonal creations that look toward the holidays with humility rather than haste.
It’s a gentle shift into the festive season: steady, hopeful and grounded in the simple act of coming together. Read on for what’s new.
See also: Hong Kong’s newest restaurants to visit right now
A Toy for a Table
Chef-owner Agustin Balbi will lead the festive brunch menu for Andō’s one-day charity event
Andō leans into the season of giving with a one-day-only charity brunch on December 16, created with local food charity More Good and priced not in HK$, but in new, unwrapped toys for children in need. The family-style, three-course menu is designed for convivial sharing: a bright fish carpaccio lifted with passion fruit and salsa fresca, warm empanadas with chimichurri, and a centrepiece of roasted beef flanked by potatoes, onions and gremolata. Dessert brings a trio of coffee, vanilla and chocolate, followed by freshly-baked madeleines to finish. With only 24 seats from 12pm onwards, it’s a thoughtful festive outing that folds generosity neatly into a very good lunch.
The Miffy Sweet Experience – Festive Edition includes parfaits, scones and signature pastries for two
The festive season gets a playful lift with a limited run of Miffy and Boris–themed sweets, led by the Miffy & Boris Black Forest Cake (HK$728) and a pair of character pastries in coconut passion fruit and chocolate hazelnut praline (HK$128 each). At The Café, the Miffy Sweet Experience – Festive Edition (HK$788 for two) brings together two Black Forest parfaits, freshly baked scones and the signature pastries, rounded off with two beverages of choice. It’s a bright, whimsical spread built around familiar flavours, neatly designed for sharing and ideal for anyone looking to add a touch of holiday cheer, and a couple of very recognisable ears, to their December table.
The Peninsula Boutique & CaféAddress: BL1, The Peninsula Arcade, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
From Boat to Bar
Kinsman welcomes Lau Kee Boat Noodles for a two-night menu celebrating Hong Kong’s boat noodle heritage
Kinsman is casting its net a little wider this month with a two-night collaboration that brings Lau Kee Boat Noodles, an Aberdeen institution with four decades of history, to Peel Street on December 9 and 10. From 6pm to 10pm, guests can order a pared-back menu built around Lau Kee’s signature fish broth: the classic boat noodles, loaded with char siu, roast duck, poached chicken, fishballs and flat rice noodles, and the clam boat noodles, featuring large white clams and fried fish cake with flat egg noodles for a brinier hit. To match, Kinsman’s bar team has devised Fisherman’s Friend, a highball-style cocktail with baijiu, tequila, tomato, calamansi and tonic, sharply seasoned with Lau Kee white pepper and finished with dried squid. Bookings are encouraged, though walk-ins will be taken when space allows.
The whole roasted tandoori-spiced three yellow chicken is an a la carte option
Kandhari lamb chop is available on the royal experience menu
Leela is rolling out a new winter chapter this season, with refreshed tasting menus, off-menu specials and a broadened a la carte offering that charts India’s regional cooking through chef-owner Manav Tuli’s polished, Hong Kong-attuned lens.
The royal experience menu (HK$1,288) leans into courtly traditions with dishes such as fish cheek rasam, Kandhari lamb chop and a Persian-inflected aash-e-bawardi, while the signature tasting menu (HK$888) takes a livelier route with Lucknowi tokri chaat, baked chettinadu duck samosa and a bone marrow and beef cheek biryani.
A la carte additions include the seasonal hairy crab biryani, yuanna morel mushroom korma with Tibetan black truffle, tandoori local squid and a whole roasted tandoori-spiced three yellow chicken. Completing the lineup is a new weekday tiffin box set lunch with two, three or four courses from HK$288, offering a swift but flavour-driven midday journey through India’s culinary landscape.
Mr Cheesecake opens its first overseas permanent store at Hysan Place in Causeway Bay
Tokyo favourite Mr Cheesecake has chosen Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place for its first permanent store outside Japan, bringing its cult baked goods to Hong Kong on November 27. The new shop on the B1 level introduces a portable Mr Cheesecake petit cup range alongside shelf-stable sweets, making the brand’s famously soft, custardy style easier to take away than ever. A festive pistachio flavour returns for the season, joined by an expanded line-up designed to show there is more to the brand than the original loaf tin. For Hong Kong’s dessert crowd, it is a rare chance to skip the import suitcase shuffle and go straight to the source, albeit one now conveniently parked on Hennessy Road rather than in Tokyo.
Mr CheesecakeAddress: Shop B110, B1/F, Hysan Place, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
In case you missed it: The man behind Mr Cheesecake: Meet the chef behind one of Japan’s most viral desserts
A Vintage of Patience
Only 61 of 80 tasted portions were selected for the final blend, resulting in a bright, expressive Sauvignon Blanc
Cloudy Bay unveils its Sauvignon Blanc 2025 in Hong Kong, a vintage shaped by an unusually long growing season that saw the team loosen bunches, wait out a slower ripening, and ultimately give the fruit an extra week on the vine. From 80 portions tasted, just 61 made the final cut, producing a wine that leads with peach, elderflower, makrut lime and lemon on the nose, followed by bright lemon curd and white nectarine on the palate, with saline lift and fresh-cut grass rounding out the finish. It is a poised, expressive release suited to everything from seafood to summer vegetables. Put simply, if the dish goes with lemon, it will go with this. Cloudy Bay will also debut its ‘To Start’ campaign later this year, offering Hong Kong drinkers a first taste of the new vintage in selected venues.
See also: Vik in Chile named The World’s Best Vineyard 2025 as wine tourism enters a new chapter
NOW READ
Your guide to Christmas dining in Hong Kong 2025
Hong Kong charity dinners and fundraisers for Tai Po fire relief
The best Christmas turkeys and festive takeaways in Hong Kong