It has been over a year of Covid-19 in Hong Kong and it can sometimes feel hard to remember what life was like before the pandemic. But, with the vaccine rollout currently forging ahead, there is hope that those times aren’t lost forever, and that we won’t be eternally stuck in a world of Zoom meetings, social distancing and face masks.
Luckily, we live in a city where we have multiple vaccine brands available to us and the process is quick and free of charge. The vaccines are exciting for us, and with summer approaching and low Covid-19 numbers being reported, it s given us all hope that Hong Kong is finally on the road to recovery. One day soon, we’ll find ourselves doing what we were doing just two years ago.
Hussain, dressed in his signature thin-knit black turtleneck and carrying a water bottle marked with the logo of Batman, says he knew even in January of last year that the coronavirus was going to take a devastating toll on the industry. He quickly drew up a playbook of safety protocols, which he distributed freely to restaurants around the world, an example of restaurateurs banding together that was hailed by international media including CNN and
The New York Times. That a man with a self-avowed desire to save the world would wind up contracting the virus was a cruel irony, particularly for someone who had worked so hard to keep businesses open and his financially strapped workers employed successfully thus far.
Location: Philippines
Impact statement: Elevating Filipino cuisine with an innovative perspective
Jordy Navarra, the chef behind Toyo Eatery, started out in the industry comparatively late in the game. The people surrounding him lifted him up and provided the chef with a lifetime of lessons and experiences that have helped bring him to where he is today. Despite all the success, including winning the Miele One to Watch award in 2018 and ranking on Asia’s 50 Best three years running, Navarra still feels “like we’ve only just started”. While he believes the Philippine dining scene is still young, he thinks that what he has contributed is a developing curiosity for what food can be.
In a pioneering initiative, three iconic Hong Kong brands Black Sheep Restaurants,
Tatler and Prenetics are together “writing the new rules of hospitality” by providing rapid, on-the-door testing for guests attending New Year’s Eve events.
Voluntary testing, which is included in the ticket price, will be provided before guests gain entry to the three Black Sheep Restaurant establishments, including Carbone, Crown Super Deluxe and Buenos Aires Polo Club. To enable worry-free celebrations among family and friends during the remaining hours of 2020, Black Sheep Restaurants and Tatler are partnering with Prenetics co-founder Danny Yeung,
Tatler’s December cover star, whose fast and accurate Covid-19 test, developed by Oxford University, is paving the way for activities like travel and large events to be possible once more. To ensure the events are as safe as possible, all staff will undergo mandatory testing, with voluntary testing available for guests between 12pm and 1pm.