Hong Kong Living Influencer Awards 2020: Dining

Tom Andrews, senior asset manager of Hongkong Land

Tom Andrews launched BaseHall at a time when restaurants and bars were struggling under the pressure of the Coronavirus outbreak and citywide social distancing rules. To some, it may seem an unlikely time to introduce a gourmet food hall concept as the number of people dining out dwindles. 

But Andrews believes that there couldn’t have been a better time to enter into the market, “we spent almost two years choosing our operators and searching across the city for the most exciting and upcoming talent. Our aim is to incubate new F&B concepts in Hong Kong by providing a unique platform for creative chefs to develop new offerings,” he says.  

While BaseHall has only been open for a few months, the Jardine House food hall has already established itself as a dining hotspot. It is home to a number of trendy homegrown F&B brands like Roti Tori, Westside Taqueria and Cookie DPT, to name a few. 

For aspiring restaurateurs, Andrews advises, “don’t be shy to reach out to F&B operators in Hong Kong. Everyone is always so happy to give advice and to help each other out. Send out emails or drop people private messages – you will be amazed at how supportive everyone is.”

Dimple Yuen, co-founder and head distiller of Two Moons Distillery

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dimple Yuen is the city’s first female gin distiller and co-founder of Two Moons Distillery. One of her biggest milestones was becoming the first gin from Hong Kong to win silver at the prestigious World Gin Awards 2020 London Dry Gin category. The win came as a result of a two-year journey working with relevant government parties to acquire all the necessary licenses, equipment and know-hows to establish a gin distillery in Hong Kong. 

“As challenging as it was, the entire experience was rewardingly worthwhile and definitely one of the proudest goals I’ve ever achieved,” says Yuen. “I’m proud to be at the forefront of the distilling industry, putting our city on the map and showcasing local flavours to the world.” 

Although gin production is still rather niche in the city, Yuen finds that Hong Kong is a great starting point for anyone to achieve their dreams and encourages others to take the first step. “Hong Kong is full of people naturally equipped with the city’s ‘can-do spirit’ and the competitive landscape gives rise to new ideas and exciting inspiration.”

Wil Fang, founder of Cookie DPT

If you have a sweet tooth like us, you’ve probably heard of the hugely addictive baked goods from Wil Fang’s Cookie DPT. With a prolific social media presence and pop-ups which attract long lines of customers, the dessert brand likes to keep its fans on their toes with limited-edition flavours and collaborations coming out almost every week. 

In 2009, Fang moved to Hong Kong from New York to work on a five-month assignment for Ralph Lauren – he ended up staying in the city for 11 years and counting. “Hong Kong’s ability to evolve and adapt to changes is unique and I believe it’s why so many people come and never leave,” says Fang.

After Ralph Lauren, Fang spent two years working at Apple before he decided to leave the corporate world and started his own fashion agency and a multi-brand lifestyle store called DPT in Taipei. The shop houses a coffee nook called Coffee DPT, which eventually evolved into Cookie DPT as we know it today. “I’m so proud of my team for their perseverance working in one of the toughest environments for any and all businesses, let alone a start-up,” says Fang.

No one could have predicted what this year would bring, but Fang remains upbeat, “we haven’t had the luxury of trying to weather the storm. We’ve had to continually adapt and keep moving forward, literally not knowing what new challenge the next day could bring.”

Maël Vastine, chief operating officer of Classified Group

Maël Vastine joined Classified Group as chief operating officer at a critical time – during February 2020 when the coronavirus outbreak first started. For many, it may be seen as a low-point, but Vastine sees a silver lining in the sense that he is able to lead Classified Group through the tough times and offer Hong Kong comfort food in this climate.

Under his leadership, Classified Group has been able to flourish despite difficult circumstances. “The pandemic is pushing us to think and work differently,” Vastine says. “We have to make sure we’re able to adapt by pivoting our business strategy and the way we do business.” He finds his biggest inspiration in the founders of Classified Group, Paulo Pong and Arnold Wong, who saw this period as an opportunity to think outside the box when it came to Classified Group.

When asked for one piece of advice on operating a restaurant in Hong Kong, Vastine says: “Find a good landlord first, then surround yourself with passionate people.”

Alice Wong, founding partner of Vinetude Asia and Vino Missionari  

Alice Wong describes her journey to wine as “a bit like a fairytale”. Her first career after graduating from college in New York was in physical therapy. Back then, wine was just a hobby for her. Over the years, Wong met many people who prompted her to establish a career in wine. 

She finally founded Vinetude Asia with her fellow WSET Diploma graduates several years after she moved back to Hong Kong. Their goal was to offer bespoke workshops for various types of clients, ranging from beginners to wine professionals. 

In 2018, the Vinitaly International Academy from Verona launched its revised Italian Wine Ambassador edition in Hong Kong. “It was known in the industry to be an extremely difficult title to obtain and I was proud to be amongst its first batch of graduates,” says Wong.  

Believing that there is a wine for everyone without necessarily being a label drinker, Wong joined three other Italian wine specialists in Hong Kong and started another company, Vino Missionari, which specialised in the promotion of Italian wine, gastronomy and culture. With the aim of bringing top-notch Italian wine education to a broader audience, they successfully piloted the Italian Wine Maestro Program in Hong Kong earlier this year.