I have some thoughts on hotel restaurants

January 29, 2020

I have some thoughts on hotel restaurants

I just bought this dress from the Anna Isoniemi x Adidas collection. I love it.

I love hotel restaurants. Especially in Hong Kong. I've always been the type of person who doesn't mind dining out alone—with some caveats: I prefer eating alone off-peak, at anonymous non-neighborhood places, and I like eating at the bar, if there is one. In Hong Kong, at least in my neighborhood near the center of town, there aren't many options for dining at the bar. So whenever I eat out on my own, I usually find myself eating at a table, which can sometimes be weird. I've wound up in lots of situations in Hong Kong where near-empty restaurants will wedge me elbow-rubbing distance in between a family-of-six (with small children!) and couples on dates. Even when there's hardly anyone else in the room, I've been asked by restaurant staff to share tables with couples.

Solution: Hotel restaurants. Hotels aren't weird about solo diners, they know what to do with us! Hotels also tend to have bars—and these bars tend to serve food! I also love that most larger hotels have all-day-dining options (a weird rarity in parts of central Hong Kong, sometimes I want to eat at 3:30 p.m., you know?).

Here are some of my favorite hotel restaurants in Hong Kong:

Osteria Marzia in The Fleming: Order the hot seafood tower and the chicory salad
The Lobby at the Peninsula: My favorite room in Hong Kong; high tea is mandatory
JW Cafe at the JW Marriott: The breakfast buffet!
Cafe Gray Deluxe at Upper House: Gorgeous views and lots of healthy options on the menu

One of the best bars in Hong Kong is also in a hotel: the XX lounge at the Rosewood Hong Kong is only accessible by women—and only by secret pin-pad code. It's discrete, the drinks are strong (and delicious), and the views across the Harbour are spectacular.

Hi there!

I'm an editorial director and digital media strategist based in between New York and Oxford. Most recently I was the Chief Content Officer at Tatler Asia, where I oversaw eight editions of the print and digital publication in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Prior to living in Hong Kong, I spent a career lifetime in New York where I was the Digital Director at Food & Wine, the Digital Director at WWD, the Editor at Large at Glamour, and the Executive Editor at Epicurious. My first book was published by HarperCollins in 2006. I studied Linguistics as an undergraduate at Dartmouth; completed a Masters in Women's Studies at the University of Oxford; and earned an MA Fashion, with distinction, from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.