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Food and Drinks
Lifestyle100 Top Tables

How serene backyard Sai Kung in Hong Kong became a fertile ground for independent cafes

Sai Kung’s sleepy seaside vibe has made it a popular spot for independently run cafes serving up good coffee and a dose of community

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Arm Coffee in Sai Kung, Hong Kong, serves a delicious brunch. Photo: Handout
Faye Bradley
That big yellow building in Sai Kung’s Old Town? It’s part café, part singing studio, part art space. “We’re trying to build a community,” says co-founder Charlie Yip. She runs Neoart³ Coffee Lover with her father Ronald and family friends in what has become a multi-generational passion project.
Neoart³ Coffee Lover in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Neoart³ Coffee Lover in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Ronald had spent more than 30 years in the textiles industry before he was made redundant during the pandemic. When the opportunity came up to rent an entire building in Sai Kung, he and the team took a chance. Charlie, who studied journalism at CUHK, stepped in to help – and now she teaches her singing classes upstairs.
The iced mocha is a signature at Neoart³ Coffee Lover. Photo: Handout
The iced mocha is a signature at Neoart³ Coffee Lover. Photo: Handout

Sai Kung has long been a place where small, independent cafés quietly thrive, buoyed by community support. Wander into Old Town and you’ll find a network of homegrown cafés shaped by the people who run them and the neighbourhood that raised them.

Tales Café charms with New York–style sandwiches, bagels and unfussy coffee. NN (No Nationality) Coffee and Kachimushi embrace Japanese-Scandi minimalism, offering calm, clean spaces for thoughtful coffee and simple lunches. Then there are the playful outposts: Hushush Coffee, with ice-cream-meets-coffee concoctions, and Deer Coffee, adorned with campy art.

Schragels in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Schragels in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Most cafés cluster along See Cheung and Hoi Pong streets, winding past plant shops, wife cake bakeries and bookstores. Sai Kung’s slow-paced lifestyle has also attracted local bakeries like Schragels, which in October opened its second location next to the Aussie brunch favourite chain Little Cove. (Its other one is in Sheung Wan.) “The slower, outdoorsy rhythm of Sai Kung lets people really enjoy the experience, which is a refreshing contrast to the fast pace on Hong Kong Island,” says founder Rebecca Schrage.
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Since opening in 2022, Arm Coffee has evolved into a broader lifestyle cafe. “People aren’t just coming in for coffee anymore,” says founder Kaka Cheng. “They want a place that feels good – comfortable, social, reflective of how they want to live. Customers come here to refresh their minds – and honestly, the satisfaction I get from that is something no other career path could offer.”

Neko Bear Café, the Japanese-style teahouse opened in 2021 by partners Leigh Yiu and Fish Fung, takes a similar approach with “whole food made with love”. “We’ve always loved Sai Kung,” says Yiu. “People here are warm – you can talk to anyone on the street and end up in a full conversation. That doesn’t happen often in Hong Kong.”

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