Celebrity Life

The Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong has just completed the second phase of its hotel transformation, with two brand new F&B concepts that opened on July 15, 2021. Argo is set to become a staple for spirit aficionados in the city and worldwide, with a bar programme thoughtfully curated by Beverage Manager Lorenzo Antinori; while the new lobby café Gallery is primed to be the spot to see and be seen.

With exciting new offerings, plus new room designs, and things that we've always known and loved about the Four Seasons (an unbeatable spa programme and an existing collection of Michelin-starred dining establishments), we booked ourselves in for a fun-filled two-day staycation to check it all out.

Location: 10/10

Located in Central, connected with the ifc mall and a mere 7-minute walk from Hong Kong Station, you're well within reach of any imaginable convenience when you stay at the Four Seasons Hong Kong. The hotel also offers what is quintessentially Hong Kong's main attraction, floor-to-ceiling, panoramic views of the Victoria Harbour, unobstructed by nearby buildings and roadworks. The ferry terminals are also just a stone's throw away from the hotel — making day trips to the surrounding islands have never been easier.

Design: 10/10

The gargantuan task of revamping the Four Seasons — the hotel's first major transformation since it opened in 2005 — was given to two Hong Kong-based international design firms. Remedios Studio has given the guest rooms and suites a new look that reflects the modernism and tradition, the old and the new in Hong Kong, guided by Peter Remedios' own design philosophy. There are a lot of details in the room that catches the eye, from open shelves decorated with carefully selected glassware, porcelain and books, to wood furniture that recall the classical lines and geometric shapes of Ming Dynasty designs.

As for the new lobby, Argo and the Gallery café, the design was undertaken by AB Concept. Six new pendant lights are installed at the entrance to increase the lobby's warmth, guiding guests seamlessly from the driveway to the reception area. A raised area, dubbed "the stage" is also where guests can now congregate in, separate from the main reception by a set of elevated steps. The Gallery, the hotel's new lobby café, is sectioned off by an incredible bespoke crystal divider custom-made by Czech glassmakers Lasvit, providing guests with a sense of privacy whilst also being a focal point in the new space.

Cocktail bar Argo is given a neo-classical makeover and designed to give the space flexibility to transform from a cocktail bar by night, to a spot people can go to for breakfast, lunch and afternoon teas by day. Taking pride of place in the centre of the room is, of course, the magnificent bar area, a structural column that frames its wide range of liqueurs and rare spirits against the backdrop of the harbour.

Room: 10/10

We stayed at the newly renovated Grand Harbour View Suite, a corner suite that offers up sweeping views of the Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon skyline and, on a good day, views as far as Stonecutters Island and the New Territories. There's only one corner suite per level, from the 9th until the 20th floor, 732-square-feet of luxury that includes a walk-in bar area, a spacious living room that is separate from the bedroom. The walk-in closet is situated just behind the bed and right at the double-door entrance to the bathroom, which houses double vanities — getting pampered and ready has never been more convenient.

Our favourite area is perhaps the work-dining table with plush leather chairs and a reclining chaise lounge. Designer Peter Remedios, aware of changing travel trends and anticipating longer stays where travellers have the flexibility to work away from home, put in a lot of attention and small details in the room to make sure it was a space to be lived in and enjoyed. Neutral tones and matte wood finishing was purposely chosen to reference classic Ming Dynasty styles, while everything that is modern and necessary — high-speed internet, the room controls, the coffee machine — are all at hand.

Service & Facilities: 9.5/10

The Four Seasons Spa is led by Tania Bardhan, whose background in wellness destination offerings means that she looks beyond the traditional massages and therapies to give guests result-oriented programmes that they can benefit from long-term, such as a hugely successful sleep programme and other targeted therapies like Cranial Sacral Therapy that relieves stress and tensions.

Under the wellness umbrella, you'll find a series of meditation sessions, gong bath and vibration sound therapy sessions, mindfulness workshops, and more. Bardhan herself leads the meditations — the chakra meditation is great for beginners, as she'll guides you through the seven chakras, uses semi-precious gemstones as visual cues and chants along with you.

At the spa, which overlooks the pool, you'll find a range of attractive holistic healing rituals, as well as exclusive beauty treatments and massages. The Reawakening Ritual is perfect for combatting stress and aiding sleep. The three-step treatment starts with a full-body exfoliation, followed by a body wrap, finished with deep massage, with ingredients like Juniper essential oils (great for reducing stress levels), spirulina and fucus algae which are powerful antioxidants.

Food & Drink: 9/10

Head down to the newly opened Argo for a quick welcome drink — champagne with a fun gummy bear twist. Who knew it would be so delicious? Our favourite from the bar's debut menu, "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" is Bark, Leaf and Love cocktail, made with mono-floral lychee and longan honey from local bee farm HK Raw Honey.

There are a great many Michelin-starred establishments to dine in at the Four Seasons, but we chose for a more informal meal at the Caprice Bar, where we indulged in generous portions of French cheeses paired with fine wines, and sampled some more of Antinori's signature cocktails, such as the Caprice Bar Martini, and the Caprice Truffle Negroni.

For lunch, we opted for the highly recommended dim sum lunch set at three-Michelin-starred Lung King Heen, with a menu prepared by Chef Chan Yan Tak. We started off with a refreshing sparkling tea, followed by delicate dim sums, delicious barbecued meats, warming Chinese soup, a punchy wok-fried chicken dish, fragrant lotus leaf-wrapped fried rice, to finish, a chilled sweet soup and hot tea was served.

Rating: 9.5/10

Perfect for: A stress-free and indulgent weekend, plus retail therapy (just next door) if it calls to you.

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong

The post Hotel Review: Four Seasons Hong Kong Reawakening appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

"Three beverage managers, a spirits specialist, and food TV host walk into a bar." The punchline? A quintet of surprisingly effortless drink recipes that will make you the MVP of every rooftop, terrace, and seafaring vessel this summer.  

Dubbed by English humourist P.G. Wodehouse as "a misunderstood vitamin", cocktails are to the mind of every sufficiently keen drinker a compelling panacea 365 days out of the year -- more playful than a glass of vino, certainly less perilous than pure spirits. And unlike the latter two categories, neither heat or cold can hope to put a damper on the inherently delicious qualities of, say, a Gimlet. Yet there's a certain enhancive effect that goes with making and drinking cocktails in the depth of summer that's very much a peculiarity of this season. Perhaps long days (and even longer nights) are to blame; or it’s down to that magical way in which thoroughly irksome summer activities (greetings wakeboarding!) suddenly appeal when you add a Mint Julep or thirst-eradicating highball to the equation. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In order to celebrate the season of sundowners on rooftops and nautical sojourns, I asked five of Hong Kong’s leading F&B personalities to pony up their recipes for go-to ‘bulletproof’ summer cocktails. No doubt, in a pinch you can always opt for a classic two-part mixer -- half-spirit, half-dilutant, an avalanche of ice -- and call it a day; but then you’d be depriving yourself of the opportunity to practice one of the indispensable party tricks of the 20th century -- making drinks. Our talent surveyed were saddled with a seemingly straightforward task: to craft a recipe simple enough that it could be emulated at home; yet with enough flavour and complexity to withstand the rigours of summer. Did they succeed? Grab a jigger, a shaker, and see for yourself.

Matteo Ceravolo's Fusettone

Title: Business Development Manager, Certa Hong Kong
Socials: @matteo_s_ceravolo
Recipe: Bitter Fusetti (50ml); J. Gasco grapefruit soda (80ml); Grapefruit slice.

Combine bitters and soda together and stir. Strain over ice and garnish with large grapefruit slice.

"Despite the heat, summer is always the best season for day drinking. For that reason, I usually enjoy fresh, low ABV beverages that are delicious any time of the day. Being a lover of bitter flavours, I've always been a big advocate for mixing liqueurs (e.g. amaro) together with juice or fruit soda. The 'Fusettone' is actually a recipe for summer cocktails from our friends at Bitter Fusetti -- something I realised I'd been drinking forever, before they introduced it to me.

Fusetti itself is a bitter created in Milan, incorporating the perfect mixture of spices: gentian, rhubarb, cinchona bark, and, as a special ingredient, quassia. This variety is what makes Fusetti excellent in both classic drinks or more modern recipes. The 'Fusettone' is very much in the second camp: it's easy to make, requiring only a single other ingredient -- pink grapefruit soda (my favourite pairing for a bitter). At Certa HQ, we use J. Gasco: a great Piedmontese brand that also happens to be low calorie. Refreshing, sour, and addictive, this is pretty much your best option when making drinks at home or on a boat -- why overcomplicate things?" -- MC

Sabrina Cantini Budden's Jijivisha

Title: Beverage Manager, The Hari
Socials: @sabricantini
Ingredients: Chai-infused rum (60ml); Cardamom honey (15ml); Fresh ginger juice (1/2 tsp); Turmeric (2 pinches); Lime juice (15ml); Pineapple juice (30ml).

Make the 'chai rum' by infusing chai tea (5 tablespoons) into a standard-size bottle of dark rum and leaving to sit at room temperature for at least 48 hours.

Then, warm honey in a saucepan on low-medium heat with a handful of cardamom seeds (pre-muddled). Leave to cook for at least 30 minutes.

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker together with ice and shake hard. Double-strain the liquid into a chilled coupe glass. Set aside some of the prepackaged chai for garnish.

"The Jijivisha is the perfect balance between spice and refreshment. To me, it's one of those drinks that's super-sippable, always leaving you wanting more. The name is transliterated from the Hindi phrase "desire to live", which in these pandemic-riven times is an important sentiment to share. The drink is inspired by the classic Daiquiri -- well-known to be one of the all-time classic summer cocktails.

In place of the usual sugar syrups which are used in a Daiquiri, I've included a couple of natural superfoods such as ginger and turmeric (as well as organic honey), all of which are great for you and lend a spicy kick to the whole beverage." -- SCB

Devender Kumar's Merone

Title: Beverage Manager, The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Socials: @devendersehgal_
Ingredients: Cantaloupe melon syrup (3/4 oz); Kamimura Awamori 'Danryu' (3/4 oz); Montelobos Mezcal (1/2 oz); Ancho Reyes Original (1/2 oz); Angostura bitters (1 dash); Fresh lime juice (3/4 oz).

Refrigerate then chop all ingredients into bite-sized pieces, reserving some of the cantaloupe melon for garnish. Combine in a blender and pulse until smooth. Strain into a tumbler, and add fresh juice from the remaining melon to taste.

"Yubari cantaloupes are in season right now, and they're absolutely delicious. The 'Merone' has a simple yet delicious flavour profile: there's a touch of smokiness from the mezcal and ancho liqueur, accompanied by Japan's most emblematic spirit in the guise of Awamori. The foundational flavours are just so refreshing, and having that extra touch of smokiness is fantastic in conjunction with the melon. If you don't have any Ancho Reyes handy, you can use any other sort of chilli liqueur to substitute. Better yet, if you have fresh green or red chillis at home, try using those.

One last thing: prior to making the 'Merone', it's essential that you freeze the pieces of cut melon used for this recipe. When combined with the other ingredients a blender, they approximate the effect of adding ice, without diluting all of that amazing fruit flavour." -- DK

Debbie Wong's Lady Diana

Title: Host & Writer, Asian Food Network
Socials: @ms.debbiewong
Ingredients: Gin (30ml); Campari (30ml); Lime juice (7ml); Simple syrup (1 dash); Lime twist/slice.

Shake all ingredients together with ice. Strain into a coupe or Old Fashioned glass. Garnish and immediately serve.

"No matter whether it's in food or beverages, I'm always attracted to recipes that are 'big impact, little effort', and in the midst of summer that rings especially true. This 'Lady Di' is a mere four ingredients, shaken together to create a stunningly attractive, refreshing, and yet layered cocktail -- just like the late princess herself. This is that rare drink that stands apart from the rest; and has an uncanny ability to connect with all kinds of drinkers at-large." -- DW

Lorenzo Antinori's Sherry & Tonic

Title: Beverage Ambassador, Four Seasons Hotels
Socials: @lorenzoantinori_
Ingredients: Tio Pepe (50ml); Tonic water (120ml); Mint leaves (5), Orange zest.

Pour ingredients into tumbler with ice. Spritz essential oils from an orange over top before serving.

"This might sound like your classic 'nerdy bartender' pick, although really, it's a concoction that ticks all the boxes for what summer cocktails ought to be. First and foremost, it possesses complexity beyond the usual long drink built upon juice or soda, aiming to be light and zingy. Instead, it's chockful of sugar (and delicious delicious regret). Behind its 'dry' stereotype, sherries in the manzanilla or fino style impart a beautiful floral nuttiness that's the product of light oxidisation. Alongside its natural acidity, this imbues dry sherry with a thirst-quenching quality that's perfect for hot summer days.

Personally, I love to serve my Sherry & Tonic in a tall tumbler, together with ice and a handful of mint leaves resting in the bottom of the glass. Choose high-quality tonic with a low sugar content and be rigorous in ensuring that it's served extremely cold. I like to spritz the oil of an orange peel over the finished beverage, in order to add a delicate citric aroma. Alternatively, if you're going for more flair, you can add a whole orange wedge. Best enjoyed on a terrace surrounded by friends -- extra points if you make them a whole carafe!" -- LA

The post 5 Hong Kong F&B Insiders Share Their Recipes for Bulletproof Summer Cocktails appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.