If you’re travelling to Hong Kong this holiday season and want to feast with family and friends on Christmas Day, our city has much more to offer than turkey and Christmas pudding. There are plenty of Chinese and Asian restaurants that offer delicious classic dishes with gorgeous dining interiors. So why not try something new and different this year? If you’re a diehard fan of traditional feasts, however, we’ve also picked a few restaurants to keep up with your holiday spirits. Here are our top picks for dining out in Hong Kong this Christmas:

An Asian Style Christmas

Fish School

The seafood speciality restaurant offers some of the most top-notch fruit de mer in town and emphasizes on fresh and seasonal ingredients that are sourced locally. Need a fresh alternative to traditional Christmas fares? Fish School is all about paying tributes to the old fishing culture in Hong Kong. Kick off your Christmas night with a glass of prosecco, followed by eight courses, from oysters with horseradish, smoked cobia terrine, the signature raw crab with sea urchin rice (who doesn’t like some edible flowers on their seafood?) to grilled lobster with garlic chive butter. Finish off the meal with sticky date pudding with goji berries. It’s going to be a jolly Christmas indeed!

When: December 25, 2017, from 6 pm.
Where: 100 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun.
Cost: $850 per person.
Booking: Call 2361-2966.

Second Draft

For a more casual dining experience, the sister restaurant of the infamous Little Bao is the perfect fit. Second Draft will be serving a 5-course menu with a Chinese twist just in time for the festivities. We spy some serious duck actions going on, including the duck breast salad for starter, then complete with beer-braised duck legs (with beer from local brewery HEROES), grilled eels, stir-fry Chinese flat rice noodles with ribeye steak with a hint of rum and desserts? Finish off your meal with a round of Christmas beers for 6 for 400 HKD extra.

When: Today until December 26th
Where: G/F, Little Tai Hang, 98 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang, Hong Kong
Pricing: HK$2650 for 5-6 people, 400 HKD for 6 Christmas beers
Booking: +852 2656 0232. Pre-order required.

Yin Yang Coastal

Opened in 2008, Yin Yang is a private kitchen that offers farm-to-table Chinese cuisine with a creative flair. Chef Margaret Xu Yuan decided to move from Wan Chai to the more secluded part of town, Tsuen Wan and re-opened her restaurant at a garden beach house in Ting Kau Village. Her cooking pays homage to the influence of Hong Kong’s fishing village culture with contemporary notes. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients from local farms, as well as the restaurant’s organic farm. This Christmas, Yin Yang’s festive menu include the signature Yellow Earth Chicken (served with sticky rice and chestnut stuffing) which is roasted in a terracotta urn designed by the chef, or red hot baby pig garnished with homemade marmalade, organic harvest and wild seafood, crab flamenco, drunken oysters hotpot (available on splash - chef’s festive menu only) and more. For the regular festive menu, it’s priced at HK$1080 each, starting with a minimum of 2 guests. If you want to go all out and splurge, the splash menu is at 1500 HKD per head.

Where: Ting Kau Beach, House 117, Ting Kau Village, Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong
When: December 24-25th, 31st, 2017
Booking: Call + 852 28660 868
Details: Drinks start at 6:30pm, Dinner starts at 7:00 / 7:30 / 8:00 pm

Man Wah

There’s no doubt that Man Wah is one of the finest Chinese restaurants in town and it’s much more than its classy interiors and a stunning view of the harbour. The Michelin-starred restaurant is tucked away on the 25/F at Mandarin Oriental and offers a menu of traditional Cantonese dishes with a touch of modern flair.

Best known for its delicate dim sum, the portions can be adjusted to the number of guests in your party. We find this practice really thoughtful and wish more restaurants would adopt it. For their festive menu, lunch and dinner are both available for booking from December 24-26th. The 6-course lunch menu a dim sum trio of tiger prawn and bamboo shoot dumpling, Siu Mai with tobiko and beef tenderloin puff, deep fried sole with black truffle sauce, wok fried scallop, prawn and asparagus with X.O sauce, and more at 988 HKD per person (a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne is also included). If you feel like splurging, the 7-course dinner menu includes decadent dishes such as deep fried chicken with foie gras terrine, steamed spotted grouper with Kam Wah ham, shiitake mushroom and lotus leaf, and Cantonese style pan fried Australian wagyu tenderloin.

When: Dec 24th-26th, 2017
Where: 25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central,
Pricing: Lunch - HK$988 per person, Dinner - HK$2,488 per person
Booking: +852 2825 4003

T’ang Court

While T’ang Court isn’t offering a special festive menu on Christmas Day, you can still treat yourself to a 7-course dinner this Christmas Eve, including dishes such as baked stuffed crab shell with crab meat and onion, and the braised dried abalone with Bêche-de-Mer. Executive Chef Kwong Wai Keung and his team are known for executing exquisite, traditional Cantonese classics with contemporary twists. The much-acclaimed restaurant is also three Michelin-starred and occupies two storeys, and the refined dining room is spacious enough for those who appreciate a private dining experience.

When December 31, 2017
Where: The Langham, 8 Peking Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Pricing: HK$1,480 per person
Booking: +852 2361 2966

Traditional Christmas Feasts

Foxglove

What’s Christmas without classic holiday films? Our favourite jazz lounge is hosting A Cinematic Christmas night on December 25th and will be showing The Holiday (6:30 pm) and Home Alone 2 (8:45 pm). The extravagant Christmas party includes a movie viewing, a three-course meal, plenty of mulled wine and Christmas cocktails. Book your tickets here for HK$650 for standard tickets.

When: December 25th, 2017
Where: 6 Duddell St, Central, Hong Kong
Pricing: HK$650 per person
Booking: Reserve your tickets online here

Rhoda

Look no further if you want a proper hearty meal this Christmas Day. Rhoda is throwing a British dinner party with cured Scottish salmon for starter (and more), a beautiful main of roasted pig from Wicks Manor Farm, served along with gravy and burnt apple sauce, and accompanied with roast potatoes and sprouts with bacon and chestnuts. The meal is rounded up with their iconic cheesecake. What’s even better is the 2.5-hour lunch/dinner package includes free-flow drinks that would keep your festive spirits up all day.

When: December 25th, 2017 - Lunch at 12 pm, Dinner at 6pm
Where: 345 Des Voeux Road West, Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong
Pricing: HK$748 per person, including a 2 and a half hour free-flow wine (sparkling, red and white) and HK Yau beer.
Booking: +852 2177 5050

Test Kitchen

Celebrate this Christmas the Danish way with the private pop-up kitchen from December 20th -22nd! Test Kitchen is collaborating with Danish chef Filip Søndergaard and hosting an eight-course Danish Christmas banquet for an unforgettable night. Chef Søndergaard has worked for Michelin-starred restaurant Pauly Saal in Berlin, and he has been working most recently as head chef at Dottir, a highly acclaimed Nordic restaurant in Berlin. Savour traditional Scandinavian dishes, including crumbled flatfish with a Danish remoulade sauce, roasted duck stuffed with apples and prunes, Danish meatballs and roast pork belly.
We also love the intimate space at Test Kitchen and see the chef working in action in their open kitchen upstairs. Book your last minute ticket here before they run out!

When: December 20-22nd, 2017
Where: Shop 3 Kwan Yick Building Phase 3, 158A Connaught Rd W, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
Pricing: HK$1080 per person, HK$300 for drinking pairings. Free corkage
Booking: Get your tickets online here