IT TAKES A LOT OF MOXY to open a bar or
restaurant in Hong Kong. For every
success story like fine-dining Amber
or hipper-than-thou Yardbird, there
are dozens that vanish in months,
barely making a dent in the city’s
crowded culinary market.
In an era when we eat with our
eyes (and invariably phones) first, it’s
not surprising that good design has
become what sets a place apart. Here
we profile three Hong Kong-based
studios whose works propel
restaurants to even greater heights,
and ask the designers to reveal a few
of their tactics and tricks of the trade.DESIGN FIRM: NC DESIGN &
ARCHITECTURE
SPECIALTY: SPEAKEASY STYLE
Sometimes to stand out you need to blend in. This
strategy proved fruitful for two speakeasy-style
establishments in Hong Kong, Mrs. Pound (mrspound.
com; drinks for two HK$220) and Foxglove (foxglovehk.
com; drinks for two HK$280), both of which caused a
social media stir when they opened thanks to their
hidden-in-plain-sight novelty. ncda.biz.TAC T I C 1 : BUILD A MYSTERY
In 2014, Mrs. Pound drew crowds through a playful take
on their surroundings of Sheung Wan’s Hollywood Road
area, which is lined with galleries and boutiques retailing
Chinese antiques. Concealed behind the façade of a
traditional stamp shop is a bar and restaurant with a
whimsical interior reflecting the fictional story of a
certain Mrs. Pound. Part of the fun was figuring out how
to gain entry via pressing a particular stamp. “Our
design philosophy centers around developing new ways
for people to interact with their world,” explains Nelson
Chow, founder of NC Design & Architecture. By playing
this teasing game, he was able to toy with the public’s
curiosity and desire for discovery, creating the feeling of
an in-the-know elite clientele.TAC T I C 2 : MASTER MISDIRECTION
From the outside of Foxglove, all you can see is a
beautiful umbrella store with a window display not too
different from the Berluti boutique down the road. “The
idea of hiddenness and attraction helped create this
tension between wanting to be seen as well as remaining
invisible,” Chow stresses. “The duality of purposes
enabled us to create an intriguing misdirection.”
The vintage-themed façade sets the tone for the
dramatic interior inspired by the golden ages of
transportation (think: plush private planes, opulent train
carriages, and elegant automobiles from eras bygone).
“Design is about reinventing space to help create
meaningful connections,” Chow says.DESIGN FIRM: JOYCE WANG
SPECIALTY: VISUAL STORIES
In the unveiling of a new restaurant, the chef ’s culinary
pedigree usually takes center stage, but not when it’s
designed by Joyce Wang. The acclaimed architect and
designer often gets equal billing with the chef, a well-
deserved accolade if you consider how much she brings
to the table. From the cinematic Ammo (ammo.com .hk;
dinner for two HK$750) to the mesmerizing Mott 32
(mott32.com; dinner for two HK$800), which was named
World Interior of the Year in 2014 at the Inside Festival in
Singapore, Wang creates polished spaces that transport
and enthrall. joycewang.com.Mrs. Pound’s
hidden entrance.Foxglove, behind an
umbrella-store façade.8 MAY 2017 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
/ beyond/DESIGN
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF MRS. POUND; COURTESY OF FOXGLOVE