852 Reboot HK (E15) - Anthony Ng, Nikushou
Channel: Web Wednesday - Asian Startups
Date: 2020-06-03

“In Hong Kong (or even Asia), if you talk about food, Instagram is the place to be! It’s a community, a centre point for foodies and chefs globally to exchange ideas, look at trends, find what’s cool and fun to eat. Look at hashtags, like #foodie #foodporn and #foodstagram”.

Media executive turned food critic turned restauranteur, Anthony Ng now runs two Japanese style restaurants, Nikushou in Hong Kong and Seiku in Shenzhen.

Back in 2009, Anthony started blogging about food on Sina Weibo (新浪微博), where he would post a daily photo of his favourite dish with a 140 word (280 character) witty description. [Don't tell anyone that he used to post from his Blackberry!]. 

Being the early days of online influencers (now known as "KOLs"), Anthony soon got noticed and was invited to write columns, present travel TV shows and consult hospitality brands on their social media strategies. 

In 2016, he flipped from writing reviews of other peoples food to create his own restaurant, Nikushou 肉匠 [Location: https://goo.gl/maps/MRxRnLe5ucVU91Xk9).

Looking beyond the usual Japanese fare of sushi, ramen and izakaya,  Anthony saw that there was a clear opportunity to "provide yakiniku, targeting premium quality wagyu and serving seasonal ingredients, rather than typical A, B or C fixed menus".

There is no doubt that Corona Virus (Covid-19) has wrought havoc amongst the local F&B community but Anthony was quick on his toes and, from January this year, both opened for lunch service and designed special items for delivery to regular customers. 
 
His advice is very poignant, "Create food for both cameras and palate. Pick out a few items that people will like and that are highly instagrammable". His crispy unagi creation, “sansho yaki”, has its own following on Instagram and is the crispiest thing that I've ever tasted! 

For those working or living beyond Deliveroo's 1.5 km limit, Nikushou arranges door-to-door delivery via Lalamove or Gogovan. You should also give his "kastu sando", wagyu tenderloin sandwich with brioche, as taste.

Article in the South China Morning Post:
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3080244/how-hong-kongs-michelin-star-and-high-end-restaurants-took

Plug 1: Follow @Nikushou on Instagram and pay attention to customer stories 
[https://www.instagram.com/nikushou/]

Plug 2: You MUST try his famous crispy unagi (鰻の山椒焼き)
 [https://www.instagram.com/p/B8JIi61jMTX/]

Episode 15 of #852RebootHK recorded at Nikushou Restaurant, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on 28th May, 2020