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An Evening at EAST Hong Kong: Golden Age Cocktails at Sugar, Then the Weekend Feast at FEAST

HONG KONG


Tai Koo doesn't get talked about the way Central or Tsim Sha Tsui do when it comes to a big night out, but EAST Hong Kong makes a genuinely strong case for crossing the harbour for it. We spent an evening working our way from sunset drinks on the 32nd floor down to a full weekend tasting menu on the ground floor — here's how it went.


About EAST Hong Kong


EAST is the more business-oriented of Swire Hotels' sub-brands — a kind of younger, more design-forward cousin to the ultra-luxe Upper House — set in Taikoo Shing, just around the bend from Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. It sits directly above Taikoo MTR station, which makes it a genuinely easy destination even for anyone based on the other side of the harbour. The hotel leans into a high-design, contemporary boutique aesthetic throughout, and its restaurant and bar offering — headlined by Sugar and FEAST — has become a real draw in its own right, not just an amenity for hotel guests.




Sugar: Cocktails With a Cinematic Theme


We started the evening at Sugar, the hotel's rooftop bar and terrace on the 32nd floor. Open since 2010, Sugar has built a loyal following as one of Hong Kong's more underrated rooftop spots — it doesn't try to compete with Central's high-society bars, and that's precisely its appeal. The space itself is sleek and modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto a long outdoor terrace with sweeping views across Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon skyline, a genuinely different vantage point from the postcard views most rooftop bars in the city offer.



Sugar's current cocktail menu is built around a golden-age-of-cinema theme, drawing specifically on classic Hong Kong film. We worked through four:


  • In the Mood for Love: Ginpowder gin, perfume lemon liqueur, and sage green Chartreuse, finished with lime. Aromatic and citrusy, at 26% ABV. HK$155.

  • Chungking Express: Classic Japanese gin with chamomile, pineapple, honey, and sudachi, topped with a butter wine foam. Tropical and floral, with a genuinely well-balanced finish at 16% ABV. HK$155.

  • Infernal Affairs: Satay coconut N.I.P rare dry gin, beetroot, sweet corn cordial, celery bitters, and ponzu. Aromatic, spiced, and bright at 20% ABV. HK$155.

  • Fly Me to Polaris: Don Julio Blanco tequila, bergamot liqueur, grape soju, onion cordial, and pandan, finished with lemon. Umami-forward, citrusy, and carbonated at 14% ABV. HK$155.




Each cocktail names its film upfront and builds a distinct flavour profile around it — the Infernal Affairs pour, in particular, stood out for using savoury, umami ingredients in a cocktail format without it ever feeling gimmicky.



Alongside the cocktails, we shared a run of bar snacks: A5 Wagyu beef uni maki with a teriyaki glaze (HK$198), crab miso spring rolls with crab meat, coriander, and a spicy caramel butter sauce (HK$148), and boneless chicken wing karaage with sand ginger, fresh lime, and crispy garlic (HK$138). All three leaned into the same confident, Asian-inspired share-plate style Sugar is known for — built for grazing over cocktails rather than as a full meal.


Sunset, Then Down to FEAST


Once the sun had properly set over the harbour — one of the better reasons to make the trip out to Tai Koo — we headed down to FEAST (Food by EAST) on the first floor for dinner. FEAST is EAST's all-day, semi-buffet restaurant, known for blending Asian and Western dishes in a livelier, more communal dining format than a typical hotel restaurant.




The Weekend Feast Table


We booked the Weekend Feast Table, priced at HK$588 per person plus 10% service charge, which runs as a structured, multi-course menu rather than a straight buffet.



To begin, the seafood platter with prawns, mussels, abalone, and seasonal seafood, with the option to go further with Gillardeau oysters at HK$52 per piece.


Next up, a choice of '852' Greens or a petite lobster bisque with crab meat spaghetti, chili, ginger, coriander, crab bisque, and hairy crab roe.


The mains offered a choice: sous-vide French spring chicken breast and confit leg with pomme purée, butternut squash, semi-dried cherry tomatoes, green asparagus, morel jus, and a truffle crust; or hand-made Yukon potato gnocchi with butternut squash purée, semi-dried cherry tomatoes, steamed broccolini, and shaved aged parmesan. We went further, adding both the classic beef bourguignon (+HK$130) and the Australian M8 Wagyu beef rump cap at 250g (+HK$180) — the bourguignon rich and slow-braised in the way only a proper red wine reduction can deliver, and the Wagyu cooked simply enough to let the marbling do the talking. Between the two, it turned the mains course into the clear high point of the table.


Dessert came via a trolley moment — pick your favourite two from the selection on offer, a nice bit of theatre to close out a meal that had already covered a lot of ground.


To drink, FEAST offers sangria in red or white by the glass or jar (HK$88 / HK$328), as well as Saicho Jasmine Sparkling Tea by the glass or bottle (HK$88 / HK$420) — a solid, lighter option for anyone easing off after four cocktails at Sugar.




Sugar is playful and high-concept — cocktails built around specific films, sharp Asian-inspired bites, a rooftop view most of the city doesn't get to see. FEAST, by comparison, is generous and structured, built for settling in over multiple courses rather than grazing. Doing both back to back, with the sunset as the hinge between them, made the trip out to Tai Koo feel entirely worth it.


EAST, Hong Kong, 29 Tai Koo Shing Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, +852 3968 3968

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