Bored Hongkongers have been desperate to find new leisure destinations for weekends and staycations. One of the new favourite escapes is called T-Bay, at the north end of Tung Chung directly facing the city’s international airport.
A cluster of bars and restaurants with alfresco patios and terraces, it is only a 10-minute walk from the Citygate Outlets mall. When construction is completed, likely early next year, T-Bay will boast a fantastic waterfront boardwalk looking out to Chek Lap Kok.
It is anchored by conjoined hotels the Sheraton Tung Chung and the business-travel-oriented Four Points by Sheraton. Four Points is currently used as a quarantine hotel, but the Sheraton has been booked solid for weekend staycations.
“It’s certainly been a unique time with the Macau bridge and the airport closed. Those are the two key reasons we are here,” says Sander Looijen, the Dutch general manager of the Sheraton and Four Points. “In a normal situation, 30 to 40 per cent of the target audience might be tourists. Since tourism is at zero, we have to focus on locals.
“There’s still quite a bit of development going on, but in a year, maybe two, the whole promenade will be finished. The Macau bridge will reopen, the airport will reopen. We are convinced the future is bright for this development.”
It features two marquee restaurants. Yue, a refined and modern Cantonese outlet, is helmed by chef Jacky Chung Chi-keung, who helped the Lei Garden in Sha Tin earn its first Michelin star in 2011. On the 19th floor is Sunset Grill, a casual steakhouse headed by David Parkins, formerly East hotel’s executive chef, and most recently the number two at Henry in the Rosewood.
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Looijen may run branded luxury hotels, but he didn’t want these establishments to be too exclusive for the district’s middle-class demographic.
“I believe that when the airport reopens, our business will increase, but the natural demand is substantial already,” he says. “We have a very good opportunity to position ourselves to be a bit more exclusive, especially the Sunset Grill with its million-dollar view. But we don’t want it to be too upscale. It wouldn’t be sustainable if it was too expensive. It needs to be casual, approachable. You can wear sports shoes and jeans and feel comfortable.”
Aside from the Sheraton, the independent food establishments in the hub aim for a resort atmosphere while offering a pleasantly high gastronomic standard. The most tropical of the outlets is Cabana Breeze, with tiki lounge decor and an all-encompassing menu that includes pizza, seafood and ribs.
“Sixty per cent of the menu is seafood-based, but it’s a balanced menu – there’s something for everyone,” says Cabana Breeze’s general manager, Imran Khaleel. “If you want snacks there’s a snack menu, if you want dinner there’s pizza and pasta. For serious seafood lovers there’s a cold seafood platter and oysters.
“What I expected was local people from Tung Chung would dominate the place, but a lot of people are coming from outside this area. People can’t travel so they want an awesome new place to get out of the city.”
Khaleel knows first-hand the appeal of leaving Hong Kong Island for greener pastures. The Lantau resident used to commute daily to his previous jobs at Zuma and Fang Fang in Central, and Tai Kwun in Mid-Levels.
“With the whole pandemic, that made me realise Tung Chung is an area that hasn’t been touched, hasn’t been like looked after well. But the potential is there,” he says. “The entire area is changing. There’s a whole lot of big plans for the coming years, with a marina club, a yacht club and a new MTR line.”
In addition to Cabana Breeze, Khaleel and chef Faycal El Moujahid also launched The Upper Deck one floor above, on the opposite terrace at T-Bay. Here, the Morocco-born chef applies more of his French fine-dining training to the casual American grill, prettying up the presentation of dry-aged beef, barbecue-smoked chicken and pan-seared sea bass.
“The quality I used to bring to fine-dining restaurants I make sure I still keep here. I would never go below that standard but we’ll be more casual, with fun plating,” says El Moujahid.
“It was a big challenge to set up these two restaurants. Initially, some suppliers would say we don’t deliver here. Sometimes if we run out of something, I have to send a GoGoVan to the supplier. That’s what we’ve done for fresh seafood and oysters,” he adds.
For El Moujahid, an empty pantry means he’s doing something right. In fact, business has been better than they expected. However, the weekend is when the alfresco terraces and patios come alive.
“Chef is finding it difficult to dry-age the meat because it is going out really fast. We’re looking at buying another fridge to keep more meat,” Khaleel says. “We’ve had guests say they were quarantining in Four Points and for 21 days they’re just watching people below at Cabana Breeze, so the first thing they want to do outside was to come down here for a meal. I mean, it’s a massive big hotel so just imagine that’s a lot of potential customers.”
This is why The Upper Deck is not concerned that their dry-aged steaks are competing directly with those at the Sheraton’s Sunset Grill. Looijen says he’s also not worried about the two steakhouses in proximity.
“There is some menu overlap, but I believe we play in a little bit of a different space,” he says. “They’re a little bit more casual, a bit more burgers and fried squid; whereas we’re a little more upscale. There are 1,200 rooms here so they complement us and we complement them. We both need each other. T-Bay benefits as we create more of a dining hub.”
Instead of rote Asian and Chinese restaurants, there’s gourmet Mexican outlet La Vista, and a beautifully designed Middle Eastern oasis called Maison Du Mezze, opened by Jordanian businessman Musab Suleiman.
“I only started three years ago in restaurants. I’m in the watch business,” says Suleiman, who also owns Shahrazad Lebanese in Central. “We serve, I would say, 50 per cent Lebanese food and another 50 per cent are dishes inspired from European countries like Spain, Italy and Greece. But I would say all of it is Mediterranean cuisine if you look at the map.”
Suleiman is careful to keep the Middle Eastern flavours traditional, but tweaks the cooking slightly to suit Hong Kong palettes.
“We believe that with good food, good service and good environment, then even people from Hong Kong Island will come here. In my mind, we’re keeping it authentic but also suitable for locals. We only change a little bit without altering the character or DNA of the dishes.
“For example, in the Middle East and Arabia, people prefer meat like lamb to be medium well done. But in Hong Kong, people prefer medium rare so we’re serving it that way. Actually, after living here for 10 years, I now prefer meat medium rare, too.”
T-Bay, 9 Yi Tung Road, Tung Chung, Lantau Island.
Sunset Grill
19/F, Sheraton Tung Chung, tel: 2535 0025
Yue
2/F, Sheraton Tung Chung, tel: 2535 0028
Cabana Breeze
Shop G12-G15, T-Bay, tel: 2777 8980
The Upper Deck
Shop 101, 1/F, T-Bay, tel: 2757 8889
La Vista
Shop 106, 1/F, T-Bay, tel: 2368 6866
Maison Du Mezze
Shop G10, T-Bay, tel: 2330 0131
