Diner’s Diary

Top French chef in Singapore, Julien Royer, to open Hong Kong restaurant; Andre Fu to design it

Chef-owner of two-Michelin-star Odette, No 1 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, will open Louise in the space now occupied by Aberdeen Street Social

The venture will ‘allow me to rediscover the heritage recipes I grew up with’, says Royer, who was raised in the Auvergne in central France

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Majestic Oyster 2 ways, one of Julien Royer’s signature dishes at Odette, his two-Michelin-star restaurant in Singapore. Royer will open a restaurant in Hong Kong, called Louise, at PMQ in Sheung Wan in June.

Bernice Chan is a former SCMP Culture writer who is now based in Vancouver, Canada, where she writes compelling stories about food and drink, lifestyle, wellness and the Asian diaspora.

Published: 5:40pm, 22 Mar 2019Updated: 10:22am, 27 Mar 2019

Fans of chef Julien Royer’s food won’t have to fly to Singapore any more – the French chef of two-Michelin-star Odette — which on March 26 was named No 1 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list – is opening a restaurant in Hong Kong, Louise, in June.

The restaurant, at PMQ in Sheung Wan, is being opened with Yenn Wong’s Hong Kong-based Jia Group and will occupy the space where Aberdeen Street Social is now. That restaurant, opened in 2014 with British celebrity chef Jason Atherton, will close on April 1.

Louise, Royer’s first venture outside Singapore, will be designed by the internationally acclaimed Andre Fu.

“Louise allows me to really go back to my roots, and rediscover the heritage recipes that I grew up with,” Royer says. “I want to create a comforting, heart-warming experience for guests.

Julien Royer’s signature dessert at Odette in Singapore, Lemon T'art.

“Even though the Hong Kong audience is global and diverse, we all find familiarity and nostalgia when quality ingredients and honest cooking are brought together in a warm atmosphere.”

Royer was in Hong Kong last month for a four-hands collaboration with Vicky Cheng of VEA Restaurant & Lounge in Sheung Wan.