It’s an exciting month for Asia’s dining scene as restaurants prepare to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year with dedicated menus, while chefs, fresh from their festive break, collaborate on spectacular dinners from Bali to Hong Kong and Samui.
This January, make the most of the cooler weather (because you know it won’t last long), and venture out to dine, whether it’s for an indulgent champagne-laced brunch with friends, grabbing an intriguing cocktail with colleagues, or marking a special occasion at the beginning of a new year.
Mythical Chinese Concoctions
Acclaimed cocktail bar Red Sugar at Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong, has launched Liú, a new cocktail menu that promises to whisk sippers off on a sensory journey that masterfully translates the ancient Chinese philosophy of the Four Seasons and the symbolic Four Gentlemen with a series of insightful libations. A menu of liquid poetry for all seasons, the new cocktails showcase uniquely Chinese flavours and have been conceived in partnership with Hung Tong, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant.
Techniques like fat-washing, smoking and tea infusions have been employed to capture the rich, tangible world of Cantonese flavours, with menu highlights including Chūn, a refreshing gin sour with floral notes from Tieguanyin tea enhanced by elderflower liqueur; Dōng, a twist on the Old Fashioned incorporating goose fat-washed bourbon with the delicate scent of lychee wood smoke; and Méi, a tart and soothing blend of salted plum, Huadiao wine, and hibiscus tea.
A Michelin-starred Celebration
The Mandarin Oriental Singapore ushers in the Year of the Horse in style at Cherry Garden by Chef Fei, which welcomes the Chinese Lunar New Year with the Michelin-recognised chef’s take on classic Yu Sheng.
This refined take on the celebratory platter, rooted in Chaoshan tradition, features julienned and Wujiang salted vegetables and crispy taro and radish, topped with a luscious Chaoshan sour plum sauce. For a real indulgence, the premium Lobster Yu Sheng features sweet, succulent live Australian lobster and is available a la carte or as part of the Fortune Set Menu, where it’s paired with symbolic toppings like geoduck clam or Atlantic salmon.
Families can celebrate with four exquisite set menus, each featuring signature favourites and auspicious dishes ranging from pan-fried lotus root patties stuffed with crab meat, marinated jellyfish head with caviar, crispy roasted pork belly, marinated celtuce with pickled chilli, and charcoal-grilled New Zealand live abalone.
From France to Uluwatu
Acclaimed luxury resort Alila Villas Uluwatu welcomes Michelin-recognised Chef Stéphane Carrade this month for an extraordinary three-day culinary residency at CIRE. The event – 15 to 17 January – will showcase the culinary prowess of this celebrated gastronomic figure from Gascony, in southwest France, a region celebrated for its rich produce and storied traditions.
Defined by spontaneity and a deep appreciation for ingredients, Chef Carrade’s dishes carry his signature philosophy of balance, precision, and nature. For this Bali residency, which includes two degustation dinners and a curated brunch, this philosophy meets the island’s own rich terroir, with the resulting degustation menu capturing the spirit of the destination’s ingredients like artisan Balinese sea salt, freshly caught seafood from local fishermen, and Kintamani-grown chocolate.
Sublime Dining in Samui
Sa-Nga, the signature dining destination at Centara Reserve Samui’s signature restaurant, Sa-Nga, welcomes Michelin-recognised Chef Stefan Heilemann of Switzerland’s two-Michelin-starred Widder Restaurant this month (17-18 January) for a unique culinary collaboration.
Considered one of Europe’s most respected contemporary chefs, Chef Heilemann has led Widder Restaurant to international acclaim for its refined, modern cuisine, which is defined by precision, elegance, and a distinctive ability to bridge classical foundations with modern techniques.
In Samui, the chef will team up with Sa-Nga’s resident chef, Chef Yai, for a refined seven-course dining experience that harmoniously complements the restaurant’s elevated interpretation of Thai cuisine. Diners can expect a thoughtfully composed dining journey highlighting premium ingredients, meticulous technique, and nuanced flavour combinations.
New Chef for Iconic Vietnam Resort
The luxurious Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai has appointed Heath Gordon, a champion of sustainable sourcing and experience-driven cuisine, as its new executive chef.
A Melbourne-native, Chef Gordon brings over two decades of experience to his new role, with his career spanning stints in Australia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. At the Four Seasons, he will work with the existing culinary team to deliver a renewed emphasis on fresh, local flavours, including recipes from nearby Hue, where a former king once tasked the royal kitchen with inventing a new dish each day.
The chef will helm all of the resort’s outlets, which include Café Nam Hai, which serves wholesome fare in the day and opulent Indian specialities by night; Lá Sen, where Vietnamese fare is fused with French influences; and NAYUU, which showcases seasonally inspired omakase journeys.
Gordon will also oversee in-villa dining as well as The Nam Hai Cooking Academy, an interactive kitchen where guests can explore Vietnamese cuisine through hands-on classes.
Ode to Yi O
Hong Kong’s one-Michelin-starred Andō, the creation of chef/owner Agustin Balbi, has launched a new tasting menu celebrating the city’s prized Yi O Rice. Running from 19 January through March, the new menu marks the launch of a new quarterly dining series, with each edition focusing on a single, exceptional ingredient.
Lantau Island’s Yi O is one of Hong Kong’s largest remaining rice-producing areas. Yi O Rice is harvested only twice a year and is famed for its superior aroma, texture, and yield.
The new eight-course tasting menu explores rice in its many forms – steamed, puffed, fermented, creamed, and simmered – and includes everything from playful snack interpretations such as crispy rice spheres with crab, rice paper rolls with prawn and cilantro, and tuna “onigiri”, through to pigeon with puffed rice and red cabbage. A highlight not to be missed will be Chef Balbi’s Arroz Caldoso with lobster and XO sauce, a deeply aromatic, generously textured rice dish that embodies the restaurant’s identity, bridging Spanish rice traditions with Japanese precision and Hong Kong produce.
In addition, Michelin Guide Sommelier of the Year Carlito Chiu will present a rice-focused drinks pairing, drawing from Japan, Korea, China, and beyond. Diners can expect everything from sparkling sake from Kumazawa Brewery and Korean Takju to French-brewed Junmai sake and Shaoxing wine.
La Vie en Rose
Hong Kong’s French Riviera-inspired bistro La Petite Maison marks the move of its popular La Vie en Rosé brunch to Saturdays (starting from 17 January) with the addition of indulgent new dishes.
The refreshed Saturday brunch menu includes free-flowing sharing starters, fresh seafood platters, truffle-laced morsels, decadent desserts and seasonal cocktails (you’ll love the show-stopping Nitro Tomatini, featuring Ketel One, cherry tomato and bell pepper shrub, and liquid nitrogen) inspired by the sun-drenched Côte d’Azur.
New additions include classics like Sunny Side Up Eggs, served with blue crystal prawns, fresh basil and briny pops of caviar; fresh oysters with smoked tabasco; marinated salmon carpaccio with black olive tapenade; and dressed crab salad lifted with bright yuzu mayo.
Other popular choices include the avocado and tuna tartare; seafood platters heaped with yellowtail and tuna carpaccio, crab, oysters and blue crystal prawns; and grilled lobster lathered in Provençal butter.
An Afternoon Tea for Your Skin
The Langham Hong Kong has launched a new afternoon tea, available through January and February, in collaboration with Hong Kong skincare brand Skin Need, with sweet and savoury delights crafted by executive pastry Chef Tin Lai.
For the Skin Need Afternoon Tea Set, Palm Court will present savoury and sweet treats, inspired by key Skin Need ingredients, including red raspberry seed oil, which protects the skin from UV damage, and algae and seaweed extract, both known for their anti-inflammation and anti-ageing properties.
Highlights of the indulgent afternoon tea include Crab Meat Brioche topped with Champagne jelly; Smoked Salmon Seaweed Sandwich, and Raspberry Duck Foie Gras Puff. Those with a sweet tooth will love the Citrus Olive Oil Cake; the Raspberry and Pistachio Cake with vanilla Chantilly cream; and the Orange Chocolate Cake, featuring orange in three textures. Two exclusive plant-based treats include the savoury Beetroot and Pomelo Vegan Tartlet and the Vegan Carrot Cake, an American classic with mixed nuts and vegan vanilla cream.
Guests will also be presented with an exclusive Rosy and Nourished Skin Care Gift Set that includes the UV Perfect Rosy Pink SPF40, five Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Aqua Infusion Masks, and a voucher for a bespoke Facial Treatment.