June in Hong Kong is hot, hot, hot – but so are the new menus, restaurant openings and events taking place around town. Choose your own adventure from our recommendations below.
If you’re trying to beat the heat, heading out to a breezy island or splashing around one of the beaches is always a good idea. Handily, Hong Kong has a bunch of options. Take your pick from sleepy Cheung Chau, hippy Lamma Island or hilly Lantau Island.
Alternatively, stay in the city and take yourself on a (mostly air-conditioned) tour of Causeway Bay featuring malls, cafes, cocktail bars and a shaded park right in the middle of the neighbourhood. Or cross the harbour to Sham Shui Po, where quirky cafes, galleries, boutiques and restaurants await urban adventurers.
Read on for more of the best things to do in Hong Kong in June.
Support Chaat’s ‘Cook for India’ Cause
Put your dining dollar to good use at the ‘Cook for India’ charity dinner at Rosewood Hong Kong’s celebrated Indian restaurant Chaat on 7 June. Led by Chaat’s own Manav Tuli, the line-up features eight Indian chefs including Caprice’s Suveg Kavatkar, Yogesh Yadav from Gaylord Indian Restaurant, Samaira Coutinho Kavatkar (aka The Bombay East Indian Girl) and Pondi chef Taran Chadha. All proceeds will go to Unicef to help battle India’s COVID-19 crisis, together with other donation efforts by Rosewood Hong Kong staff. Tickets are priced at HK$2,788.
Take Tea by the Harbour
The Commune continues the city’s fine tradition of afternoon teas with its latest offering. Book in for its Tea by the Harbour experience (HK$720 for two) and enjoy classic treats like scones smothered in clotted cream, alongside signature items from the restaurant’s Small, Big, and Sweet Bites Menus, and special treats such as pineapple bun choux. Wash it all down with artisanal teas by TEACHA, or splash out on signature cocktails (additional HK$280) or a bottle of Perrier Jouët Grand Brut NV (additional HK$380).
Treats for Father’s Day
Father’s Day falls on 20 June this year – what better way to appreciate your dad than with a proper meat feast. La Vache! opens its third location this month in Pacific Place, and its signature combo of prime entrecôte steak and unlimited fries, rounded out with salad and a decadent dessert trolley, is sure to be a winner ($338 per person).
Alternatively, treat your pops to a creative cocktail class at Carbone. He’ll master the art of mixing, shaking and presentation while honing his terminology and technique during a three-hour private masterclass that comes with snacks and a good few libations to enjoy (HK$2,000 for two people).
Hang Out at Tong Chong Street Market
Taikoo Place’s Tong Chong Street Market is now running all year on weekdays from 8am-3pm. The current theme is Street Food Carnival (until 2 July) and there’s a worldly selection of pop-up F&B concepts to enjoy, including flavours from northern Thailand’s Isaan region at Chachawan; artisanal brews from Blue Bottle Coffee; and hefty burgers courtesy of Electric Ave.
Revisit the New-Look Tokio Joe for a Tipple or Two
It’s about time to throw some love at Lan Kwai Fong once more – and where better to start than firm favourite Tokio Joe, which recently reopened sporting swish new decor and a revamped menu. Tuck into signature dishes like the spicy toro tartare (chopped tuna laced with a spicy dressing, eaten in a lettuce shell) and the LKF Roll (loaded with sea urchin and salmon roe, and topped with steamed lobster and tuna). Decadent interiors evoking classic Japanese gaming dens and a soundtrack of ’50s jazz create a fun ambience to relax and knock back sake and cocktails, too.
Spend a Day at Ocean Park
Until 30 June, Hong Kong residents can enjoy specially priced tickets to Ocean Park (HK$320/adult with a HK$100 voucher to spend in the park; HK$160/child with HK$50 voucher). Enjoy thrilling rides, cross on the cable cart, and have animal experiences from sharks to penguins to meerkats.
Check Out Exhibitions
Dancers whirling around in bubble dresses is the subject matter of a new show by Norwegian artist Fredrik Tjærandsen in Taikoo Place. Grab a free ticket to ArtisTree Selects: Light In/Out Film and Exhibition as part of Swire Properties’ Arts Month 2021. The film is showing alongside photographs of the inflatable dresses by London-based photographer Carlos Jimenez. You’ve got until 8 June to get down to ArtisTree at Quarry Bay to catch the fun. Also keep an eye out for British artist Michael Craig-Martin’s colourful, larger-than-life Headphones, High Heel and Bright Idea sculptures dotted around the area.
If you’re quick you can still catch Photographs from the 1950s: Marjorie Doggett’s Singapore, Lee Fook Chee’s Hong Kong (until 6 June) at Citywalk in Tsuen Wan. It’s a snapshot of a bygone time from the two Asian financial powerhouses and a fascinating insight into life in the cities at the time.
Central gallery Alisan Fine Arts’ Chu Teh-Chun’s Symphony exhibition is a showcase of 16 works by the late Chinese-French abstract artist (until 31 July). The artist made his name taking traditional Chinese calligraphy in a more abstract direction during his time in Paris, where he lived from 1956 until his death in 2014.
Get Arty at K11 Musea
Continuing the art theme, take a stroll along the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront this month and you’ll be greeted with German contemporary artist Isa Genzken’s spectacular 8.5-metre-tall Rose II sculpture. It’s appearance in the city is part of the month-long K11 Musea Art Karnival, an arts programme in and around the Tsim Sha Tsui mall that also includes Calligraphy Rhapsody – Retrospective Exhibition of Georges Mathieu, a showcase of works by one of the godfathers of European lyrical abstraction (until 4 July). Free Art Karnival Tours run until 27 June, ensuring you don’t miss pieces like Chinese contemporary artist Xu Zhen’s In Just a Blink of an Eye and Japanese sculpturist Izumi Kato’s trio of otherworldly bronzes.
Splash Out on a Staycation
While you’re waiting to take off on that next overseas adventure, you can still take advantage of staycation offers at top hotels right here in Hong Kong: among them the Four Seasons, The Langham, The Ritz-Carlton and the Gold Coast Hotel.
