A Hong Kong getaway: Where to eat & what to do

Like Simone Biles, Hong Kong has been through a lot in recent years, but just like the Olympic champ, this pint-sized dynamo of a city is not letting anything spoil the party. Instead, it continues to confound the pundits, powering on with new museums and shops, otherworldly cuisine, and new attractions, all while looking fabulous from every angle.
It certainly helps to have that incredibly panorama of Victoria Harbour with its jaw-dropping skyline: A futuristic tableau that mixes neon-charged skyscrapers and bustling retail attractions with strings of tree-cloaked hills and granite mountains cut through by hiking trails.
For the hyperactive tourist, there’s plenty to do as you zip from gleaming shopping malls and fabulous bargains to succulent savouries and intriguing architectural snapshots of the island’s storied past.
In other words, three days is far too short a time to spend in Hong Kong, and a lifetime is not enough. Still, you have to start somewhere.
DAY 1
Celebrate your arrival in Hong Kong with a well-deserved round of pre-dinner drinks at the 49th-floor bar and restaurant, Salisterra. If possible, snag a window seat, the better to take in the bright twinkling lights of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Kowloon across the harbour. That view never gets old. You could stay on for dinner and if you do, order the chicken marinated in Catalan spices, mint yoghurt and orange, and the luscious prawn ceviche seared with lemon sauce.
Alternatively, make tracks for Feuille, where chef David Toutain just earned a Michelin star for his seasonal nature-inspired French menu. Here, the ideal of sustainable gastronomy is zhuzhed up with fantastical creations spiked with everything from sea grapes, lemon tree kombucha and spiny lobster to lychees and Bhutanese pepper, and clams nuzzling French beans and lovage.
DAY 2
Start off the morning on the right foot, as it were, with a session of hot yoga with Rinat Perlman at Good Yoga. You’ll sweat like a pig, but you’ll be completely loose-limbed and alive by the end of the hour-long session.
Hop into a cab and head to West Kowloon Cultural District, a massive development in the making that aims to transform a once neglected part of the city into a cultural hub. One of the centrepieces is the Palace Museum, an offshoot of the one in Beijing, whose 900-plus imperial treasures are displayed in three sprawling internal pavilions. The gift shop downstairs is a great mix of tchotchkes, reproductions, and reference books.
After a Cantonese lunch at the ever-reliable Fook Lam Moon (the seafood noodles and daily dim sum are awesome), book a session with Stone & Star for some soothing crystal energy healing, or perhaps just to pick up a birthstone or two.
By which time, a well-deserved afternoon nap beckons. Because this evening, you have dinner at the Michelin-starred Hansik Goo, Seoul-based chef Mingoo Kang’s first overseas outpost. Here, the MO is classic Korean with a modern twist such as a crowd-pleasing samgye yakbap of tender chicken roulade with ginseng rice; and an omija of water parsley sorbet and yoghurt ice-cream. 
DAY 3
Skip the hotel breakfast and make your way to a cha chan tang. These boisterous neighbourhood cafes (try Kam Fung or Honolulu) are alive with residents and worker bees grabbing a bite before the day begins. If you can’t read the Cantonese menu, just order what the next table is having. Chances are it’ll be a yuen yeung (a potent blend of coffee, tea and carnation milk), a freshly baked bo lo bao, and a sai dor see (or French toast) filled with peanut butter, dipped into an egg mixture and pan-fried, and served with a glob of butter and blanketed in honey. Because, why not?
Return to West Kowloon Cultural District for M+, a massive modern art gallery designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and TFP Farrells. The cavernous galleries are perfect for staging important outsized exhibitions including the current retrospectives of IM Pei, the great American architect behind the Pyramid at the Louvre, and the OCBC Bank and Gateway Towers in Singapore; and Henry Steiner, the iconic graphic designer behind Hong Kong’s bank notes and HSBC’s logo.
Recover from all this strenuous cultural activity with lunch at Testina, an authentic rendition of Milanese cuisine where head chef Marco Todo presents a nose-to-tail menu of crisply fried tripe, whipped cod, and the rich morsels of a pan-seared pig head. Less confrontational perhaps is the roasted bone marrow hit with rosemary, and an addictive plate of crisp churros dipped in dark chocolate.
Head to the airport fully satisfied that after three days of culture, retail, detoxing and retoxing, you’ve not let the side down.
WHERE TO STAY
In Hong Kong, throw a stone and you’ll strike a five-star hotel. Few, though, hit their marks with the same precision and flair as The Upper House. Located within the Pacific Place mixed-use development, this 117-room beauty designed by Andre Fu turns 15 in October 2024, and it’s still remarkably flawless on every metric. From the low-key chic lobby entrance lined with Bedonia stone and nickel fronted by gentle yet whip-smart service, up to the serene guest rooms lined with ash floors, bamboo, oak and light green upholstery, it’s all a treat. If you feel like splurging because you just cashed in your bonus, book an Upper Suite for its views of the harbour and city, and for its enormous, light-filled bathroom. In our books, the latter ranks up there with an Aman bathroom in terms of size and sheer luxury.
GETTING AROUND