Though the slow-food movement exists worldwide, such languorous approach to cuisine and eating seems little appreciated in Hong Kong. However, five years after launching Aberdeen Street Social, a glamorous collaboration in the gardens of PMQ between JIA Group founder and CEO Yenn Wong and multi-accoladed British chef Jason Atherton, the space has been reinvented as Louise, with French chef Julien Royer taking the helm. Royer's two-Michelin-starred restaurant Odette in Singapore was honoured with the No. 1 position in last year's Asia's 50 Best awards and this marks his first venture outside of the Lion City.
Louise presents a fresh approach to traditional French cuisine and, much like its British forebear, will continue to offer both casual and refined dining across two levels. Wong says the project embodies her and Royer's shared passions of food, design, art and culture. (JIA also owns one-Michelin-starred Duddell's, which combines the same mentality, as well as 12 other food and beverage venues in Hong Kong).
The aesthetic has undergone a high-key makeover, with architect André Fu and his AFSO studio transforming the two-storey heritage building into an intimately chic colonial home. Welcoming guests in, Louise offers all-day dining and drinks in the Tropical Greenhouse Lounge or an invitation up the striking staircase to her Ivory Boudoir dining room, where lunch and dinner are served à la carte.
