The Araki Dinner
Michel and Tamara Lamunière hosted a dinner with friends at one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated new restaurants, The Araki
Michel and Tamara Lamunière hosted an intimate dinner at The Araki, a new restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui
On January 16, Tatler Asia CEO Michel Lamunière and his wife Tamara, head of Generation T Asia, hosted a group of gourmands at The Araki, an intimate 12-seater restaurant at the historic House 1881 in Tsim Sha Tsui, where they were some of the first in Hong Kong to experience Chef Mitsuhiro Araki’s omakase. Guests included Michelle Ong, Emily Lam and Kent Ho, Gary and Katrina Liu, and Adrian Cheng. Also in attendance from Tatler were global artistic director, Joe Zee, and chief brand officer and managing director of Hong Kong, Sean Fitzpatrick.
Cheng came to dinner from his newly opened K11 Atelier in Quarry Bay, where he hosted a sustainability
forum with The New York
Times. After the forum, he was whisked to the rooftop garden for a Tatler photoshoot—part of our New Asia portfolio (check out the portfolio, along with a foreword authored by Cheng, on page 210).
At The Araki, guests sat around a beautiful counter made from centuries-old wood, and were served by the master chef himself, who shared expert tips on how to properly eat and enjoy sushi. Over three hours, they indulged in course after course of elegant edomae-style sushi paired with premium sake.
The course that stole the show, however, was the tuna. Araki sources his tuna—described by guests as “exquisite” and “mind-blowing”—from legendary Japanese tuna dealer Ishiji, which sends him special cuts.
This stirred memories
among the guests of T Dining’s Off Menu event in November, where Araki—a renowned tuna master—demonstrated his impressive knife skills as he expertly broke down a large side of sustainable tuna from Nagasaki.
After dinner, the party moved upstairs to Whisky Stables—a bar reminiscent of a classic gentleman’s club with its Chesterfield sofas and extensive collection of rare whisky. Here, Michel was surprised with a chess board-inspired birthday cake. One guest quipped that now Michel is 40, he’s no longer eligible to make the Generation T list, but that maybe Tamara could pull some strings. This comment was met with laughter around the room, and guests toasted with flutes of champagne to celebrate the occasion— an evening of fantastic food, and even better company.