Fancy roasted scallops with crispy garlic and smoked wild venison with a vanilla-scented panna corta as the finale? The intimate, 24-seat Inspire Restaurant (Church Lane; 64-3/441-0004) at the sleek Spire Hotel serves up some of the city’s most inventive food, with a 10-course, degustation menu that celebrates the best of local ingredien ts.
Wai Waterfront Restaurant (Steamer Wharf, 64-3/442-5969) is the best place in town to indulge in fresh oysters. Slurp down a dozen with lemon and cracked pepper, or walk on the wild side with tempura oysters served with lemon caviar and a dollop of ginger-and-lime sorbet.
In Higashiyama, the recently opened Hilton Niseko Village (81-136/44-1111; hilton.com; doubles from US$230) offers ski-in, ski-out accommodation, a spa, and four restaurants and bars.
Home to the towering Pacific Place mall and dozens of neon-lit bars, the Santilun nightlife district is the last place you’d expect to find anything with heritage appeal. Blink, and YOU Still might not find the discretely located 1949-The Hidden City (Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu, Chao-yang; 86-10/6501-1949; elite-concepts.com), a cluster of 10 former factory bUildings [...]
The Grand Hyatt’s small but swank signature restaurant dishes up local classics-including a lean Beijing duck-from a open kitchen (see “where to Stay”).
