Commissary, Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong’s grand dame of shopping malls, Pacific Place, is enjoying something of a revival with a wave of new dining outlets. The most enticing addition – an ode to southern Californian cuisine – is a collaboration between local culinary entrepreneur Yenn Wong’s Jia Group and chef Morgan McGlone of Melbourne’s Belles Hot Chicken.

‘To me, southern Californian cuisine conjures up these words: hearty, comfort, fresh, fusion and diversity. So I wanted to create an ambiance that matches,’ says the Singapore-based designer Lim Siew Hui who was tasked with creating an interior that would match Commissary’s seasonal menu of homely American classics like clam chowder or shrimp and grits.

Inside, the designer has taken inspiration from vintage California-style kitchen designs to deliver a contemporary take on the traditional cocktail bar in gleaming brass and an inviting, warm palette of custom-designed clay tiles, natural ash wood, brass and retro 70s style ceramic tiles.

Hui custom designed most of the furnishings, adding comfortable dining chairs from Hay, a collection of vintage Eames DSW chairs, and ping pong-ball ceiling globes to create a soft glow. Outside, a bay window seat runs the length of the restaurant’s facade helping erase the boundary between indoors and the terrace while string lights and lush planting reinforce the laid-back California-meets-Hong Kong street scene ambience.