John Anthony was apparently the first Chinese man to become a British citizen in 1805. Arriving in London’s Limehouse as an employee of the East India Company, he provided lodgings and food to Chinese sailors and eventually founded the quarter’s Chinatown. In naming its new dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong after Anthony, local restaurateurs Maximal Concepts have turned a neat sleight of hand by repatriating history.
With subtle wit, Hong Kong-based studio Linehouse has transformed a basement space in Causeway Bay into bright and colourful dining room of greens, pinks and blues, whose conceit is a British tea hall turned Chinese canteen. The East and West touches are delicately done, particularly in the use of rattan screens, old-fashioned sliding security grilles, wicker furniture, terracotta tiles rescued from abandoned rural Chinese homes, and vaulted spaces that recall a dockland warehouse, alongside tiles of hand-painted poppies and capuchin monkeys, and bathrooms swathed in stylised renderings and shades that evoke the spice trade.
In the kitchen, meanwhile, executive chef Saito Chu delivers Cantonese grilled flavours and imaginatively conceived dim sum such as the normally pork dish char siu reinterpreted with Wagyu and a sauce of shredded scallions, and xiaolongbao dumplings filled with black squid ink soup.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Shop B01-10
Basement One
Lee Garden Three
1 Sunning Road
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to timeA serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
-
Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
-
A local’s guide to Hong Kong, by photographer Lean LuiAs Hong Kong hosts its annual Art Basel fair, local photographer Lean Lui shares her go-to spots for an alternative take on the city
-
Where to stay in Hong KongFrom sky-high glamour to intimate design sanctuaries, here's our pick of Hong Kong's finest stays
-
Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The Peninsula Hotels broadens its artistic horizons with Victoria and Albert Museum partnershipThe Peninsula Hotels and Victoria and Albert Museum announce a multi-year collaboration set to produce world-class art experiences around the world
-
China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
