The Chairman

<h2>Central's Most Decorated Cantonese Table</h2><p>The elevator opens onto a room that reads immediately as deliberate rather than designed-for-effect: lush potted plants, low-lit lamps, an eclectic collection of art pieces, and a quietness that signals confidence rather than restraint. The Wellington building on Wellington Street is not a landmark address in the way that Central's harbour-facing towers are, and that understatement has always been part of The Chairman's character. Since a post-pandemic relocation in 2022 brought it to this larger, more composed space on the third floor, the room carries more of owner Danny Yip's interests in art and literature than its previous home did, yet the atmosphere remains genuinely unhurried. There is no theatrical service choreography, no Instagram-engineered plating architecture. What arrives at the table is food that has been in development for months.</p><h2>What the Awards Trail Actually Tells You</h2><p>The critical record surrounding The Chairman is now long enough to constitute a pattern rather than a moment. The restaurant appeared in the World's 50 Best list in 2019, rose to #10 in 2021, and has held positions of #24 (2022), #50 (2023), #26 (2024) before being ranked #2 in Asia's 50 Best in 2025. Opinionated About Dining, one of the most data-intensive of the specialist restaurant ranking systems, placed it #7 in Asia in 2023, #6 in 2024, and #9 in 2025. La Liste, which aggregates review data across global sources, awarded 82.5 points in 2025 and 84 points in 2026. A Michelin star was confirmed in 2024, and the Black Pearl guide awarded three diamonds in 2025. The Google review average sits at 4.5 from 688 ratings.</p><p>That combination of rankings tells a specific story about positioning. The World's 50 Best and OAD lists draw on different evaluator pools and weight criteria differently, so consistent high placement across both suggests broad critical agreement rather than a single house style of evaluation favouring the restaurant. For comparison, the Italian and French fine-dining establishments that occupy Central's higher price tiers, including <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/8-12-otto-e-mezzo-bombana-hong-kong-restaurant">8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana</a>, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/amber-hong-kong-restaurant">Amber</a>, and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/caprice-hong-kong-restaurant">Caprice</a>, operate at the $$$$ price tier. The Chairman sits at $$, which at this ranking level is genuinely unusual. The award trajectory and the price point in combination are what generate the volume of international attention the restaurant now receives alongside its historically loyal local clientele.</p><h2>The Cantonese Kitchen Tradition at Work Here</h2><p>Cantonese cuisine at the premium end of Hong Kong's restaurant circuit tends to split between two modes: the grand banquet houses rooted in ceremonial formats and classic repertoire, and a smaller cohort of kitchens that treat the tradition as a living system subject to sustained original development. The Chairman belongs firmly to the second category. The kitchen's method involves extended periods of ingredient research followed by new recipe development, producing dishes that are Cantonese in architecture but not drawn from existing canon. The ingredients are mostly organic and sourced from small suppliers and local fishermen, which positions the kitchen closer to a produce-led European model than to the supply chains typical of large traditional Cantonese houses.</p><p>The steamed flowery crab with Huadiao wine sauce has become the dish most closely associated with the restaurant and remains on the menu. Other dishes in circulation have included Sichuan peppercorn stewed oxtail, pickled rose buds with crispy raw lotus roots, lemon-spiked seared local scallops scattered with rice noodles and spring onions, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables with XO sauce. These are not classic Cantonese recipes translated for contemporary palates; they are original constructions that use classical technique and ingredient logic as their departure point. The distinction matters for how you read the menu: this is not a preservation project and not a modernist deconstruction exercise.</p><p>For readers interested in how Cantonese fine dining operates in other cities, the peer context extends across the region. <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/the-eight-macau-restaurant">The Eight in Macau</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/lei-garden-singapore-restaurant">Lei Garden in Singapore</a> represent different expressions of the tradition at the premium tier, while <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/crystal-jade-golden-palace-singapore-restaurant">Crystal Jade Golden Palace in Singapore</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/cai-yi-xuan-beijing-restaurant">Cai Yi Xuan in Beijing</a> occupy the more formal ceremonial format. <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/shang-palace-paris-restaurant">Shang Palace in Paris</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/royal-china-club-shanghai-restaurant">Royal China Club in Shanghai</a> show how the cuisine performs when transported from its home context. Within Hong Kong itself, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/sun-tung-lok-hong-kong-restaurant">Sun Tung Lok</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/above-beyond-hong-kong-restaurant">Above &amp; Beyond</a> represent different points on the Cantonese fine-dining spectrum.</p><h2>How the Room Operates</h2><p>The service model is formal enough that the dining room runs with suited staff, but the reported atmosphere is consistently described as welcoming rather than austere. This is a meaningful distinction in Hong Kong's higher-end Chinese dining circuit, where formality can sometimes create distance between the room and its food. The kitchen's ability to hold a fiercely loyal local clientele while simultaneously attracting serious international visitors across multiple years suggests the room translates across both audiences.</p><p>Diners book online, with availability released on specific days. Set menus are emailed to confirmed guests a few days before the reservation, which means the selection process happens before arrival rather than at the table. Lunch service runs from 12 PM to 3 PM and dinner from 6 PM to 11 PM, seven days a week. The address is 3rd Floor, The Wellington, 198 Wellington Street, Central.</p><p>For a broader map of where The Chairman sits within Hong Kong's dining infrastructure, see <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/hong-kong">our full Hong Kong restaurants guide</a>. For accommodation planning, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/hotels/hong-kong">our full Hong Kong hotels guide</a> covers the main options across Central and the wider city. Drinks before or after can be planned through <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/hong-kong">our full Hong Kong bars guide</a>, and the city's broader cultural offerings are mapped in <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/experiences/hong-kong">our full Hong Kong experiences guide</a>.</p><h2>Planning Your Visit</h2><p><strong>Reservations:</strong> Online only, with booking windows opening on specific dates — monitor the restaurant's booking platform and move promptly when availability opens. <strong>Format:</strong> Set menus distributed by email ahead of the meal; no à la carte. <strong>Budget:</strong> $$ price tier, which at this award level represents notable value relative to comparable-ranked restaurants in the city and internationally. <strong>Hours:</strong> Monday to Sunday, 12 PM–3 PM (lunch) and 6 PM–11 PM (dinner). <strong>Location:</strong> 3rd Floor, The Wellington, 198 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong.</p><h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2><h3>What do people recommend at The Chairman?</h3><p>The steamed flowery crab with Huadiao wine sauce is the dish most consistently cited by both critics and regulars, and it has appeared across multiple years of reviews in the restaurant's award documentation. Beyond that signature, the kitchen rotates dishes developed through Yip and head chef Kwok Keung Tung's extended research process. Dishes that have featured include Sichuan peppercorn stewed oxtail, pickled rose buds with crispy raw lotus roots, seared local scallops with rice noodles and spring onions, and XO sauce stir-fried seasonal vegetables. Because the menu is distributed as a set format emailed ahead of each sitting, the selection you encounter will reflect whatever the kitchen is currently running — the set menu structure means there is no à la carte list to navigate. Guests who have ranked the restaurant across OAD's evaluator pool and within the World's 50 Best framework have consistently placed the food in the top tier of Cantonese cooking in Asia, which gives some indication of the standard to expect regardless of which specific dishes are on the menu during your visit. The <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/le-bernardin">Le Bernardin</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/restaurants/atomix">Atomix</a> comparisons from international visitors often centre on the same quality: technical precision in the service of the ingredient rather than in service of technique for its own sake. That framing is useful for calibrating what kind of meal this is. <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/wineries/hong-kong">Our full Hong Kong wineries guide</a> is worth consulting if you're planning a wine-focused visit to the city alongside your booking.</p>

How it compares

• The Chairman

  Cuisine

  Chinese, Cantonese

  Price

  $$

  Awards

  La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 84pts; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 82.5pts; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #9 (2025); A singular restaurant: The Chairman is a phenomenon precisely because it doesn’t seek to be: no theatrics, no PR tactics, no Instagram-focused plating – this is a restaurant where the food comes first. Its quietly innovative rewriting of classic Cantonese cooking comes in the form of entirely new recipes that are built on the bedrock of China’s culinary history. As a result, it has built a fiercely loyal local clientele, which now combines with international visitors aplenty. Don’t be fooled by the smartly suited waiters, this is one of the most welcoming spots in Hong Kong. Settled in a new home: After building its unmatched reputation in a relatively non-descript location in Central, owner Danny Yip relocated the restaurant post-pandemic to a larger, smarter but still relaxed space in The Wellington nearby. Here, Yip’s cerebral taste for art and literature is more evident in the interior design, which also features leafy plants, an eclectic array of art pieces and low-lit lamps. The duo behind it: The Chairman is the creation of Yip, a chef turned successful tech entrepreneur turned restaurateur, who learned his trade in Australia. He is now a revered figure back home in HK and beyond. However, the role of long-time head chef Kwok Keung Tung should not be underestimated. The duo has formed a unique partnership which sees them deep-dive into ingredient research and experiment with new recipes and cooking methods for months at a time, with duly memorable results. House specials: Sichuan peppercorn stewed oxtail has become a new favourite (though nothing matches The Chairman’s steamed flowery crab dish for popularity), along with lighter bites such as delicately pickled rose buds with crispy raw lotus roots, lemon-spiked and seared local scallops scattered with rice noodles and spring onions and perfectly stir-fried seasonal vegetables zinging with XO sauce.; The restaurant moved to this address in 2022 and the elegant room comes with a generous display of lush greens. It’s also run a little differently – diners can only book online on certain days and order one of the set menus emailed to them a few days ahead. That said, the culinary vision stays the same – ingredients are mostly organic and sourced from small suppliers and local fishermen; and signatures like steamed crab with Huadiao are still on the menu.; Chef: Danny Yip document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; World's 50 Best Asia's Best Restaurants #2 (2025); Black Pearl 3 Diamond (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #6 (2024); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #26 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #7 (2023); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #50 (2023); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #24 (2022); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #10 (2021); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #41 (2019)

  Notes

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  Notes

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