One of Hong Kong’s original trading houses or hongs, Swire excels in a bewildering range of businesses spanning sugar to sea freight and of course, hotels. And judging by their most recent venture, it seems restaurants can also be added to the mix. Mr & Mrs Fox occupies three stories of a new serviced apartment in Taikoo Place, a formerly staid office development (owned by Swire, of course) that has grown steadily more energetic in recent months. In the street-level ‘Mrs Fox’ bar, high tables and exposed copper piping impart the vintage, slightly steampunk vibes that have become a trademark of local designers Charlie & Rose, the team behind Hong Kong after-dark mainstays like the speakeasy-esque Stockton. Upstairs is the ‘Mr Fox’ restaurant, where plush leather seats and lantern-like spherical lighting smooth out some of the rough edges. The cosiness culminates in the top floor ‘Den,’ a private dining space stuffed with books and antique curios that brings to mind a Victorian library. The menu, overseen by Joey Sergentakis, formerly of the renowned Café Grey Deluxe, is heavy on the protein basics - raw seafood and dry-aged beef. But it also shows a flair for Asian-influenced invention in dishes such as mussels in green curry broth and calamari dusted with tandoori spices. A century-plus on, it seems Swire’s not quite done leaving its mark on the city, and Mr and Mrs Fox may well push Taikoo over the finish line in terms of its emergence as an extracurricular destination.
