I’m not entirely abreast of cultural conventions in Hong Kong, but if someone asked me out to this new Causeway Bay restaurant, they might be in for a slap. Tom Aikens should know better. The reputed British chef, who trained alongside Pierre Koffmann and Jöel Robuchon — before, at 26, becoming the youngest chef to hold two Michelin stars — is rather hoping his pigs are fat; his new Hong Kong eatery The Fat Pig employing a nose-to-tail philosophy that will surely benefit from porkier pigs.
“Leave no part behind” reads the neon sign at Aikens’ latest international opening, where the top chef will be barbecuing; baking; braising; steaming; and slow-roasting every last inch of one of his favourite meats.
Long time collaborators, London-based studio Michaelis Boyd Associates, have given the porcine temple a look that fuses posh diner with an inkling of rusticity; Asian street markets are recalled through choice materials. “It’s not just about ribs and pork chops. I want to encourage less-adventurous diners to try cuts they’ve never had before”, Aikens pronounces, as HK’s gourmands squeal with delight. (Sorry.)
