38 SEPTEMBER 2019 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
DINING
Menus as Magnets
In Hong Kong, a city that loves to eat, you’re measured by the
quality of your menus. Rather than rest on its pedigreed
laurels, the new St. Regis debuts with two ambitious
restaurants that already boast guest-books full of regulars.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER KUCWAYRoasted
Iberico pork
with black
garlic and
rosemary.OLIVIER ELZER HUDDLES with his
staff at L’Envol before the lunchtime
rush. The daily menu review takes
longer than it would at most
restaurants, but then again, the mod
French offerings here change as
often as the tablecloths, which not so
incidentally are embroidered subtly
with champagne bubbles. Elzer’s
emphasis on seasonality is a key
ingredient, though not the only one,
at his restaurant in the St. Regis
Hong Kong.
In a city where “Have you eaten
yet?”—sik fan mei ah?—is the
sta nda rd g reeting at a ny time of day,
it’s safe to say that the path to
understanding, not to mention
w inning over, Hong Kong is most
often over a meal. That’s true
whether you’re courting vocal
seniors huddled around a makeshift
table covered with bamboo steamers
of dim sum, business suits convening
for brief lunch meetings, or trend-
setters on the hunt for the city’s
newest and hottest flavors. So, if
you’re going to open a new hotel, then
your menus best be up to snu ff in t his
cit y of wel l rounded tastes a nd
intense culinary competition.
Having opened its doors in April,
the St. Regis Hong Kong offers a two-
pronged gourmand attack, with a de
rigueur Chinese restaurant already at
the top of the game, and a wonderfully
unfussy fine-dining French option a
floor away. Of course, every St. Regis
around the world is known for its
champagne sabering at half five each
a f ter noon, a nd t hat is no di fferent
here, even if it does feel a bit contrived.
Neither of the property’s top tables,
fortunately, falls into that category.
L’Envol succeeds with haute French
fare given comforting twists, while
Run takes traditional Cantonese
cuisine to a different level.THIS BEING HONG KONG, the lunch
crowd at L’Envol is a mix of business
suits and those simply looking for a
decent midday meal. Impressively,
what most have in common is that
they’ve been here before, even though
the hotel is so young. “I have created