From artisanal hot chocolate to spicy fried chicken, February has brought a wide range of tastebud-tingling treats. Here’s our roundup of the best dishes and new openings we tried around Hong Kong this month.

The Last Resort

The latest opening in the Black Sheep empire, The Last Resort is an ’80s Canadian dive bar, inspired by small town watering holes and old school sports bars. A hockey stick adorns a wall alongside portraits of the sport’s star players, with powerful ’80s ballads pumping in the background. The menu is a simple, tasty offering of crowd favourites – fried chicken plus an array of sides and drinks that will bring back memories of your college days. The fried chicken comes in generous portions and in three ways – regular, spicy or in a sandwich with cheese and pickles. The secret to getting it extra crispy? According to chef Jowett Yu, it’s the double frying.

The Last Resort, 52B Peel St, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2442 2440

Casa Cacao

From the owners of El Celler de Can Roca in Catalonia, Casa Cacao has brought the bean to bar experience to Hong Kong. Headed by pastry chef Jordi Roca, winner of the 2014 World’s Best Pastry Chef award, Casa Cacao highlights the aromas of cacao grown in different regions. Unique flavour combinations including goats milk and liquorice are sure to excite the chocaholics among us.

The star of the show however, is the signature dairy-free dark chocolate. The lack of milk in the mix means the true cacao flavour is not masked – with a light acidity and notes of red fruits, the chocolate flavour develops and changes the longer it is in your mouth. The chocolate is also available melted in a cup. It’s light and flavourful, perfect for a decadent after dinner treat.

Casa Cacao @ The Cupping Room, Shop 309, 3/F, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 2799 3398

Woo Bar x Plantin Kaviari Afternoon Tea

Woo Bar at the W Hotel is offering a truffle-tastic afternoon tea in collaboration with Plantin Kaviari. Black truffles sourced from Provence, France take centre stage in this afternoon tea set with executive chef Rafael Gil (whom you may know from The Final Table) creating the savoury offerings while pastry chef Baptiste Villefranque tackles the sweets.

The highlight of the set for us was the W truffle comté cheese macaron – a deceptively rich savoury experience, presented in the form of the traditionally sweet treat. The set also features an interactive mini truffle hunt, where diners use the custom-made mini shovels to dig chocolate truffles out from beneath cacao beans, reflecting the way truffles are traditionally sourced.

Available from now until 31 May 2021

Woo Bar, W Hong Kong, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong +852 3717 2222

Bar 181 at Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum’s is bringing one of nature’s healthiest and most delicious natural ingredients – honey – to its iconic British bar. A twist on a New Orleans classic, the Honey Alexander (HK$128) is an indulgent dessert cocktail ideal for after your meal. Made up of Cognac VSOP, Ginger & Sicilian Lemon Infusion and premium honey shaken with dark cacao and cream, the creamy sweetness eventually gives way to the brandy, which packs a flavourful punch. Finish off by munching on the house-made 181 Honeycomb Candy that adorns the cocktail.

Fortnum & Mason, 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong +852 3916 8181

Kowloon Shangri-La x Crabtree & Evelyn Afternoon Tea

What better way to kick off the Year of the Ox than with this #daretobedifferent experience. In collaboration with Crabtree & Evelyn, the Kowloon Shangri-La presents a British afternoon tea set inspired by the ingredients used in the skincare brand’s signature collections- rose, apple and bergamot, coconut and sandalwood, açai and goji.

The delicious spicy scallop tartar with ginger and bergamot sauce, inspired by the Renew + Nourish Hand Cream which contains ginger and bergamot, is a fragrant, tongue tingling delight. The flavourful sauce highlights the delicacy of the soft scallop. This afternoon tea comes with the added bonus of a Crabtree & Evelyn Experience Gift Pack (value of HK$120) with every purchase of the tea set.

Available from now until 31 March from 3-6pm

Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel, 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong, +852 2727 2111

Aria

The elevated Italian cuisine at Aria has been reimagined in the new a La Carte menu by executive chef Andrea Zamboni. The new menu features Wagyu ribeye, colourful turbot ‘xiao long bao’ and homing pigeon, however our favourite was the L’Uovo – a delicate glass full of Chiccho Cerea scrambled eggs, poached quail egg, potato mousseline, baeri caviar and ikura. Fresh white truffle is shaved right at your table to top off the decadent antipasti. The sharp, salty ikura cuts through the light fluffy eggs, and creamy potato, for balanced flavour in every mouthful.

Aria Italian, 24/F, California Tower, 30-36 D’Aguilar St, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2804 1116

See also: #legendeats: The best dishes we ate in January 2021