Basement food halls are a popular lunchtime spot around Asia but BaseHall is taking the communal concept to new culinary heights. The tasty new food hall sits at the bottom of Jardine House in the central business district and brings together a who’s who of Hong Kong’s hottest independent restaurateurs.

Soho’s Treehouse brings its veggie wraps to Central, while Roti Tori is a rotisserie chicken concept by the Sheung Wan yakitori specialists Yardbird. The globe-spanning food stalls range from Korean cuisine at Moyo Sik to tacos from Westside Taqueria and Mexican chef Esdras Ochoa. New Yorker Wil Fang provides something sweet at the Cookie Department, and, to top it all off, there’s a coffee-to-cocktail bar staffed by the Mandarin Oriental, which keeps pouring until late.

“Our aim was to create a platform to reduce the barriers to entry for F&B operators to try out creative concepts in a prime location,” says Tom Andrews, a senior asset manager at Hongkong Land (HKL) and the brains behind BaseHall.

Hong Kong’s hospitality entrepreneurs are as well travelled as the customers they serve. Take a seat at these three international imports for a taste of why Asia’s world city is a recipe for success.

Sixth-generation South-African baker Zahir Mohamed moved to Hong Kong with his jar of 50-year-old sourdough starter and opened Baked in 2018.

Co-founded by veteran Aussie barista Scottie Callaghan, Fineprint opens early for Hong Kong’s fitness fanatics and later turns into an intimate bar.

Hansik Goo honours Korean’s home-style and street-food classics created by chef Mingoo Kang, who made his name at Seoul’s Mingles restaurant.

Feather & Bone is staking a claim to be Hong Kong’s neighbourhood butcher, having recently expanded across the New Territories. Founder Paul Daley set out to replicate the butchers from his native UK. “We wanted a quality butcher where you could have a glass of wine or a coffee,” says Daley, who has since broadened the business to include a delicatessen, grocery shop and an all-day-dining restaurant. “We want to reach 15 stores in Hong Kong,” says Daley who also has an eye for expansion to Thailand, Vietnam and mainland China. Sai Kung is the latest opening and a cooking studio designed by Sean Dix is on the boil.

“One of the signature things we offer is that in any of our restaurants, people can choose their steak from the butcher’s counter and have it cooked in front of them,” says director of operations Mark Chan (pictured). “In many ways that’s a reframing of a very local concept with the seafood restaurants. Diners can pick their fish or oysters, have it cooked in front of them and see the provenance of those products.”