Wagyu Wonder
There are several options this summer to choose from if you’re hankering after a Wagyu beef fix. Hotel Nikko Hong Kong’s Sagano (1/F, Hotel Nikko Hong Kong, 72 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2313 4215) is currently featuring an all-you-can-eat Australian Wagyu Hot Pot Festival. Shabu-shabu, Japan’s version of hot pot, consists of thinly sliced meat and an assortment of vegetables, dipped and cooked in a clay pot of boiling stock in front of you, served with two dipping sauces. Diners can enjoy this well-known Japanese culinary specialty for $780 per person, which includes an unlimited supply of premium-grade Australian Wagyu beef and seasonal vegetables, along with one serving of salmon salad, assorted sashimi, udon, and rice cakes. Available every night from 6pm onwards.

If you find yourself stuck waiting for a delayed flight and have time to kill, or simply happen to be passing by, head to Airport Izakaya (Regal Airport Hotel, 9 Cheong Tat Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, 2286 6668) at the Regal Airport Hotel, which is also featuring a Wagyu beef and Japanese all-you-can-eat dinner, available on weekends and public holidays until the end of August. Apart from unlimited standard Japanese dishes such as assorted sushi, sashimi, and maki rolls, teppanyaki and tempura, each guest is served a dish each of Saga beef sushi, Wagyu beef roll with enoki mushroom, and seared Wagyu beef salad. The promotion is open between 6pm and 10pm, at $368 per adult and $238 per child.

Bar and bistro LIAN (Shop 2004, Podium Level 2, IFC mall, Central, 2521 1117) has recently revamped its Vietnamese and Thai-inspired menu to include new signature dishes, curries, salads and appetisers, one of which is their A-grade Japanese Saga Wagyu beef soup with rice-sheet noodles ($198). Referring back to Vietnamese tradition, there is minced pork wrapped in fresh lettuce, served in two different styles ($95), and authentic da Lat beef shin in a thick spicy sauce ($165). If Thai is what you’re going for, new dishes include the stir-fried mud crab curry ($380), as well as the spicy Thai-inspired New Zealand mussels in green tomato curry served with French bread ($185). Healthy, low sugar desserts incorporating dried fruit are also a new specialty, and favourites include a vegan carrot cake with cashew cream ($65) and a walnut Armagnac parfait with prunes ($80). Open Monday to Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm and 6pm to 10:30pm, and on weekends from 11:30am to 10:30pm.

If you’re one of those people who can’t get enough of Japanese food on conveyor belts, Shiro (G/F, Level 1, Pacific Place, 88 Queens Road, Admiralty, 2155 8066) is the newest place to go to, located right next to Lane Crawford in Pacific Place. A sleek interior presents the familiar Japanese fast-paced, all-day casual food concept where high quality sushi is flown in daily from Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Market and presented in an ultra-stylish manner, supporting their tagline “Where sushi meets fashion”. Some of their highlights include Japanese Wagyu beef sushi ($40) and special milk fish sushi ($40), as well as a crispy soft shell crab salad with house-made soy vinaigrette ($78) and slow cooked Kobe beef on braised Japanese turnip with sweet miso sauce ($148). An adjoining bar showcases an extensive range of sake, wines, and innovative cocktails such as the Shiro Lychee Mojito. In addition, Shiro offers a takeaway sushi menu for those who want it fast and ready to go, just like in the fashion business. Open daily from 11am-11pm.

Good Ol’ China
The recently opened Dragon Inn (G/F Regal Riverside Hotel, 34 – 36 Tai Chung Kiu Road, Shatin, 2132 1153) takes you back to the Ming and Qing dynasty and the cities of Huai’An and Yangzhou by offering traditional Huai Yang cuisine typical of those cultures. Their extensive menu is split into eight different categories: cold dishes, dim sum, shark’s fin, bird nest, abalone, seafood and dessert. Signature dishes include sliced pork in spicy garlic sauce ($68), braised superior shark’s fin soup with crab roe ($588) or sautéed king prawns in spicy sauce ($78). Their set lunch ($128 per person) is comprised of an array of dim sum and starters, such as steamed pork dumplings or deep fried spring rolls, Tianjin Cabbage soup with Yunnan ham, a choice of main courses and a different dessert everyday. Their set dinner ($248 per person) consists of two cold cut combinations: pork rib in sweet and sour sauce and shredded chicken with mung bean noodles. Customers also get a choice of two soups and main course dishes along with a different dessert everyday.

Hong Kong’s first “x-treme Chinese cuisine” restaurant, Bo Innovation (Shop 13, 2/F, J Senses, No. 60 Johnston Road, Wanchai, 2850 8371), has relocated and expanded with new Zen-inspired décor with both indoor and al fresco dining. The concept is no different, however. Chef Alvin Leung Jr., also known as the ‘Demon Chef’, has been hailed by worldwide food critics as Asia’s hottest and most innovative chef for ‘breaking new ground’ with his experimental interpretations of Chinese cuisine, which, according to Leung, gives customers the familiar in ways that they could never imagine. One such dish is his deconstruction of the local dish ‘lap mei fan’ (assorted dried meats with rice, $30), where diners are brought a miniscule hot pot that contains a scoop of ice cream on top of a bed of rice krispies. Confused yet? I was too, until I found out that the rice krispies were a play on the rice component of the dish, and the ice cream was actually made of the essences of the various meats. Other creations include the black truffle ‘har gau’ ($40 for two pieces) and the smoked quail egg in taro crust topped with caviar, which is on the set chef’s menu for dinner. ($1080 per person). Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 12pm to 2:30pm, and 7pm to 10pm, and also Saturdays from 7pm-10pm.

Those of you who can’t quite decide what cuisine you fancy could head over to the Bistro on the Mile (1/F, Holiday Inn Golden Mile, 50 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2315 1118) for a multi-cultural meal. This new modern-artsy restaurant is built around the concept of a four-tier buffet where, in addition to the typical buffet stations of salads, desserts and cheese platters, the restaurant offers plates of bite-sized dishes, live-cooking stations and a specialities menu, all of which change everyday. The bite-sized dishes are simply a whole range of international knick-knacks, like shrimp balls or mango rolls, handed out by the waiters every 15 minutes. At their two live-cooking stations, chefs whip up typical Japanese, Indian, Thai, Chinese and Western meals. The restaurant also has a ‘specialities menu’ that changes daily with four dishes for lunch and eight dishes for dinner comprised of signature dishes from the world over, such as Rajmah Masala from India to Chinese Sweet and Sour pork. And, if that doesn’t hit the nail on the head and you’re still unsure of what you want, the restaurant has an international a la carte menu. Signature dishes include Vienna schnitzel ($198), pan fried veal escalope served with french fries, and the New Zealand lamb chop ($248). The lunch buffet costs $198 for adults and $118 for children on weekdays and $228 for adults and $136 for children on weekends. Their dinner buffet costs $368 for adults and $220 for children from Sundays to Thursdays. It costs $398 for adults and $250 for children on Fridays and the weekends. The restaurant is open daily from 6:30am to 1:00am.

European Pleasures
Recently opened TAPEO (19 Hollywood Road, Central, 9123 6049) evokes the relaxed environment of fashionable tapas bars across Spain by seating diners next to one another at the bar which overlooks an open kitchen where chefs prepare fresh tapas dishes with ingredients from Spain as well as fresh locally-sourced and imported seafood and meats. The idea of tapas ties in well with Hong Kong’s love of sharing food – diners can try out a variety of flavours and foods by ordering and sharing different dishes, which can be complemented with a range of Spanish wines and sherries. Popular tapas range from aged Jamon de Jagubo (Iberian ham, $180), to Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician octopus, $81), to the traditional Tortilla ($59). For dessert, choose from a range that includes Churros and Chocolate ($48) which are Spanish doughnuts, or Crèma Catalana, a popular Spanish version of the French crème brûlée. Open Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm.

Edge a little bit to the right on the map and you arrive in Italy, the country with a passion for all things edible. After the successful opening of Sushi Qube (LG/F, No. 41 Wyndham Street, Central, 2810 0803) last November, the creators decided to launch La Qube (1/F, California Tower, No. 30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, 2526 3880), a Milanese restaurant with striking white-clothed tables on a black floor, against a backdrop of Lan Kwai Fong through the open ceiling-to-floor windows. If you fancy lunch, different set menus are available throughout the week, in addition to an a la carte menu which is used for dinner. The house recommends the Antipasto Toscano for two ($198) to start of with, a combination of Italian seafood, cheese, cold cuts and veggies, then the Ossobuco alla Milanese ($228), braised veal shank with white wine risotto, or the Fresh, Whole Boston Lobster with wild rice and organic vegetables ($488 grilled, $498 for Thermidor) for mains. Deserts are rather unique – try the tofu crème brûlée with asparagus gelato ($68) or the Coconut Dacquoise with passionfruit curd and pineapple gelato ($68). Open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday, with Friday and Saturday nights open from 6pm till late as half of the restaurant transforms into a club with a DJ.

Meanwhile, the Aspasia (The Luxe Manor, 39 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 3763 8800), The Luxe Manor, has introduced a new a la carte menu that showcases Michelin-starred chef Roland Schuller’s creations with fresh Italian seasonal seafood produce. Appetisers include a popular Italian Riviera summer specialty: a pan-fried scallop topped with crispy foie gras, served with pumpkin and red onion ($178) and a novel Japanese-style bouillabaise seafood broth that twins monkfish and gurnard from regional waters with Italian lobster and Mediterranean red prawn ($278). For mains, try the new signature meat dish which is a double veal chop with Jerusalem artichokes and an Arabic coffee sauce ($358), and a spiced violet ice cream with almond olive oil cookies ($108) for dessert.

Classic Italian
Zeffirino Ristorante opened in Genova Italy in 1939, quickly built a reputation for its extraordinary Italian cuisine and became a favourite among celebrities such as Luciano Pavarotti, Maradona and Pope John Paul II, who named chef Gian Paolo “The Pope’s Pestomaker”. In 2000, it opened in the Regal Hotel where it now has two branches (Regal Hongkong Hotel: 2837 1799 and Regal Kowloon Hotel: 2313 8612).

Zeffirino chefs Marco Torregossa and Tamara Mattii have recently created an Eight-course Tasting Menu for the discerning palate, which includes tartar of sea bass with capers and anchovies in lemon olive oil dressing. The fish is flown in from Italy and the delicacy of its flavour is superbly complemented by the tang of the capers and dressing. A classic match of Italian Parma ham with cantaloupe melon follows. The chefs also recommend their tagliolini with lobster in fresh tomato sauce. After refreshing your taste buds with a lemon sherbet, the main course of choice is grilled marinated lamb chops from Australia in a creamy and irresistible black truffle sauce, a dish no meat-lover can afford to miss.

The menu signs off with a Zeffirino dessert platter, which includes the all-time favourite tiramisu and a Sophia Loren – the puff pastry dessert with vanilla orange cream favoured by the famous Italian actress. What adds more flavour to your dining experience is its live piano music performance, a soothing accompaniment to meals at both locations.