Running from October 15 to December 5, new pop-up Chinese restaurant 888 FATFATFAT promises a showcase of Chinese culinary delights at a speakeasy-esque location in Central Hong Kong.
In ancient China, being, well, fat, was considered a good thing. Having ample proportions meant wealth and prosperity – you had what it took to survive the hard times that invariably fell. So the curious name of Hong Kong’s newest culinary pop-up, which combines a love handle mantra (in actuality a play on the Chinese term Fat Choi (發財) which means good fortune) with the equally auspicious number 888, just might hint at good things to come.
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Secreted away at Exchange Square, 888 FATFATFAT is a fun take on classic Chinese regional cuisine. The pop-up’s location itself is supposed to hint at the mythological Mount Penglai island, a place where rice bowls and wine goblets never empty and where the eight immortals went to feast, and like a traditional cocktail speakeasy, finding the restaurant (the hint is to look for the lady in white) is half the fun.
Within, you’ll find a treasure trove of activities, including fun food-related idioms, an abacus-based quiz at the meal’s end, and a button that summons the wine to flow, literally, as you wait for communal dishes by chef Wong Hon Keung, served at one of the city’s longest dining tables.
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The menu features classic pan-Chinese dishes as well as some great plant-based cooking by chef Peggy Chan of Grassroots Initiative that will appear to herbivores and carnivores alike. Highlights include the Double-boiled Elixir of Youth, a soup of 13 nourishing ingredients; the Henan-style 8 Immortal’s Chicken; Xinjian vegetarian “lamb” skewers; giant razor clams from Scotland; and Chinese custard “churros” with condensed milk.
Be sure to check out our social media accounts for reservation info for this truly unique dining encounter in the heart of the city.
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