{"id":95082,"date":"2026-10-23T12:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=95082"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:33:17","slug":"from-the-diplomats-burgers-to-argos-egg-waffles-hong-kong-bars-are-raising-the-bar-on-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=95082","title":{"rendered":"From The Diplomat\u2019s burgers to Argo\u2019s egg waffles, Hong Kong bars are raising the bar on food"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The queue outside Bar Leone<\/span> isn\u2019t just for its acclaimed cocktails. More than a few guests are making a pilgrimage for Leone\u2019s signature smoked olives \u2013 cheekily called \u201cthe world\u2019s best olives (maybe)\u201d \u2013 and its mortadella sandwich, with layers of thinly sliced mortadella, creamy whipped ricotta and tangy pickled chillies sandwiched between crispy focaccia. Up the road at sister bar Montana<\/span>, the pulled-pork sliders have their own following.<\/div>\n
Not long ago, bar food in Hong Kong usually meant a bowl of peanuts, pretzels or prawn crackers to go with your drink \u2013 regardless of whether you were having beer, wine or cocktails. Now the city\u2019s best bars<\/span> are treating food as part of the main event. Not as a garnish for drinks, but a reason to come, stay and return.<\/div>\n
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\"Montana\u2019s<\/div>
Montana\u2019s pulled pork sliders are as much a hit as the drinks. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So pronounced is this trend that at some establishments, the kitchen is threatening to overshadow the bar. At The Diplomat, the burger \u2013 a simple yet satisfying quarter-pound Wagyu beef patty cooked medium-rare, topped with melted Cheddar cheese and house-made aioli on a toasted sesame seed bun \u2013 was named fourth-best in the world and No 1 in Asia on The World\u2019s 101 Best Burger Places list.<\/p>\n

Owner John Nugent insists there was no campaign behind this. \u201cIt came out of nowhere. We didn\u2019t know they had visited or rated us,\u201d he says. \u201cIt just kind of happened, and we obviously got a lot of love from that.\u201d On the menu since day one six years ago, the burger is now capped at 50 a day.<\/p>\n

Is it a problem when the food becomes more famous than the drinks? Nugent doesn\u2019t think so. \u201cWe welcome people that don\u2019t drink, drink a lot, or anything in between,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd if they just want a glass of water with a burger, a Cubano or some nuggets? Yeah, absolutely \u2026 have at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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The queue outside Bar Leone isn\u2019t just for its acclaimed cocktails. More than a few guests are making a pilgrimage for Leone\u2019s signature smoked olives…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[32065,2917,722,7046,27377,111,108,3569,5231,8187,14079],"class_list":["post-95082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-argos","tag-bar","tag-bars","tag-burgers","tag-diplomats","tag-egg","tag-food","tag-hong","tag-kong","tag-raising","tag-waffles","wpcat-33-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}