YuSang has opened at LANDMARK PRINCE’S in Central, spotlighting anju and sool, the shared food and drink culture at the heart of Korean dining.
It’s been nice to see Hong Kong’s dining scene picking up momentum once again. It was flagging behind cities like Singapore and Bangkok since Covid, but now the city’s culinary scene is shining, and one of those highly-anticipated stars has opened in Central,
Chic and sophisticated, YuSang is centred on a part of Korean dining still underexplored in Hong Kong: the pairing of anju, food built to be shared over drinks, with sool, Korea’s broad spectrum of alcoholic libations.
Hong Kong’s Korean dining scene already runs from casual barbecue to chef-driven tasting menus. YuSang instead builds its entire format around anju and sool served together, letting guests choose dishes and drinks to match the moment rather than follow a fixed course structure.
Korea’s own tapas tradition, anju at YuSang stretches well beyond bar snacks, and includes chilled and raw plates and classics like kimchi, pancakes, right through to fried dishes, soups, rice, seafood and charcoal-grilled meats. Many dishes lean on jang, fermented soy and chilli pastes made in-house using techniques passed down through generations.
Dishes we think smart lads should keep an eye out for include poached sliced pork belly with homemade tofu; spicy seafood soup built on pollock roe (a great hangover cure); and the kimchi pork belly, which is slow-cooked for eight hours before being finished on the restaurant’s custom charcoal grill. A couple of other charcoal wonders are the glazed beef ribs and Korean 1++ grade hanwoo ribeye, served with beef jus, fresh wasabi and roasted garlic.
Sool gets equal billing. The list spans soju, makgeolli and fruit wines alongside a small selection of aged spirits, all imported from Korea. Kick off with the house, honey and yuzu makgeollis and the funky Goheung yuja wine. Drinks are arranged to move with the food, from lighter, fruit-led styles through to fuller pours suited to the charcoal-grilled dishes.
Guests dropping in for a drink rather than a full meal can also order seasonal cocktails, wine, Champagne and beer through the afternoon and evening, paired with a smaller anju selection.
The restaurant’s name comes from yusang goksu, a traditional East Asian drinking and poetry game in which participants float wine cups down a winding stream, composing a poem before the cup arrives or drinking it as a penalty for failing to do so. It’s a fitting reference point for a restaurant built around food, drink and conversation moving together.
Landing in LANDMARK PRINCE’S, next to Jardine House, puts YuSang in one of Hong Kong’s busiest commercial districts. Lunch service features set menus for time-conscious business diners, pairing anju with a charcoal-grilled main and a drink. As offices empty out, the room shifts toward shared plates, sool and a slower pace, making it a natural stop for an after-work drink or a longer evening at the table.
