The newest openings from Leading Nation, Margo and Kyle & Bain are set to serve modern European dishes and soul-soothing martinis this month.
Despite troubled times for the hospitality industry under government Covid restrictions, there’s been no shortage of new openings across Hong Kong’s dynamic yet fickle dining scene of late, from hole-in-the-wall hideaways and neighbourhood hotspots, to Latin-themed cocktail destinations; and innovative gastropubs.
The newest arrivals from Leading Nation, Margo and Kyle & Bain, promise a jab-right cross to the industry’s rapid expansion when the duo open at Ice House Street’s The Galleria Central this month.
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Chef de Cuisine Mario Paecke teams up with bartender John Nugent of The Diplomat to create Margo, a modern European brasserie, and Kyle & Bain, an American martini bar that’s already putting shivers of anticipation down out spines.
Perfectly suited for power lunches and post-work revelry, Margo will be an intimate brasserie that will showcase Paecke’s talents, which were honed during stints at SOMM and Amber. Margo promises to tell a vibrant story of modern European cuisine with eccentricity, flamboyance, and style with quintessential dishes that are light and fresh on the palate.
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Highlights will include 12-month aged organic Tilapia paired with grilled peaches, chanterelle mushrooms and Verbena-Champagne sauce on mashed potatoes; and Königsberger Klopse, a dish of tender veal meatballs and delicate Norwegian langoustine served with fresh and creamy caper sauce to alludes to the chef’s Germanic origins.
Perhaps even more exciting given the hit-and-miss nature of the humble martini in Hong Kong, is Kyle & Bain, which beverage director Nugent (who led The Diplomat to a listing on Asia’s Top 50 bars this year) will helm as the city’s only “American martini bar”. Named, rather whimsically, for the inventors of the first ice machine, Kyle & Bain will serve an intriguing selection of classic takes on the silver bullet, many with nods to the city’s colonial heritage.
“I am prepared to believe that a dry martini slightly impairs the palate, but think what it does for the soul.” – British novelist Alec Waugh
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