Your essential guide to Hong Kong

FEAST

Feed all five senses at Maxim’s Palace, a decades-old dim sum institution at City Hall offering a sense of occasion and views of Victoria Harbour. Do as generations of Hong Kong families have done and install yourself around a circular table to select steaming dishes from trolleys as they trundle past. Arrive early.

TRY

Save space for the best egg tarts in town at Bakehouse, where the crumbly crust of the Cantonese classic has been given a Swiss sourdough twist. The constant but quickly moving queue outside the bakery’s SoHo location is testament to its pastries’ perennial popularity. Try to avoid the breakfast and lunchtime crowds.

EXPLORE

Amid Central’s soaring glass-and-steel skyscrapers, Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts allows you to picture the city’s past. Once a colonial-era police station, magistracy and prison, the complex has been sensitively renewed by Herzog & de Meuron to house innovative exhibitions, high-end eateries and spectacular public spaces.

DRINK

For one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, look no further than The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. Perched on the luxury hotel’s 25th floor, the Japanese izakaya-inspired watering hole is easy on the eye – think gilded glamour, greenery and curated curios – and experimental with its libations.

DINE

Green Michelin Star-winner Amber’s menu is a feat of ingenuity, and chef Richard Ekkebus has left no stone unturned in his efforts to make high-end gastronomy sustainable. You won’t find any dairy products here, seafood is sustainably sourced and animal proteins ethically raised – plump for the sumptuous king crab with puy lentils, dry sherry and Espelette chili.

DISCOVER

M+, Herzog & de Meuron’s paean to visual culture, must be experienced to be believed. At once grand and intricate, its expansive exhibition halls shine the spotlight on an unrivalled collection of Chinese contemporary design, architecture and art from across Asia, while exterior spaces grant cinematic harbour panoramas and excellent photo opportunities.

GIVE

Get personal on Man Wa Lane, better known as Chop Alley, where master artisans carve custom stamps from jade, marble or wood. Historically used to authenticate documents, these unique chops make excellent gifts today. Choose your preferred material and design and watch as they are skilfully and speedily transferred onto a seal in front of your eyes.

MIX

Enhance your knowledge of fine spirits and cocktails with PDT Sunday School, a masterclass led by some of the best bartenders in the business at PDT Hong Kong. Beginning with a welcome drink, you’ll proceed with tastings and a cocktail-making experience centred on a specific spirit.

REFLECT

Tang Dynasty-style architecture meets tranquillity at the Chi Lin Nunneryand adjacent Nan Lian Garden, a Buddhist complex in the shadow of the city’s symbolic Lion Rock. Home to some 1,000 nuns who have quietly gone about their offerings here since the 1930s, its visitors will find stillness among the exquisite bonsai trees, pagodas and pavilions.

ASCEND

One of the best things to do with kids in Hong Kong is to rise above the cityscape on the Peak Tram, a historic funicular railway that delivers Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, boardgame-themed attraction Monopoly Dreams and astonishing outlooks.

SAIL

Victoria Harbour was once awash with crimson-sailed wooden junk boats. Today, just a few remain and, of this handful, only one lays claim to complete authenticity –  Dukling. Built in neighbouring Macau in 1955 and lovingly restored to her former glory in 2015, Dukling offers cruises and private charters aboard a living landmark.

VENTURE

Leave the city behind for the day in the charming seaside town of Sai Kung. Watch as fishermen sell fresh catches from a waterfront restaurant or take a boat to Yim Tin Tsai, an island once home to Hakka salt farmers now revitalised through art. To finish, book a table at Mediterranean restaurant one-thirtyone.

Did you know that Queen’s Road, which runs through the heart of Central, is Hong Kong’s oldest street? Within walking distance of both Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, and The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, it was originally 6.4km long and completed by the British Army in 1843. Before the island’s extensive land reclamation, it was also used to partially track the original shoreline.

- The concierge team at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.